1 | The Devil's the One Who Tells You There's No Hope

Summary

Blunt Force Trauma – Episode 1: The Devil's the One Who Tells You There's No Hope

Host: Troy Taylor (EchoSpace)
Date: March 28, 2026

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Overview

This first episode of "Blunt Force Trauma," hosted by Troy Taylor, launches a serialized investigation into the unsolved 2021 death of Faithe Ely. Officially ruled a hit and run on a rural Oklahoma highway, Ely’s death has been shrouded in suspicion and unanswered questions. As Troy is first drawn into the case by a phone call from Ely’s mother, Amanda Langston, he quickly realizes the narrative doesn’t add up—the evidence is scant, the injuries don’t match, and those closest to Ely are convinced there was no accident at all.

The episode oscillates between deeply atmospheric storytelling—setting scenes in both Los Angeles and rural Oklahoma—and methodical reconstruction of the hours around Ely’s death, using interviews, 911 call audio, and insider family perspectives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Genesis of the Investigation

• Troy’s Background and Entry into Case
  • Troy describes his work on a separate missing person case in Malibu, CA, and the chance Oklahoma phone call that pivots his attention to Faithe Ely (00:03–04:59).
  • Memorable Quote:
    "There are moments in life where you make a decision that feels small, inconsequential... But later you realize that was the moment that changed everything." – Troy Taylor [03:11]

Setting the Local Scene – Wewoka, Oklahoma

• Town History and Atmosphere
  • Insight into Wewoka’s evolution from a Seminole trading post to oil boomtown, and its modern decline, forging a tight-knit but insular community (05:24–06:41).
  • Notable Description:
    "These days, with a population of just over 3,000, you can still feel the energy of what was once a bustling, vibrant regional town. But now that energy feels confined to the old ghosts that linger in the rundown facade." – Troy Taylor [05:24]

First Contact: Ely Family Perspectives

• Amanda Langston & Caitlin (Faithe’s mother and sister)
  • Amanda unpacks the official narrative and immediately expresses skepticism about the hit and run (06:41–09:13).
  • Key Revelation:
    "This wasn’t a hit and run... I’m saying there was no truck." – Amanda Langston [08:30]
  • Family dynamic: Amanda as relentless investigator, Caitlin as gentle but fearless support (09:20–10:20).

Reconstruction of the Night Faithe Died

• Party, Fight, and Disappearance

  • Detailed review of the night’s events based on boyfriend Ryan and his mother Ronica's statements:
    • Cookout at husband’s (Smurf’s) house
    • Faithe and Ryan argue; Faithe storms out after throwing beer in his face
    • Physical altercation occurs between Faithe and Ronica
    • Faithe walks down highway; Ryan claims to have seen or heard a truck/trailer hit her (10:20–12:07)

• Discovery and 911 Calls

  • Neighbor (alerted by his daughter hearing screams) goes to aid, sees Ryan flagging for help, calls 911 (12:07–13:42)
  • Audio of two 911 calls, with clear confusion and urgency about Faithe’s state and the nature of events (13:00–17:10)
  • Second responder, "the Cowboy" Bob, describes being told a Doberman had been hit, not Faithe [13:42–14:47]

Immediate Aftermath and Law Enforcement Response

• Scene Response and Family Concerns
  • Multiple agencies (nine total) attend the scene, but initial investigation is narrow, evidence collection is minimal, and the case is swiftly ruled a hit and run despite highway patrol objections (21:00–23:18)
  • Family Frustration:
    “We kind of feel like they decided upon arrival that night they didn't think that her life had enough value... They didn't collect evidence. They didn't document anything.” – Amanda Langston [23:18]

Red Flags and Investigative Oddities

• Discrepancies and Polygraph Failure

  • Ryan’s polygraph test comes up negative—he is found to be “minus two” on truthfulness (24:02–24:15)
  • Lack of follow-up: No forensic check of Smurf’s house, other house guests un-interviewed

• 911 Call Anomalies

  • Rosemary Wheeler, Troy’s investigative partner, uncovers that the sequence of 911 calls isn’t as previously reported. An earlier call about a “suspicious male waving flashlights” came from a landline two hours away, raising further questions about response and what may have been missed (26:41–28:19)
  • Memorable Quote:
    "There's smoke, right?" – Rosemary Wheeler [28:17]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If I thought hiking through the Malibu Canyons searching for human remains was as crazy as things could get, well, I was wrong. Dead wrong.” – Troy Taylor [04:00]
• “This wasn’t a hit and run... I’m saying there was no truck.” – Amanda Langston [08:30]
• "They just weren't going to investigate it. They didn't collect evidence. They didn't document anything." – Amanda Langston [23:18]
• “Did he pass?” – Troy Taylor [24:02]
  “No, he failed. ... That he was even telling the truth about anything.”
  – Amanda Langston [24:04]
• Rosemary’s urgent new clue:
  "You’re not going to believe this, but I’ve been doing a little bit of digging, and I found something regarding the 911 calls." – Rosemary Wheeler [26:52]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:03–04:59: Troy’s background, opening Malibu sequence, and pivotal phone call
• 05:24–06:41: Introduction and portrait of Wewoka, Oklahoma
• 06:41–10:20: First interview with Amanda and Caitlin; Tony’s initial skepticism; Amanda’s insistence
• 10:20–12:07: Family describes the night of Faithe’s death
• 12:07–14:47: Timeline of night’s events and 911 call audio
• 21:00–23:18: Law enforcement response, scene mishandling
• 24:02–24:15: Polygraph revelation
• 25:00–26:41: Troy brings Rosemary onboard
• 26:52–28:19: Rosemary’s discovery about 911 call chronology

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Tone and Language

Troy Taylor narrates with a blend of investigative curiosity and emotional restraint, juxtaposed against Amanda’s steely resolve and Rosemary’s energetic sleuthing. The episode balances evocative scene-setting with methodological inquiry, never losing sight of the personal pain underlying the mystery.

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Closing Reflection

By the end of Episode 1, listeners are left with the sense of a case that’s more tangled, more institutionalized, and far less resolved than the official narrative implies. There are stark investigative gaps, and whispers of a possible cover-up or egregious neglect by authorities. The episode closes with the promise that, together, Troy and Rosemary—and perhaps listeners themselves—will keep digging, refusing to accept easy answers where a young woman’s life is concerned.

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For tips or more information about the case, listeners are encouraged to visit the Justice for Faithe Ely Facebook page, or contact EchoSpace Media directly.

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End of Summary – Episode 1

Transcript

[Troy Taylor]

Please note, this podcast contains references to physical and sexual assault and graphic depictions of violence. Listener discretion is advised. The views and opinions expressed throughout this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily align with the opinions or beliefs of the host or producers. Yeah, it's sharp. Like spiky. It's a hot summer's day in Los Angeles. I've been working on the case of a girl who went missing out here for a few years now, trying to understand how someone can just vanish. I'm here with a friend of mine, Rosemary Wheeler, and we're meeting a guy who found bones and a bloody T shirt out here just a few months ago. Neither of us are detectives, not officially anyway. Maybe semi quasi, but even that feels generous. Now we're about to hike into the canyonlands of Malibu in search of of human remains, mindful of the fact that whoever left those bones and that bloody T shirt could still be out here waiting. We've got no weapons, no backup, just cell phones, water bottles, and a whole lot of bug spray. In hindsight, something that could protect us from things a little bigger than mosquitoes might have been a good idea. But hindsight's not going to help us much now. The trail starts out easy. Then it tightens, the brush thickens, the air gets heavier, and before long we're forcing our way through, our arms stinging and bleeding from pushing past thick bramble and heavy branches. I check the signal on my phone, a single bar. Probably not enough to make a call, of course. Out here if something goes wrong, well, there's no one coming. We're on our own. After about an hour, we find it. A small valley. Dry, hollowed out like water. Used to live here a long time ago. We climb down and start scouring the earth. There's a weight to it, what we're doing. The silence, the isolation, the quiet understanding that we're completely exposed, vulnerable. The whole thing has me more than a little on edge. So when my phone rings, I nearly jump out of my skin. I glance down at the screen, shaken and a little surprised. The call's coming from an Oklahoma number, and I don't know anyone in Oklahoma. There are moments in life where you make a decision that feels small, inconsequential. You don't think twice about it. But later you realize that was the moment that changed everything. I didn't know it then, kneeling in a dry creek bed, covered in dirt, searching for bones. But answering that call, that was one of those moments. It was the beginning of something else. Something bigger. An Investigation that would pull me in deeper than I ever thought possible and force me to question everything. Because if I thought hiking through the Malibu Canyons searching for human remains was as crazy as things could get, well, I was wrong. Dead wrong. The tiny town of Wewoka, to the southeast of Oklahoma City is kind of quaint. It's got that old industrial town vibe to it that a lot of small towns in the Great Plains of America seem to have. It's this feeling that you can't quite put into words.

[Amanda Langston]

I mean, this was just right outside of Wewoka. This was a state highway that is a thoroughfare from Wewoka to Sasakwa. Sasakwa is. I don't know, it's probably maybe 100 week. But it's also a town that has each other's back.

[Troy Taylor]

Originally established by the Seminole nation in the mid-1800s, it eventually became a trading post and regional centre for the movement of key goods and services. And by the mid-1900s, after the railway came through, Roland H. Smith drilled the town's first commercial oil well and the population of the town exploded. After World War II, however, oil production floundered. Eventually there were woke. A well closed up shop and the population began to dwindle. Manufacturing and farming continued in the way of bricks, packing houses and clothing factories and cotton, corn and cattle. But none of that could replace the velocity of the oil years. These days, with a population of just over 3,000, you can still feel the energy of what was once a bustling, vibrant regional town. But now that energy feels confined to the old ghosts that linger in the rundown facade. Empty buildings. There's a grocery store, a couple of diners and a hotel and casino. It's the kind of town where everyone knows everyone and people are always watching. It can be a wonderful thing living in a town like that. But when it comes to something like this, well, it becomes more of a brick wall than a celebration of. Hello?

[Amanda Langston]

Troy.

[Troy Taylor]

Hey, Amanda.

[Ryan]

How are you?

[Amanda Langston]

I'm doing okay. How are you?

[Troy Taylor]

I'm all right. I'm all right. Let me just turn the volume up a little bit here. The voice you're hearing, that's Amanda Langston. It's Faith Ely's mum. How's your weekend going so far?

[Amanda Langston]

So far so good.

[911 Operator]

How about yours?

[Troy Taylor]

And that's Caitlin, her sister. That's good. Yeah, pretty much the same. Pretty much the same. It's cold and raining here. It's not cold here.

[Amanda Langston]

It's just raining.

[Troy Taylor]

Okay. Hot and raining.

[Amanda Langston]

72, I think today.

[Troy Taylor]

It always feels a Little strange to talk about the weather with a family who's grieving. It feels insincere, almost wrong. Like you're disrespecting the whole reason you're meeting in the first place. But I've come to understand that most of the time, that's exactly the sort of thing you talk about. The loss of a loved one that never leaves your side. But the world itself, well, it keeps turning. Some days it rains, other days the sun shines. Either way, you still talk about it because there's always this need to try to maintain a level of normalcy. I guess there's a comfort in it, in a funny kind of way, that's

[Amanda Langston]

been a little bit nicer than it has been the last few days. It's been like 90 something degrees.

[Troy Taylor]

Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah, that's too much. It's mid-2025. After our initial call, we've traded a few messages back and forth, but it's the first time Amanda, Katelyn and I are officially meeting across a zoom call. So sometimes the audio is a little choppy. When Amanda first reached out to me, I was a little hesitant. I'm not a homicide detective by any stretch of the imagination. And from the research I'd done on Faith's case, this seemed like a clear cut hit and run. There was your standard press release from law enforcement seeking information on the driver of a white truck, a couple of grainy CCTV videos, and one, maybe two television news clips. Not being able to help on a homicide investigation was one thing, but trying to help find a single white truck in an Oklahoma sized ocean of white trucks? That was going to be a near impossibility. But despite my assurances that there was little I could do to help, Amanda was insistent. She can be like that sometimes, but in the very best kind of way. This wasn't a hit and run, she said. I asked her if that meant she thought the truck hit Faith intentionally. And her response shook me. I'm saying there was no truck. And that is why I'm here right now, talking to her about how hot it is in Los Angeles in the middle of summer. Like that's some kind of revelation. I was in LA just over a week ago and we had a couple of days of like 95 or something.

[Amanda Langston]

It was horrible. Yeah. And ours was gonna get worse, so we're just waiting on it.

[Troy Taylor]

Oh, great. Enjoy the rain while you can. Amanda is tough as nails. She's got a super strong bullshit radar. She could spot a lie straight through an Oklahoma storm. She started Asking questions the day Faith died. And she hasn't stopped for a second since, regardless of the fact that answers haven't even been remotely forthcoming. Caitlyn, on the other hand, she. She's a little softer around the edges. She's cradling a small baby, hushing him and singing a lullaby, trying to get him to sleep as we talk. But you can still see her mum's fire burning strong behind her eyes. They're a hell of a team. Look up good cop, bad cop, and I swear you'll get a picture of the two of them together if you're ever in any kind of trouble, these are the two people you want in your corner. And conversely, if you're the one who did wrong, well, you better hold onto your hat because they're going to grab you by the collar and drag you kicking and screaming all the way to your penance.

[Amanda Langston]

Based on statements by the boyfriend, his mother, to ospi that night they went to the husband's house and had a cookout.

[Troy Taylor]

The boyfriend she's referring to, well, that's Ryan and his mother, her name's Veronica, or Ronica for short. The husband. That's Ronica's husband. Well, most people just know him as Smurf.

[Amanda Langston]

There was drinking involved. There was an altercation. My daughter and her boyfriend were having a verbal disagreement. She had grown beer in his face, got up and walked out of the house. His mother took off after Faith, outside of the house, grabbed Faith and turned her around. And that's when the physical altercation had started that night. He stated that Faith had taken off out of the driveway from where the scuffle had ended and took off walking down the highway. He's sitting on his mom's. The tailgate of his mom's truck when he saw a truck and trailer go by. And then he heard what sounded like a speed bump and he took off walking down the road to go find her. And that's when he found her laying on the side of the road 4/10 of a mile from their house in a span of about 10 to 15 minutes, according to him. He stated that he did not own a cell phone at that time, but he started hollering, waving his arms around passerbys. The gentleman that did make the 911 call, it was his daughter that heard the screaming and went and said something to her dad and he came out and realized that there was something had happened.

[Troy Taylor]

Faith's body was found at around 8:30pm on the southbound shoulder of Highway 56 a few miles south. Of Wewoka, just down from the driveway of one of Smurf's neighbors. After his daughter heard screaming and raised the alarm, the neighbour went to his front porch and saw Ryan there signalling with a flashlight. He immediately raced back inside and called 91 1-Mar.

[911 Operator]

28, 20, 21, 20, 34, 18. What's the address of your emergency?

[Ryan]

Highway 56. Give me the blanket.

[911 Operator]

What's going on?

[Ryan]

There's a lady out in front. I'm on. On the highway's been hit almost in front of my house. Yeah. You have the address? It's. She's just beside the highway.

[911 Operator]

Vehicle.

[Ryan]

There's a guy. Yes, a gentleman. We heard screaming outside and he's trying to flag over cars. They haven't stopped for him. But he says that she's on the side of the road. I see somebody laying there.

[911 Operator]

Okay, I'm gonna get them headed that way. Okay. Did he tell you if she was breathing or she was alive?

[Ryan]

No, she did. He didn't. I'm grabbing a blanket, my car and I'm gonna run up the road.

[911 Operator]

Okay. I'm gonna get them headed that way. Okay. And if you can get to her and get. Call me back with any, any injuries, I'd appreciate it.

[Ryan]

Okay? Okay.

[911 Operator]

But I'm getting help headed that way.

[Ryan]

Okay. Thanks.

[911 Operator]

You're welcome.

[Troy Taylor]

After making the first 911 call, the neighbor drove his car down to the scene, placed a blanket on Faith and angled his car so that the headlights would illuminate her body. When he arrived, he found another man, dressed in chaps and wearing a 10 gallon hat, had parked his pickup truck near the scene and was speaking with Ryan. A man by the name of Bob, who we sometimes refer to as the Cowboy for obvious reasons. Bob had been heading northbound up Highway 56 and he stopped when he saw Ryan calling out for help. He says that Ryan told him a Doberman had been hit and to go get Smurf. And later he reported that he'd only passed a single other vehicle on the highway heading southbound that night. A small commuter car that didn't appear to be damaged. As Bob was jumping in his truck, the neighbour asked Ryan what had happened. And Ryan told him someone had hit Faith and driven away after attempting to render aid. Ryan checked Faith's pulse and couldn't determine whether it was his own pulse he was feeling or Faiths. Ultimately, he made the determination that she was no longer alive, which led the neighbor to place a second 911 call.

[911 Operator]

March 28, 2021, 203718 Seminole County. 9 1, 1. What's the address of emergency South Highway 56.

[Ryan]

I just called in an emergency.

[911 Operator]

She's safety.

[Ryan]

Safe.

[911 Operator]

Okay? She. She's not breathing or anything?

[Ryan]

No, no, she's deceased.

[911 Operator]

Okay. I still have EMS headed that way. Okay.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[911 Operator]

And was the mouse. Was the subject, was he struck by the vehicle too?

[Ryan]

Yes, yes. He's extremely shook up, but he said that a truck hitter. I heard the thump down the street

[911 Operator]

and I said, I'm walk down here,

[Ryan]

check and see if she's all right, and I find her laying on the side of the road.

[911 Operator]

Okay, and were you hit by the vehicle?

[Ryan]

No, he was not.

[911 Operator]

Does he know her name? Does he know her.

[Ryan]

What was her name going? Faith. Faith Ely. Faith Ely.

[911 Operator]

Can you spell that for me, sir?

[Ryan]

Sir, can you speak to her to.

[911 Operator]

Hello? Hello, sir, were you. Were you stuck by the vehicle? No, I was.

[Ryan]

I was down the road. She took off walking from my mom's husband's house and she walked down the road and I sat there for a little while and then I took off the walking, but she was okay. And I get down. I took a flashlight with me and I get down the highway and she's

[911 Operator]

on the side of the road and

[Ryan]

I heard the truck that hit her. I heard the thump from down the road and it sounded like they had

[911 Operator]

a trailer on there.

[Ryan]

I don't know what color. I don't remember what color the truck was, but I know. I know it's the truck with the trailer right here.

[911 Operator]

Could you tell. You couldn't tell what color it was, just that it was a truck with a trailer.

[Ryan]

I don't remember what. I don't remember what color it was, but I know it was a trailer on the truck because that was the last one I seen drive by before I heard that noise. It was about maybe a half a mile down the road or so.

[911 Operator]

Okay, can you. Can I get your name, sir?

[Ryan]

My name's Ryan. I'm her boyfriend.

[911 Operator]

Can you spell Faith's last name for me? E L, Y. E L. Yes. Okay. Do you know her date of birth for me?

[Ryan]

Ryan? I'm sorry, I don't know. It's okay.

[911 Operator]

I got help headed that way. Okay.

[Ryan]

Okay. Yes.

[911 Operator]

Hold on just a second. For me. Okay. Okay.

[Ryan]

This is the caller.

[911 Operator]

Man.

[Ryan]

He's been. Yeah, he tried to flag over car for a minute too. There'd be a couple people go by. I was trying to get out here.

[911 Operator]

Okay, did he. Does he know how long ago or how long ago he just happened?

[Ryan]

I mean, my daughter heard him window was open and heard him yelling. I'm. I'm probably like 10 minutes ago.

[911 Operator]

Okay. Can you tell she's white, Native American, African American.

[Ryan]

She's Caucasian. Man, this highway is so dangerous.

[911 Operator]

I. I do have deputies and troopers and EMS still have it that way.

[Ryan]

Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you very much.

[911 Operator]

You're welcome. And if anything changes, just give us a call back. Okay?

[Ryan]

We will.

[911 Operator]

All right. Thank you, sir.

[Ryan]

Okay, bye. Bye.

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[Troy Taylor]

As they were talking to the operator, another car pulled up to the scene and a woman got out. She asked if there was anything she could do to help, and Ryan said, no, it was too late. Faith was already dead. In the meantime, Bob arrived at Smurf's house to tell him that Ryan had sent for him after finding a Doberman had been hit and was dead on the side of the road. Ronica, Ryan's mum, apparently interpreted it that Ryan himself had been hit by a car. She grabbed her keys, jumped in her pickup, and raced down to the scene,

[Amanda Langston]

per the statements of both the homeowner and the other lady who pulled up. According to them, the entire interaction that she witnessed. Not knowing anybody, Veronica pulled up after she had stopped to render aid. She got the vibe that it was all very suspicious. Ryan was hollering and he had started to make a statement, and Veronica told him to stop talking. What also struck a lot of people is that he wasn't hollering for help. He was hollering she was already dead.

[Troy Taylor]

How did he determine that she was dead?

[Amanda Langston]

Ryan stated that he checked her pulse, thought she had a pulse, but wasn't sure because his was racing.

[Troy Taylor]

And then Mom.

[Amanda Langston]

Mom says the same thing. She says, well, I tried to check her pulse, but I couldn't tell she had one because of my own pulse.

[Troy Taylor]

Veronica, who's medically trained, is said to have moved Faith's body and also used a flashlight to check if Faith's eyes were responding to light. And unfortunately, they weren't at 8:43pm an ambulance arrived, followed by the Woka Fire Department and a trooper from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

[Amanda Langston]

They were the first ones on site because when the 911 call came in, it was the site of a highway that's under their jurisdiction. So when they got there, they were like, no, they recommended to the we woke a sheriff to contact osbi.

[Troy Taylor]

Roughly five minutes later, an officer from Wewoka Police Department, two deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff's Department, another trooper, and three lieutenants from Oklahoma Highway Patrol. And Shannon Smith, the Seminole County Sheriff himself arrived on site, and then a representative from the Medical Examiner's office, and then two representatives from the District Attorney's drug task force. At some point, and among all of it, Amanda tells me, Seminole Nation Light Horse Police also attended the scene. Sheriff Smith took the lead and in consultation with the Highway Patrol, made the decision to call in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, or OSBI for short. And just in case you weren't counting between the first responders and law enforcement agencies, that's a total of nine different departments who either responded to the call or were independently called out. Special Agent Miles Keen from the OSBI was assigned the case as the lead investigator. He arrived on scene shortly thereafter, and Faith's sister Kaitlin and her husband Casey got there around the same time. The OSBI became the primary investigative body on Faith's case, and they appear to have very quickly made the determination that Faith's death was a hit and run, despite the fact that Highway Patrol didn't agree. Ryan, Ronica and Smurf were all interviewed that night, according to Caitlin, within earshot of each other. And each one of them told law enforcement the same story, which did include the physical altercation between Faith and Ronica earlier in the night. And yet nobody ever went to Smurf's house to investigate. They didn't check for blood. They didn't check for damage. There were a handful of other people at Smurf's house for the cookout, and on that night, at least not a one of them was questioned. It was around midnight when Faith's body was transported to the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner's Office, and the last remaining law enforcement agents from the Seminole County Sheriff's Department cleared the scene at around 3am

[Amanda Langston]

we kind of feel like they decided upon arrival that night they didn't think that her. Her life had enough value. Regardless of the statements of the boyfriend and his mother that night, Pretty just decided they just weren't going to investigate it. They didn't collect evidence. They didn't document anything. They just when that we finally met up with them two days later, three days later, they had already decided it was a hit and run.

[Troy Taylor]

Just before we finished on the call, Amanda hit me with one more thing.

[Amanda Langston]

What I didn't get a chance to tell you before is Ryan actually did do a polygraph test.

[Troy Taylor]

Did he pass?

[Amanda Langston]

No, he failed. Specifically, they said there was like a minus two, that he was even telling the truth about anything.

[Troy Taylor]

Anything.

[Amanda Langston]

Anything.

[Troy Taylor]

After the call with Amanda and Katelin, I sat there for a while, the weight of it all setting in. What I'd expected to be a relatively straightforward hit and run was already beginning to look like a hell of a lot more. The more I turned it over in my mind, the clearer it became. This wasn't going to be simple. There were too many threads, too many questions, and far too much left unresolved. I wasn't going to be able to do this alone. And so I phoned a friend.

[Rosemary Wheeler]

Hello?

[Troy Taylor]

Hey. How are you?

[Rosemary Wheeler]

Fine. Hey. Go ahead. How are you?

[Troy Taylor]

I'm really, really good.

[Rosemary Wheeler]

What's happening? What's going on?

[Troy Taylor]

I have a question for you. How much free time have you got right now?

[Rosemary Wheeler]

You know, that's always a good question.

[Troy Taylor]

It's a leading question. I'll just put that out there.

[911 Operator]

Oh, my gosh.

[Troy Taylor]

I just had a call with a mother in Oklahoma, believe it or not, who is looking for some help. She had a daughter who was killed on March 28 in 2021. She was found on the side of a highway there.

[Rosemary Wheeler]

How old was she?

[Troy Taylor]

She was 23. She had two kids, you know, a son and a daughter. Law enforcement initially determined it was to be a hit and run. Looking at everything around this, it doesn't seem like a standard hit and run to me. I think there's a whole lot more to this. And I thought, there is no way I can do this on my own.

[911 Operator]

I'm there.

[Rosemary Wheeler]

I'm in. Absolutely.

[Troy Taylor]

I will send you through a whole lot of information, and you can catch

[Rosemary Wheeler]

up and go from there, okay?

[Troy Taylor]

Okay. Thanks, Rosemary.

[Rosemary Wheeler]

You bet, Troy. On whatever's coming, I'm ready.

[Troy Taylor]

Rosemary had been with me a couple of weeks earlier, hiking through the canyons in Malibu. We'd spent years working together, picking apart the disappearance of Elaine park, following leads that went nowhere, sitting with details most people would overlook, learning slowly how to read between the lines. And if there was anyone I trusted to dig where others wouldn't, to find what wasn't meant to be found, and to see the gaps in a story and start stitching them back together. It was her. And when it came time to put that to the test, she didn't disappoint.

[911 Operator]

You have one unheard message. First unheard message sent yesterday at 7:15pm

[Rosemary Wheeler]

you're not going to believe this, but I've been doing a little bit of digging, and I found something regarding the 911 calls. You know, the neighbor, his first two calls are clearly listed, and they're there. However, it appears that there might be a call from another caller. And those, the two that we initially thought were the first call from the neighbor are actually not the first call. It says something along the lines of suspicious male waving flashlights, trying to flag people down. And this phone number appears to be a landline two hours away. My head is actually spinning. I couldn't even sleep last night. I just. I couldn't believe this. And I'm like, like, am I reading this right? Am I seeing this correctly? I don't want to make assumptions at this point, but I really think that there's. There's something going on. What's the thing where there's smoke, there's fire and there's smoke, right?

[Troy Taylor]

Faith's case is still open, and her killer or killers have not yet been brought to justice. If you know anything about Faith, her death, or those who may be responsible, we'd like to hear from you. Please visit EchoSpace Media Tips and either leave a voicemail or send us a message. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram. Unforcedrauma Podcast. If you're enjoying this podcast, please consider our subscriber option on Apple Podcasts or [e-mail] Echospacepodcasts where you get access to early episode drops, ad free episodes and bonus content across all of the Echo Space shows. If you'd like to keep up to date with progress on Faith's case, please visit and follow the justice for Faith Ely Facebook page. You'll find a link to it in the episode Notes. Blunt Force Trauma is a production of Echo Space, written and hosted by Troy Taylor. Executive producers are Troy Taylor, Mark Tarulli, and Fred Scherzer. Our main theme song is Lose My Mind by Maya Davidoff, and the show also contains audio content from Moby Graudis.