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E123: Theresa Ann Woods
2.1k Plays4 years ago
When a young girl who was afraid of the dark and very shy disappeared, her mother knew it was the result of foul play. She wouldn’t have run away at night. She wouldn’t have gone with someone she didn’t know. But who was close enough to Theresa Woods that she would trust them... only for them to betray that trust?
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Transcript
Episode Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
After recording the following episode, I spoke with family to gain further insight and clarification. Please listen after the closing music for that additional information.
Spotlight on True Crime Podcasts
00:00:13
Speaker
Allison and I want to take a minute to introduce you to a new true crime podcast that we think you'll love as much as we do. This week's podcast suggestion comes to you from our friends Cam and Jen. These two put time, love, devotion, and respect into all of their episodes.
00:00:31
Speaker
Their show is called Our True Crime Podcast.
Why This Podcast Stands Out
00:00:34
Speaker
And here's a little bit about Cam and Jen's show. Last year, there were nearly 22,000 murders in the US. Not surprisingly, more than 200 true crime podcasts launch every year in the US alone. There's no shortage of crimes and no shortage of crime podcasts to cover them. But none of those shows have the heart of Our True Crime Podcast.
00:00:58
Speaker
Thank goodness. Well, hell, they didn't even have seat belt laws back then. They never worse ago. Yeah, it's fine. He could not remember exactly what happened and thought that he had blacked out. That was about it. That's all you could tell officers. He was drawing things saying the thoughts won't stop. I want to see how this plays out. It's heartbreaking.
00:01:24
Speaker
Isn't it time you made our True Crime podcast your True Crime podcast? Our True Crime podcast, available on all your favorite podcasting apps. Some people are born with the instinct.
00:01:38
Speaker
The one that causes you to throw an arm out to protect the person sitting next to you in a car when the brakes are hit too hard. The one that attracts you to babies and the way that you want to soothe them and make them smile. The one that makes you nod and understanding when someone speaks to you about their pain. Because even though you've never experienced it, you know the hurt because your empathy is that strong. It's what some might call a parenting instinct.
00:02:07
Speaker
I like to call it the empathy instinct or the sacrificial instinct. Not everyone has it. But the girl at the center of our case this week did. And it makes sense that she had that instinct because her mom, Betty Holcomb, was her best friend. She got it honest. They had been through so much together and always knew that they had each other. So when Betty was told that her daughter didn't show up where she was supposed to be after school,
00:02:37
Speaker
Betty knew something was wrong. People like her daughter don't just leave. It's just not in them. They care too much about the effect it would leave on those left behind. That knowledge was infuriating when law enforcement told Betty that her child likely just ran away from home. She knew her daughter wasn't wired that way.
00:03:02
Speaker
So much precious time was wasted. So many hours when organized searches should have been getting underway, when interviews could have been conducted, when people actually remembered the details because they just happened. It's those missing details that her family now pore over. What could someone have missed? What might someone have seen or heard?
00:03:30
Speaker
Which of the reports might have been corroborated? Where might this case be had it been taken seriously from the beginning? What if the young girl, always caring for others, had been protected herself?
Introduction to Teresa Ann Woods
00:03:48
Speaker
This is the case of Teresa Ann Woods.
Exploring 'Coffee and Cases' Podcast
00:04:27
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.
00:04:36
Speaker
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 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.
Podcast Collaborations and Community Engagement
00:05:00
Speaker
So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:05:05
Speaker
Maggie, and Sleuthounds.
00:05:07
Speaker
I am, oh my gosh, so excited about all of the things that we have in the works. I'm a little overwhelmed, but I'm also excited. So I was just telling Maggie before we started recording, I am currently working on my next seven episodes all at once. I've already contacted families to try to set up interviews in most of those. One of those episodes will be a collaboration with some podcasting friends of ours.
00:05:38
Speaker
So that's an exciting adventure. Yeah, super exciting and different. That'll be fun. Also this week, we got some new ratings on Apple podcasts and more recommendations from people on Facebook, which we love. So keep those babies coming. We see you doing those great things. Sleuth hounds and we really appreciate it. Yes, we do. And gosh, there's so much more that I don't even know where to start. We are
00:06:05
Speaker
going to be a featured podcast on Good Pods.
Kentucky True Crime Live Tour Announcement
00:06:10
Speaker
Yes, I know. Partay. On March 11th. So here is what we need for you to do, Sleuthhounds. We need you to join Good Pods. It's a free app. It's a streaming app for podcasts. And what I want you to do, Maggie, you can tell them a little bit about Good Pods in one second, but I want you to go ahead and stream our new episode.
00:06:32
Speaker
on Thursday like normal, but then I want you to stream us again on Friday on that app. So just on Friday stream your favorite past episode on that day that they're going to give us a highlight on the 11th.
00:06:46
Speaker
And I am super excited about that feature. I mean, it's, it's amazing. But if you haven't heard of good pods, it's probably one of my new favorite apps for listening to podcasts because all of your favorite podcasts are on there.
00:07:04
Speaker
Like normal but there are so many cool features that other apps just don't have you can network with your friends on there to see what they're listening to and what they love if you hear an amazing episode and you don't have time to listen to it what are you gonna do you can bookmark it for later.
00:07:22
Speaker
And it is amazing. It is. I think that's really cool. And
Deep Dive into Teresa Woods' Case
00:07:27
Speaker
you can also chat with other fans of the shows that you can't live without. And what other podcasting app has that? So it says podcasting app and a social media app, kind of all in one.
00:07:40
Speaker
Yeah, it's actually brilliant. Yeah, I don't know why we didn't think about this. Because I mean, why not network with other people who share the same passions as you do. And the bookmarking is my favorite thing because I need that if I don't write something down, it's gone. So this way you can just bookmark it for later.
00:08:01
Speaker
And in other good news, also be on the lookout for some live shows that coming up this summer and into the fall, Maggie and I are actually spearheading the effort to start a Kentucky True Crime live tour this summer with some other Kentucky True Crime podcasts where we can actually meet you guys and share a case with you in person.
00:08:27
Speaker
So that's exciting. And one more thing before we get going. Do you guys remember our listener Brandy Alcorn with flickering flame candles? Yes, amazing smelling candles. Yes, she has made some more candles of other cases. So now in addition to the coffee scented candle featuring coffee and cases itself, the Jeremy Bright candle and the Cindy James candle, there are also candles for Valerie Brooks.
00:08:56
Speaker
Hello, Kentucky people. Go order it. Yes, that's perfect. Yeah. And there is one for the Crystal Spencer case. So, support a fellow partner in crime, a small business owner, our podcast, help spread the word about an unsolved case, and get an amazing scented candle. That wraps up so many good things.
00:09:18
Speaker
It really does. I mean that one's a no-brainer for me. I cannot wait to get my Valerie Brooks candle because that's the case. We've talked about it before that just gets me so I can't wait for that one and we will actually put the ordering information in our show notes so you don't even have to write anything down this time. Just go ahead and pause the show so you can click the link in the description.
00:09:45
Speaker
Okay. On to this week's episode. This week, Maggie, I had the pleasure of speaking with Teresa's cousin Tamara. And I'm so glad that I did because in cases like these, it breaks my heart because this is a child's case that barely got any coverage.
The Investigation and Family's Determination
00:10:12
Speaker
And here's this family.
00:10:15
Speaker
searching so desperately for answers and to do the research and find that people aren't even talking about it. Yeah, it's a whole level of heartbreaking. Yeah. For 36 years, this family has been waiting and they don't need to wait any longer.
00:10:37
Speaker
No, they do not. So hopefully this brings some much needed attention. Yes, I'm going to push you, Sleuth Hounds, to share this story. When I post about it on social media, share it. Tell people about it. And for those of us who are living around the Kentucky area, you should be very familiar with the area that I'm going to talk about in this case, because it's in West Virginia.
00:11:03
Speaker
So our neighbor, it's a wild and wonderful West Virginia. That's right, wild and wonderful. The setting for our case this week is in the beginning of 1986, I know you weren't born yet, but whatevs, in Oak Hill, West Virginia, which is a small town in Fayette County, about 15 miles north of Beckley, West Virginia. So is this like
00:11:29
Speaker
Appalachian West Virginia or more towards like Pennsylvania, West Virginia. Yes, it is Appalachian. Okay. So you and I have been in small town America in a lot of our cases recently. We're back there this week. Okay. Oak Hill had a population in 1986 hovering somewhere right around 7000. Yeah, so tiny like Pikeville.
00:11:57
Speaker
Mm hmm. And the city got its name. It's actually nothing, you know, earth shattering. It's called Oak Hill because of its location on a hill, which if you've ever been to West Virginia, you know, it's probably more like a mountain because they didn't get the nickname the Mountaineers for nothing. And for its sprawling white oak trees in the area. So oak.
00:12:21
Speaker
The town has a natural beauty surrounding the area. Actually, the state of West Virginia is beautiful in and of itself. Main Street in Oak Hill now offers all of the modern conveniences, but local artists have taken old photographs of the town to create large murals harkening back to simpler times.
00:12:45
Speaker
Oh, I love that. One mural shows Main Street in 1965. And some of the landmark stores in the town that are in that mural are still visible. So it kind of helps to create that invaluable link between present and past that lends itself usually to appreciation of the past. But that link between present and past can also bring pain.
00:13:15
Speaker
especially when that passed, also in this small rural town, is linked to so much tragedy.
Suspects and Theories in Teresa's Disappearance
00:13:23
Speaker
This is the pain that the family of Teresa Woods feels continually. So let me go ahead and set the stage for this week, the 1986 stage. Okay, I'm ready for the 80s.
00:13:37
Speaker
Okay, the radio is plugged in inside a young 13, nearly 14 year old's room. She's pulling out her blue jean jacket from the closet to wear to school as she's singing along to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers duet, Islands in the Strip. Oh, I love that song. I do too. She's applying makeup as the finishing touches, doing this final check in the mirror, and then bounding out of her room to ask her mom if she looked okay.
00:14:07
Speaker
Oh, but there was some aqua net hairspray in there. Oh, probably. And it sounds like a typical teenager in 1986. And Teresa Woods was, in some ways, typical. While she, like most of us who grew up in the 80s, Maggie, I'm saddened that you didn't get to experience this. But those who grew up in the 80s, we loved
00:14:33
Speaker
to go to the roller rink. Oh, we had a roller skating rink near my house. That's where we had like all of our. OK, so you know, that was life to go to the roller rink. Yeah, good times. Teresa loved it also. I mean, she grew up. She was all in on the 80s fashion.
00:14:55
Speaker
But she also stood out, not because of her stature, but because of some other things. She was incredibly talented musically. She played both the saxophone and the electric keyboard. And Maggie, when I say she was talented, I mean that she could hear a song played once and then go home and play it.
00:15:20
Speaker
Oh, wow. Her cousin told me that she did that when she heard the Star Wars theme song for the first time. She went straight home and promptly played it on her saxophone. That's impressive. That's very impressive. I can't even hold a, like, sing in the right key.
00:15:40
Speaker
I can't read music to even begin to know how to play anything. So you go, Charissa. That's right. She was incredibly loving to her family. You know, many teenagers are in that stage of their lives when they're finding themselves and that process itself often involves being absorbed in their own interests and their own world. You live it every day in middle school. Yes, I do.
00:16:07
Speaker
But Teresa wasn't like that. Tamara, Teresa's cousin, who was six years younger than Teresa, told me that family members recall Teresa toting Tamara around on her hip like Tamara was her own child. Oh, this was me with my cousins. Like, I was their life's eyes baby doll.
00:16:25
Speaker
Yeah. And others remember Teresa putting Tamara on a bicycle with her and riding around just to make Tamara laugh. Teresa was even quick thinking enough to save Tamara's life once.
00:16:40
Speaker
Yeah, she was eating a lifesaver and it got lodged in her throat. Yeah, Teresa was right there when it happened and she got the hard candy dislodged leading Tamara to say to this day that she wouldn't be here without Teresa.
00:16:56
Speaker
That's a very scary feeling. I choked on a Werther's original once while my mom was at choir practice when Wednesday night, when I was playing in the pews of our church, thought I was going to die right there at Virgin Baptist Church. But they performed the homelike and I was fine. But now Tamara is actually returning the favor by fighting for justice in Teresa's case.
00:17:22
Speaker
And there's one other detail about Teresa that I wanted to share from the beginning because it is important to the case. And that is that Teresa was incredibly shy. Because of that, she didn't make friends easily. It was hard for her to put herself out there. You know, she was more perfectly content spending time alone. It still can be lonely though to not have like
00:17:51
Speaker
one close friend, you know? And then at the same time, though, I'm not necessarily somebody who needs a lot of people around me either. So I understand that. Teresa sounds a lot like me when Tamara described her. She said she's shy when you first meet her. She doesn't talk a lot around the people she doesn't know. But if she does know you, she talks a lot, especially in arguments when she has to have the last word.
00:18:22
Speaker
I was like, that's so me. Yeah. Like the first time when I first started, um, at the county when we worked together, everybody was like, Alison is really shy. Like she kind of just stays in her room. She doesn't like talk a lot. And then like, I moved in next door and we were like going to get lunch every day. Popping our heads in each other's rooms. And now we do a podcast for, you know, thousands of people. So yeah. Yeah.
00:18:53
Speaker
Unlike me though Maggie, Teresa would have a harder time blending into a crowd because she had beautiful bright red hair. I love red hair. Also unlike me, she was a petite girl. She was only five foot two and around 90 pounds. She's short. She is.
Discovery and Aftermath of Teresa's Case
00:19:15
Speaker
So now that you get a sense of who Teresa was, you can better understand her case. And remember back to my setting the 1986 stage, she's 13, almost 14 at this point. Teresa's parents had divorced when Teresa was young. Her mom, Betty, had since met and married Teresa's stepdad, Rick Holcomb, in 1981.
00:19:44
Speaker
At the time and for several years after they got married, Betty had been caring for her ailing parents and Rick was working.
00:19:54
Speaker
So that's what the situation was when in 1985, Rick convinced Betty that they needed to move to Oak Hill, which is the town that I mentioned in the beginning of the episode. But it was a town that was about 30 minutes away from where their friends and family were, where they currently were in Powelton. Why would they move? Hmm.
00:20:22
Speaker
I'm unsure why because it's only a 30 minute drive. So it's not that far away, but maybe that was also, I guess, like an impetus for them to go because it's not like they're moving all the way across the country. If they're only moving 30 minutes away, they could still come back and visit friends and family. Right. But then it doesn't really make sense to only move 30 minutes away.
00:20:49
Speaker
Mm hmm. But it's like rent was cheaper. Well, it was we'll get to that. So Rick had some acquaintance and acquaintances there in Oak Hill. And he had a job at BNB convalescent. I'll talk a little bit about what that was here in a second. And he convinced Betty that she should also get a job there as well.
00:21:14
Speaker
So for his work at B&B convalescent, which I'll probably shorten to B&B throughout the episode, Rick would drive an ambulance or provide transportation services for elderly or for those maybe suffering or recovering after a surgery or something like that. So it's basically ambulance transportation for people in rural communities.
00:21:40
Speaker
A lot of small- It's like a funeral home. No Maggie, it's not. Is this like a nursing home? No, it's more just like an ambulance service. Okay, okay. A lot of small communities rely on those services, even here in Kentucky, because an ambulance from a hospital, you know, they did. Yeah, it would take far too long to reach the patients. So this was like a rural ambulance service. Okay.
00:22:11
Speaker
And Rick was really good at his job. He was always prompt, unlike me, and he took meticulous notes on the time for each run, like what time he left, what time he came back, his mileage at the beginning, his mileage at the end. So basically me when I'm taking notes for a podcast episode, but not me in any other circumstance.
00:22:38
Speaker
This move was one that Rick convinced Betty would be good for all of them and it really did seem to me from the research that I completed and in speaking with the family that Rick was the one with ties to Oak Hill because he knew his employer who would be Betty's future employer and all of the
00:23:01
Speaker
family acquaintances in Oak Hill that were mentioned in articles were usually specifically Rick's acquaintances. Okay, so I think I got the sense from what I read and from speaking with family that he kind of convinced Betty that this was a move that they needed to make.
00:23:23
Speaker
OK, so kind of like when Anthony was like, yeah, you need to move an hour away and closer to my work. Just kidding, Anthony. Just kidding. That was a mutual decision. Kind of. No, I'm just kidding. So instead of making the 30 minute drive to work every day,
00:23:42
Speaker
you know, like they would have had to do had they stayed in Powelton. The owners of B&B convalescent, the Skagg family, actually owned a trailer on their property and they offered it up to Rick and Betty and Teresa to live in. Oh, that's nice. Yes. So that made this move easier from Powelton to Oak Hill because they're secured housing.
00:24:07
Speaker
And I can say like I drive 30 minutes to work and it's not a long time. Like on most days it doesn't bother me because it gives me time to like mentally suck myself up for work and then like to kind of come down before I get home. But like now it's like tonight when I didn't get home until eight o'clock because I had dance stuff that 30 minute drive sucked. So I can understand wanting to be a little closer to your work. Right. And be like two minutes away.
00:24:35
Speaker
Yeah, instead of 30. Yeah. Now I want you to also imagine how hard this move was for somebody shy like Teresa. Oh, yeah, she had to change schools a bit. I'm sure there were a lot of nerves involved, maybe even a few tears. Oh, for sure. Yeah, but Betty, Teresa's mom was her best friend. They were best friends. So she knew
00:25:01
Speaker
that she'd be okay. Right. Right. Cause her mom's there. Cause her mom's going. Right. And Teresa was still only 30 minutes away from all of her friends and family. So she could still go back and visit her dad and other family members every weekend, you know, as often as she wanted. So it doesn't work completely removed from her circle. She's still close enough to be part of that. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't feel like she's moving across the country.
00:25:32
Speaker
According to Ashley Beth and Whitney of the Cold Case Crew podcast, and I'm giving them credit, I was not able to find this information corroborated, but I do know from my interview with family, with Tamara specifically, that this trio of podcasters visited the area and interviewed a lot of people who were involved in the case. So I'm going to believe
00:26:02
Speaker
what they stated on their podcast. They said that Rick had actually moved to Oak Hill first. So like leaving his family on for a little bit? Right, right, for a couple of months.
00:26:16
Speaker
And so he had gone ahead and moved to Oak Hill and he had become fast friends with his employers, with the Skaggs family, and with their daughter, 17-year-old Angel, who he thought, you know, would also bond with his stepdaughter, Teresa.
00:26:35
Speaker
The Skaggs family also had a son who was younger than Angel, but I wasn't able to find any information about his specific age. Nor did I ever read his name. And the Skaggs family is the family that has this trailer that they're going to be living in. Yes. So they own the B&B convalescent where Rick works, Betty's going to work. And they own the trailer that they give for Rick and Betty and Teresa to live in.
00:27:04
Speaker
And they have children who are somewhere around Teresa's age. So they have a son, not sure his specific age, and then they have their daughter, Angel, who's 17. So she's about three years older than Teresa.
00:27:23
Speaker
When Betty and Teresa joined Rick in Oak Hill, even though Angel Skaggs was 17, which like I said, is three years older than Teresa, Teresa stepped at Rick, encouraged a friendship between the two. And the pair did seem to grow close very quickly. Now, he could be encouraging this friendship because he knows how shy Teresa is. And he's like, here's like a built-in friend. She lives right next door.
00:27:53
Speaker
In fact, reporter Jessica Farish of the Register Herald, which is a newspaper out of Beckley, West Virginia, interviewed Angel for an article published on January 2nd, 2021. And in that article, Angel stated, quote, when they moved in the trailer, it was like I'd known her my whole life.
00:28:14
Speaker
If she wasn't going on the weekends down the river to stay with some of her family or friends where she used to live, she was at my house. She was always at my mom's house." End quote. Okay. Judgey comment alert. This is a junior in high school becoming BFFs with an eighth grader. Yeah. It seems a little bit strange to me.
00:28:42
Speaker
Because I kind of feel like a 17 year old would be too cool, you know, to be friends with a 13 year old. Unless maybe Angel's just really immature or maybe this, I could be totally wrong and you could tell me something different, but maybe Angel uses Teresa. Or maybe she's just a really kind person. Or maybe she's just a really great kid. Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:11
Speaker
So they did become, it seems, good friends quickly. Teresa also established a routine pretty quickly when they moved to Oak Hill. She was dropped off at school in the mornings by her mom. She did not like to ride the bus.
00:29:26
Speaker
Who does? Well, true. I asked Teresa's cousin Tamara, you know, did she know exactly why Teresa didn't want to ride the bus? And she said she wasn't clear why, but she just knew that the school bus was not part of Teresa's routine.
00:29:46
Speaker
So after school, so our mom would take her in the mornings and then after school, Teresa would walk to BNB convalescent to meet her mom and her stepdad. And that's also where Angel, you know, would be headed after school. Her parents owned the place.
00:30:05
Speaker
So since the owner's daughter Angel was in high school, she would actually ride the bus to a spot along the route to meet Teresa so that they could walk together to B&B convalescent. We're the high school and the middle school and not near each other, so they could just walk at the same time.
00:30:24
Speaker
Right, so that same article in the Register Herald noted that Angel would ride the high school bus to Tom's restaurant, which was right across from Collins Middle School, which Theresa attended. So, I mean, yeah, she would get the bus to drop her off right there, and then the two of them would walk the roughly eight tenths of a mile from the restaurant to B&B. Oh.
00:30:51
Speaker
Along the path was a popular 7-Eleven gas station. This was the hangout for locals and students, especially middle school students because it's only about two-tenths of a mile away from the school. You can literally see the 7-Eleven from the middle school parking lot.
00:31:10
Speaker
Yeah, we have a circle K across from the middle school where I work and that seems to be a pretty good hotspot for the little people after school that and the sonic. Yeah, students would stop by there for snacks and Teresa's family believes that she would often stop there with Angel, you know, it's like a pit stop on the way home. When I was growing up, there was a roadside mart called Randy's roadside market.
00:31:40
Speaker
And I would beg my dad to stop and get me a soda and Funyuns. Oh my God, I love Funyuns. Oh, it was the snack of choice when I was in middle school. And I just loved Randy's roadside market and it stopped so much. So if I ever told Rodney that I loved him like Randy's roadside market, he would probably have no idea what I was talking about, but it would be the highest compliment. The best compliment you could ever get.
00:32:06
Speaker
i love you like soda and funyuns from randy's roadside market i always tell anthony i love you more than pickles and i love pickles so that's a compliment she loves pickles only deal though we don't do sweet or the nasty bread and butter but
00:32:25
Speaker
So they would stop there often. That was only two tenths of a mile away. You know, so she has this routine that said she has a friend. Teresa had even met a boy that she was named Alan. There had been a serious discussion in Teresa's household though about whether she was old enough to date. Okay, understandable.
00:32:49
Speaker
And this discussion happened because apparently Teresa and Alan had already planned a date. Yep. For the upcoming February 22nd, 23rd weekend, Betty and Rick actually came to the conclusion that if Teresa were going to go to the movies with Alan, his parents were going to take them, that they would need to meet him first. Okay. I feel like that's a good compromise. Oh, that's absolutely fair.
00:33:17
Speaker
But despite everything seeming to go smoothly in the transition to a new town and a new school though, Teresa was not happy. For several weeks, she had been begging her mom to let her go back to her old school. So like a logical parent, Betty urged Teresa to finish out the remainder of the school year, right where at the end of February,
00:33:46
Speaker
It was not that much longer. So she wants her to stay for the remainder of the school year and then she would allow Theresa to go back to Powelton.
00:33:56
Speaker
And when I read the research, I read that and I was thinking, oh my gosh, something bad must be going on. Yeah, do we know what it is? Because why would she want to leave her mom? Because her mom is her best friend. But Tamara actually told me that that's a common mistake in the research about this case. According to Tamara, this was not a move that Teresa would have been making alone.
00:34:26
Speaker
Tamara told me in our interview that Betty was also fully ready to move back to Powelton and would have done so, quote, with or without Rick. Okay. See, first I, first I thought that you were meaning like Betty would just drive Teresa to Powelton for school and then like pick her up. I didn't realize you meant like they were moving back there. Well, yeah, that's what Teresa wanted to do. And so that's why I said there must have been something
00:34:56
Speaker
Because things are seeming to go smoothly. But obviously, if that's true, as Tamara told me, then Betty's not necessarily happy there either. Or she just wants her daughter to be happy. And she's thinking, I'm going to go ahead and make whatever sacrifice. 30-minute drive to work would be a sacrifice that any parent would be willing to make in order to ensure that their child were happy. Yes.
00:35:25
Speaker
Even the last weekend that Teresa had visited her dad in Powelton, she was troubled by something. And she mentioned him urgently wanting to move back. Like, can I move in with you? Oh, that's what I was getting ready to say. Could she have moved in with dad?
00:35:47
Speaker
Well, and that's part of the problem. I mean, obviously she was still close to her dad and her dad loves her very much. But he was like, you know, I'm sorry, Teresa, there's nothing I can do because legally there's a custody agreement, you know, between me and your mom.
00:36:07
Speaker
But when Teresa's dad, Donald Woods, asked her to tell him precisely what was bothering her, like what is prompting this urgency to move back, she told him that she couldn't tell him because it would get her in trouble back home. As in like back in Oak Hill? Oak Hill. Or like in her physical home? Well, that I don't know.
00:36:36
Speaker
Teresa was supposed to come and stay with her dad the following weekend as well, so I assume he likely didn't pressure her too much for answers because he's thinking, okay, she's going to be back next weekend. Maybe I can press her a little bit more and find out a little bit more information. But Teresa would disappear before their next weekend visit.
00:37:01
Speaker
The morning of Thursday, February 20th, 1986, started out like any other. Teresa dressed in jeans, a purple shirt, her blue jean jacket, and gray suede shoes with fur lining, fixed her hair and makeup, and bound it in to see if her mom were ready to take her to school.
00:37:24
Speaker
The day at school, fairly uneventful. Other students reported seeing Teresa sitting in the lunchroom by herself reading a book. The walk home was when routines were broken. Angel wouldn't be there that day to walk with Teresa.
00:37:47
Speaker
Angel reported to the Register Herald that on this particular day her younger brother, who was already behind in school, was out sick.
00:37:57
Speaker
Angel stated that one of the school workers had come to her during the day to say that her mother had called to ask Angel to pick up her brother's books and bring them home. And Angel was thinking the walk from Tom's restaurant back to B&B that eight tenths of a mile seemed way too far to carry so many heavy books.
00:38:23
Speaker
So instead, she rode the bus from the high school all the way to B&B Compilescent, which would leave Teresa to walk to make the walk alone. Right, because she doesn't ride the bus. Right. According to that same interview with Angel, Angel had planned on dropping the books off and then walking back to meet Teresa, however far she had gotten. OK. Right. And then to walk with her the rest of the way. OK.
00:38:53
Speaker
Witnesses reported seeing Teresa around 3 p.m. leaning against a pole at the 7-11. And I don't know this is a pure speculation, but I have to wonder if she were maybe waiting on Angel. Yeah, I wonder if she know that Angel wasn't going to meet her.
00:39:13
Speaker
I didn't read anywhere either way, but I would assume that she didn't because if Angel didn't find out until during the school day, they didn't have cell phones then. So there's no way for her to communicate it. So I'm wondering, you know, did she stop here waiting on Angel thinking, okay, well, if Angel wasn't at Tom's, maybe she's here.
00:39:37
Speaker
Because like I said, I got no indication that Teresa would have known that Angel wouldn't be here. Angel said that she walked back towards Tom's restaurant along the normal route, but when she didn't see Teresa anywhere along that route, she returned to B&B.
00:39:58
Speaker
Angel reported that she didn't go looking any further for Teresa because Rick was out on an ambulance run and she was going to wait for him to get back so they could look together. Okay, so she walks back. Does she go all the way to Tom's or she just walks like part of the way?
00:40:17
Speaker
She said she walked toward Tom. Okay. So I'm going to assume then that she didn't get all the way. So she's walking towards Tom. She doesn't see Teresa and she's like, you know what? I'm going to wait for her stepdad to get back and then we will look together. Yes. But why didn't she call Betty? That's my question. Why didn't she? Or why didn't she call her mom to say, uh, mom, you know, is Teresa, did Teresa, you know, come back or.
00:40:47
Speaker
Yeah, I would I would assume even though Rick is out on an ambulance run, I would assume that Angel would have had a key to the business because it was owned by her parents. And I mean, I'm sure if they go there every day, there were other times when there were runs. So you wouldn't leave them keyless and standing in the street, you know, for hours potentially until whoever's working gets back.
00:41:14
Speaker
And like if you have an ambulance service, I mean, I don't know, but I feel like it would be weird to leave it without somebody there to answer phone calls. If people are calling you to get an ambulance, you know. But Angel waited. She did not make any of those phone calls.
00:41:38
Speaker
And actually, I said that Rick was on an ambulance run. Technically, Rick wasn't in an ambulance on that run because that morning, according to Tamara, the ambulance had been making this weird sound and worried that it would strand them. Rick had actually gone to borrow a pickup truck from the Skaggs family, from his bosses, and Rick was using that personal pickup truck to transport a patient.
00:42:08
Speaker
That's weird to me, but OK, carry on. Yeah, yeah, we'll come back to that. So when he returned, Angel reported that she and Rick actually drove around looking for Teresa, taking every potential route that they could think of. I wonder how much time passed. Well, I don't think a whole lot because she said that she went to the middle school.
00:42:33
Speaker
you know, where Teresa had left from, and that there were students there still waiting on buses. So they made an announcement over the intercom, no Teresa. Angel went into the gymnasium because there's still a crowd of students. She looks around, no Teresa. And it was only then that Angel called her mom to let her mom know that Teresa had never shown up after school.
00:43:04
Speaker
Okay. Now, maybe, maybe Rick had driven around looking cause he was like, I don't want to alarm Betty. Right. But let me tell you what. Maybe she's just there at school. Yeah. Yeah. Let me tell you. Okay. Tell me. I would have been madder than a wet hen if I was not the first person to know if my child were missing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:34
Speaker
But Rick didn't call. He did not call at all to ask to speak to Betty. He certainly didn't drive to go get Betty. Yeah, which I feel like should have been done. Yeah, I was gonna say should have been one of the first things he did. It's like a two minute drive.
00:43:56
Speaker
So, I mean, I'm getting angry, like by proxy. I'm getting angry about, you know, him not going to get Betty. Betty only found out that her only child was missing through Mrs. Skaggs.
00:44:15
Speaker
Because remember, Angel had called her mom. Yeah. Had called Mrs. Skaggs to say Teresa didn't show up after school. And Betty just happened to be over at the Skaggs residence. She was doing laundry there because they didn't have a washer and dryer at the time in the trailer.
00:44:32
Speaker
So Angel calls Mrs. Gags, Angel's mom, and says, Teresa's missing. Rick and I are going to go look for Teresa, and nobody thinks we maybe need to call Betty or drive the two minutes it takes to get to the house to pick her up. Precisely. At first, Betty did try to play the logical game in her head. We talk about this all the time, where we try to say, okay,
00:45:02
Speaker
Maybe I shouldn't be worried yet. So Betty was telling herself, maybe Teresa stopped by the grocery store to see that boy that she liked, right? The one she was going to go. The Teresa that I've come to know in this episode, I feel like would be a creature of habit. I don't see her doing something out of the norm, like going to the grocery store. Right.
00:45:29
Speaker
Yeah, and as more time in the day passed, Betty knew otherwise. I mean, she knows her daughter. She's her daughter's best friend. She knew that something was wrong.
00:45:41
Speaker
So Betty immediately called Teresa's father and contacted her family in Powelton, who all, and this is a mark of a strong family, drove to Oak Hill to begin canvassing the area looking for Teresa. Wow. Teresa's dad began making flyers, placing them all around town. And Maggie, they did all of this. In response, I'm sure you can guess to what the police told Betty when she called to report Teresa missing. Oh, she ran away.
00:46:11
Speaker
That's exactly what they said. Well, she just likely ran away. And you need to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person's report. No. Betty, of course, she adamantly maintained, as did the rest of the family, that Teresa would not have run away and that something bad had happened. Yeah, she had her first date planned for that weekend. Yeah, so she's got something great to look forward to. And one detail that made Betty sure
00:46:41
Speaker
that Teresa did not run away, is that Teresa hated the dark and the sun was setting. And when I say she hated it, she was so scared, Maggie, that when she would walk from, say, her dad's porch in Powelton to her grandmother's, and this was the distance that my own dad lived from my grandma, like you go from one backyard straight into the other one,
00:47:08
Speaker
that if it were dark, just making that trip from her dad's back porch to her grandma's, Teresa would make sure that her dad watched her the entire walk over because it was dark outside and she was scared. That's me. I hate it. That's me. Yeah. So if Teresa were going to run away, she definitely would not have run away at nighttime. Right.
00:47:32
Speaker
Add to that what you said, she's got a date planned. Also, April 6th was her birthday. So right around the corner. Yeah, like a month, barely over a month away. And she'd already picked out her own color television set. So in a few short weeks, she was getting a dream present. And she hadn't taken anything. But they couldn't convince police.
00:47:59
Speaker
And until law enforcement would take a report, they were forced to do what they could do on their own to look for Teresa. Tamara told me that she would wager a guess that they put flyers in nearly every window from Montgomery to Beckley in their search for Teresa. They even drove down country roads, nowhere near the route, just searching for her.
00:48:26
Speaker
They went for miles in every direction. One route they took even took them down near Laurel Creek in Fayette County, about eight to 10 miles from Collins Middle School. Like that's the distance that they were going. And they took that road basically until a family friend who was riding with them who was from Oak Hill was like, you know, we can go ahead and turn around because the only thing that's up ahead are logger roads. Wow.
00:48:56
Speaker
Days went by and there was no sign of Teresa. Even when law enforcement began their investigation, there wasn't much information that they were able to gather. Teresa had been seen leaning against a pole at the 7-11 near the middle school.
00:49:12
Speaker
That was corroborated by several witnesses. Then there were a couple of single reports in newspapers and by witnesses, neither of which I could corroborate. But one report by some students said that there was a sighting of Teresa getting into a blue car.
00:49:31
Speaker
And another set of red pickup truck. Now those are two, yeah, those are two very different things, like not even close in size or color. But here's what we can logically conclude though. Teresa had to have been abducted. Where else would she have gone? Yeah. Because she would have gone straight to B and B convalescent.
00:49:58
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. But if she were abducted, it would have to have been by someone she knew. I say that because she was walking down a very busy thoroughfare. I mean, students are walking home, buses are driving by. This is a main street. Yeah, so she would have been completely inside. Exactly. And it's broad daylight.
00:50:28
Speaker
Yet not a single person remembers a fight, a scuffle, anything out of the ordinary. Yeah. So she would have had to willingly have gotten to a car with someone. Right. That's, that's what it tells me too. Teresa was also remember painfully shy. So she would have not gotten into a car with a stranger, not willingly at least. And remember, there's no scuffle. Right.
00:50:54
Speaker
So the only option that makes sense would be that she got into a vehicle with someone she knew. I mean, I got some ideas, but I'm going to wait. Okay. Cause I'll give you a couple of theories. The biggest question is why she would have, because like you said, she seems a creature of habit. She has this routine of walking to the BNB convalescent every day after school. So I don't know why she,
00:51:24
Speaker
wouldn't have just walked there like normal. I mean, Angel or no Angel. Yeah, I could see her maybe hanging out for a second to see if Angel showed up and then realizing, yeah, she's probably not stopping. Like, I'm going to go on because wouldn't she have seen her bus like go past that restaurant? And Angel would not get off. So then I'd been like, yeah, okay, well, I'm walking on. Right. Maybe she was cold because this was February.
00:51:52
Speaker
And, you know, she's not necessarily dressed very warmly. She just says on a blue jean jacket. Maybe she accepted a ride thinking that, you know, they would be dropping her off at her normal spot. Plus, reporter Elizabeth Thrush spoke with Teresa's grandmother for an article published on March 3rd, 1986, where she said that Teresa was cold-natured. Like, she even kept a blanket around during the summer. Again, me.
00:52:21
Speaker
So maybe she was cold and that's why she accepted a ride. Regardless, it is my honest opinion, especially because of the sightings, even though they differ on the vehicles. And I know that that's a huge discrepancy, but both reports say that she got into a car with someone. And it's probably someone she knew well.
00:52:50
Speaker
Teresa's birthday came and went. Over the course of the next three months, Teresa's parents followed up on any and all possible leads. They traveled around wherever the leads took them to look for Teresa in hopes of bringing her home. When one lead came in that a witness had sighted someone who looked like Teresa in the sketchy and prostitute ridden side of a nearby town,
00:53:18
Speaker
members of Teresa's family dressed up to look like they were homeless to blend in and walk the streets. Wow. Looking for Teresa, but they never found her. However,
00:53:31
Speaker
On June 5th, 1986, around 8 p.m., two fishermen, John and Gerald Davis, were gathering bait in Laurel Creek in Fayette County when they spotted human remains, according to the Register Herald, quote, at the bottom of a cliff, end quote. They contacted police immediately, and an investigation of the area produced several bones, including, according to that article, a skull,
00:54:01
Speaker
Fragments of clothing as well as jewelry that matched the description of the clothing Teresa had last been seen wearing. And tufts of bright red hair. State Medical Examiner Dr. Irvin Sofer identified the remains as those of Teresa Ann Woods.
00:54:21
Speaker
The spot where their remains were found was about eight to 10 miles from Collins Middle School. So do you remember when I told you the road that they traveled down until the family friend said, yeah, we should turn around because there's nothing but logging roads ahead. If they had kept going. Okay. When you were reading that, I was like, I feel like they should just keep going. They would likely have found Teresa because she wasn't even a half a mile from where they turned around.
00:54:51
Speaker
Maybe it was best they didn't find her. Immediately. Or that maybe they could have gotten more answers. Oh, that's true. I didn't think of that. I just feel like that'd be such a hard discovery to make. Teresa's remains, because they were in this rural area and they were exposed to the natural elements, were merely bones at this point.
00:55:14
Speaker
And because of the fragments of clothing found, law enforcement deduced that Teresa likely died the same day that she went missing or the next day. But here's what I found interesting, Maggie. The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, but he has never shared the cause of death.
00:55:37
Speaker
So let's deduce a little bit ourselves now. So first, there are only fragments of clothing. I was about to say that's a very weird word to use. Fragments means it's not the whole thing. So what happened? Did she trip and fall?
00:55:56
Speaker
Like, did she have to fall down like a ravine? Was she like thrown down a ravine? And again, yeah. And, and how would you know the difference? Right. Just on the injuries. So I know they found the fragments of clothing and I don't know what that could reveal. I mean, other than fingers crossed DNA. I mean, let's say the clothing, the fragments looked ripped.
00:56:22
Speaker
Well, any passing rock or tree limb could have done that. Right. Maybe they looked cut. I guess that would. I'm trying to figure out how can you take what evidence was there, right? Fragments of clothing and say this is a homicide. Maybe if clothing looked cut. Can you tell the difference between like if it would have been, let's say a natural cause, rip or tear versus like
00:56:50
Speaker
A man-made one? I wouldn't think so, not a rip. That's why I was only thinking if it's the clothing that indicated, yeah, if it were cut. Then you could tell the difference between a rip. Right, and a cut. And obviously, you know, if Teresa is the only one there and there are no, say, scissors at the scene, then you know somebody else had been there. But I just, even if somebody cut her clothing, that doesn't prove homicide.
00:57:20
Speaker
And where were the clothing, like where were the rips or cuts at? Right. That I don't know. But so if that can't prove homicide, it might be able to prove that somebody was there. Right? If it were, say, cut and there are no scissors, but that doesn't necessarily prove that that person killed her. So then that leaves me with the remains.
00:57:46
Speaker
And the bones found at the scene, the skull specifically, in my mind had to have revealed why they made the homicide ruling. Yeah, that's what I was about to say. Like I feel like it almost had to be like
00:58:01
Speaker
they could tell she'd been struck in the head or shot in the head or something like that. Right. And that's what I was going to say. Even that is difficult because I don't think it could have been something as general as blunt force trauma because the two men who were looking for bait, who reported finding, they reported finding the remains at the bottom of what they called a cliff. So, I mean, if somebody fell, they could have suffered blunt force trauma.
00:58:30
Speaker
and then it's not homicide, you know, if you hit your head on a rock. So there had to have been something about the wound or something about the scene to indicate homicide, like maybe there are casings. Yeah, they could have left out part of that information. Right. Law enforcement also indicated that they believe that the crime might have been sexually motivated
00:58:55
Speaker
But there's no way to tell that. Exactly. There is no way to tell that from a few skeletal remains. I wonder if there's more that they're not telling us. They found more. I think you're right.
00:59:10
Speaker
Well, I know you're right. There has been some evidence collected, and there had to have been to indicate that assumption. Tamara told me that the family has been told by law enforcement that a, quote, credible piece of evidence, end quote, had been collected. But even the family doesn't know what that evidence is. Yeah, and it's been 30 plus years. Like, come on now.
00:59:33
Speaker
I know, maybe it's time to release something. But what complicates this a little bit is that I asked Tamira if the spot were a popular spot to fish or anything. I was trying to get a sense of how remote the spot on Laurel Creek was. And while acknowledging that it is rather rural, she told me that it was also a common party spot for teens.
01:00:01
Speaker
So if there was evidence found near the scene, that could cause a complication because then you're thinking, okay, but was it there previous to the crime against Teresa or at the same time?
01:00:16
Speaker
Now we have the theories and there aren't very many because there are only a few people Teresa would have known well enough that I think she would have accepted a ride from, especially here in Oak Hill because she hadn't been there long. Right. And I do feel that the person who committed this crime was from the area because of that spot where Teresa's remains were found.
01:00:39
Speaker
Right, because it's so remote, you would have to know where you're going. Even the local police, Corporal Steele, said on June 13, 1986, in an article, quote, I've lived in Fayette County all my life, but it was the first time I've ever been on that logging road.
01:00:56
Speaker
And it's almost like you would have to purposely go there or know that spot like it's not a well-known Play, so it's gonna have to be bit like that. Whoever did this has had to have visited that spot before right? so theory one is a man who lived behind the 7-eleven and
01:01:17
Speaker
This man had on many occasions made comments about Teresa's looks, telling her how beautiful she was. This man worked at the intersection that Teresa routinely walked by every day to get to B&B convalescent, and he got off work around 3 or 3.30. Oh, and I forgot to mention he drove a blue car.
01:01:42
Speaker
Okay. So remember, there's that one. A blue car sliding. Yes. Those around this individual noted a marked shift in his demeanor after Teresa went missing. And he even, though he had spent his entire life in the area, moved away right after.
01:02:08
Speaker
Now, those could be coincidences. I mean, blue cars aren't uncommon, right? Some other life event could have happened to cause the shift and the move. But all those together in one time? I know. It could indicate guilt as well. The sticking point for me, though, is I just don't think Teresa would have gotten into a car with him. That's what I was about to say. I just don't think she would know him well enough to get into a car with him, no matter how cold it was. Right.
01:02:37
Speaker
I mean, unless it was kind of like the Amy Mahalovic case, and he's like, you know, they called your mom is hurt. Get in the car. I'm taking taking you to your mom like use her mom against her. Right? Yeah, because I mean, that is totally true. Because even if you are a shy person, even if normally you only go with the people you know, you know, our moms are best friend. And
01:03:03
Speaker
If you hear something like that, you don't really think logically anymore. You don't think like, how does this person know me? How does this person know my mom? Yeah, you're just scared. Theory two is the family friend who told them to turn around.
01:03:23
Speaker
This family friend has been accused of sexually violent acts against another family member. So was it just coincidence that he told them to turn around right before the location of Teresa's body? Did he know something and he was putting more time between the crime and the discovery?
01:03:52
Speaker
Interviews with family revealed that they believe this person is the suspect who was given a polygraph by the state police and passed. Hey. I know. It's a polygraph. Polygraphs, yeah. But this is someone Teresa would have gotten into a vehicle with according to her family.
01:04:17
Speaker
But, like, if he knew that her body was there, why did he leave it there? Why didn't he go back and try to move it? Yeah, why would it still be there? If people were getting floats into the Discovery, why would he just leave it there? Mm-hmm, that's a good point. Theory 3 was the Skaggs' son.
01:04:37
Speaker
Okay, the unnamed son. Right. Now, this was not reported in any newspaper, nor was it corroborated, but family told me that the neighbor's son, who was never named in any of my research, came in one day with blood all over him.
01:04:56
Speaker
and that he told three different stories about it. One to Teresa's mom, a second to his parents, and a third to police. There are allegations that the son was familiar with the Laurel Creek area, often going to a skating rink in Fayetteville. And Laurel Creek Road is the road, like if you went behind the skating area, that's the first road you would come to. And this theory though,
01:05:26
Speaker
I feel like it also has complications and the fact that this son stayed home sick from school that day. Did he drive? I don't know because I don't know his age. Right. But he stayed home sick from school and we know that his mom was at home because remember Betty was doing laundry there and the angel called to say, so could he have left without drawing any attention to himself?
01:05:56
Speaker
Theory four, Rick. Okay, I've kind of felt this from the beginning, but I'm gonna, I didn't make any, try not to make any judgments, so I'm interested to hear what you say. Or, so I'm gonna give several ideas here. Rick, potentially including Angel. Oh. Or an acquaintance of Rick's.
01:06:22
Speaker
Because remember, he's moved, they move there because of Rick. So all of the acquaintances are his acquaintances. There are several stories that go back to Rick, but not a single one can be confirmed, right? I am in no way saying that this man is guilty. I'm just telling you what family told me and what other
01:06:46
Speaker
research has said. Okay. So I'll go through each one. So do you remember the report that Teresa had gotten into a blue car? Yes. A friend of Rick's. What? Oh, please say it. I'll wait till you say it. If you tell me that the pickup truck he was driving around in was red. It was. Oh, okay. Yeah.
01:07:13
Speaker
So, okay, my theories. Okay, the first one is an acquaintance of Rick. So a friend of Rick's had a blue car.
01:07:23
Speaker
Again, that alone is not unusual. We just talked about that with theory one But this same friend of Rick's after Teresa went missing promptly painted the car red Put a silencer on it and sold it so that's weird like the police officer Whatever changes the interior of us or the police officer notes that one dude changed the interior of his car Nancy Eagleson. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah
01:07:53
Speaker
So that's weird to do all of that to the car just to sell it. That's bizarre move. Another story is that the pickup truck that Rick had been driving that day because the ambulance was broken down was like a maroonish color truck. So a red pickup truck. And there is a report about
01:08:22
Speaker
Teresa getting into a red pickup. And she would have got into that with him. Oh, yeah. Right. And a final story is related to the unconventional relationship between Rick and Angel. OK, so I do have to say when you first started talking about it, it seemed a little weird that you would describe that he got close with a 17 year old. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
01:08:53
Speaker
So, you know, I talked about how Rick moved to Oak Hill a few months before Betty and Teresa joined him. In that time, he grew very close to Angel. Some people say too close. According to the Cold Case Crew podcasters, they said that when Angel's dog was hit, it was actually Rick who rode with her to the vet. Okay, maybe that was just as a friend.
01:09:22
Speaker
But when Betty and Rick divorced in 1998, Rick actually moved in with Angel. That's a little weird. Yeah, those details together don't look like a friendship relationship. So was something going on and Theresa knew about it? Maybe she knew too much or she planned on telling.
01:09:52
Speaker
Family alleged that when Teresa told angel that she was going to be moving back to palton Right to be with her dad So she's telling this to her friend that when Teresa told her that the angel quickly responded. No, you aren't Like as in like a joking way or like a threatening way. I don't have the answer for that So
01:10:19
Speaker
You know, could this also be why when her dad was pressing her on what was wrong, Teresa said she couldn't tell her dad because she would get in trouble back home if she did? I don't know.
01:10:36
Speaker
If Rick had something to do with it, the one thing that would have ruled him out, that would have saved him, would have been the records. Because remember, he is meticulous about keeping the records of his transport. So it would have said mileage, time when he left, mileage, time when he came back. However, his normally detailed charts of mileage and time was left blank for his run that day. Hmm.
01:11:05
Speaker
So has he ever been questioned by investigators? Do we know? Um, I believe yes. But I'm, I mean, obviously there hasn't ever been an arrest. So there's, if there is involvement, then there are missing pieces.
01:11:26
Speaker
Exactly. There was also some confusion with the timeline. So he and Angel supposedly began looking for Teresa around 3.30. And that's if Angel were waiting at B&B convalescent, right? Then they would have left straight from there.
01:11:44
Speaker
as soon as Rick got back. Right. But some reports have them looking for Teresa before he returned from the ambulance run. That doesn't make sense. No. How would he have known she was missing? He wouldn't. Nor would he have been with Angel. Right? Because Angel was waiting for him. Right. Because he wouldn't pick her up from, yeah. Mm-hmm. Still, other reports have Rick changing clothes after the run before going to look for Teresa.
01:12:14
Speaker
That's weird. Mm hmm. And if that's the case, maybe he changed clothes and then he heard from Angel that Teresa was missing. But if that's the case, then why not go get Betty to look? Yeah, he's already at the house. So there are a lot of questions.
01:12:32
Speaker
But the family have some questions about this theory too, though, because if Teresa suspected a relationship, right? If she really believed something was going on, why wouldn't she have just told her mom? Because her family stated that Betty would have left Rick immediately without question. So why not tell her? I mean, her mom was her best friend. Could it have been?
01:12:58
Speaker
Maybe she felt threatened or scared by those involved in the relationship. Maybe, and maybe like with the idea of, you know, potentially moving back soon. Yeah. Maybe she's like, I can hold out for a few minutes. Yeah, right. It'll be fine. I can wait that long. And, you know, we don't know who, but I do believe that whoever picked her up
01:13:28
Speaker
also knew that she would be alone. And that list is even fewer people who knew that information. Right, because I feel like who would have really known that she was gonna be alone? It would have been Angel because she had the conversation with the teacher at her school. And really that's, who else would have known?
01:13:55
Speaker
I mean, unless there is a relationship. Right. Then maybe Rick did know. I guess if the brother wasn't at school that day, he could have known as well. So it does narrow the list down. It's already such a small list though. Right. I mean, I would hate. Well, I would hate to say that.
01:14:21
Speaker
any of these people did anything to her, but we know somebody did something. It makes me sad and disgusted that could have potentially been two people who were very close to her. Right. But I guess that's kind of like, you know, would you rather be, we've talked about that, would you rather be killed by a complete stranger or by someone you know? I know, which is scarier. Yeah. Oh, I don't know. This one is difficult for me. I don't know.
01:14:50
Speaker
The man that lived behind the 7-11, I'm ruling that out for this whole reason. I don't think she would have gotten to the car with him. Yeah, I don't either. The family friend that was like, oh, you can just turn around. It's only logging roads up through here. He sounds familiar with the location. And I feel like you would have had to have visited that place to know to put a body there, you know, which means it could also be this gag son if he was familiar with that area.
01:15:21
Speaker
But I wonder if he has ever been investigated by police or maybe he was like underage and that's why we don't know his name. Right. And things like that. But I mean I'm just like you know where my guts going though. I know. I know.
01:15:37
Speaker
Teresa's family faced a grief that would give most of us nightmares, and it's been a grief that they've carried with them. Teresa's father kept the same phone number that he had in 1986 until he passed away in 2014, just in case anyone remembered something or wanted to admit a role in what happened because the guilt had finally gotten to them. He did everything in his power to allow them to get in touch.
01:16:06
Speaker
As for Tamara and her family, they've gone to Laurel Creek to light candles and to play Teresa's favorite song, Islands in the Stream, as a vigil to the girl she looked up to, the one who would carry her around, the one who saved Tamara's life. She felt Teresa there. Betty still has her photo albums and often looks through those pictures of herself and Teresa in happier times.
01:16:36
Speaker
but the pain tugs and the tears still fall. The feeling that has been missing for this family for so long is a sense of justice. Even if they never know a how or a why, they want to know a who. They deserve to know a who.
01:16:57
Speaker
and someone out there can give them that justice. Did Teresa tell anyone at school about her concerns or fears? Did anyone notice anything suspicious about the activity on Laurel Creek Road around February 20th, 1986? Did anyone positively see or speak with Teresa after 3 p.m. on the 20th? All it takes is one small clue to connect what police already have.
01:17:27
Speaker
with the truth. And I'm going to end with some words from Tamira.
01:17:48
Speaker
Anyone with information about the abduction or murder of Teresa Ann Woods is asked to call the West Virginia Crime Stoppers at 304-255-STOP or go to www.crimestopperswv.com to submit your tip anonymously.
01:18:13
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.
01:18:42
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.
01:19:06
Speaker
Speaking again with Tamara, I found that Rick, Betty, and Teresa did move to Oak Hill together, not separately, though Rick had been working there at B&B convalescent for several months already and had established those relationships with the Skaggs family. And it was actually Mrs. Skaggs who mentioned to Rick and Betty
01:19:28
Speaker
that Betty should get her emergency EMT license to work at BMB as well. They made the move because the roads that led from Powlton to Oak Hill were mountainous and nearly impassable in bad weather, making the move necessary for them so they can make sure that they could be close to work. And when Teresa was found to be missing, not only Teresa's father, but Betty as well and the rest of the family rushed to make flyers.
01:19:55
Speaker
But the biggest clarification that was not in my research was that Angel had more than one brother. So the story from the family that we included in our theories and the brother who stayed home from school were two different people. We are not saying that one of them or any of the brothers are guilty, but I did want to clarify that the theory and the brother who stayed home were not the same person. We wanted to also clarify because we do not want to partake in any further misinformation about the case.
01:20:24
Speaker
So stay together and stay safe, Sleuthhounds.