Crime Junkie - MISSING: John & Shelly Markley

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

In 1995, a married couple vanishes from their Ohio home without a trace, leaving behind their five kids, an unlocked gun cabinet, and a house full of clues. As ransom calls roll in and suspicions mount, their family is left wondering: Was this a planned disappearance? Or something more sinister?If you know anything about the disappearance of John and Shelly Markley, contact the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office at 330-675-2540.  Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit:  https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/missing-john-shelly-markley/Did you know you can listen to this episode ad-free? Join the Fan Club! Visit crimejunkie.app/library/ to view the current membership options and policies.Don’t miss out on all things Crime Junkie!Instagram: @crimejunkiepodcast | @audiochuckTwitter: @CrimeJunkiePod | @audiochuckTikTok: @crimejunkiepodcastFacebook: /CrimeJunkiePodcast | /audiochuckllcCrime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. Instagram: @ashleyflowers | @britprawatTwitter: @Ash_Flowers | @britprawatTikTok: @ashleyflowerscrimejunkieFacebook: /AshleyFlowers.AF Text Ashley at 317-733-7485 to talk all things true crime, get behind the scenes updates, and more!.

Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Brit. And the story I have for you today is so twisty, so unbelievable that you would swear it was straight out of a movie. And somehow it's all real. Even though this case has barely been reported on outside of Ohio. But when our reporter started digging in, sources started coming forward with secrets that they have kept for

decades, tips that they have never told police, and information that totally reshaped this story. I'm going to be back. December 15, 1995 is a cold Friday in Bristolville, Ohio, around the time schools are letting out for winter break. But when 15-year-old Ruth Markley steps off the bus just after 3 p.m., she isn't having a happy start to her holidays. You see, one of her dad's sisters just passed a couple of days ago, and the service is tonight off the bus just after 3 p.m. She isn't having a happy start to her holidays. You see, one of her dad's sisters just passed a couple of days ago, and the service is tonight.

So being the eldest of five, Ruth's probably planning to do everything she can to make this day a little easier on her parents, John and Shelly Markley. Except when she gets home, her parents aren't there, which never happens. I mean, even if they're 15 minutes late, they call one of John's sisters who lives nearby to come over and wait for the school bus.

But when she goes inside, it is a little weird, because it's almost like they were right there just moments ago. In the kitchen, she sees a coffee pot still on its burner, boiled dry, and two used coffee mugs on the kitchen table. And as she looks around, other things feel a little off as well.

Like now she's realizing that the door was unlocked when she came home. She realizes that her dad's truck was gone. Her mom's purse is still there on top of the fridge, and normally she wouldn't leave home without it. Or her cigarettes and lighter, which are laying on the counter. And honestly, more than even the purse, like that is a huge red flag for Ruth. Her mom smokes a pack a day. She is never without her cigarettes.

So Ruth goes to check her parents' bedroom. And when she gets there, she finds that their clothes for the funeral service have been laid out on the bed. And then she spots it, the thing that actually sends chills running down her spine. Her dad's gun cabinet is unlocked and open. And in all her years, she has never seen him open it.

So Ruth calls her aunt, one of John's sisters, asking if she has seen her parents. Her aunt says no, but she tells her, listen, don't freak out just yet, because yesterday your dad mentioned that he wanted to buy a new suit for the funeral. So, you know, him and your mom probably just went to the mall together. So she tells Ruth, close the door to the gun cabinet and the bedroom so the other kids can't

get up there, and call me back if your parents aren't home soon. Ruth hangs up, and then she waits, trying to keep herself distracted with cleaning or cooking for her siblings as they start coming home one by one. But their parents don't come home. And hours pass with no sign of John or Shelley. So around 5.30 p.m., when everyone has to leave for the funeral home, Ruth's aunt drives over to pick up the kids. They go to the service. It starts. It ends. And John and Shelley never show. And while we know there is cause for concern, now that you're hearing about it on a Crying Junkie episode, the family actually reasons away their absence.

John particularly had been devastated by his sister's death. I mean, they were twins, and he said he felt like he lost half of himself when she died. So they think maybe a final goodbye was just too much for him, and he and Shelly went somewhere to clear their heads. So in the meantime, the whole family decides to go to John's house to stay with the kids until their parents come home. But again, they don't come home. When midnight passes, no one can make excuses anymore. John and Shelly were dedicated parents

and they would never leave their kids for this long. So around 1230 AM, Ruth's aunt reports them missing. About 10 minutes later, police show up to the house to take statements from the family. They wanna know as much as they can about the couple and like the time leading up to their absence. They learned that John is a long haul trucker who owns a company, has a couple of employees and Shelly is leading up to their absence. They learned that John is a long-haul trucker who owns a company,

has a couple of employees, and Shelly is a stay-at-home mom. They've been married for 16 years. They have a solid relationship. I mean, at first, Shelly's parents didn't approve of her marrying John so young, but the families get along like these days, so Shelly's dad even works for John now. So kind of like how you didn't approve when Justin and I got married at 20, but now you

two are besties? Listen, it took me a minute. I was probably more critical than your parents. But yes, yes. But it all worked out in the end for me and Justin and you and for the Marquise. And this family. Got it. And listen, like John and Shelly, they're normal.

They have their arguments like any other couple, but there is nothing salacious to discuss, like within their home, their marriage, whatever. Neither one of them has a criminal record. The house is paid off, though the original structure, worth noting, burnt down in 1993. But it doesn't seem like that was ever investigated as like a crime or anything. And look, the family admits that John's made

maybe a few enemies over the years, especially running his own business. His brother told us John didn't start fights, but he would finish them, like he knew how to stand up for himself, especially when it came to his business or his money. So he had had some disputes with his employees, and even some recently, but even in that, there was nothing that they can think of that was worth hurting him and Shelley over. We've talked about this before. I used to work in the transportation industry and I have to remember all these trainings

that I used to go to about like, trucking can be a really convenient cover for a lot of shady activity, especially things like drug trafficking. And we had to learn how to spot it, what to do about it, stuff like that. My mind instantly goes there when I hear about his company. And he's missing, right. Listen, the team looked into the route that he drove. So it was Ohio to Florida and back.

And that's apparently a common route for trafficking by truck. And John's sister even brought up like the drug theory to us. The family didn't consider it at the time, but in the years since, they've at least talked about it. Could John and Shelley have been involved in something shady like that, that maybe led to their disappearance? But ultimately, no, they don't believe John or Shelley were ever involved with drugs as users, as traffickers, and there is no mention in any court records or

reporting that we looked at of any kind of drug connection. Okay. Now, that said, I don't know if police ever like really vetted this and checked this out. Like our FOIA request to the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office was denied, so we couldn't get access to their case files. And then we never got a response to multiple requests for an interview that we put in. So if they ever fully vetted that or not, I don't know,

but it doesn't seem like anyone's ever made a connection to that. Now leading up to that afternoon, Ruth tells police that she and the other kids woke up that morning and immediately begged Shelly to let them stay home from school before the service, but Shelly wasn't having it. And she even made a point to tell one of the younger kids who had a habit of like going to the nurse midday and saying she was sick so her mom would pick her up. Like today is not the day.

Like Shelly was super clear. She didn't want to get any calls from anyone or see anyone back home before school was out. So I'm a mom, have a mom. This feels very much like a, don't make me pull this car over a statement. Like I'm already a busy person. This is already a busy day.

Don't go rogue. Yeah. Just help me out here. Right. But I also have to, like, now that we're talking about this, like, did she know something else? Like, was it more than, like, just please don't bother me? Was it like, you cannot be at the house tonight.

Like, something is going on. You need to stay in school. Ruth said that it seemed normal. Like, not like something was up. Like, just normal, like, don't go rogue. Yeah, like, we've just got a lot going on today. So after getting their marching orders, one of the kids went to John and Shelley's bedroom to kiss John goodbye.

Then Shelley puts all five kids on their buses, and then they went off. And they had a normal, uneventful school day, all the way up until Ruth came home. And no one else in the family has anything more to offer. Everyone else says that they didn't see or hear from the couple that day. So police have to move on to searching the house, starting with John and Shelley's bedroom.

There they see what Ruth saw, clothes on the bed. But they also notice that the suit on the bed is new. So they made it to the mall, like that was the plan. They had already gone and come back by the time they went missing. Right, but they don't know if that was that day or it could have even been the day before. I mean, it's not like the aunt knew that they were going to pick the suit up that morning, you know what I mean? She was just like grasping for straws. She was like, oh, he wanted this this. Maybe that's where they went.

Yeah, maybe that's why they're MIA. And I kind of think it happened before that morning. But I'll get to that in a second, just based on timeline stuff. Police note the gun cabinet in the room, too. And then they see a small safe that John and Shelley usually kept in the closet is now lying open on the bathroom counter. John and Shelley's important papers, like their marriage license, kids' birth certificates, they're kind of scattered across the sink.

And police aren't sure what all of that means, but they ask Ruth if anything is missing from the gun cabinet. Now, Ruth and other family members aren't sure. John never unlocks it, especially around the kids. But Ruth does think that her dad had three guns and that two of them might be missing. LESLIE KENDRICK And can't police figure out what's missing through, like, registration records? TARA No, Ohio doesn't have statewide gun registration laws in 95. In fact, they still don't now.

We were sent loan documents that showed that John owned at least three shotguns. We know that, but I don't know if those were all he had or if any of those were the ones that were potentially missing from the cabinet. Right. But there's also this safe and all these papers spread out. Do we know if any of the documents or anything is missing from there or even money? Well, John's sister mentioned he kept something like $2,400 in there, but there is no cash when police find the safe, so maybe that was taken. But that's pretty much like all they see in the room.

So then Ruth takes police into the kitchen and shows them the purse and cigarettes that her mom left behind. Then she mentions the two coffee mugs that she found, but those are gone now because the kids were trying to be helpful before the funeral. So they were like tidying up. So their parents could like come home to a clean house, just get going.

So, you know, great kids, but downside is any evidence, like fingerprints or whatever that they could have gotten from those mugs are now probably long gone. Well, and at this point, the whole family's been in the house for like hours. I mean, if this was a crime scene, the investigation's already been compromised. Completely contaminated, right. Like when I think about the mugs, there's honestly a good chance both of those cups

were used just by John and Shelley. I think the key stuff in the house isn't what was there, but the stuff that was missing. Like tarps that normally cover John's apple red Corvette in the garage. John always was meticulous about his cars, especially this one. Like it is his pride and joy, it is his baby. He would never leave it exposed like that,

at least not voluntarily. And also still missing is John's truck. But once police put an APB out on it, they get a hit almost immediately. Around 5 a.m., an officer working the night shift stops for coffee at a restaurant about 20 minutes away from the Markley house, and he finds John and Shelley's 1990 red Chevy Silverado

sitting in this parking lot. Now, it might not have stood out if not for that APB because it's not like broken into or anything. The doors are locked. Nothing about it is strange. But he notifies other authorities, and when police arrive, they see tarps like the ones used to cover John's corvette laying in the truck's bed. And when they get inside, without the keys by the way because the keys aren't there, they search the cab and they find a cell phone. A family advocate who spoke to us on behalf of one of

the Markleys children told us that the phone actually was Shelly's phone. And this hasn't been reported on as far as I know, but the advocate said that police also found used cigarette butts and potentially other physical evidence, though he couldn't speak to exactly what, but it was all found. Something was found in the truck. And are the cigarettes the brand that Shelly smoked? That is a great question.

I would love to know, but I actually don't. And interestingly, so we did try and like check this, right? I mean, we couldn't get files or like interviews with people actively working this, but we did get in touch with a former sheriff, a guy named Tom Altier, and we actually got a completely different story from him. He told us that there was no physical evidence found, not even fingerprints. So who is right? Who's wrong?

Hard to say. I mean, police might not want to, like, play their hand yet, or it's possible all these years later someone is mistaken. I mean, I've seen law enforcement speaking correctly about their own cases before, especially if it's been a long time since they've been in it. So I don't know. Or maybe they had stuff but no longer do.

The one thing I will say is like, it seems like there is some confusion and it seems to me like something law enforcement should clear up with the family who deserves some real clarity around this like very important topic. And it's worth noting, I mean, the family advocate is also hearing the second hand from the family,

but I get the impression that the family might actually know a lot. Because some of them showed up at that lot where the truck is right after policed it. They had actually figured out where it might be because a niece who wasn't as keyed into what was going on told them that she had seen it in that area, but she hadn't said anything earlier because she hadn't gone back to the Markley house after the funeral. And remember, until then, everyone thought

that John was so distraught over his sister's death that he just chose not to go. So she didn't even know anything was wrong the first time she saw the truck until like hours after. And so then she raises the alarm bells when she learns that John and Shelley were officially considered missing. And at that point, the family starts going out in the last area.

She saw it looking for the truck. But John's family told us that when they found it with police in the lot, police let one of them go inside before processing it, which is to me wild. Yeah. And when I talk about like, was there evidence, was there not? The family isn't even sure that police ever even dusted for fingerprints. So if that's true, sure, you didn't find anything. But like, you also didn't look.

Right. And I don't know why you wouldn't dust for fingerprints because they could tell someone's hands had been all over that truck as soon as they found it. John's sister told us that when that niece initially saw John's truck, she was at a Walmart across the street from where the truck was later found. And that's where she first saw it, in that parking lot, Walmart parking lot. Again, didn't stick out to her at first. Now when she saw it, the truck was covered in a film of dirt, just like really, really muddy.

So knowing how John was about his cars, this niece wrote a message, like you know how you draw him back in the car, it was like, hi, Uncle John. She was trying to kind of rile him up, thinking that he and Shelly were probably inside shopping. And when she ended up leaving the store, the truck was gone. So again, she just assumed they went home, everything was fine.

But now it's gone as in someone moved it. Right. And probably just across the street to the lot where it's eventually found. And John's brother-in-law said that he thinks whoever moved the truck is involved in John and Shelley's disappearance and that it was moved because that person got scared when they saw the message that John's niece wrote. Like, they didn't think someone would clock the truck as John and Shelley so soon.

And because it's still only been a day since they were last seen, John's brother-in-law gets on police to check surveillance footage from the Walmart. I mean, like this person is probably on there. But by the time they do, the tape has been recorded over. A restaurant and a hardware store by the other lot had their cameras turned off that day, so nothing is on there either.

So with the truck leading to nothing but dead ends, police have to switch gears. They look into John and Shelley's finances to see if there has been any activity. They learn that on December 14th, the day before John and Shelley went missing, they took out a loan, not from their bank, but from a consumer lending company. And it's not a huge amount, a little over $1,600, but they put down a lot of collateral, like lots of furniture, three of John's shotguns that we mentioned, a TV and his accessories, a lawnmower, and interestingly just two and a half months earlier John took out a loan from the same company, though he didn't put down

nearly as much collateral at the time. According to a local Ohio paper called The Morning Journal, a detective said that the first loan was taken to buy new tires for John's semi. We were told that John was recovering from a back injury that made it hard for him to work. But John and Shelley seemed to be keeping up with the payments on his treatments. They always paid off their credit cards on time. And according to another Ohio newspaper, The Plain Dealer, John also sold their above-ground

pool recently to help pay for his sister's holistic medical treatments in Mexico before she died. But even that seemed to be paid off too. So police aren't finding any eye-popping debts, but this second loan, no one can figure out why John and Shelley took that one out or where the money went. Cause from what we were told, when police go through recent transactions in John and Shelley's checking account at a local bank, there are no big deposits that we know of after they get that loan. But there is an interesting withdrawal.

At 10.36 a.m., on the day they went missing, a $1,000 check was cashed from their account, leaving $1,800 in the checking. John's sister said that the check was made out to self, like a personal check to them that was cashed. So it had to have been one of them who was on the account who cashed that. But the weird thing was, is it wasn't cashed at the branch that they normally go to, which was only like three minutes away from their house. The branch where it gets cached is about 10 minutes away, which isn't far or anything. But when someone goes missing, even the smallest things that are out of the norm become like

super suspicious. Yes. So when police go to this branch and they talk to the teller who cached the check, they find that she actually knows John because she works at both locations. And she tells them that that morning, John drove up through the drive-through teller's window in his pickup. Shelly was sitting next to him. And she signed the check before handing it to John to put in the carrier.

Which for people who are too young to have like used anything other than mobile banking, that's like a little bucket thing that you use. It like literally didn't even cross my mind that we had to explain what that is. Do people not know that you have to like use the tube? I don't, I think that's the thing that we need to explain. There's like a little tube that goes vshh to the teller. Someone the other day told me that they grew up listening to crime junkie and I was like, well that's not possible.

Nope. Anyways. Don't talk about that. Carriers. You got it. So anyways, they send this check and as the teller took it, she looked into John's truck and she saw that Shelly was sitting between John, who's in the driver's side, and another person, a man on the passenger side. Now she couldn't see this other guy super well, just said that he was slim with dark hair.

But she said, you know, John was acting kind of weird. Like when she handed John the envelope full of cash, he just looked straight ahead as he drove off. And normally, he would be super friendly to her. Like they would maybe joke around, but he didn't even say goodbye before he drove off, which to her was odd. And this checkbook, like that they wrote the check out of was back at the house or was it found in the truck? Neither. John's sister said the checkbook is still missing to this day, as is John's wallet. Wait, I know this is the 90s, but banks are like the one place that has had security cameras

since the Stone Age, like forever, and they have usually like pretty good systems for that. This other dude, he has to be on camera, right? Well, no. So former Sheriff Altier told us there was surveillance footage from the bank, but it wasn't clear enough to identify whoever this mystery man is. And so, this, this, you know, witness account from the teller is the last time that John and Shelley Markley are ever seen alive.

And where their truck went after this is unknown. But John's brother told us that he's got a theory. After news of this sighting spreads, another relative, John's brother-in-law, realizes that he actually saw John's pickup past his house a little after John and Shelly cashed that check. And this brother-in-law lives near a dirt road, which when he hears this, makes John's brother think about how dirty that truck was when it was found, dirtier than John would have ever let it get. So maybe that is where the pickup truck was driven before his niece spotted it. So John's brother drives out to that dirt road.

This is about 20 minutes from where the truck was found. before his niece spotted it. So John's brother drives out to that dirt road. This is about 20 minutes from where the truck was found. And he thinks the mud that he finds there matches the mud covering the truck. The road's also surrounded by a remote wildlife reserve area. So is this where John and Shelley wound up? Did someone take advantage of the winter weather to dispose of them when there weren't many people around?

And if it sounds like by now the Markleys are starting to go a bit rogue and like taking the investigation into their own hands, well, that's because they are. They haven't been impressed with the investigation so far. Yes, police have pulled some banking records. Yes, they've talked to some neighbors, put out an APB on the truck, but there still hasn't been a real ground search for John and Shelley yet.

And they feel like police don't view John or Shelley, blue collar parents, as important enough to search for. So they start organizing searches of that area themselves. And not just that area, local lakes, forests, parks, they're doing it all on their own. But despite all their suspicions about that dirt road, nothing is found in that area or anywhere else. And Christmas comes and goes

without new developments, good or bad. Though after Christmas, there is a strange development. It's around 8 a.m., the morning after Christmas, there is a strange development. It's around 8 a.m., the morning after Christmas Day, and John's brother-in-law, Gene, wakes up to John and Shelley's home phone ringing. He and his wife, another of John's sisters, have been staying at their house taking care of the kids. That's why they're there that morning.

So Gene's still half asleep when he picks up the phone, but he hears a man with a muffled, raspy voice on the other end asking to talk to Ruth. And he tells this guy, like, no, Ruth is asleep. And so then the man asks for John's sister. Gene obviously assumes this man is talking about his wife, but she's asleep too. So he offers to pass along a message.

Like I'll just tell her when she wakes up. But the man threatens to hang up if Jean doesn't wake up either his wife or Ruth. And in that moment, Jean is like, okay, whatever. And he hangs up before falling back asleep thinking like, yes, what happened was weird, but like nothing more. And nothing else happens the rest of that day. Like he probably doesn't even think about it a ton.

But three days later, on December 29th, around the same time, like 8 a.m., Gene gets another call at the Markley house from what sounds like this same man. This call is short. This guy doesn't ask for Ruth or his wife again. But he tells Gene that John and Shelley are alive and being held in Toronto and he can bring them home for $10,000. So this guy who's now called twice, he's saying that these pretty normal parents from a small town in Ohio are being held for ransom in Canada. Another country, yeah. Like, I'm not, I'm not buying that. are being held for ransom in Canada. Another country, yeah.

Like I'm not, I'm not buying that. I don't know if Gene knows what to believe, but like this is over his head. So when this guy says he's gonna call back with more information and hangs up, Gene immediately calls 911. Police tell Gene that they'll get him a recording device to tape any future calls.

And basically like, you know, if anything happens between now and then, just like write everything down. And almost as like, you know, if anything happens between now and then, just, like, write everything down. And almost as soon as Gene hangs up with the police, two more calls come in from this same man. On the first call, the man tells Gene to sell John's Corvette, which is still in the garage, to raise the money, or John and Shelley are gonna be moved

to another location the next day, and he won't keep them safe. Then on the second call, the man claims that on New Year's Eve, John and Shelly are going to be sacrificed by a cult. This escalated. Like Canada cults were everywhere. Yeah. So what?

I know. And I don't know like the details of this or like what exactly he says about said cult because these calls aren't recorded. Right. But it does seem like this is the first about said cult because these calls aren't recorded. Right. But it does seem like this is the first time a cult comes up, like comes straight out of nowhere. But I bet it freaks him out.

And like, I think he's really trying to figure out how he could come up with this money because the next day when the man calls again, Gene tells him, listen, I can't sell John's Corvette. I'm not the owner. I don't have the title. But he says, listen, I do have the money. You're going to get it. Like, it'll be no problem. Like, and I guess the guy is okay with that. I mean, it doesn't matter, I guess, how you get the money, as long as you do. And so this guy calls again the next morning. This is now New Year's Eve. And at this point, police have dropped off a

recording device. So all of this is on tape. And this guy is asking if Gene has the money. Now Gene doesn't actually have the money, but he bluffs, he says yes, and the man gives him instructions for how, where, when to deliver it. Now, we don't have the tape of this call, but we do have transcripts of the call that Britt, I'm gonna have you read for us. Caller, hello, you have one hour to make it to rallies in front of the Eastwood Mall. In the coin return, there will be a note. You will follow that note to a T.

If I see anyone following you or see any law or if there's anything else, the deal will be done and that's it because at eight tonight, it's all over. Gene. Well, what about John and Shelley? Collar. They will be... you will be... inaudible.

Within an hour after you start this, I'm going to run you around a little bit, make sure you ain't being followed. After that, you will have them. I got them away from the people last night. They're in an abandoned house not far from you. Follow me to the T. You will have no problems. In the coin return, there's a note. Follow the note to the T. You will have exactly one minute from the time you pick up the note to, as you read it, to the time you make the first point. After that, you will have two minutes to the next point and you will follow it to a T.

Inaudible. I walk away. I go away. Inaudible. This is your last chance. You understand? So was this, like we know this was being recorded. We don't have that, but do we know if this guy was using

any sort of like voice changer or anything when he called? No, it's not what you were like probably you're imagining where it's like the like the wall. Yeah No, besides like muffling himself. He didn't have anything else as far as I know and I'm assuming that Jean didn't like Recognize this guy's voice at all. He didn't know and according to court records There is another family member who at one point thought it could have been a former employee of John's. So like, obviously they're letting everyone hear this, but like, long story short, we were told that that guy was in the hospital when John and Shelley went missing, so he couldn't have been involved. So police do try and trace this call, but they can't pinpoint an exact location.

All they know is that the call is made from a town about a half an hour away from John and Shelley's house. So their best bet at this point is to catch this guy in the act at the money drop on New Year's Eve. Police get a team ready to go help Jean in what is probably the wildest sting operation any Ohio PD's ever planned. Jean meets up with police at a restaurant near the mall that they've decided on as

a meeting point and an officer goes and gets that note from the change return. Why doesn't Jean get it? Well, I think police want to make sure this is all legit. Like, I don't know if they have questions about Jean at this point, but they want to make sure Jean's not like hiding the note in his hand or something. Right. Like, Gene doesn't find the note because he had it the whole time.

Exactly. I mean, you gotta remember too, this is like a small town sheriff's department. All of this is probably sounding so unbelievable for them. Like, you gotta rule out sometimes the most simple things. But they have an officer do it, and sure enough, the note is there, just like the caller said it would be. According to the plane dealer, this note is written on

ruled notebook paper in like block letter handwriting, and it's full of misspellings. But it gives the next steps, which again, I'll have you read for us. Go to Kaufman's entrance next to mall entrance. Park in front next to sidewalk. Once inside Read for us. phone next to restrooms. Wait 15 minutes. If no law is seen, a boy will give you a note with the address. If any law or anything doesn't look right, go back and get package because no deal. One, I can like close my eyes and see this mall and see the JCPenney entrance and the telephone and everything. But I also love that Penguin sweatshirts are the landmark here. I don't, so it sounds loud of nowhere, but they're actually a mascot for a local university. But yeah, still, it's, it's, everything about this is odd.

This is what we're saying. So police tell Jean to do as the note says. So he walks into the store, leaves this brown bag full of not money, but dish rags in the middle of a display of penguin sweatshirts. And police taking out the place, watch and wait. A few people, like a teenage girl, stop to look at the bag, but nobody picks it up. So somehow police make contact with Gene and they tell him to get the bag and just try this whole drop again.

But again, nobody comes to get it. But that's when police get a call on their car phone from Gene's wife. Apparently the man just called her and he's pissed. He knows that Gene brought police, but he's willing to give Gene another chance to follow his instructions. He wants Gene to leave the bag in the bathroom of a nearby gas station now instead. So police regroup with Gene and they move the operation over to this gas

station. I'm sorry, this guy's mad because Gene is working with the police. Like, are the police even trying to make it like, hidden that they're involved? that they're involved because it seems like they're kind of like, they went up the coin, they're picking up the note. It feels like they're like about to drive Jean to this gas station. Like, he's very, very clearly working directly with them. And like, it feels obvious because they're like, they're kind of try dropping it again. I don't know how like covert they're being. Yeah. But at least in this, like when they're headed to this gas station, they do try and coordinate surveillance and make sure the officers and the cars, especially the ones that the caller might have seen in the mall lot aren't parked anywhere near the gas station.

You know, like, stick out 101. I say super secret, got it. They are somehow watching though, so they're not that far away. And they're watching as Jean pulls up in front of the bathroom's door, goes inside with the bag, comes back out and drives away. And they wait. And just a few minutes later, a white car pulls up with two people inside. The passenger gets out, goes in the bathroom, but police can't see what they look like

because they have a hood pulled over their head. Now, when they come back out, they're empty-handed, this time though, at least with the hood down. And what they notice is it's a teenage girl. Except it's the teenage girl that police saw earlier, stopping to look at the bag by the penguin sweatshirt. Wait, what? Yeah, and they are sure this is the same girl

because like the girl at the mall, she is very pregnant. When the white car pulls around to pick her up, police recognize the driver too. They saw him at the same store with the girl when she came back a second time to look at the bag. And this was less than a half an hour ago. So the girl gets into this man's car, then police surround it to arrest them both. They identify their suspects as 45-year-old Stephen Durst and his 18-year-old daughter

Deanna. It turns out Stephen has a history with the Markley family, and it isn't pretty. Police learn that Stephen was one of John's employees at the trucking company. He and two of his younger kids actually lived with John and Shelley for a few months while he was going through a divorce. Per a court order, if the Markleys hadn't taken them in,

Stephen would have lost custody of his kids because he was on the road so much. But he ends up getting kicked out and fired after this money dispute. John may have like withheld some of his last paycheck because he suspected Stephen of selling off some fuel on a truck route, which Stephen denies. He claims he left the house on his own

when he got another job. And how recently did all this go down? So Stephen lived with the Markleys from October of 1993 to June of 1994. And police learned from the family that Stephen had come back to the house a few times, asking for either his job back or for the money that he thought John owed him.

And John's sister told us that one of those times, the argument spilled from the house to the garage and Stephen threatened to beat John with a twox4 that he found there in the garage. So, like hearing all this, police probably feel like they have a clear motive when they charge Stephen with extortion. And does Stephen's voice match the mystery caller's voice? If you ask one of John's brothers, yes. If you ask one of John's brothers, yes. And does he happen to look like the guy that the bank teller saw in the truck with John

and Shelly the morning they went missing? That I don't know because I don't think they ever get around to showing her a photo. What? Yeah, so this is like a kind of a side thing, but remember how I said that some of the Markleys started going like kind of rogue during their investigation? Yeah. Well, some of the family told us that one of their brothers-in-law paid that bank teller a visit and implied that she knew more than she was saying, which freaked her out.

So then she stopped speaking to police, and then a few months later, she moved out of state. And so I don't think police ever followed up with her. And we tried to reach out to her, but we haven't heard back from her yet. So everything is still suspicious, like teller ID or not. And it feels like they have a strong case against him for extortion, but do they have him on abduction? TBD.

Bigger question mark. Police questioned Deanna, who tells them that she didn't know anything about being involved in an extortion plan. She just did as she was told by her dad. Police seemed to believe her because they end up releasing her and focusing their case on Steven. On January 3rd, 1996, he pleads innocent to his extortion charge and he gets out on bond. And he agrees to take a polygraph for police, ostensibly to try and clear his name. Okay, but like, what's his story?

Like he just happened to be in both places? Yes, basically, yeah. Steven says that he takes his kid to the mall every weekend and New Year's Eve is no different. And then after that, Deanna had to use the bathroom, so he pulled over at the gas station where they ended up getting arrested. So yeah, him being there is just one big weird coincidence. Got it. And if I were police, I wouldn't buy that.

Like if Steven's lying about the extortion, then like what else is he lying about? So they're probably hoping that this polygraph, the one he agreed to, will solve John and Shelley's case. So here's what they ask. I actually have like the questions and answers. I put it in your folder. Okay.

He was asked, were you involved in John and Shelley Markley's disappearance in any way? He says, nope. Did you see John and Shelley Markley after they were reported missing? Nope again. Do you know where John and Shelley are now? No. Did you know in advance that John and Shelley Markley had disappeared?

Last answer, no. Okay, and? Drum roll, please. Stephen fails miserably. The polygraph indicates deception on each answer. Oh, so not like he answered no, but like question marks on if it was deceptive. Each one.

Cool. A clear sign to police that he's likely a liar, but still not enough to charge him with the abductions. Right. And even by the time the extortion case goes to trial, police still haven't found any solid evidence connecting him to John and Shelly's disappearance. They also still haven't found any sign of Shelly or John, even by the time Stephen's convicted of extortion on August 29, 1996, and he gets sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison.

Stephen has always maintained his innocence in John and Shelley's disappearance and on all charges, including extortion. He still claims that he just happened to be in the wrong places at the wrong time. But this is where things get a little spicy. A source sent us recent audio of a man. This source claims that man is Stephen, but we have not been able to confirm. And in this audio, this man seems to be admitting to extortion. On the recording, this guy says that he got four to ten years because he threatened a couple for money he claims they owed him.

But he doesn't mention a ransom plot or actually say John and Shelley's names specifically. I have a feeling you can't tell me this, but who sent us this audio? You're right, I can't. They only would talk to us on the condition of anonymity. They did give us the audio, though, and it is wild to listen to. They owed me $10,000. And it went on for like four years and they didn't pay me. So finally I got them, you know, I'm gonna get paid or I'm gonna break.

And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. And I'm like, I'm not gonna break. Okay. And I told him, again, I'm a crazy f***ing lady, I'm a f***ing old lady in front of you." Okay, that is wild, but... I know.

He never mentions the Markleys. I know. And listen, that was just a clip of it. The source actually asked about them, specifically, and the man being recorded says, quote, that's part of it, end quote. But then he goes on to claim that police framed him for the ransom plot because they didn't have any leads or suspects.

Now it's interesting when our team look at Steven and like who he was then and now, because he has racked up a few criminal charges over the years. Now, to be fair, a lot of them are traffic citations, but three of the more serious charges occurred right before John and Shelley disappeared. Rape, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. Now, the rape charge seems to have been dismissed

because the complaintant failed to appear in court. But more recently, in 2019, Stephen faced a domestic violence charge. We reached out to Stephen and his family members for a response to these allegations. He ended up serving just four years of his sentence, so he is a free man, but we haven't gotten a response from anyone. We couldn't speak to Deanna,

who I had the most questions for, because she passed away in 2022. But did police ever circle back to her or talk to anyone else around him? Like, where was Steven the day that John and Shelley went missing? What's his alibi? Was anyone willing to talk after he went to prison, like while he was locked up? That's what I'm saying. I have all the questions for Deanna who we know was with him, at least on the day of the extortion. I know police definitely tried to talk to her over the years, but without success. And because current investigators didn't speak with us or share

the case files, we don't know what their investigation into Steven looked like beyond that, besides that they ultimately weren't able to charge him with anything except for extortion. So just to be clear, none of this means Steven had anything to do with John and Shelley's disappearance. And just because he was found guilty of one crime doesn't mean he's guilty of another. But it tells you why John's family

and many others are suspicious of him, or at least some family members are. Others actually think he's not the most likely culprit. On December 3rd, 1998, Shelly's mom ends up writing a letter to Stephen in prison, telling him that she believes he's innocent. Let me read it for you. To tell you the truth, I really believe you have been made someone's scapegoat.

I do not trust the Markleys at all and feel they are behind this whole mess. I talked to the sheriff, she's talking about Altair, a few days ago, and he said he feels I am 100% correct. So there's that. Listen, she goes on to say that the Markleys have done a lot to their side of the family, like keeping them from seeing the kids. Because after Shelley and John disappeared, John and Shelley's families sort of turn

on one another. I think in large part because of the lack of answers in this case. I mean, they don't know what happened to their loved ones and without answers to fill in the gaps, it leaves a lot of room for you to try and fill them in yourselves. And I've seen this in more than one case

where like when a couple goes missing, like there just ends up being this huge divide. Now, when we asked former Sheriff Altier if he ever investigated members of the Markley family, he told us that he checked out a few theories, but that nothing came of that, at least while he was on the case. So when Shelly's mom says that Steven is innocent,

is she thinking like of everything? In her mind, yes. And for the time, at least, John's family begins to suspect someone else entirely. They begin to suspect that the person behind this all is Shelly. I'm sorry, what? I know.

And they suspect this after learning that her marriage to John may not have been as solid as they all thought. John's brother told us that right before she and John went missing, Shelly came over needing to talk. And she confessed that she wanted to leave John. She wasn't happy anymore, but she didn't feel like she could. John's sister said that may have been

because when Shelly told their mom the same thing, she warned Shelly that if she tried to leave with the kids, John had enough money to fight her until she had nothing left. So some Markley family members wonder if Shelly worked with Steven to get rid of John so that she could start a new life. Okay, then where is Shelly? According to members of John's family, at the time, potentially being hidden

by other family members. His brother-in-law told us Shelly's dad, I guess, drove down to Florida right around when she and John went missing, and that felt strange to him. Like, why wouldn't you want to be close as this investigation is unfolding kind of thing? But again, I think your mind is just looking

for any kind of connection, and in that moment, even sometimes logic can go out the window when you're just like desperate for answers. But the other thing that felt a little off to him too, is John's brother told us that in 1999, he visited Shelly's brother's condo. He lived out in Vegas at the time. And in 99, he's trying to explore this theory, right?

Did her family help her disappear? So this is the specific reason he goes. Right, but Vegas is iconically not Florida. No, he lives out west, but again, did she go to her parents and then go there? Looking for anything at this point. So he says when Shelley's brother let him in, he was surprised to see this bachelor's place spotless, which is kind of like old school thinking, like men can be clean too. But he's thinking in his mind, like he knows Shelley was super tidy.

And apparently her brother took 15 minutes to let him in. So John's brother had this feeling that Shelley's brother was hiding something. Or someone. Exactly. Now, we got to talk to Shelley's brother. He remembers this visit too. And he told us that theory is ridiculous. Of course, Shelley wasn't there. And he's like, I can clean a one bedroom apartment perfectly fine on my own. Thank you very much. And in the years since, most of the Markleys have let that theory go.

Mainly because they always knew Shelly to be the best mom. And, you know, if that theory is what happened, like the whole goal would be that she could be with the kids, right? Like, but she hasn't had any contact with the kids in how long? Like 30 years. They're like, there's no way she would ever, ever do that. Especially if her goal in all of this was to... Get the kids.

Get the kids. Right. Okay, so the family like isn't on the Shelley train anymore, but are they still like back to side eyeing Steven or do they think like a secret third option is what happened? So yes to side eyeing Steven, like he is and always has been the Markleys prime suspect, even when their theories have gone a little off the rails. And like I said, now, I mean, apart from a few outliers, most of them don't suspect Shelley any longer. Like I said, too

much time has passed without her seeing the kids or whatever. But just because they're not all pointing the finger at Shelley, that doesn't mean the family finger pointing has stopped. Because when we asked Shelley's brother what he thought happened, he gave us a whole new theory. And we were really keen to ask him because his family hasn't been in the press nearly as much as John's side

And it was so interesting. This is where like this huge rabbit hole opened up because he didn't point the finger at Stephen He didn't point the finger at the Markleys Instead his theory gave way to an entirely new suspect But for you to understand that you have to get the history lesson on their family that he gave us. So tell me if anything gets confusing, because I'm about to like drop some like family connections and names. Okay, got some lore coming up. Yes. So when he and Shelly were kids, their mom had an affair with, I'm going to go slow

here, their dad's sisters. So their aunts. with, I'm gonna go slow here, their dad's sisters. So their aunts. Right, their aunts father-in-law. Okay. It's like the aunts husband's dad. So not blood related in any way, but very, very messy.

Oh yeah. So back in the day, their mom is having this affair. Mom was planning on leaving their dad to be with this guy. But on November 19th, 1977, said father-in-law, who she was having an affair with, he is found dead inside his car parked on these railroad tracks, shotgun blast to the head. Now, Shelley's dad gets convicted of the murder and their mom divorces him while he is away in prison. Except he might have been wrongly convicted.

What? I know, because Shelley's brother claims that this other guy, father-in-law, right, a fair guy, his own son killed him. And he claims that he did this because the son didn't want to lose his inheritance if his dad left, like, their family for Shelley's mom. So he shot and killed his own father, is the claim. Wait, so how does he know this?

Because, okay, so guy who allegedly killed his dad, his son. Grandson of a fair guy. He told Shelley's brother in like this drunken confession. So this grandson or son, whatever, like the one who's telling brother, he claims that one night he was at home or whatever, he heard what he thought were fireworks in the garage. But when he went to look, he saw his grandfather's body sprawled out on a tarp. And he says basically his dad framed Shelley's dad. Okay. And at the time when he first hears this drunken confession, Shelly's brother thought it was drunken nonsense. But then years later, he says his mom got ahold

of the court records and she claimed that they had been tampered with. Like any mention of a fair guy's son had been taken out. Shelly's brother doesn't know exactly how or why they had been changed, but he remembers that his mom only noticed this because she still had original documents to compare the new ones to. So she could see that there had been like,

the documents had been like doctored or changed. He said there are discrepancies, yeah. And he said that made him go back to thinking about that drunk confession. Wait, maybe that was real. So that's the family history. Shelley's brother believes that his mom may have shared her theory about all of this with Shelley.

And if she did, did John overhear? Did Shelley tell John? Basically, John could have caught wind of that and then maybe convinced Shelley to extort the real, who they're saying is the real killer. So, I know. We thought that this very normal Midwest couple Parents had originally been abducted and held for ransom by a cult in Canada in Canada forgot about that part

That's how wild it was but now we think Like in the middle of that there's also an extortion plot, but now we think that John and Shelley Were also extortionists? Oh, yeah. I think you have, I didn't even like layer that on top of one another. There's like an I don't know if we think it like there's an extortion inception right now. Shelley's brother thinks it's a possibility. Okay.

Because he says here's the thing. So he says he remembers John as someone who would do anything to get ahead, especially financially and that Shelley kind of went along with anything he asked her to do. And he's not the only one who thinks John wasn't totally above board. A source close to the family mentioned that there has been speculation. Remember I mentioned that their like original house burned down like back in the day? Yeah. So there's some speculation that that wasn't an accident,

that maybe the fire was set intentionally. Like insurance fraud. Yes. So to Shelly's brother, this theory doesn't feel like a stretch, especially after he alleges bank records showed a $30,000 withdrawal from his uncle's account at some point. Okay, Ashley, honestly, this feels like a whole other episode. It feels like a limited series. I am trying to make this as simple as possible, but nothing about this case is simple. And I'm sure a ton of this might be able to be cleared up in the

police records, but like, we don't have them. We don't have police records. We don't have I don't even have the bank records to verify anything that like that there were these big withdraws and the uncle and the cousin. So like son accused of killing his own dad, and then his son who drunkenly like opened up this can of worms. They're all gone, as are Shelley's parents, so I can't even talk to them to try and like run this down. Okay, but I need you to break some of this down for me. If this $30,000 withdrawal happened, where did it go?

It's not like it went to John and Shelley, they were taking out these consumer loans and kind of frequently it seems. I know, the only thing I can think of is because they weren't in a bad financial spot, I don't know if police dug in enough to see, oh, I see you paid your credit card bill and I see that it came out of your checking. Was everything paid off and they were in such a good spot because they had an influx

of money and then that was going away and they were like trying to get more? I was like, but none of the theories really explain the loans. Well, that's what I'm saying. Like the only way the loans are explained to me is if like the $30,000 they had run out of that and they needed to like get more money. So they're getting the loans. What if they went back, tried to extort for more money and this person realized that like, oh, this is never going to end.

I mean, this is, this is such like a stretch. I'm just like trying to make sense because you're right. Like if you, if you got $30,000, why are you taking out a $1,600 like payday loan? After like a thousand dollars, like there was another loan before that too. I know. But I always come back to like, what is the Occam's razor in this story? And most likely answer is probably the truth. And yeah, we still have Stephen,

the guy who was convicted of extorting the family with an abduction scheme after they were abducted. Right. After they were likely killed, at least in the minds of their families, because they lose hope of finding them alive. And on April 28, 1999, John and Shelley are declared legally dead. And while sporadic searches continue whenever a tip is called in, nothing ever ends up panning out.

Though I think a few of the tips are interesting, at least worth talking about a little. According to FBI documents, in April 2005, a quote, reliable source calls law enforcement claiming that John and Shelley were buried in a stretch of wildlife area. Interestingly, the same wildlife area off that dirt road that John's brother checked out in those very early days.

And on October 24th, 2006, it says a source could be the same one, but all the documents are pretty heavily redacted. But a source gives more detail on the burial. Though I don't know what that detail is specifically. And in the days that follow, FBI cadaver dogs scour the wildlife area, leaving no stone unturned. And even though both dogs have a strong reaction to some area in there, they don't end up actually alerting on human remains.

And because everything is redacted, we have no idea who called in this tip. We don't. The family advocate we talked to has a guest, though. They think it could have been Deanna, because police seem to have spoken to this source multiple times. But again, so much redaction, I don't know for sure. We did get some screenshots from a source who sent them

on the condition of anonymity. I have all this cloak and dagger. It's just like, yeah. So much, I know. But we got some screenshots of messages with a relative of Deanna's from 2015. And this relative claimed to our source that Deanna was having like this crisis of conscience then.

And she admitted that while she just did, as her dad asked initially with like that bag pickup, she realized after the extortion saga that he had done quote, something really bad, something he had planned, something he had premeditated. And she was so scared for her life and her child's life that she kept quiet all these years. But then she called in this tip in 2005,

basically saying that she believed John and Shelley were buried somewhere in the woods behind this cemetery. Now, our source didn't make sure that this information got reported to police in 2015, and it seems like police looked into it because they said publicly that there were updates in the case that year. And former Sheriff Altier confirms

that Deanna came forward to police a few times with information they investigated, although he said he couldn't elaborate on what exactly. But she always ended up ghosting or backtracking. And when we asked if that information was consistent with the suspicion that Stephen was involved in John and Shelley's disappearance, Sheriff Altier said yes. Okay, but then where are they? That is the question police are constantly chasing. It's like when one lead fizzles, another one will pop up.

Like in 2006, they get another tip that sends them to a rental property that belongs to one of John's sisters and her husband. And the husband, who would be John's brother-in-law, he told us that a neighbor saw him like digging there around at the time that John and Shelley went missing. And so she told her friend who worked as a dispatch at the sheriff's department. So then police came and dug around their septic tank, but they didn't find anything. But they dug around the septic tank. Did they look inside the septic tank? around the septic tank? Did they look inside the septic tank?

No, they didn't actually look inside the septic tank. I don't know why, but I stood out to other people because recently in 2024, police went back to that property with the sister and the husband's permission to do just that. Again, didn't find anything. And when we asked former Sheriff Altier, if said brother-in-law was ever a suspect, he told us that some names came up that police worked to eliminate, but that was all. Now, family members told us that John had disputes with his brother-in-law, some involving land, which one sibling describes as like, not disputes, but they describe it as a feud. But they also said like in the same breath that they don't believe the brother-in-law had anything to do with John and Shelley's disappearance.

And when we talked to him directly, John's brother-in-law told us that, yeah, like him and John had their spats, but overall they actually had a good relationship. And he swore to God on his life, on his kids, and his family that he did not kill John. He claims that one of the officers gave him inside information during one of those searches they were doing. He was told that they got a tip about Stephen, saying that a few years after John and Shelley went missing, a family member came forward saying they drove Stephen out to that wildlife area to move John and Shelley's pickup truck, likely to the Walmart where that niece saw it.

Wait, this is a family member of Stevens or family member of John and Shelley helped move it? A family member of Stevens. Okay. And John's brother actually heard something similar though, like he hadn't even reported it to police. About a year ago, his ex-wife called him and said that she had started hearing rumors around town because she actually lived in the town where Stephen

was from. And the rumors she was hearing was that day John and Shelley went missing, Stephen asked a friend for a ride home from somewhere. She didn't know exactly where. When the friend got there, Stephen was covered in blood and said that he needed help moving the pickup. So the two of them moved it back to the parking lot where it was found. And whether he's friend or family, maybe this guy could potentially also be the source of those tips that led to that 2006 search of the wildlife area. Which is great if he is. Don't know if it changes anything if he isn't. But John and Chilly aren't in that wildlife area.

I don't know if you can say that with like as much certainty. No, they have not found them in their searches. But like so much of rural Ohio, the area we're talking about is huge. Like it's like rural Indiana. We're right next door. Like it can be really, really vast. Yeah, and they can't search all of it, which is why what police are asking for, what they need are tips to narrow down a search area. And it's possible they already have something. From what we gathered from our FOIA denial, we were told there are active updates on the

case. I don't know what those are exactly. But the more information that can be shared with law enforcement right now, the better. Because this December will mark 30 years since John and Shelley went missing. And even though a lot of people we've mentioned in this episode are gone, someone out there listening knows something. Something that could bring closure to five kids who have been waiting way too long for their parents to come home. And nothing is too small to share. Even if you saw the red Chevy Silverado truck that John and Shelly drove in the Warren, Ohio area on December 15th, 1995,

or maybe you spotted something off near their house in Bristolville, you could help solve this case by contacting the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office at 330-675-2540. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com. You can also follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. The Crime Junkie is an AudioChuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?