Michael Vaughan
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In 2020, in a small California mountain town, five women disappeared. I found out what happened to all of them, except one. A woman known as Dia, whose estate is worth millions of dollars. I'm Lucy Sheriff. Over the past four years, I've spoken with Dia's family and friends, and I've discovered that everyone has a different version of events.

Hear the story on Where's Dear? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder.

This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.

Today, I'm going to discuss the case of missing child Michael Vaughn. Michael was only 5 when he went missing from his neighborhood in Fruitland, Idaho in July 2021. After months of intense searches, scrutiny over whether or not an Amber Alert should have been issued, and even new legislation sparked by the case, less than a week ago, the Fruitland Police Department gave their most intense press conference to date.

Although they initially believed Michael likely just wandered away from his home, they now lean more towards an abduction, and despite there not being any official suspects, authorities say they do have several persons of interest. They have also made it very clear that not everyone is being cooperative in their investigation. This is the case of Michael Vaughn.

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Michael Joseph Vaughn was born on June 24, 2016, to his parents Brandy Neal and Tyler Vaughn. Michael does have several siblings, but when he went missing, he was living with his parents and his younger sister in Fruitland, Idaho.

Those who know Michael describe him as extremely energetic, and just one of those really rough and tough type of kids, who loved all things monster trucks and race cars. His mother Brandy stated, "...from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep, he's kicking and running around."

Because Michael has all of this energy and is just really rambunctious, he was given the nickname Monkey. Now, of course, Michael's only 5, so we don't know a lot about his life beyond what his parents have told the media. So, let's get right into the day he went missing.

Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 is a normal summer day for Michael and his family. Brandy had to work while Tyler stayed home with their two children. But for some reason, that day Michael tells her he doesn't want her to go to work. This is something that sticks with Brandy to this day. But Michael is 5, and obviously the bills have to be paid, so she goes to work like normal.

Around 6:25 PM, Michael is just hanging out on the couch playing Nintendo, when his father Tyler goes to check on Michael's baby sister. While Tyler is checking on his daughter, he also orders a pizza. All of this takes about 15 minutes. By 6:40 PM, when Tyler goes out to the living room, Michael is gone.

Tyler does a short search for Michael himself before he calls his wife Brandy in a panic and tells her he thinks Michael is missing. Brandy tells Tyler to call 911. He places this call at 7.21pm while Brandy rushes home from work.

By the time she gets home, the Fruitland police are already there. The police believe that Michael went missing between 6.40 and 7 p.m. Brandy believes Michael most likely left their home from a side garage door and through their front yard, saying the front door was pretty loud, so Tyler probably would have heard him if he left through the front. While the police speak with Tyler, Brandy begins driving around the neighborhood looking for Michael and asking her neighbors if they saw him.

Several neighbors say they saw Michael knocking on doors before he went missing. He was apparently looking for older kids to play with. Brandy would later say that this was not uncommon for a summer night in the area. Now, it's really important to understand what the city of Fruitland and where Michael lived and went missing from is like. Fruitland is on the Idaho-Oregon border, about 50 miles west of Boise.

The city itself only has about 5,000 residents, and according to one report I read, the Fruitland Police Department only had 12 officers on the force just the year before in 2020.

When you look at Michael's home on a map, in one direction, there are a few blocks of houses with some commercial businesses. But in the other direction, there is just miles of farmland. Now, of course, there are some homes and commercial businesses in between the land. But like I said, it's primarily just a lot of land. The good news is, we will quickly learn that Fruitland, Idaho is genuinely one of those towns where the community comes together.

That night, neighbors line the streets looking for Michael, while police search the surrounding farmland. Now, it seems really clear that the Fruitland PD knew they were in over their heads with this search, because they immediately called for outside help. That night, canine teams tracked Michael's scent to the end of the street, away from the farm field to the right, and then the trail just stops. The dogs lose Michael's scent.

Which, of course, we know that when a scent trail just stops like that, it could be an indication that Michael may have been picked up by a vehicle. Now, despite this discovery, the idea that Michael may have been abducted wasn't really a huge focus in the initial investigation. The police thought it was more likely that Michael wandered off and focused on searching the local area, while Brandy was adamant that he just wasn't the type of kid to wander away and not come home.

On top of that, their family was very familiar with the neighborhood. Michael spent a lot of time outside, and they would often walk to a nearby park to play in the splash pad. Him wandering off and getting lost just didn't seem likely to her. This debate would become an even larger topic of conversation after no Amber Alert is issued for Michael. We will discuss the Amber Alert system and the new legislation sparked by Michael's disappearance later in the episode.

But right now, the Fruitland police do not believe his case meets the criteria for an Amber Alert. And instead, at 8.20pm, they issue a Missing and Endangered Child Alert. Basically, they send out information about Michael's disappearance via email, phone call, and text messages to surrounding law enforcement agencies, the media, and local residents.

That night, Michael's information is entered into NCIC, and his story spreads on social media, primarily due to efforts by the community. The next day, the Fruitland police announce that they are searching the area surrounding Michael's home, and they ask the public to stay away until they're finished. But they do ask the public for help.

They ask them to check their own properties really thoroughly, especially any areas a small child might get into, like crawl spaces, sheds, trailers, and vehicles. They also ask that people check their doorbell and surveillance cameras for any sign of Michael.

That day, dogs, the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Team, and the National Guard were utilized in the search for Michael. They had a helicopter. They lowered the water in the canals in the area. There was no sign of Michael. Not a shoe, not a torn piece of clothing, nothing.

By the end of the day, the Fruitland police say that they are confident that they thoroughly searched the area surrounding Michael's home. So, the day after that, they focus on the rest of the city of Fruitland. And you guys, I mean the entire city. At just over two square miles, they literally do a grid search of the entire city and some of the surrounding areas. This was a huge community effort. But again, there was no sign of Michael.

By July 30th, now three days since Michael was last seen, the Fruitland PD announces there will be no community search on this day. But authorities will continue searching using dogs, aircraft, and drones with infrared technology. They ask citizens that will continue their own private searches to be respectful of property owners who refuse to let them search their land.

Which, as we will later learn, although this town seems to be one of the most supportive I've come across yet, not everyone cooperates with these searches or police.

By July 31st, the Fruitland PD and Michael's parents participate in a press conference. They discuss the search efforts up to this point, and they reiterate that these searches have been exhaustive. They have searched the area around Michael's house where he went missing. They searched the entire city. And although they're not done searching yet, they are taking a step back from searching to focus on the investigation and the tips that are coming in.

They basically put out a call for everyone in the area of where Michael went missing to come forward and speak with police. They also announced that they are reviewing a lot of video footage from the area. I do think it's important to note here that Fruitland Police Chief J.D. Huff also states that Michael's parents have been 100% cooperative with them, and he asked the public to respect their privacy.

At this point, he says he's not going to speculate about what happened to Michael, and he asks the community to stop speculating as well. At this point, it's been less than a week since Michael went missing. 13 agencies have been involved. They've searched the entire city of Fruitland, and there's no trace of him. They don't even know what direction he was headed in.

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Just over a week after 5-year-old Michael Vongo's missing, the Fruitland Police Department holds another press conference to discuss the state of the case. They say at this point they've searched over 3,000 acres of land and 29 miles of riverbank. They visited over 200 homes and properties and conducted interviews with the residents.

They've checked over 200 garbage cans. They've drained canals and irrigation ditches. They even pumped a septic tank that had a makeshift wooden lid in case Michael crawled in and got stuck. They've received 163 tips and cleared many of them. Chief Huff estimates that at least 2,500 man-hours have been spent working Michael's case. And that doesn't even include fire, search and rescue, or volunteer hours.

They've gathered and are still going through over 60 video files from local residents and businesses. Although they are running out of places to look, Chief Huff says they will continue to search for Michael until they run out of resources. They plan on focusing on using drones, boats, and divers. Primarily in the Snake River.

And Chief Huff also gets kind of emotional. He explains that he grew up in Fruitland, and he's never seen a police presence like this ever in the city.

But again, Michael's parents and the community are kind of left with nothing. Chief Huff reiterates that basically nothing has been ruled out in Michael's case. They don't know if he wandered away, was abducted, or something else. He also urges the public to use caution about information they see online. Basically saying if it doesn't come from police, they should be very skeptical.

And to be fair, although I don't think any police department is perfect, I got a ton of information for this episode directly from updates from the Fruitland Police Department that they posted on social media. They've made a good number of posts about Michael, detailing their search efforts and the investigation.

Now, of course, they can't release everything, and Chief Huff has said as much, but as far as communicating information with the public, this department is one of the better I've come across. It also does seem really strategic, because they constantly ask for more media coverage.

and they often hold press conferences with really small updates. It really seems like Chief Huff is using any excuse to get some media attention from Michael, and they certainly don't seem to be shying away from other agencies getting involved. Again, no department is perfect.

But as we've seen in the past, not all departments are as willing to be as friendly with the media as this one. Unfortunately, despite these immense efforts to find Michael, he is still missing. By September, a $10,000 donation establishes the first reward fund for Michael's safe return. Chief Huff again takes advantage of this development to get a little media, and at this point he announces that they've received 370 tips to date.

and adds that they will leave no stone unturned until Michael is found. Soon after this announcement, another donation is made: $16,000. This time, it's given directly to Michael's parents, who immediately hand the cash over to the city of Fruitland. This raises the new reward total to $26,000. The next month, Chief Huff speaks to the public again.

His department has gone through more video footage from the day Michael disappeared. While they have identified many people in the area when Michael went missing, they were now looking for the owners of two specific vehicles, a blue Dodge Avenger and a 2016-2018 white Honda Pilot.

And in the next month, in November 2021, I'm telling you guys, this department has been great with the updates and trying to get media. Chief Huff holds another press conference and makes a pretty bold statement. He says that at this point, because of all of the exhaustive searches, he now believes it's more likely that Michael was abducted. Quote,

"...due to the fact that we've conducted multiple searches, with every tool available to us with no success, it increases the possibility that Michael was abducted." And it's not only Chief Huff and the Fruitland Police that believe this. In an interview with News Nation, retired FBI agent Jennifer Koffendorfer says she also believes it's most likely that Michael was abducted by a stranger.

adding that while stranger abductions only account for 4% of these cases, 62% of stranger abductions happen near the child's home. Now, I do want to say that it is unclear what formal association, if any, retired agent Koffendorfer has had in Michael's case. But either way, all of this sparks a lot of outrage in the local community and online as people question why no Amber Alert has been issued for Michael.

Jennifer Koffendorfer would later make multiple tweets about Michael's case, asking why no Amber Alert has been issued, stating that the criteria was met and recognized by police within hours of Michael going missing, while the Fruitland PD remain adamant that his disappearance does not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.

Remember, states throughout the U.S. may have different criteria for issuing an Amber Alert. This is the criteria I found directly from the Idaho State Police website. 1. A child is known to law enforcement to have been abducted.

I do have to stop right here. I want to acknowledge that Agent Koffendorfer shared an image of a checklist for officials to use in Idaho when requesting an Amber Alert. But this form that she shared conflicts with what I found on the ISP website. In the report I read, the criteria has more restrictions, adding that the child cannot just be missing, a runaway, or lost, saying specifically that an abduction must be known.

And the abduction had to have happened within 12 hours of the activation of the alert. The other criteria is pretty clear-cut and standard across most states. The child must be 17 years or younger, law enforcement must believe the child is in imminent danger, and they need to have enough information about the abduction to ask the public for help. Things like location, clothing, last place they were seen, or a vehicle.

Now, again, Amber Alert criteria can change from state to state, and there are a lot of challenges with the Amber Alert system. I actually break it all down over on the Voices for Justice Patreon if anyone out there is like me and really nerdy and wants to know how that system operates.

But to keep it simple, according to the extended language I found, it seems that the issue in Michael's case is whether law enforcement could have been sure that Michael was abducted within 12 hours of going missing. While I do think the scent dogs losing Michael's trail abruptly may have been enough for the Fruitland police to at least try to get an Amber Alert, if the criteria on the ISP website is correct, it is, unfortunately, way too late at this point.

Chief Huff also reiterates that Michael still does not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert. Whether or not the Fruitland Police could have or still can issue an Amber Alert seems a little fuzzy based on these conflicting statements and documents. But like in the case of Amber Hagerman who inspired the Amber Alert, Michael's disappearance sparked new legislation.

Jumping forward just a bit, in March 2022, the House passed SB 1378, also known as Monkey's Law.

This basically creates an all-encompassing alert called an Endangered Missing Person Alert. It would notify people in Idaho and the surrounding states about a missing person. According to KTVB News in Idaho, "...the Legislature's Joint Finance Appropriations Committee voted unanimously in favor of funding a bill to follow after SB 1378, which appropriates $1.3 million from the state general fund."

That includes funding for the Idaho State Police to develop the new alert system, and $66,500 for the Idaho Transportation Department to make changes to its existing Amber Alert system, end quote. Representative Scott Syme, who supported the bill, also said, quote, If this program had been implemented earlier, it would have been one tool to maybe find the little boy out in Fruitland that went missing, end quote.

So this bill had some major backing, and obviously some huge funding that goes along with it. Like Amber Hagerman, I'm sure Michael and SB 1378 will help children in the future.

It's always just hard to see these things in hindsight. To see what could have been done to help the kids behind these things. In my episode about Amber Hagerman, I know her mom struggled a lot with the fact that Amber's story and advocacy for her really seems to have been lost in the larger story of the Amber Alert. And I really hope that doesn't happen to Michael.

But back to the timeline. By December 2021, there are up to 738 leads in Michael's case. The Fruitland police are still going through what they call the monumental task of reviewing all the data obtained from the day he went missing.

They were now also looking for a man with dark hair, a white t-shirt, and black shorts who was in the area off 8th Street when Michael went missing, stressing that this person is not a suspect, just a possible witness they'd like to talk to. As Christmas approaches, Michael's mother has returned to work. She says at this point, she sleeps on the couch every night, just in case her son comes home.

Brandy is also concerned about whether or not enough people have heard Michael's story. It's been months since he went missing, and she worries that he isn't getting enough media attention. She tells the Idaho Press, "...I don't feel like he's getting the attention he deserves. I don't want his case to go cold. I want him home. I want every person in this world to see his beautiful face and know exactly where he belongs."

The Fruitland Police also make an appeal to the public during this holiday season. As most of us prepare to spend a Christmas holiday gathered at a table with family and friends, we ask you to keep those who are unable to gather in your prayers, specifically 5-year-old Michael Joseph Vaughn. There will be an empty seat at his family's table, and for many of us in this community, an empty place in our hearts until Michael comes home. Make

Brandy also speaks with News Nation, and they ask the question I think most families of the missing dread answering. Do you think Michael is still alive? I know in my heart he's alive. I know, I know he is. And I know he's coming home.

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This is Jessica Knoll, host of the new series, Back in Crime. If you're a follower of true crime, you're probably familiar with some of the most shocking stories from our history. Horrific tragedies like the Columbine Massacre. He turned the gun straight at us and shot. Oh my God, the window went out. And the kid standing there with me, I think he got hit. Okay. Oh God. And notorious criminals like cult leader Charles Manson.

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As we enter 2022, progress in Michael's case appears to be pretty slow. In March, the Fruitland police announced that they have obtained some new data from the time frame Michael went missing, reiterating that they do believe there's a high probability that he was abducted, and that they've been working the case under that assumption for months. Then, in June, Michael turned 6.

To celebrate, his family releases biodegradable balloons in his favorite color, blue, specifically noting that they wanted to make sure the balloons were biodegradable because Michael loves the environment. Now, the next update in Michael's case comes just days before the release of this episode, as we approach the one-year anniversary.

I have watched every press conference I could find in Michael's case. Like I mentioned before, Chief Huff doesn't always provide major updates during these conferences. And many times it seems like he's used these smaller updates as just an opportunity to get Michael more media coverage. But this conference was very different. Chief Huff discusses how Michael's case is still very active.

He says they still meet every morning about Michael's case. They discuss updates on leads, strategize, and then get back to work. He says that they've served several search warrants, and there are still more being written today. He also says that they have identified the owner of the Blue Dodge Avenger, and a man seen jogging in the area.

He also says that they've been able to further tighten the timeline of when Michael went missing to just a 20-minute period, saying that they now believe Michael went missing between 6.40 and 7 p.m.,

Then another huge announcement. Chief Huff says that later that day they will be releasing a picture of that man seen walking near 8th Street. But he adds more detail. He says that this man was seen walking through the splash pad area of Crustview Park, the park that Michael often went to with his family.

This is a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing black shorts, a white cut-off t-shirt, dark colored shoes, and a hat. Chief Huff does want to stress that this person is not a suspect, just a possible witness, but they need to speak with him. Of course, this photo, along with a photo of the white Honda Pilot, which they are still looking for, will be available to see and share on my website and social media.

But here's the kicker, you guys. Along with this new information, Chief Huff says that while they don't have any suspects, they do have multiple persons of interest. Now, he won't say who, but we also learn that apparently not everyone has been cooperative in their investigation.

That being said, I do want to mention that Chief Huff appears to be making an effort at many of these conferences to stress being kind and respectful to Michael's family. And in this conference in particular, he does thank the public for standing with Michael's family. Though, of course, like in most cases of missing children, that has not stopped many from speculating that Michael's parents or someone who knew Michael may have been involved in his disappearance.

So let's chat theories for just a second.

Obviously, it seems clear that the Fruitland police feel that Michael's parents have been fully cooperative with them, and they've gone out of their way to ask the public to be respectful and kind to them. Brandy has also come out to say that she doesn't believe anyone who knew Michael is involved with his disappearance. We also know that retired FBI agent Jennifer Koffendorfer has voiced her opinion that this was possibly a stranger abduction as well.

But Brandy has her own theory. Now, she says outright that she doesn't have any real evidence to back this up. That it's definitely mostly Mother's intuition. Quote, I have a feeling someone may have been watching us. That's my feeling. That's my mama's heart feeling. End quote.

And, of course, there is something that we, unfortunately, always need to keep in consideration in cases of missing children. And that's sex offenders in the area. According to correspondent for News Nation, Marky Martin, when Michael went missing, there were six registered sex offenders within just a mile of Michael's house, three of which do have offenses that involve children.

As far as I could find, the Fruitland police have not provided any additional information about this possibility. In the end, we don't know what happened to Michael. And we won't unless someone comes forward or he's found. So how can we help?

Well, Chief Huff is still looking for media attention. At this last press conference, he did announce a partnership with the Homeward Bound program. Basically, through this program, Michael's picture will be on semi-trucks traveling across the nation. He says that this should be up and running by the end of August. His hope is to have an official unveiling of the truck. That way, he can invite the media back to cover it.

But he reiterates that he is still seeking attention for Michael's case, that he needs people to share. Which, you guessed it, brings me right to our call to action. Please share Michael's case. As of recording this episode, we are just days away from the one-year anniversary of his disappearance. When Michael went missing, he'd just turned five. He's just a baby. No matter what you think may have happened to him...

what you think could have or should have been done, what's most important now is that you can help him. If you can listen to this entire episode, you can take 30 seconds to share his picture, to share the picture of the white Honda Pilot, to share the picture of the man the police are still trying to identify. You really can be an active part of trying to bring Michael home by just sharing this information.

Michael Joseph Vaughn went missing from his home in Fruitland, Idaho on the night of July 27th, 2021. He was five years old. He was last seen wearing a light blue Minecraft t-shirt, dark blue boxer briefs, and flip-flops in size 11.

He is a white male with blonde hair and blue eyes. When he went missing, he was 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighed approximately 50 pounds. Michael also responds to the nickname "Monkey". As of recording this episode, the reward for information leading to Michael's recovery has reached nearly $53,000.

Anyone with information about Michael or the car or the person in the picture is urged to contact the Fruitland Police Department at 203-642-6006 or you can email findmichael at fruitland.org. But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.

Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice media original. To hear more stories hosted by me, check out my other podcast, Disappearances, only on Spotify. And for even more content, or if you just want to support the show, check out my Patreon page at patreon.com slash voices for justice. Welcome to the Voices for Justice secret after show.

Now, I do want to apologize for my voice in this episode. I am a little under the weather. Also, I was definitely, um, losing it at the end. These cases will always be more than episodes to me, and the second they aren't that, um, I think it's time for me to step away.

But yeah, I'm sorry my voice has been... I feel like it just goes away. I'll be talking and it just disappears. So you'll probably hear that in this after show because this is an unedited portion of the podcast and I'm already losing my breath. But let's talk about Michael's case a little bit, just in terms of... It's a little bit different than what I normally do here. It's quite a bit shorter than most episodes I feature here. And...

That was intentional in terms of picking his case and knowing that it wouldn't be a longer episode now.

What I've learned in looking at my work in the true crime community is that my episodes do tend to skew a little bit shorter, and that's because I really try to cut out a lot of speculation. You guys know I don't do a lot of the small talk that tends to come out here in the after show. But that being said, I do feel like these cases that don't have a ton of information, like

I mean, my goodness, in this case, I am basically reading you guys a timeline, which I know isn't super exciting. It's not full of twists and turns and years long battle, you know, for a case or anything like that. But Michael is about to come up on his one year anniversary and he hasn't gotten a lot of media attention yet.

his family is begging for media attention, the police are begging for media attention, they are screaming to the world to not forget about Michael, to talk about Michael, so that's what I wanted to do. Just like every other missing person in this world, especially missing children,

Michael deserves our attention, so although it may not have hit a longer marker like I'm used to in a lot of my episodes, that doesn't matter to me, and I wanted to feature his case. And that being said, that is something I plan to do in the future as well.

Whether that is an episode, just a regularly scheduled episode, or even if I do 10 or 15 minute mini-sodes here on the main feed, it is something I aspire to do. And I will get to that point where I can give you guys some bonuses, so look out for that. None of these cases should have to get less media exposure because there's not a ton of insane information to give, so...

Anyway, long story short, I hope Michael's brought home, and I hope that this new press conference that came out just a few days before I record this hopefully inspires other people to cover the case, because I do feel like this department is getting increasingly aggressive about their efforts for Michael and their effort to tell the public that they're being aggressive about it, if that makes sense.

Like, for Chief Huff to come out and say that not everyone's been cooperative and they don't have suspects, but they do have persons of interest was pretty interesting compared to the other conferences. So I will be watching this case. I will be updating you.

That being said, I do have an update for another case. This is another case that didn't have a ton of information and was a shorter episode. It's under 30 minutes. But I covered this case back in January. That is the case of 19-year-old Margarita Sandoval. Now, if you didn't listen, I definitely would love if you did that because this

Poor woman had very few people in her life that were looking out for her. Now, essentially, Margarita went missing in 2018. And in May of 2021, her body was found in a box belonging to her brother, Octavio, in a basement in Norman, Oklahoma. Now,

It's pretty clear cut what happened to Margarita in the episode. It seemed very clear. You know, the person who owned the house in which the box was found was very clear with police that this was her brother's box. He put it there, very taped up. And of course, they find Margarita. It was also very apparent. It was proven that he and his wife were

Excuse me, were collecting benefits for Margarita long after she went missing. And when I covered the episode, her body had been found. They were still, you know, looking for information. They were doing some searches. But just a few days ago, they arrested Margarita's brother and his wife, Desiree. Now, they have been charged with first degree murder. They also face charges for moving a body.

Now, I do want to give credit where credit is due and say that Margarita does have a sister who has advocated for her in the public, but there weren't a lot of other people searching for or advocating for Margarita, and those are the cases that stick with me. I have a really terrible memory, and you guys know this. Most of the time when I speak about a case, I do need notes in front of me to remember the details. I just...

I wish I had a mind that worked differently, but I have the brain I have, so I usually need notes. And when I get a message saying, from one of you lovely, lovely people on Instagram, I actually got a review too. So two of you lovely people reached out to me and told me that there had been a restmate in Margarita's case.

Those were details that stuck with me. Gosh, I'm sorry. I don't mean to cry. I don't mean to cry. Like I said, the second I stop caring about these cases is when I need to walk away, but I'm going to not. Yeah, Margaret's case really stuck with me. I just, those are the cases. And not to make it about me, because it's not, but of course you guys know that my own experience in true crime is

is a huge influence on why I do what I do today. And I think about Alyssa's case, and if I wasn't there for her, who would have been? So when I see these cases where there aren't a lot of people screaming to the world, trying to get attention for them, those are usually the cases that really stick with me. They are the cases that I try to champion for maybe a little bit more because I feel like they need it a little bit more. But that being said, again,

Great update in the Margarita Sandoval case. I really hope that she gets some type of justice. But I will keep you updated on that. I am also toying around with the idea of doing an update episode for the main feed, so they don't always live in these secret after-show moments because, um...

I have to believe that these secret after show moments are still a secret to some. I don't know. I don't know. But I think putting all these updates in one major update episode could be beneficial. If you think so, let me know. Other than that, I do, I would like to remind you that, um,

all of the merch for this quarter, all the proceeds from the Voices for Justice merch, I should say, for this quarter are going to Season of Justice. Now, if you listen to my podcast Disappearances, you probably hear my spiel about Season of Justice at the end of every episode or just about every episode. So I do want to remind you that for full disclosure, I am a member of the board of Season of Justice, but I did build out our family grants program. So I do feel like it's

pretty awesome. We do things like provide billboards and social media ads and flyers for families. Also, we make sure that the application isn't too complicated. And if you do need help, you can just flag that and we will help you.

But in short, Season of Justice not only provides funding for family members in cold cases, but also for law enforcement, for things like testing, DNA testing, genetic genealogy, you know, the very thing that solved or, you know, identified Holly Klaus, I should say.

So again, just a friendly reminder that if you are buying merch this quarter, all of the proceeds will go to Season of Justice. And if you want to learn more and not take it from me, you can visit seasonofjustice.org to learn more. And if you do want to buy merch, you can find that at voicesforjusticepodcast.com under the little merch tab.

But as always, thank you for tolerating my incessant rambling in these after show moments. I love you and I'll talk to you next time.