As The Raven Dreams Podcast - Raven Investigates - 2 STILL Unsolved Missing Persons Cases | FT Curious Raven #TrueCrime

Episode Date: January 9, 2022

Tonight, I am joined by good friend, Curious Raven, and we will be diving into 2 missing persons cases that are still unsolved.  Do you have a mystery that you want me to look into? E-mail me some information at [e-mail] ✯✬✯✬✯✬ CASE 1 - Joan Risch – Disappeared 1961 CASE 2 - Brian Schaffer – Disappeared 2006 ✯✬✯✬✯✬ All Scripts and sources available at the following link:  https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1m8VLcsHajNgvCFRtmzHhGBapmaZCWWvQ The Song Used in the background is provided courtesy of Daniel_hz_Music. Song Used In the Intro of the Video is "Zeta Reticuli" By EVA, and is available under CC-BY-SA3.0  Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rbJPJuWin8 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ✯✬✯✬✯✬ Photo's in Thumbnail- Joan Risch photo is from Wikipedia, and is considered Public Domain.  Brian Schaffer photo from Missing Persons Of America - https://www.missingpersonsofamerica.com ✯✬✯✬✯✬ All information provided in this video is built from numerous reports, and those reports claim to be true at the time of writing the scripts for this episode. At any time, the details of these cases may change, or inaccuracies may still be present in existing reports. Any incorrect information is never intentional, and is never presented to be misleading.  All Information, images, and video clips featured within this video belong to their original and respective owners- Usage of this content is not intended to infringe upon anyone’s copyright, and is protected under Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976- All content is utilized for the purpose of on or more of the following: Criticism, Comment, News Reporting, Teaching, Scholarship, Education and/or Research. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at [e-mail] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/astheravendreams/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/astheravendreams/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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From binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Good evening. As we go through our everyday lives, we encounter tens to hundreds, to possibly thousands of people that we do not personally know. We shake hands with strangers, make small talk in the elevator. We arrange meetings with clients, friends. We even go as far as pressing buttons on our phone so that we can get into a stranger's car for a ride to our destinations. We never expect that those chance meetings could be our last. It doesn't even cross our minds that we may never make it back home. So tonight, I will be joined by a very good friend of mine Curious Raven,

as we look into two missing persons cases that have yet to be solved. Joan Reich, born Joan Carolyn Bard, was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930. 30. At the age of 9, her family moved to New Jersey. A mere 10 years later, one day while Joan was at school, her family home caught fire and her parents were both killed. After this event, she was sent to live with an aunt and uncle that she was not well acquainted with. They formally adopted her soon after. After dealing with such a terrible tragedy at a young age, she struggled to adjust to life with her new family, but it was still able to do well in school, and even went as far as getting an English literature degree from Wilson College in Pennsylvania. After graduation,

she worked in publishing and eventually worked up to being an editorial assistant. In 1956, she married Martin Reesh, and eventually moved on to become a stay-at-home mother. Soon after, in April of 1916, In 2016, the Riech family moved to Lincoln, Massachusetts. The morning of October 24, 1961, started the same as always. Martin left that morning for a business trip to go to New York, and Joan made breakfast for their children, Lillian and David. After breakfast, Joan took her two-year-old son to the neighbor's house, while she took her daughter to a dentist appointment. After the appointment, they went to a department store and then Joan picked up David at the neighbor's home and returned back to her home a little after 11 a.m. She then made lunch and put her son down for a nap,

and around 1 p.m., the neighbor Barbara Barker, brought her four-year-old son, Douglas, over to play with Lillian. Shortly before two in the afternoon, Joan took her daughter Lillian and the neighbor kid Douglas back to the Barker house, and then stated that she would be coming back soon. About a quarter of an hour later, Ms. Barker stated that she had seen Joan wearing a trench coat and carrying something red in her arms, while in a hurry to get to her garage from her car. At the time, Miss Barker really didn't think too much of it. She assumed that she was rushing to catch David, her young son, as he ran away from her. This simple moment in time, it would be the last confirmed sighting of Joan Riech.

At around 3.40, Ms. Barker went to take Lillian back home so that she could run errands. At the time, she didn't see Joan, but assumed that she was home, so she left without a second day. thought. When she returned about 35 minutes later, Lillian walked back over to Ms. Barker's house and explained to her that Mommy's gone and the kitchen is covered in red paint. She also told her that David was crying in his crib because he needed a diaper change. Ms. Barker, confused by the child's statements, went over to the house to see what was going on. When she entered, she saw that the kitchen was in fact covered in blood and she proceeded to call the police. Within five minutes, the police arrived, specifically Sergeant Mike McHugh.

When he looked over the scene, he found that there was a small overturned table and blood smears on the kitchen floors and walls. The trash can, which was normally under the sink, was in the middle of the floor, and, in the trash can was the Risha's home phone, which had been ripped from its mount on the wall. The initial thought of McHugh's investigation was that this was going to end up a suicide, and he began to search the house. After a while, when his search had resulted without a body, he called for backup so that they could extend the search. They contacted local hospitals to see if she had been checked in. somewhere for medical attention, but she was seemingly nowhere to be found.

They then contacted Martin, her husband whom had been out of town, and informed him of the situation. He booked the next flight home. The detective's search netted some strange findings. A telephone book opened to a page where one would write emergency contact information, but there was no information written in it. There were empty liquor and beer bottles in the track. can, and Martin vouched for the liquor bottle, stating that he and his wife had finished it the night before. He, however, had no idea where the beer bottles had come from. The trench coat,

mentioned before, was also left behind, as well as her purse. It was determined that she would have less than $10 with her at the time of her disappearance, meaning she wouldn't have the financial means to run away. The overturned table that was found in the hallways was normally underneath the now unmounted phone. In the kitchen, there was a wad of paper towels that had been used to clean up some blood on the floor. In addition to this, there was also a pair of coveralls that belonged to David found in the kitchen. They were bloody, and were likely used to try to clean up the blood. It was indicated that the coveralls appeared to have been,

held against the ground by something heavy, such as a body, for a long period of time. There were also various amounts of blood, mostly drops, found in various places throughout the house. On the first step leading upstairs, the master bedroom, the window in the children's room, there was also a trail of blood that led from the kitchen outside to the car, which was still in the driveway. Even more blood evidence was found on said car, on the right fender, the left side of the hood, and the center of the trunk. All of this painted a potentially horrifying scene. Clearly, something had happened, but nobody knew what.

There was blood, sure, but it wasn't enough to be fatal. And the blood evidence was seemingly all over the place. there was no rhyme nor reason to where it went or where investigators should go with it. The search for Joan continued into her neighborhood. Police went door to door questioning the neighbors to see if they had seen anything, and some claimed they had. One of her neighbors claimed that they had seen Joan, or at least a woman that looked like her,

walking along Route 2A. West, which was about 200 yards beyond her house, with a handkerchief wrapped around her head. They stated that she seemed to be hunched over and walking aimlessly in that she looked dishevelled. The sighting was at 2.45 on that afternoon, and this would have been about half an hour after Miss Barker saw her rushing around outside of her house. About half an hour later, a similar-looking woman had been seen walking on Route 128, down the median in Walton. It was reported that she had blood on her leg and looked disoriented as she cradled an unknown object.

The sightings continued at 4.30 p.m. of a woman on Route 128. The witness stated that she had something dark on her legs that appeared to be mud, and she was walking hunched over with both of her hands in her pockets. The only other thing to note that was witnessed by neighbors was a two-tone car that had been in the area that stood out. One witness stated that the car had been parked alongside the road at around 2.45 that day. The milkman claimed that he had seen the car in the Rie's driveway around five days prior, and that it was occupied by a man.

He then stated that he saw the man get out of the car, cut a few branches from a bush in their yard, put them into the car, and then leap. One last bit of information that made this case even more bizarre. About a month prior to her disappearance, Joan had checked out a book from the local library. That book was titled Into Thin Air, and is about a woman who leaves behind blood smears and a towel when she goes missing. A story with Eerie similarity to Joan's own disappearance.

After a bit more digging, it was actually found that Joan had checked out 25 books from the library that year, and most of them had to do with murders and missing persons cases. Based on all this information, it's difficult to really assess the situation or what actually happened.

It is possible that Joan ran away, voluntarily and staged the scene to look like a crime had occurred based on a story that she had read. It's possible that this was the reason for her dropping off her daughter and her friend back at the neighbor's house. But if she was thinking about leaving and never coming back, why would she leave her two-year-old home alone? There are, of course, several theories ranging from a possible affair with the man and the two-tone car and her running away with him. The possibility that she was having an affair and wanted to break it off, and maybe he became

violent. There are some that say it was possible the husband had come back and done it, though that is nearly impossible with him having to fly back home. Another speculation was that she was injured and disoriented while walking along Route 128, which was under construction, and that she may have found. fallen into a pit on the road and passed away and was then unknowingly buried. Unfortunately, this is a situation where everyone can speculate about the possibilities, but odds are we will never know what happened to Joan Reich.

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of $10. DePosmineineamines payeeighed to face responsible. Brian Schaefer was born on February 25th, 1979,

and was a medical student attended Ohio State University. Brian grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, and was the oldest of two sons to his parents, Randy and Renee Schaefer. He graduated high school in 1997, and from there he went into his undergraduate degree at OSU, graduating six years later with a degree in microbiology. After this achievement, he continued on into the OSU College of Medicine in 2004.

Two years after enrolling, his mother, Renee Schaefer, sadly passed away from myelode splasia, a type of blood cancer, and while his friends all claimed that he was handling the death well, it was noticed that it was tremendously difficult for him to accept. During this time in med school, Brian became romantically involved with another student. Alexis Wagner, to the point that it was anticipated that he would be proposing to her later in 2006. During a trip to Miami that the couple had planned for their spring break getaway in April, Schaefer was known to enjoy the tropical and laid-back lifestyle, and despite the fact that he was a med student and had a promising career ahead of him,

It was well known to his friends and family that he wanted to actually be a musician. All of this is to show that Brian had an incredibly promising future. Everything looked bright for him, and there was almost nothing standing in his way. While losing his mother had hurt him, he showed that he was resilient. He pressed on in his studies, and he had fallen in love with another student. All of this pointing to the first. that Brian was strapped in for the long ride that is life. The night of April 1, 2006 started like any other.

Nothing about it seemed to be out of the ordinary for anyone involved. Brian went out to dinner with his father, Randy, and his younger brother, Derek. After that, Brian decided that he wanted to have a boy's night out with his good friend and former roommate, Clint Florence. The two of them opted to spend the evening at the Ugly Tuna Saluna Bar in the middle of an incredibly busy district of Columbus, Ohio during the beginning of spring break. They arrived at the saluna at around 9 p.m. Within the hour, Schaefer actually called his girlfriend Alexis, who was in Toledo at the time visiting her family before the two of

them were set to go on their aforementioned Miami vacation. He told her he loved her and that He was just out with friends, and the call ended as any call would. But from here, Brian and Clint went bar hopping, visiting a number of the packed bars and working their way down towards the Arena District. According to Clint at each of the stops, the men would have one shot of hard liquor, and then they would move on from there. While they were doing their rounds, they ran into an old friend of Clint's Maribeth Reed. Reed spent some time with them at the bar they had met in, they drank some more, and

then Reed offered to take the two men back to the ugly tuna saluna, a ride that they accepted. At 1.15 a.m., the trio was caught on camera entering the building and riding the escalator up towards the second floor. At some point after they arrived, Brian had gotten separated from the group, but was still in the bar. before 2 a.m., Brian was also caught on cameras talking to two women in the bar, but was then caught once again on camera. Then at 2 a.m., when the bar is closed, Meredith and Clint waited by the door for Brian after having called him several times without answer. When he wasn't in the

crowd as the bar closed, they assumed he had gone back to his apartment and just didn't tell anyone. What they didn't know was that Brian would never be seen again. Alexis and Randy, his father, attempted calling Brian, but there was no answer. Then on Monday morning, Brian was nowhere to be seen when it was time for the flight to Miami. This was when he was reported as missing to the Ohio police. As stated, this is where the disappearance and the investigation starts to really pull into the strange territory. The fact that Brian never showed up for the flight to Miami was the first indication that something had happened.

As mentioned prior, it was known to others that during this vacation, Brian had planned to propose to his girlfriend. This vacation was more or less intended to be the event that led up them being engaged. When the investigation began, police found Brian's car in the parking lot of his apartment complex, which was close to the ugly tuna saluna. The police launched a city-wide search, including dumpsters and sewers, noting that the saluna was in a high crime area. So the concern of foul play was a serious one. And while this may be true, there was one detail that baffled everyone involved. This was a high traffic area, and there were cameras almost everywhere.

Brian was caught on camera entering with his friends. He was caught on camera talking with two women before the bars closed. But at no point in time did the cameras catch him actually leaving the bar. The police launched a full-scale investigation, knocking on doors, digging in dumpsters, and asking anyone and everyone if they had any information. They questioned Brian's friends and family, they searched the shelters and hospitals, and in the end result was always the same. Nobody knew where Brian was, and he had managed to disappear without a trace. As time passed, there were small glimmers of hope, but nothing actually came from any of it. There was a computer glitch that made it seem like his cell phone had been turned on. His apartment was broken into and an unrelated. burglary and even Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder put out a plea to anyone that had

information at a concert. All of this led nowhere. The investigation went in every direction from psychics saying he was in a riverbed to sleuths claiming that he was a victim of the Smiley Face Killer who was known to attack intoxicated men in the Midwest. Every single lead met more hope that was Every call meant another potential hint that ultimately hit another dead end. There was even one instance of a young woman, reporting a dark-haired man that looked like Brian working a drive-thru in a fast food restaurant in Michigan. The tip that ended with the Michigan police confirming that it wasn't him.

There were sightings investigated in Michigan, Texas, and even Sweden, none of which actually were Brian. were a few oddities that could be looked at his possibilities for one. Clint was the only person question that refused to take a lie detector test. I'm not looking to paint Clint as a suspect here. It's just a point to note. And he's well within his legal rights to do so if he feels that he's being unfairly targeted by investigators. Shortly after Randy Bryan's father died, Clint's lawyer wrote a private investigator, involved in the case that he had learned that the official stance of the Columbus police was that Brian was actually alive. From this, it's possible

that Brian is still alive and decided to start over new, and Clint knows about it. Though in the same vein, why would Brian run away from a successful life that he had worked so hard for? And why would he choose to do so just before he flew to Florida for a vacation with his soon-to-be fiancé? In the end, nothing about this case makes much sense and is truly one where the person that disappeared did so without a trace. And the investigation is still ongoing 16 years later at the end of this video. At this point, everyone that was involved with Brian has moved on. His girlfriend graduated and got married. His brother got married to his longtime girlfriend. Clint moved out of state, the house he grew up in, and his apartment sit empty, and his father had since passed away.

While there are people out there that still look at this case and try to find the answers, odds are we'll never have definitive evidence about what happened to Brian Schaefer. So this was a collection of two missing persons cases that, to this day, are still unsolved. A huge thank you to Curious Raven for helping me out on this video. She is an amazing person, an amazing narrator, and very, very good friend of mine, please do check her out and show her the love that you always show me. It was honestly an honor to have her on this video. In 2020 alone, there were over 540,000 missing people reported in the United States, and endless resources and hours put into locating them. Unfortunately, there are some that are never

found. And sometimes we don't get the closure we so desperately need. These were two of those cases that do not have answers. And at this point, have almost no new information to go on. If you did enjoy this video and would like more like this, please do consider subscribing to the channel as I am working on content like this and much more. Also, consider hitting that thumbs up button to help the channel grow, and leave me a comment, letting me know your thoughts. As always, I hope you have a lovely night, and I hope to see you next time. But until then, keep your eyes open.