Podcast Summary: Cold – The Search For Sheree | Bonus: The Convenient Alternative | Episode 14

Date: May 15, 2023
Host: Dave Cawley (KSL Podcasts)
Main Theme:
This bonus episode examines the 1975 disappearance of Nancy Perry Baird, exploring why serial killer Ted Bundy was long presumed her likely killer, despite scant evidence—and why "the convenient alternative" of blaming Bundy allowed police and the community to sidestep more challenging, local suspect lines. Through new interviews and previously unreleased case files, host Dave Cawley revisits the facts, the myths, and the unanswered questions surrounding Baird’s case.

Episode Overview

While previous seasons of Cold focused on high-profile disappearances (Susan Powell, Joyce Yost), Season 3 zeroes in on Sheree Warren’s 1985 disappearance and the escalating dangers of domestic violence. This bonus episode diverts to the parallel case of Nancy Baird—long believed a Bundy victim—and investigates whether that narrative let homegrown suspects slip through the cracks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Nancy Baird Was Linked to Ted Bundy

• Bundy’s infamy as a serial killer traversing the western US led law enforcement—and the public—to connect unsolved cases of missing young women like Baird to him.
• Bundy was living in Utah at the time (July 4, 1975), and his known victims were young, attractive women.
• Police and family gravitated toward the Bundy theory because it offered a tidy, externalized explanation—what host Dave Cawley terms “the convenient alternative”.
• However, Bundy denied involvement in Baird’s disappearance in his final pre-execution confessions, which have been found truthful regarding other cases (49:01).

“Bundy hoped police would search where he indicated, find Deborah Kent’s remains, then pressure Florida into delaying his execution...” — Dave Cawley (49:19)

2. What Happened the Day Nancy Baird Disappeared

• [11:10–15:00] David and Jana Williams, children at the time, recount their late-afternoon visit to the FINA gas station where Nancy worked, and their interactions with her and two men described as “hippie types.”
• Officer Dave Anderson, East Layton’s only full-time cop, stopped in at about 5:10 pm. Timeline discrepancies arise between his report and the Williams children’s recollections—casts doubt on factors taken as fact for decades.

“As you walk in, there were... two men at the end of the counter talking to Nancy.” — David Williams (12:33)

• Nancy was last confirmed seen alive during these encounters—less than 10 minutes before her manager, Bonnie Peck, found her gone. Cash was still in the register, her purse and car keys left behind, and her car parked outside.
• Officer Anderson later claims to have seen a green van with “hippie types” outside the station—tying back to the two men seen by the Williams children.

3. Initial Police Response: Small-Town Limitations & Early Suspects

• [26:17–28:00] Davis County Sheriff's Office quickly took over from East Layton’s under-resourced police.
• Focus initially fell on Baird’s ex-husband, a recent boyfriend, and Monte Torres (a friend visually matched to witness sketches).
• Torres’ alibi for the night was muddied by contradictory statements and a polygraph (which he passed—but host Cawley criticizes the overreliance on such tests).

“Polygraphs are not foolproof.” — Dave Cawley (39:22)

• Two “hippie type” men seen talking to Nancy remain of interest—especially as one, “Monte Torres,” was positively IDed from Baird’s own photo album.

4. Overlooked Leads: A Menacing Encounter Before the Disappearance

• [40:06–42:15] New information reveals Nancy had been harassed two nights prior by a man named Tom Stone in a yellow van, reported by her friend Dolores Drake.
• Despite receiving Stone’s name and address, police failed to follow up; within four weeks of Baird’s disappearance, the department was “at a dead end.”

“That’s absurd. Less than a month had passed... and already East Layton police were ready to throw in the towel.” — Dave Cawley (43:32)

5. Bundy as Scapegoat, Evidence Against His Involvement

• As Bundy’s notoriety grew, Nancy Baird’s case effectively stalled, absorbed into the “Bundy myth” (46:10–48:03).
• Bundy’s final confessions: Admitted Utah killings and helped locate missing victims; categorically denied connection to Baird.
• No hairs matching Baird’s were found in Bundy’s car (54:33), and none of the witness descriptions fit him.
• New archival research suggests Bundy had an alibi—he may have spent July 4th, 1975 at a family reunion in the Uinta Basin with girlfriend Leslie Knudsen.

“It’d be pretty difficult for him to have done both things on that day...” — Tiffany Jean (81:27)

6. Alternative Theories: Local Suspects and Institutional Failures

• Information on ex-cop Dave Anderson is explored at length: Unstable personal life, the last confirmed to see Nancy, and never properly cleared as a suspect ([54:54–67:46]).
• Interview with Tom Jackson (reserve officer and later chief) confirms both he and others suspected Anderson, who spent “too much time looking at” women at the station.
• Tom Jackson himself has a later criminal record for child sex offenses; his own status as suspect is discussed and dismissed via polygraph results from parole (69:10–69:39).
• Chronic mishandling and turnover in the tiny East Layton police force led to jurisdictional confusion, lost files, and apathy toward the unsolved case after the city was disincorporated and merged into Layton ([70:19–74:34]).
• The “Bundy did it” story gave police a narrative to hide behind as their own investigation collapsed.

7. Reflections on the Dangers of Narrative and Unanswered Questions

• The host, archival expert Tiffany Jean, former officers, and family members ultimately reject the Bundy theory as unsupported by facts.
• Cawley points to other lines—Tom Stone, the two “hippie” men, Officer Anderson—as insufficiently investigated due to early fixation on Bundy.
• Suggests parallels between Baird’s and Sheree Warren’s disappearances: both women were last seen at work, after unhappy marriages, and both cases suffered from institutional disarray and distracting suspicions of serial killers.

“There are too many unexplored avenues of investigation for me to accept that conclusion. Like the man who stalked... Nancy... or the two hippie type guys... Or even an East Layton police officer with a troubled past. Until these other leads are closed, how can anyone accept taking the convenient alternative?” — Dave Cawley (83:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bundy myth:
  "This building of a serial killer into a cultural icon was gross then, and it remains so today... But it's important to understand just how pervasive Bundy was in the minds of police and public..." — Dave Cawley (03:47)

• On the dangers of Bundy as a “Convenient Alternative”:
  “Ted Bundy cast a long shadow, and because of it, no one did any significant work on Nancy Baird’s case for decades.” — Dave Cawley (10:54)

• On the original investigation:
  "I wasn't a good cop. I wanted to let someone else handle it. I didn't want to mess it up." — Tom Jackson, former reserve officer (64:34)

• On missing evidence and lost leads:
  “It’s getting under my skin. Because who is the type? ...More sinister circumstances often surround the disappearances of women.” — Dave Cawley (82:55)

• On alternate, overlooked suspects:
  "That's the other reason why I thought it was one of the cops. That one cop." — Tom Jackson (66:05)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Ted Bundy's legacy, crimes, and relevance — [00:00–09:10]
• Timeline of Nancy Baird’s disappearance — [11:10–24:00]
• Small-town police response & witness sketches — [24:00–36:59]
• Early suspects, polygraphs, and missed leads — [36:59–43:32]
• Bundy’s arrest and mythologizing in Utah — [46:10–48:03]
• Bundy’s confessions, methods, and why Baird doesn’t fit — [48:51–54:54]
• Deep-dive into Officer Dave Anderson and Tom Jackson — [54:54–69:46]
• Local law enforcement collapse/disincorporation of East Layton — [70:19–74:34]
• Final doubts, Bundy’s likely alibi, and unresolved leads — [75:21–83:50]

Conclusion

This episode thoughtfully dismantles decades-old assumptions about Nancy Baird’s disappearance, revealing how narrative convenience (Bundy as the external monster) derailed more difficult but necessary scrutiny of local suspects and police conduct. Unquestioned, that narrative allowed the case to grow cold—and justice for Nancy to remain elusive. The host urges renewed curiosity, empathy for victims, and vigilance against settling for the "convenient alternative" in the quest for truth.

For full details, related documents, and distinctive identikit sketches from the case, visit: TheColdPodcast.com