Episode Overview

Podcast: Among The Missing
Host: Troy Taylor
Episode: 11 – "Only Bad Thoughts"
Date: March 9, 2026

This episode marks the beginning of a three-part deep dive focused on the disappearance of Elaine Park, viewed through the lens of her mother, Susan Park. Host Troy Taylor meticulously reconstructs a timeline from Susan's perspective, unraveling the complexities, personal toll, and public scrutiny that have shaped the case. The episode explores not only evidence, timelines, and testimonies but also the layered humanity and ambiguity often flattened by true crime narratives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage & Reflections on Storytelling (00:00–08:50)

• Troy Taylor reflects on true crime storytelling, referencing screenwriting classics like "Save the Cat."
  • Emphasizes how audiences desire clarity, tidy endings, and moral lines ("Don't kill the cat").
  • Uses Elaine's case — especially the infamous incident where Susan surrendered Elaine’s cats to a pound, resulting in one of their deaths — as an analogy for public perception shifting drastically when moral lines are seen as crossed.
  • Quote (Taylor, reflecting on audience expectations and real life complexity):

    "People want their stories tied up nicely. They want their protagonists to be flawed but redeemable...But that's not the way things work in real life. People make mistakes. Mysteries don't have perfect endings."

2. Public Perceptions: Susan Park the Villain vs. The Bereaved Mother (08:51–12:39)

• Explores two contrasting public narratives: is Susan Park a "cunning psychopath" or a "persecuted mother of a missing person"?
  • Highlights the impact of previous coverage in To Live and Die in LA, including the notorious "Die, Die, Die" text messages Susan sent Elaine in 2016.
  • Draws a poignant parallel between Susan Park and Adnan Syed (of Serial fame), questioning why some “holes in memory” are interpreted with compassion for one person, but suspicion for another.
  • Context, Taylor stresses, drives public judgment.
  • Quote (Taylor, grappling with Susan's nature):

    "She's either one of the most cunning psychopaths to ever walk this earth or one of the most persecuted mothers of a missing person I've ever encountered. And right now, there's only one true fact we can unquestionably lean on. She can't possibly be both." (12:15)

3. The Philosophy of Context and the Need for Timelines (12:40–15:23)

• Taylor emphasizes “context is so damn important,” and details his approach: reconstructing everything meticulously from Susan’s side.
• Commits to separating "educated assumptions" from fact, given Susan and Troy are no longer in contact.

4. Detailed Timeline: Susan Park’s Perspective (16:38–1:17:30)

Key Events Prior to Disappearance

• April 2016: Elaine arrested for marijuana possession; boyfriend arrested for firearm.
• May 2016: Car accident involving Elaine and her friend Sadie; leads to protracted insurance settlement.
• July 11, 2016: Susan sends Elaine the infamous “Die, die, die” texts after a missed chiropractic appointment (referenced in To Live and Die in LA).
  • Quote (from Susan’s texts):

    “Die. Die. Die. I fucking hate that bullying ass of yours and you make me sick. Leave me alone. Die.”

  • Susan later describes herself as "super upset," and acknowledges there’s "no excuse" for such words.

Household Strain

• Late 2016: Job losses for both Susan and Elaine, and end of child support from Elaine’s father — financial hardships intensify at home.

Critical Days Leading Up to Disappearance

• Jan 25, 2017: Mysterious call to Susan from Tarzana Treatment Center.
• Jan 26, 2017 (Thursday)
  • At 3:45 am, Elaine calls Susan after running out of gas. Susan and Jeff go to rescue her.
  • Later that morning, Susan and Jeff see Elaine at home, behaving withdrawn.
  • Interactions: Susan offers to make Elaine breakfast; Elaine doesn’t reply.
  • Later, Jeff changes Elaine’s tire.

The Day Before Elaine Vanished

• Jan 27, 2017 (Friday)
  • At 1:18 pm, Elaine calls Susan to borrow $20; Susan transfers money, then follows up about repayment in a series of texts.
  • Susan’s location is ambiguous that evening; call logs show communication with Jeff.
  • At 8:43 pm, Susan tries calling Elaine — gets no answer.
  • At 9:04 pm, Elaine finally responds: "sorry. give me until later tonight."
  • Suspicious “mystery car” appears on Divine’s street at 10:18 pm — extensive discussion about whether this could have been Susan’s car, but Taylor argues it is more plausibly drug-related or otherwise unrelated, given timeline logistics.

Day of Disappearance & Aftermath

• Jan 28, 2017 (Saturday)
  • Susan makes multiple calls to Elaine and Jeff, often unanswered.
  • That evening, Susan calls police but is told she must wait 48 hours to file a missing persons report.
• Jan 29–30, 2017 (Sunday-Monday)
  • Susan continues calling Elaine, her friends, Jeff, and authorities.
  • On Jan 30, the formal missing persons report is filed with Glendale PD.
• Feb 1–4, 2017
  • Susan’s extensive calls to Elaine’s friends and authorities.
  • Search efforts ramp up; Elaine’s car is found on PCH in Malibu.
  • Bloodhounds search area around car — no trace of Elaine is found.
• Feb–March 2017
  • Susan and search organizer Rosemary Wheeler begin working together intensively.
  • Initial private investigator involvement (Jayden Brandt) begins.
  • Reward offers, meetings (including strange encounters with alleged “ex-FBI” agents), and media efforts multiply.

Later Events and Fallout

• Spring 2017–2018
  • Tensions between Susan and other search leaders increase, particularly regarding repeated requests to search Susan’s home with cadaver dogs.
  • Financial struggles, ongoing investigation, and efforts to maintain the search stall under mounting stress and interpersonal conflicts.

Notable Quote

• On the burden of suspicion:

  “Sometimes people send cats to the pound without considering the consequences. Sometimes they say things or send text messages they regret for the rest of their lives. Human beings are flawed. The question is, what is the point at which your flaws tip you over the line from being primarily a good person to primarily a bad person? And where is the line between reasonable doubt and guilt without hard evidence?” (08:39)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The "Die Die Die" Texts (39:23):
  • Susan’s angry texts blamed on frustration — widely cited in public suspicion.
• On Timeline Inference (56:30):
  • Taylor: “The mystery car has and probably will always look more like some kind of drug handover to me, albeit a very quick one. The timing just feels too coincidental.”
• On Detachment from Susan Park (05:05):
  • Taylor: “Susan Park and I no longer speak...At some point she just stopped responding...That’s completely her prerogative. She doesn’t owe me anything and I don’t begrudge her making that decision.”
• On Repeated House Searches (1:14:02):
  • Explosive text exchanges between Susan and Rosemary Wheeler over cadaver dog searches:

    "What clues can they find in my house? ...Only bad thoughts to come from texts. Please do not text me today anymore, Rosemary.”

Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–01:55 – Cold open: Upcoming cases and new podcast announcement.
• 01:55–08:50 – Reflections on storytelling, morality, Save the Cat analogy, transition to Elaine Park and Susan’s role.
• 08:51–15:23 – Reframing perceptions, introduction of timeline as investigative tool.
• 16:37–39:23 – Timeline: Early 2016 events, “Die, Die, Die” messages, job loss, household strain.
• 39:24–1:17:30 – The detailed 2017 timeline: Car breakdown, money transfer, Susan’s whereabouts, the mystery car, disappearance day, search and aftermath.
• 1:14:02–1:17:30 – Conflicts in the search effort, text argument between Susan and Rosemary, debate over house searches.

Tone & Narrative Voice

Troy Taylor’s narration is analytical, patient, and often self-reflective. He avoids sensationalism, continually weighs competing interpretations, and grounds his conclusions in exhaustive documentation. His empathy for the human cost — both for Elaine and those embroiled in the investigation — is evident, even as he refuses to shy away from the hardest questions about Susan's actions and intentions.

Conclusion

Taylor closes the episode by stressing that clarity is illusory in cases like Elaine’s. While timelines and texts provide structure, “without another layer of context, all we have is a series of dates and times and places and people.” He teases the next episode, which will analyze the preserved Susan-Elaine text conversations — promising new revelations.

For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

• Offers the most comprehensive, contextualized timeline yet of Elaine Park’s final months, meticulously charting Susan Park’s every move.
• Challenges black-and-white thinking about people involved in true crime stories.
• Highlights the human, ongoing toll of unresolved disappearance within families and communities.
• Previews a trove of never-before-aired texts that could shed new light on Elaine’s state of mind in the leadup to her vanishing.

Where to Learn More / Offer Tips

Listeners with any information about Elaine Park are encouraged to visit amongthemissingpodcast.com or contact the Glendale Police Department at 818-548-3135, referencing case number 171512.