Nancy Moyer: The House on the Highway // 598

Summary

GOING WEST: TRUE CRIME
Episode 598 – Nancy Moyer: The House on the Highway
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Daphne and Heath explore the bewildering disappearance of Nancy Moyer, a beloved mother and financial analyst from Tenino, Washington. The case, noted for its eerie details and complex web of suspects, remains unsolved nearly two decades later. The hosts examine Nancy's background, the timeline of her vanishing, potential suspects (including colleagues, a local butcher-turned-murderer, and a man who confessed), and the family's continued quest for answers. Through careful storytelling and insightful commentary, Daphne and Heath highlight the tragic uncertainty that haunts Nancy’s loved ones and the lasting mysteries surrounding her fate.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Context

• Hosts received many listener requests to cover Nancy’s case due to its mention in a previous episode about another Tenino crime ([00:21–01:07]).
• Tenino, Washington, described as a small, rural, wooded town, has an unusual history of unsettling crimes ([00:47]).
• “They're all really bizarre as well. They're not like your run of the mill cut and dry true crime case. They're all really, really suspicious and spooky and eerie.” – Daphne ([00:47]).

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2. Nancy Moyer: Background & Vanishing

Early Life & Family ([01:50–05:09])

• Nancy, born 1972 in Olympia, raised with her sister, described as bubbly and hardworking.
• Attended Central Washington University for accounting, met husband Bill during a college internship.
• Married in 1997 and had two daughters, Samantha and Alison.
• Worked for Washington State Department of Ecology for 12 years, but her primary devotion was to her girls.
• Family settled in Tenino for its beauty and tight-knit feel.

Marriage & Separation ([05:09–07:09])

• Nancy and Bill separated amicably in 2007 but co-parented harmoniously.
• Nancy cared for the girls Sunday night to Thursday; Bill had them on weekends.
• Nancy began enjoying social independence, dating, and nights out when daughters were with Bill.

The Night of Her Disappearance ([05:09–11:23])

• March 6, 2009 (Friday): Nancy, worn out from a hectic work week, planned a solo night in.
• Dropped a coworker (Matthew) home at 5:15pm who described Nancy as responsible and planning to “unplug the phone and chill out” ([05:53]).
• Purchased wine, cigarettes, and a microwave dinner at Dave’s Thriftway at 6:45pm.
• Last seen unloading groceries at her home on Route 507 by a police officer running radar outside ([07:44]).
• House described: small, right on a rural stretch of highway, very close to passing traffic and railroad tracks ([07:44–08:38]).

Discovery of Her Absence ([07:44–12:56])

• Neighbor reported hearing Nancy say, “hurry up, let's get going” at midnight, possibly to someone in her driveway ([08:08]).
• Sunday, March 8: Ex-husband Bill came to drop off the girls and found house empty, door ajar, car in driveway, all personal items (keys, phone, purse) left inside ([09:09–09:39]).
• Gas heat spike suggested front door was left open between 9pm and midnight Friday (matching timeline of potential event) ([11:23]).
• Only her coat was missing, adding ambiguity: left willingly or lured/forced outside? Both hosts lean toward her having stepped out for a cigarette ([11:41–12:56]).

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3. Evidence & Initial Investigation

• Two wine glasses found out, but no foreign DNA detected ([14:05]).
• No activity on Nancy's bank cards after the grocery store purchase.
• “...she told her coworker Matthew that she was just going to have a night in, hence why she bought a microwave dinner and a bottle of wine. That sounds like a solo gals night to me.” – Daphne ([13:47]).
• Police dog traced scent from her home to Old Highway 99 before losing it ([17:12]).

Community Search & Emotional Toll ([15:14–20:53])

• Bill was quickly cleared as a suspect after passing a polygraph ([15:17]).
• Coworker Matthew and police officer staked outside also cleared.
• Large community efforts and reward fund ($105,000+), but no new tips surfaced.
• Volunteer searches led by Bev, a friend, for years on local trails to no avail.
• Family, especially daughters, devastated by prolonged uncertainty ([19:46]).

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4. Suspects: A Tangle of Complicated Connections

Male Coworkers ([21:20–30:08])

• Aaron Huntley:

  • Coworker, casual romantic relationship with Nancy; had alibi ([21:20]).

• Jim Roth:

  • Another coworker, scheduled a date with Nancy for the Saturday after she vanished. Claimed he visited her home when she missed the date, found door ajar, entered but left when she wasn’t there.
  • Suspicious behavior: Let himself in, left the door open ([22:42–23:07]).
  • Soon quit job after her disappearance; alibi from ex-wife was not corroborated by direct police interview with his children.
  • Gave inconsistent stories during interviews about his sexual history with Nancy ([28:04–30:08]).
  • Polygraph inconclusive due to nervousness, passed away in 2017.

• Insightful Detail:

  • “The fact that on...the next night, after Nancy goes missing, the first person that’s there at her house is a person that’s, A, never been at her house before, ever, and B, he leaves the door open after he doesn’t find Nancy in the house. Like, I don’t know, I just feel very weird about him.” – Heath ([24:58]).

Exploring Nancy’s Private Life ([30:08–32:05])

• Police found evidence of Nancy’s interest in BDSM; theorized she may have been meeting someone new that night or was being watched/followed ([30:08]).

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The Meat Salesman/Local Butcher: Bernard Howell ([32:05–41:58])

• Howell, a local meat salesman, sold goods to Nancy and lived close by.
• One year after Nancy’s disappearance, Howell was arrested for a gruesome, random murder of a woman (Vonda Boone) on a local trail, later convicted.
• Found with incriminating items: knives, plastic bags, zip ties, bungee cords.
• Admitted to sexually assaulting the corpse, originally lied about involvement ([34:39]).
• “I’m not really buying the whole ‘I was just really angry that day and I wanted to confront somebody’ ...it seemed like you really wanted to kill someone.” – Heath ([35:44]).
• Despite proximity and occupation, no ties established to Nancy’s case; refused polygraph on her case ([41:58]).

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The Confessor: Eric Roberts ([46:31–54:33])

• In 2019, Eric Roberts – uncle to earlier suspect and coworker Aaron Huntley and himself a former colleague – called 911 and confessed to Nancy’s murder:
  • Claimed initially it was self-defense after Nancy attacked him; later changed story to “accidentally killed during rough sex.”
  • Said he panicked, burned her body in a pit on his property; recanted confession after consulting attorney, citing medications ([47:01–53:42]).
  • Police lacked evidence and could not search property; Eric was released.
  • Nancy’s ex-husband Bill and family believe the confession was credible:
    • “I really think this is the guy. I don’t see a reason anyone confesses something like that unless they did it.” – Bill ([52:35]).

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5. Notable Quotes & Moments

• [00:47] “They're all really bizarre as well. They're not like your run of the mill cut and dry true crime case. They're all really, really suspicious and spooky and eerie.” – Daphne
• [14:27] “But it does not seem like somebody was hanging out with her, you know? But then also, it doesn't seem like she really was going out on the town with anybody, considering the fact that she left all of her stuff behind and there was no activity on her bank cards after the transaction that she made at the grocery store on Friday night.” – Daphne
• [19:46] “If something reminds them of her, they become a little more sad, a little more withdrawn. The day to day has become twice as hard as it ever was.” – Bill (about his daughters)
• [32:05] “There's something so disturbing about a butcher murderer.” – Daphne
• [35:44] “I’m not really buying the whole ‘I was just really angry that day and I wanted to confront somebody’ ...it seemed like you really wanted to kill someone.” – Heath
• [47:01] “...a man called 911 to report that he had been the one responsible for Nancy's murder. He claimed that he had been, quote, holding it inside for 10 years and that he was tired of doing so.” – Daphne
• [52:35] "I really think this is the guy. I don't see a reason anyone confesses something like that unless they did it." – Bill (Nancy's ex-husband)

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6. Open Questions, Theories & Final Thoughts

• All suspects (coworkers, the butcher, the confessor) have credible—but unconfirmed—reasons for suspicion; no conclusive evidence links any directly.
• Lack of physical evidence, witness confusion (door left ajar, timeline), and recanted confession leave case unresolved and emotionally taxing for family and community.
• Hosts note the frequency with which perpetrators in other cases have joined search parties or inserted themselves into investigations ([52:06]).
• The family and hosts believe Nancy did not leave voluntarily, citing her love for her daughters and life in Tenino.
• “This is truly such a confusing case. Like I really don't know what to believe. I don't know who is behind it.” – Daphne ([58:05])

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7. Timeline & Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:50] Nancy Moyer’s background, family, and career
• [05:09] Separation from husband Bill, custody, and Nancy’s social life
• [05:53] Last day at work, shopping, and return home
• [08:08] Neighbor’s account of midnight encounter
• [09:09] Bill discovers Nancy gone, house details
• [11:23] Timeline determined by heater usage
• [14:05] Wine glasses and lack of foreign DNA
• [17:12] Failed scent dog search, community hunt
• [21:20] Suspect list begins: coworkers, relationships
• [32:05] Introduction of the local butcher (Howell)
• [34:39] Howell’s crime description, linkage discussion
• [41:16] Analysis of Howell as a suspect and his degree of impulsiveness
• [46:31] New suspect Eric Roberts and his confession
• [52:35] Bill expresses belief in Eric’s guilt
• [56:46] Impact on Nancy’s daughters and community, physical description and contact info

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8. Case Status & Call to Action

Nancy's disappearance remains an open, unsolved case. Her family continues to yearn for closure amid suspicions and heartbreak, as investigators wait for new leads.

If you have information about the disappearance of Nancy Moyer, please contact the Tenino Police Department at 360-264-2626.

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9. Episode Tone

The hosts maintain an empathetic, inquisitive, and slightly conversational tone, alternating between serious consideration of facts and candid reactions to the twists in the case. They offer compassion for Nancy and her family while expressing exasperation at the ambiguities and missed investigative opportunities.

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For more photos and updates on the case, follow Going West on Instagram @goingwestpodcast, TikTok, and Facebook.

Transcript

[Daphne]

Foreign.

[Heath]

What is going on? True crime fans? I'm your host, he.

[Daphne]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[Heath]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Hope you're doing well today. Today's case. We got a bunch of emails from you guys because we did mention this case in the episode on Matthew and felt that we cover recently, which if you didn't listen to that episode that came out in March, that is such an insane story. You need to go listen to it.

[Heath]

Yeah. Because for some reason this small town of Tenaino weirdly has a lot of cases that are attached to it.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And they're all really bizarre as well. They're not like your run of the mill cut and dry true crime case. They're all really, really suspicious and spooky and eerie. This is one of them. So thank you to everybody who gave us the green light to cover one and without further ado, let's just dive right in.

[Heath]

All right guys, this is episode 598 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Daphne]

In March of 2009, a 36 year old mother vanished from her Washington home along a highway without a trace. Multiple men are believed to have been in contact with her on the weekend she disappeared, some even for dates, one of whom confessed to killing her. But was he responsible or was it possibly the local butcher who is convicted of murder the following year? This is the disappearance of Nancy Moyer. Nancy Headland was born on November 22, 1972 to parents Sandra and Vern Headland, and grew up alongside a younger sister named Sharon. Nancy was raised in Olympia, which is the capital city of Washington State. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, throughout her life she was described as bubbly, funny, energetic, and a very hard worker. So after graduating from high school, Nancy enrolled in Central Washington University to study accounting where she was a bright and devoted student. And then while working as an intern for an agricultural company when she was in college, she met her future husband, Bill. The two dated for four years and were married in 1997, eventually welcoming two daughters, Samantha and Alison. Samantha later remembered proudly, my mom was really devoted to me and my sister and she always took great care of us. She tried to make the holidays special, the birthdays, and made sure that we saw every member of our family as much as we could. My mom had a lot of strength. She always knew how to handle a situation. So Nancy had secured a great position with the Washington State Department of Ecology in Lacey, Washington as a financial analyst, where she maintained her role for the 12 years preceding her disappearance. But her true passion was being a mother to her daughters. She was described as a loyal and loving mother, if that wasn't clear from what Samantha said. But Samantha did add, my mom was everything. So the family of four settled in the small nature oriented community of Tanana, Washington which is about 25 minutes south of Olympia and not far from her work in Lacey either to nine. Oh, by the way, if you didn't listen to the Matthew Amphelt episode, it's surrounded by woods and boasts natural beauty and many hiking trails. So it felt like a good place for them to settle. And Nancy and Bill really enjoyed putting down roots in the area, remaining close with their extended families and making plenty of friends. But getting together and having children so young was kind of taking its toll on Nancy and Bill and Nancy kinda started to long for her independence.

[Heath]

So with that, Nancy and Bill separated in 2007, two years before her disappearance. But I will say it was an amicable respectful split. So much so that they never even bothered to pursue a formal divorce. Cause Nancy greatly admired how Bill parented their daughters. And they continued to care about each other, just not romantically. Instead they just focused on keeping their relationship respectful and keeping a stable co parenting relationship for the sake of their daughters who were 9 and 11 when Nancy disappeared. So Nancy typically kept the girls from Sunday night until Thursday and they would then spend the weekends with their dad. So Friday to Sunday, in her free time, Nancy had started dating again and was enjoying going out and meeting new people. You know, she's got this newfound independence and since she didn't have her daughters on the weekend, she went out nearly every weekend and had a really thriving social life. But the day that she was last seen, Friday, March 6, 2009 was an exception. 36 year old Nancy was worn down from a very stressful work week and she had no plans for the evening she left work, dropping a coworker named Matthew Vandrush off at his home around 5:15pm now they were good friends, nothing more. And he described her as incredibly responsible, saying she's the type of person who'd call in if she was three minutes late. Matthew later recalled that she was planning on having a night in that evening, saying we were both tired, it was a long week. She said she was gonna go home, maybe unplug the phone and chill out. So after saying goodnight to Matthew, Nancy stopped by a grocery store called Dave's Thriftway and she picked up wine, cigarettes and a microwave dinner at 6:45pm So 40 minutes after sunset arriving at her home on Route 507 a few minutes later.

[Daphne]

Sounds like a nice solo night in for Nancy. Some cigarettes, some wine, easy dinner. Now let's talk about her house for a second. Like you just said, Heath, 36 year old Nancy Moyer lived on State Route 507, which of course is a highway, but it's probably not really how you're thinking. There are of course, parts of the 507 that are super busy and lined with businesses, but there are also parts of it that are a bit more rural. But still, she lived on a highway, so any number of people could have driven by her home that evening and every other evening and day.

[Heath]

Yeah, I was kind of looking at photos of her house from the outside, and it looks like there's no like gate, there's no fenced area, it's just the road. Then there's a front yard and then it's her house.

[Daphne]

So, yeah, her house is probably like four car lengths away from the road, so, so very close. And of course one lane on each side. And as we know by now, Tonino is, it's a very tiny town. There's only like 1500 people that live there. And again, it's about 25 miles away from the nearest city, which is her hometown of Olympia. So it makes sense that coincidentally there happened to be a police officer running a speed limit radar staked out in front of her house, you know, along the highway, which by the way, her house was also right across the road from a set of railroad tracks. So if you're on her porch looking forward, there's railroad tracks right on the other side of the highway. And then behind the railroad tracks, there's a large patch of woods, and then down a little ways, a cemetery. Now, her house is a small two bedroom, one bathroom home totaling 950 square feet, built in 1920. It's on a big grass lawn, but also next to other homes on the highway. So when she got home, the police officer actually noticed her parking her car out front and unloading her grocery bags that evening. And this was the last reported sighting of Nancy Moyer. Hours later. Nancy's neighbor believed that he heard her, but no one else claimed to have seen her after she arrived home that night. So according to this neighbor, someone pulled into Nancy's driveway around midnight. And he heard Nancy say, hurry up, let's get going. Or at least as far as he recalls. But then he fell back asleep after hearing this exchange. So he wouldn't have remembered that this was important for at Least a day. And then maybe, hurry up, let's get going. Could have been something else entirely. Well, two days later, on Sunday, March 8, between 4:30 and 5:00pm, like clockwork, her ex husband Bill stopped by the house to drop off their daughters as usual and found the house empty with the front door ajar. After waiting there for a few minutes, Bill and the girls headed back home and decided that they would try again later. But Bill acknowledged she's never been more than an hour late on drop off day. Never. So at first he's kind of wondering if maybe she had left to take a walk and just lost track of time. But when she didn't turn up or call later that night, he returned to her house. Really starting to grow concerned here. And that's when he noticed that she had left behind her house keys, her cell phone and her purse. And her car was still parked in the driveway. So if all those things are in the house, the door is ajar. She didn't go anywhere because her car is there. You know, it's not like she went to go run errands or something. It's not painting a good picture. Obviously we have no idea what time Nancy left the house or was taken from the home. But I will say later the determination was made about the time based on when the usage in her gas heating spiked. You know, due to the open door, it's bringing in a winter draft and that spiked between 9pm and midnight.

[Heath]

Which is interesting that they were able to determine this because, I mean, and that's just kind of a cool thing.

[Daphne]

Yeah, like the only way we have a timeline.

[Heath]

Yeah, the only timeline is that, hey, when that door was left open, the heater began to spike or the gas began to spike because the heat turned on. Boom, there's our timeline, which this is

[Daphne]

also a pretty normal window as well. You know, it's Friday night. Makes sense for her to leave the house anytime between 9 and midnight if she's going out with somebody, you know, it's not like it spiked at 3 in the morning when your mind would go to, oh, somebody broke into her house or crept into her house in the middle of the night and something happened from there. This gives us a little bit of like, I guess more of a normal feeling, if you will. Well, Nancy's coach was the only thing that appeared to be missing besides Nancy herself. So if she was going out briefly and brought her coat, that makes sense. But I will say the leaving willingly thing doesn't really match up anyway because she didn't bring her keys or her phone, and she left her door ajar. So it seems like maybe this paints more of the picture of she's stepping outside to check on something to have a cigarette, you know, to see who's outside her house. Because is somebody outside? You know, maybe more so those things.

[Heath]

Yeah, because she also left her purse behind. So. So it's kind of like with the coat being gone and then the purse and the keys being in the house, it's like, okay, well, it would make sense if maybe somebody came and knocked on her door and she's like, oh, let me grab my coat and step outside to talk to you, or whatever.

[Daphne]

Right.

[Heath]

It feels something like, along the lines of that.

[Daphne]

Totally agree. So, of course, this was all exceedingly out of character for Nancy to leave the door ajar, leave everything behind, and especially the fact that she wasn't there when Bill brought her daughters back, because she was always so excited when she got to. To have them, you know, during Sunday to Thursday. So that night, Bill filed a missing persons report. Now, there was no evidence that anybody had entered the house to abduct her or been inside with her that night, except for the discovery of two wine glasses that had been left out, indicating that she may have been hosting someone, even possibly unexpectedly. Because, of course, we know that she told her coworker Matthew that she was just going to have a night in, hence why she bought a microwave dinner and a bottle of wine. That sounds like a solo gals night to me. But it's also possible that both glasses are for her. I have done that many times where you have a glass from the night before, you just haven't washed it yet. Because, let's be honest, wine glasses are really annoying to wash. Well, yeah, and

[Heath]

the one thing that could help us determine if that wine glass was supposed to be for somebody else is if there was any sort of DNA on that second glass. But when they tested it, it didn't appear that there was any, like, foreign DNA. So I'm assuming she just. Maybe she was expecting somebody to come over and then they just didn't use that second wine glass or whatever. I don't know.

[Daphne]

Yeah, we'll definitely get into the DNA stuff later, too. But, yeah, you're totally right. It's definitely. It's definitely really weird, but it does not seem like somebody was hanging out with her, you know? But then also, it doesn't seem like she really was going out on the town with anybody, considering the fact that she left all of her stuff behind and there was no activity on her bank cards after the transaction that she made at the grocery store on Friday night.

[Heath]

Right. So at the very least, that would tell us that, you know, if she did go out with somebody that night, like, she didn't use her cards, especially

[Daphne]

because her purse was at home.

[Heath]

Yeah, exactly. So it's. Yeah, I mean, it's. I'm not saying that it's impossible that she couldn't have gone somewhere with someone.

[Daphne]

Right.

[Heath]

But it doesn't seem as likely.

[Daphne]

Agreed.

[Heath]

Well, as expected, Bill was the first person of interest, of course, the ex husband. But he was very cooperative from the beginning, offering up an alibi, which was that he was at home with his daughters all weekend. And he also consented to a polygraph examination, which he passed. So Bill was very quickly cleared of suspicion, and he just kept his focus on raising awareness about his missing ex wife and caring for his daughters, saying, the kids, so far, they're handling it okay. Some nights are better than others. Also, out of an abundance of caution, the police officer that was staked out near her house, you know, the guy that was doing the speed checks, was also questioned, as was her co worker, Matthew Vandrish, who was married and spent the weekend with his wife and son. So both men were eventually cleared, and the officer claimed to have left the area before seeing anybody else near Nancy's home. Now, with no leads and no workable evidence that foul play had befallen Nancy, her desperate family put up a reward, which, along with donations, topped out at over $105,000 for information. And in the two weeks following her disappearance. But sadly, even with this, it couldn't help rally the community. And unfortunately, it didn't help generate a single tip. With valuable time already lost Nancy's co worker and friend, Bev organized multiple volunteer led searches. For nearly two years, Bev organized searches almost every every single weekend, focusing on the Yelm Tenaino Trail and its surrounding wooded areas. Bev later explained, my goal is to find her. She doesn't deserve to be lying out there somewhere. I hope to hell she's not, but if she is, we have to find her.

[Daphne]

The Thurston Sheriff's lieutenant, Chris Mealy, assured the public, saying, quote, we've been nonstop on it. We've exhaustively worked this case. We're interviewing people every day and learning as much as we can. So scent dogs and cadaver dogs were marched around the vicinity of Nancy's home, but found no leads that way either. One scent dog led his handler from her home out to Old Highway 99, which by the way Old Highway 99 intersects State Route 507 from her house to get up to the highway, it's only like a seven or eight minute walk and then it's like a minute drive. It's 0.3 miles. So it's right there. But then the dog lost its scent.

[Heath]

It's kind of crazy to see Highway 99 because that literally is the highway that runs through the tiny little town that I'm from.

[Daphne]

Yeah, it's long.

[Heath]

It's very long. Yeah, I know Highway 99 very well.

[Daphne]

Didn't we cover a case about Highway 99? You know, is it a different highway in Oregon?

[Heath]

Wasn't it? It could have been. You know, with the fact that it is a very long highway, it's, it's definitely possible.

[Daphne]

Oh wait, no, I'm thinking of Highway 20, that case we covered so long ago. But anyway, yeah, I think highway.

[Heath]

Yeah, Highway 20 is the, the, the highway that goes out to bend, right?

[Daphne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. That was a crazy case too. Well, alongside Matthew's wife Betsy, they put together. So Matthew and Betsy put together a website offering a description of Nancy as well as an outlet for valuable tips. He said, sadly, quote, there's a hole in my life and there's a hole in the office. I can't give up. She's a really warm and kind person. She just would do anything for you if she could. Her response to people who didn't treat her well was to be kind in return. But sadly, you know, like you said, Heath, her co worker and friend Bev is putting together these volunteer searches. You know, here's Matthew making a website. Her family is doing everything they can despite all of these people trying. Within weeks, the investigation stalled and the sheriff's office and community alike were at a loss. Bill said, we kind of feel like we're getting to the end of what contributions we can make. It kind of feels like we're beyond our ability to help at this point. After about a month of Nancy's absence, Bill admitted that his daughters were beginning to question if their mom was ever coming home, saying, quote, they understand that she's missing. It's been too long for us to make any promises that she's absolutely going to be coming home. But at this point, nobody has given up on the possibility of her coming back either. If something reminds them of her, they become a little more sad, a little more withdrawn. The day to day has become twice as hard as it ever was.

[Heath]

And that's a really tough situation to be in because you don't want to lose hope. You don't want to think that your daughter's mother is never going to be coming home. And you also don't want to. It's hard because what are you supposed to tell your children? You know, mommy is coming back. We don't know if mommy's coming back. They're starting to ask questions.

[Daphne]

I know. Especially without a crime scene. Like, obviously they believe something happened to her, but it also looks like she just walked outside for a cigarette and got like beamed up into the sky. Like, there's no proof, there's no blood, there's no toppled over furniture. Like there's nothing pointing to something happening to her specifically.

[Heath]

But the crazy part here is the fact that despite the lack of like, solid leads and evidence in Nancy's case, there actually are multiple persons of interest in this case, most of whom remain persons of interest to this day.

[Daphne]

And they're all like, pretty good ones. Like, they all are kind of like, oh, I think they could have done it.

[Heath]

Yeah, it's kind of crazy how. But it's. The thing is, is you could say that about all these persons of interest that we're gonna talk about, like you said.

[Daphne]

Yeah.

[Heath]

And that's the crazy part. It's not like, oh, there's like three or four where you're like, eh, probably not. It's like they all feel possible. They all feel really possible. So the first was a male coworker of Nancy's named Aaron Huntley, who seemed to be the office catch. Remember, this is at the Washington State Department of Ecology, which is about a 30 minute drive from Nancy's house. So based on rumors around the office, Erin and Nancy had a brief and very casual romantic relationship. When Aaron was questioned about this, he was honest about the nature of their relationship prior to her disappearance, saying that they had been involved. But he was proven to be with another woman at the time of Nancy's disappearance, so he was seemingly ruled out. However, there was another coworker who seemed even more interested in her than Erin was. He even left a message on Nancy's answering machine about having a date with her planned for that Saturday evening, which was the night after she disappeared. But when she didn't show up on their date, this coworker, this guy named Jim Roth, stopped by her house and claimed to find her door open. So apparently this guy, he goes to her house and he lets himself in, but Nancy didn't appear to be home. So then he just apparently left.

[Daphne]

Which is weird because we know that Bill went there. You know, less than, or maybe around 24 hours later on Sunday night and the door was still ajar. So it's almost like he's saying, yeah, I went there, the door was cracked open and then I left. With the door still cracked open.

[Heath]

Well, yeah, I went in, I went into her house is what he's saying. And then I didn't see her, so then I left. But I didn't close the door. That's fucking weird.

[Daphne]

Which, maybe he's leaving it how he left it. Maybe he's like, oh, maybe she went for a walk and I don't want to lock her out or whatever, like, but it is, it's kind of interesting.

[Heath]

Well, I think that what makes this even more suspicious is the fact that Jim quit the Washington Department of Ecology shortly after Nancy disappeared. So obviously that doesn't look very good. He was interviewed by the police but was not officially announced as a suspect. According to Jim, he and Nancy had met up a few times for dates and he had invited her over to his house once, though he had never been over to hers. Yet here he is showing up at her house when she's, you know, missed this date the next night. And by the way, Jim also had kids with his ex but was divorced. So similar to how Nancy and her husband had split. So that Friday night, the night that Nancy vanished, Jim claimed that he was home with his two sons. And this alibi was cleared by the boys mother. But strangely she would not permit police to question her sons about the evening to confirm. So she's saying it almost feels like she's slightly covering for Jim in a way because she's like, yeah, no, you can't talk to my kids about whether or not Jim was there that night.

[Daphne]

But does she just not want to potentially traumatize her children or is she trying to cover something up?

[Heath]

Yeah, it could be one of the other, I guess, you know, which we hate. My mind, my mind goes to the more nefarious option for some reason, but it's us. Maybe it's not like that.

[Daphne]

Well, he also told police that the house was quiet except for the TV which had been left on. And you know, basically the house was empty and Nancy was nowhere inside. Which also just lends credence to the idea that she had stepped outside for a brief moment while she was hanging out at home, having some wine, watching TV by herself.

[Heath]

I don't know though, I just still, I still feel like this is so weird and suspicious, the fact that on, you know, the night that, or sorry, not the night but the next night, after Nancy goes missing, the first person that's there at her house is a person that's, A, never been at her house before, ever, and B, he leaves the door open after he doesn't find Nancy in the house. Like, I don't know, I just feel very weird about him.

[Daphne]

Well, police wondered that, too. They're like, why would you feel comfortable, like, letting yourself into her home if you haven't been there yet? So then detectives started wondering if maybe he claimed to have gone over there after she didn't show up for their date on Saturday night, you know, in order to justify his fingerprints that had already been there, maybe as a result

[Heath]

of him being there on Friday night.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So then maybe he didn't go there, and he's saying the door was ajar and this. And I went in there and she wasn't there, and then I just left. So that he would have reason for his DNA to be in the house if it actually was.

[Heath]

Well, one of the things we have to consider here is a bit of context. We have to talk about the fact that Nancy's home was only 950 square feet. That's not super big. So when he went into the home, because, you know, he was the one that noticed that apparently the TV was on and she wasn't there. So is it one of those things where the door was left ajar and maybe he walked in like. Like a foot in and kind of hollered in the. In the house and said, hey, Nancy, are you here? Or was he, like, actually inside, Inside the home? Was he, you know, walking around in the living room? That matters here? I think.

[Daphne]

I agree. And I don't know. I don't know what the answer is.

[Heath]

I wish we had that answer.

[Daphne]

I know, but. And to be fair, if he knows her well, they work together on a regular basis. They've been out on dates before.

[Heath]

Maybe it wouldn't be weird to step inside.

[Daphne]

It's also fair to be like, hey, maybe he tried to call her, which we also are not privy to that information. And then he's kind of like, wait, I hope she's okay, and goes to her house to check on her. Like, I do feel like that's a nice thing to do.

[Heath]

I guess my point is, is, like, if the house was, like, 4,000 square feet and the TV was, like, in the very back of the house and somebody had to go in and, like, you had to, like, physically walk through the house in order to tell that that TV was on. Whereas with Nancy's house.

[Daphne]

It was probably right there.

[Heath]

It was probably right there. Yeah. And obviously, again, we don't have that information, but it is one of the questions that kind of runs through my mind here.

[Daphne]

Well, I will say, you know, I don't know where this TV was. I'm assuming it was in her living room. But I will say, just looking at the Zillow listing of this house, just based on the photos, it looks like when you go through the front door, you walk into the living room, there's, like, a little fireplace, there's a little kitchen table. So it's very possible that he just poked his head in and said, nancy, are you there?

[Heath]

Yeah, that's what I mean. Exactly. It's like, you know, did he go all the way in? Maybe.

[Daphne]

And Jim did consent to a polygraph test, but he was so overwhelmed and nervous that a conclusion could not be drawn, which doesn't automatically make him guilty, of course, but it's good to note. And this kind of goes along with it, too. I'll say that when he was first interviewed by detectives, Jim said that he and Nancy had previously tried and wanted to have sex, but that he was kind of struggling under the pressure and he couldn't perform. So maybe he's just, like a nervous guy. You know, it could be maybe riddled with anxiety. And that's why he went over to her house. That's why he couldn't pass the polygraph, because he's so nervous. This is why he couldn't sexually perform with Nancy. And he also said that, so the night that that happened, where he could not sexually perform, that Nancy stayed over and got up the next morning, and that they had breakfast together at his house before she went home. So it. It didn't, like, necessarily, you know, destroy the evening she stayed over. They had a nice time. But years later, when he was interviewed for a second time, he changed his story, alleging that Nancy had come over and they were able to have sex, but that she went back home that same evening, which is literally completely opposite from what he said before. And how do you confuse that?

[Heath]

Yeah. Also, you know, it's not one of those things where it's a fleeting thought because of the fact that Nancy had vanished and he was telling police this. This is not something that you would probably forget. This is a story that you would probably be able to relay 10 years down the road when you're interviewed again,

[Daphne]

and it's not a story that you would need to lie about. It doesn't matter if you had sex or not. And if she slept over or not to the investigation. So why would you lie about that?

[Heath]

Yeah, it does seem very, very strange that the story changed.

[Daphne]

Yeah, well, Jim passed away in 2017, so, you know, like, eight years after Nancy went missing due to natural causes. And Nancy's friend Bev said with noted frustration, quote, there was never going to be any kind of resolution if it had been him. So it seemed like there just wasn't enough to prove that he had done it or not done it, but that people are obviously a little bit suspicious of him and had been for years now, although this next thing, it's a personal thing to share, we do want to mention it because it could possibly be relevant. Basically. After searching Nancy's home, detectives came to the conclusion that she was experimenting with her curiosity with the BDSM community, just based on different items that they found in her house. But it didn't appear that she ever brought men back to her home, maybe wanting to keep these men separate from her home life, with her daughters and keep her daughters safe. So still, it could prove that she was experimenting with different people aside from Jim and Aaron. So had she invited one of these men back to her house that night, making an exception for somebody, or had someone possibly even followed her home?

[Heath]

So just two months after Nancy disappeared, her home was cleared out and it was placed up for rent. But the original search of Nancy's home led to a second theory, one that is very strange to me. It was the involvement of a meat salesman who went door to door making sales and deliveries. Cause this guy lived just down the street from Nancy. Her daughter Samantha described him as awkward, but claimed that she thought that he seemed harmless when she was a kid. Well, clearly that was not the case, because the meat in Nancy's freezer, which Samantha remembered as lemon pepper chicken and either shrimp or prawns, was from this local meat salesman from a local butcher. And he was later indicted on murder charges. So Samantha wondered if maybe this guy returned to Nancy's home for another sale ahead of her disappearance, saying, I kind of do wonder if he came back because they found steaks in her freezer. And I don't remember her ever buying steaks.

[Daphne]

There's something so disturbing about a butcher murderer.

[Heath]

I mean, especially in this situation, because according to Bill, Nancy is kind of almost vegetarian. And so I look, and she's got shelves worth of meat in there. I was like, what is this for? Didn't really fit. Didn't make sense, because it's not something that she would have typically purchased. Well, here's the story of the murder charge. So on the Evening of Sunday, August 8, 2010, only a year and a half after Nancy vanished, 26 year old Bernard Howell, who was just 10 years younger than Nancy, was pulled over after a report from a man who alleged that Bernard had asked for help disposing of a body. And in the front passenger seat of his vehicle was a figure stuffed inside of a sleeping bag. So obviously incredibly suspicious because there's a fucking sleeping bag in his front seat.

[Daphne]

A human shaped one.

[Heath]

Yeah. The officer who pulled him over investigated further and found a warm body upright next to him in the car that day. Bernard was apparently angry about something and had been out walking a hiking trail looking for a confrontation and zeroed in on his unsuspecting victim. The woman he murdered, later identified as 60 year old Brazil born Vonda Boone, had been walking the Yelm to nine zero trail, which coincidentally had been where Bev was focusing her search for Nancy. Bernard then pulled a knife on her and attempted to knock her out with it, totally randomly. But when Vonda didn't lose consciousness, Bernard slit her throat and then strangled her as she fought back for as long as she possibly could. And this is horrific, but according to her autopsy, her injuries were so severe that it appeared as if Bernard had attempted to decapitate her while she was still alive. And by the way, I want to say that I saw the picture of Bernard, what he looked like after he was arrested. He looks, he looks crazy. Like just the photo of him, he looks like he would be, he would have a sleeping bag with a body in it in his car.

[Daphne]

Maybe it's the, the deep blue eyes.

[Heath]

Yeah, I don't know exactly. Yeah, maybe it's that.

[Daphne]

Well, also inside Bernard's vehicle were plastic bags, zip ties, a 10 pound weight and bungee cords. Yeah.

[Heath]

So I'm not really buying the whole. I was just really angry that day and I wanted to confront somebody that. Because it seems like you were kind of premeditated with having all those things in your car. It seemed like you really wanted to kill someone.

[Daphne]

It's clear he's like a violent individual who has these disturbing plans. Even the fact that you're like, you go out on a hiking trail and you just do this to this random woman who you don't know. Right. When you see her like, and the violence of it as well, it says a lot.

[Heath]

And then on top of that you're also a butcher.

[Daphne]

Right. So Bernard was arrested on the spot and then he was taken into custody and he Explained that he had merely happened upon Vonda's body while walking along the same trail.

[Heath]

Yeah. No.

[Daphne]

And that he had simply taken her into his vehicle in order to save her family the cost of a burial.

[Heath]

What a story. And, you know, on top of that, like, it gets even more stupid because he had sex with her dead body,

[Daphne]

and he admitted to having sex with her dead body. So what the hell?

[Heath]

Nobody is buying that story that you just happened upon a dead body and you're like, oh, I'm gonna do the. I'm gonna do the nice and good thing and spare her family of burial costs.

[Daphne]

Imagine thinking that story is gonna work. Yeah.

[Heath]

What now?

[Daphne]

Well, detectives also had no reason to believe that they had known each other before this interaction and believed that he had been either walking or biking along that trail and that the opportunity to kill presented itself to him, and he took it. You know, just being with or near this woman, walking by her, and there's nobody else around. He just said, this is the moment. But, like, why.

[Heath]

I'll never be able to understand the mindset of, like, what goes through the mind of a killer in that way, where they see somebody out in the woods on a hiking trail, and instead of just minding your fucking business and going about your day, you decide, oh, there's. There's nobody around right now. I think I'm gonna murder this random person.

[Daphne]

Well, of course, there's some mental health stuff involved here, but it also seems like there was possibly some drug use involved, because after his arrest, he told officials at the prison that he was hearing voices and that he longed for them to leave him alone. And when the press got in touch with his father, who, by the way, his name is also Bernard Howell, he said that he believed that his son was using methamphetamine, adding, quote, I hope he goes where he gets some medical help, because he does have a screw loose.

[Heath]

Yeah. So even your dad is saying that. But I also think that there was probably a possible motive in sexual assault as well, just given that the fact that he did sexually assault her body.

[Daphne]

I mean, this is a sick individual. Without a doubt. But Bernard was evaluated for his mental competency. Sorry. And was actually found fit to stand trial. As we know, it's very hard to prove guilty by reason of insanity.

[Heath]

Yes, it is.

[Daphne]

And a little bit on Vonda. Sadly, she had just moved to the area only five months earlier and was still very much in the process of putting down roots and making friends in the area. And she had actually moved to the Pacific Northwest from Long Island, New York, to work at a local massage therapy studio and study New Age enlightenment. The owner of Radiance Herbs and Massage in Olympia, where Vonda worked, described her as an amazing masseuse as well as a bright light and a beloved asset to their team who always had a kind word to say. And this wonderful woman is just on a hike in her beautiful new home and encounters one of the most horrific people imaginable.

[Heath]

I hate that people can't just live their lives without the fear of some asshole ruining their day and possibly their life, truly. Well. Inside Bernard's car were multiple knives, though they weren't sure which one, if any, of them, may have been the murder weapon. In April of 2011, he pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was charged with nearly 27 years in prison. So he is still in prison.

[Daphne]

This doesn't feel like enough time.

[Heath]

No, it doesn't. But after he completes his sentence, he will be required to serve 3 years in community custody as well as undergo substance abuse treatment. As we mentioned, Bernard lived very close to Nancy, only about a mile or 1.6 km away from her house. So he was questioned in Nancy's disappearance, but maintained that he had never met Nancy, despite the fact that her daughters recognized him as selling her meat before.

[Daphne]

And it is possible that with all of his customers that he has, he really didn't remember her and wasn't involved. I think it would make more sense for Nancy's daughters to remember him because he is the one guy with the meat that comes to the door. But in his pov, he's like, this is just one of many women that I see on a regular basis doing door to door meat sales, which is such a crazy concept, by the way, but it is a little weird given the proximity and his obviously horrific nature.

[Heath]

Yeah, just the fact that he was able to do something like that to another person, you have to kind of take that all into consideration.

[Daphne]

But actually, sorry, really quick. Yeah, something I. He seems very impulsive and violent, of course. And we know he has knives. Like you said, he nearly decapitated Vonda before she was even deceased. So he doesn't really strike me as the kind of guy who could get Nancy out of her house and then take her somewhere else and kill her. Maybe that he would just do it there and then also, why Nancy? Like, I. I'm. I think this is really a weird connection. And it's definitely possible, but weirdly, he's not my biggest suspect in my mind.

[Heath]

Yeah, the crazy butcher murderer guy is not the guy that because, yeah, I do agree. Like, if he was a person who took opportunities that were presented to him, he probably would have killed her right there and then we would have had maybe some blood evidence around Nancy's home. I don't. It's not like she would have left with the butcher, the meat salesman guy,

[Daphne]

you know, and then with the neighbor saying that he heard Nancy saying, okay, hurry up, like, let's get going, or whatever it was that wouldn't match up either if he really even heard her say that. So I don't know. I don't know.

[Heath]

And that's probably why he has never been connected to Nancy's disappearance, though, notably, he refused to take a polygraph examination regarding Nancy's whereabouts. Nancy's home was searched diligently before it was put up for rent, and multiple items were removed for DNA testing, but for whatever reason, were held for years in police custody before being tested. This included her purse and the wine glass she had been drinking out of, as well as the other wine glass taken from the home, which detectives thought may have been set out for someone else that night. There were also cigarette butts and an ashtray removed from the front porch of her home. And a pack of cigarettes was found in the side pocket of a camping chair that was placed on her porch, Which I gotta say, as a former smoker, that is. That's a very common place where people. That's usually where I kept my cigarettes, too, in my little. The little drink holder.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Of a camping chair. That would totally make sense. I actually wanted to ask you because I know Bev felt like she was likely taking a smoke break out front when whatever happened to her, happened to her. You know, maybe somebody stopped by and either convinced her to come with them under false pretenses or abducted her. And actually, a big reason that she thinks this is because of the fact that those cigarettes were left outside in the camping chair cup holder. And she doesn't think that Nancy would have done that on such, like, a cold, damp night because the cigarettes would have gotten soggy. Which, like, I know I think about me with joints. Like, I would leave a joint outside. Not in the rain. I just would leave it outside even if it was cold. Like, I don't think about that. Did you think about that as a cigarette smoker? Like, oh, my cigs are gonna get soggy.

[Heath]

Yeah, sometimes I would definitely be aware if I knew it was gonna rain. I would be, like, aware that I needed to bring them inside, but.

[Daphne]

But not if. Just if it's cold and on A cover?

[Heath]

Yeah, if it's on a. If it's. If they're on a covered porch in a chair. I'm not, I'm not going to be concerned because. Because they can just. They can just be there, you know, whenever I'm ready to go out and have a cig, I can just go out there and just grab one out of that cup holder and whatever.

[Daphne]

Or even if it's on the table, like, I just feel. I don't know. That's my, My thought.

[Heath]

I wouldn't be as concerned.

[Daphne]

Let me say that I do agree with Bev, though. I do personally think that she was outside having a cigarette when something happened. Maybe somebody drove by and saw her. Maybe some. Maybe somebody did stop by and she had a cigarette outside to talk to them while wearing her coat with everything else left inside. That makes so much sense now after

[Heath]

that point in which she possibly went outside to have a cigarette with her coat on. From that point on, I have no idea. I mean, I really don't. I don't know if she was abducted, if somebody lured her away from the house. We just don't know.

[Daphne]

Well, we do have one other suspect, which to many people is the person that is likely responsible for this, probably the most credible.

[Heath]

And I think Nancy's family actually feels the same way.

[Daphne]

They do. But first I'll say that some of Nancy's clothing and her bedding were also removed from her house for testing, but these items weren't tested until 2019, and none were found to contain foreign DNA. Though maybe an earlier search would have revealed more. I don't know why the hell they waited so long. But like Heath said earlier, there was no foreign DNA found on any of the items in her home. As far as, like, fingerprints on the door handle or things like that, it has not been released. If they were like, up. Yep, here's Matthew's thumbprint on the fridge.

[Heath]

Right.

[Daphne]

Like we don't know any of that. Or wait, did I say Matthew? I meant you did. Jim. Sorry, I meant Jim.

[Heath]

Jim. Yeah, we.

[Daphne]

We don't. We're not privy to any of that since. Sorry to spoil her. Case is still open, but let's talk about this other guy. So that same year, again, 2019, a decade after Nancy vanished, another strange suspect revealed himself, further deepening the mystery of Nancy's case.

[Heath]

Revealed himself?

[Daphne]

He did.

[Heath]

No, I mean, yeah, but I mean, he literally came out and said he did it.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So on July 9th again, 2019 at 3pm, a man called 911 to report that he had been the one responsible for Nancy's murder. He claimed that he had been, quote, holding it inside for 10 years and that he was tired of doing so. So he admitted his fear of reporting it over the phone, knowing that it was a recorded line, but that without question, Nancy was deceased initially when an officer came to speak with him because he didn't want to do it over the phone, which I feel like. How is it better to have an officer with a body cam on.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

Taking your statement in person. I don't know. Because this officer is recording their interaction. So basically, when he went there, Eric alleged that Nancy had attacked him. Right. And that her killing had been self defense, but that he panicked and buried her in the woods.

[Heath]

Yes. So Eric is the guy. I think his name is Eric Roberts. From what I read online, he's the guy that made that 911 call.

[Daphne]

But it's really weird because he said this. And then after this confession, he asked the officer if he could stop recording so that they could speak more candidly. And then Eric alleged that he had been with her on the night she disappeared. He's like changing his story suddenly and saying that they had been hanging out, they had consensual sex, but that he had accidentally gotten too rough with her and strangled her with a scarf by accident. Which could make sense if she is leaning more towards that type of sex. And then he kills her by accident. We have seen this in other cases, but in Eric's own words, he said, quote, I didn't mean for it to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen. She hadn't moved in a really long time and she was not breathing.

[Heath]

So it's hard because I don't know if I can believe anything that Eric says, because at first you say that you're kind of the victim here, that she attacked you, you were defending yourself. And then you change it up to make yourself still seem like somewhat of a victim. We're getting a little closer to intentionally killing her by saying that I accidentally killed her. So we went from self defense to an accident.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So it absolutely does feel very hard to believe him because that is a very, very, very different story. So then he says that he hastily put Nancy's shirt back on before panicking and removing her body from his home. Because he is saying this happened at his house, which would then mean that he picked up Nancy and brought her over to him, which again, is just. It's kind of hard for me to believe that she would leave her door ajar and leave everything inside including her cell phone.

[Heath]

But one thing that I have to go back to is the fact that her neighbor heard her say, you know, hurry up. Let's get going.

[Daphne]

So, yeah, maybe it was just like, oh, yeah, I'll stop by really quick, or, let's go somewhere. But again, you live on a highway, and you're leaving your door ajar. Unless that Jim lied, and her door was. He left her door ajar, and it was. It was closed when he got there.

[Heath]

Like, I don't know. It's all. It's all too confusing.

[Daphne]

I know. It's all so screwed up. Well, when asked why he didn't attempt to get help for her, Eric said, I just freaked out. I don't think I even had working phones at the time. Which it's very possible that that's true. And he panicked because he really didn't try to kill her. It's kind of interesting to me that in 2009, when a lot of people have smartphones already, you don't have a cell phone or a working phone, but. Okay, Eric, whatever.

[Heath]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know. It's. They live in a pretty rural place, so it's possible.

[Daphne]

And by the time he realized that she was gone, he said it was too late. He then told authorities that her body was buried in a pit on his property. When. Remember, before he said he buried her in the woods. Now he's saying, she's on my property. Well, get this. This is a really weird connection. This man, Eric, was the uncle of

[Heath]

Aaron Huntley, which, as you guys will remember, is the other coworker that Nancy had dated casually before her disappearance.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And Eric, by the way, had also worked at the Department of Ecology with Nancy and Aaron and Jim and Bev.

[Heath]

Yeah. It's kind of crazy that all of these people are connected to Nancy's work. You've got Jim, who she worked with, and also kind of was seeing at one point, Aaron, who she worked with and was kind of seeing. And then you've got Eric, who she wasn't seeing, but she did work with.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So it seems. Or, I mean, apparently, according to Eric, they were in a sexual relationship. So she has. She's kind of in a relationship with three different guys at her work. Like a casual either sexual or slightly romantic relationship with.

[Heath]

Yeah. That's just wild to me.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And I will say, as well, Bev remembered Eric showing up to help with one of the ground searches of the forested area surrounding the community after Nancy's disappearance. So that would be pretty interesting if he was behind it and went to the search to stay close.

[Heath]

Well, we know that sometimes killers end up doing that. They want to stay close to the investigation because they. They want to know, what are you finding? How close are police to catching me?

[Daphne]

He explained to police that he had transported Nancy's body to a remote parcel of his property and burned her remains in a fire pit behind his home. And again, that their relationship was purely sexual in nature. But they still don't have her body. And despite the lack of evidence and closure, her family has taken to the belief that Eric is to blame for the murder. Like Heath said, Nancy's ex, Bill, said, I really think this is the guy. I don't see a reason anyone confesses something like that unless they did it. But unfortunately for Nancy's loved ones and the investigation, Eric recanted his confession just a day later. Maybe because he was lying or maybe because he realized the gravity of what he was admitting to. After consulting with a defense attorney who likely informed him that the police didn't have any actual evidence against him, Eric explained that he had been on medication and that he didn't even remember making the confession.

[Heath]

So that's kind of crazy. You literally admit to doing it, then your attorney says, hey, they don't have any evidence here. And then you're like, oh, so I might not go to jail. Okay, well, I didn't do it. I was actually just looped up.

[Daphne]

And this is a way for him to kind of get it off his chest and tell them.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

But then not have to take the fall for it. Yeah.

[Heath]

Not have to take responsibility for it.

[Daphne]

Like a weird best of both worlds situation because. And since they didn't have any evidence that said he did it, and because he recanted the confession and he's not allowing them to search his property, they can't search it to potentially find her body because they have nothing to be able to get a warrant for. So.

[Heath]

Yeah, which is the reason why, you know, without sufficient evidence here, he was released, and he has denied any involvement since then.

[Daphne]

Just crazy. Just crazy. So if he did it or any of these other guys that we have talked about did it, if it was somebody that knew her, we can imagine that she either did have a plan or that it was a last minute, hey, I'm popping by to see you thing.

[Heath]

And something escalated from there.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Whether she willingly left her home or she didn't.

[Heath]

Well, two years before Eric confessed in 2017, Nancy's case was reclassified as a homicide. From the onset of the investigation, no one who knew Nancy believed that she had left of her own volition. Citing the fact that she was a proud, devoted mother and that she would have never left her beloved daughters. Matthew vandrush maintained, there's absolutely no way she would do anything for those kids. Nancy had no known history of mental illness or substance abuse and had no desire to leave behind the life that she adored, the life that centered around her children. The only indication that she may have possessed the motivation to leave her former life behind were her bank statements. Because when her financial records were searched in hopes of finding any indication as to where she went, it was discovered that she was in about $50,000 of credit card debt, or over $77,000 by today's standards. Detectives muse that perhaps she was looking for a way out of this immense financial pressure that she found herself in. But anybody who knew Nancy said that this had not even been a consideration when it came to Nancy's whereabouts. Her sister Sandra explained that Nancy was the one who, when they were growing up, always talked her friends out of running away and always stayed close to home. Grounded is a good word for her. I don't know what she would have wanted to run away from. She had a good life. She has a good life. Her loved ones believe that she was most likely killed the night that she disappeared. Thurston Sheriff Lieutenant Chris Mealy stated, the big red flag is that we don't have any big red flags. It's like she just walked away, but that's not in her character.

[Daphne]

Samantha admitted that she and her sister Allison really struggled under the weight of their mom's fate, saying, quote, growing up without a mom sucks, especially when you don't know where she is. She didn't get to see me graduate, didn't get to see my first dance, drive my first car, any of that. It would help so much to find her, to find out what happened to her. Nancy was about 4ft, 11 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds and had dark brown hair and brown eyes. She had multiple tattoos, pierced ears, and a pierced belly button. If you have any information about the disappearance of Nancy Moyer, please call the Tonino Police Department at 360-264-2626. Thank you so much, everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Heath]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to to this episode. Let us know what your thoughts are on this case. We're going to post photos of Nancy and everything involving her case on our socials. We're on Instagram @goingwest podcast. We're on TikTok as well as Facebook so give us a follow, let us know.

[Daphne]

This is truly such a confusing case. Like I really don't know what to believe. I don't know who is behind it. I feel like Eric makes so much sense obviously but we still don't have the rest of the story. Like yeah she left everything behind because we were supposed to come right back and she did close the door but I dropped her or I picked her up and I was gonna drop her off. Like we don't, we still don't have like all the pieces because this case

[Heath]

is still open and like you said there's a lot of players in this case that could be responsible. You got Eric, Jim, Bernard.

[Daphne]

Too many. Too freaking many. So thank you guys so much for tuning in and we will see you on Tuesday.

[Heath]

Alright guys, so for everybody out there

[Daphne]

in the world don't be a stranger.