The Rawlins Rodeo Murders // 539

Summary

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Going West: True Crime

Episode 539: The Rawlins Rodeo Murders
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman
Date: September 19, 2025

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Overview

In this gripping episode, Daphne and Heath unravel the chilling and interconnected cases known as the Rawlins Rodeo Murders, a series of abductions and murders of young girls in Rawlins, Wyoming during the summer of 1974. The hosts explore how these unsolved crimes connect to a suspected serial killer, Royal Russell Long—a carnival worker believed to be responsible for as many as 50 murders across several states, particularly around fairs and carnivals. The episode also revisits other disappearances linked to Long, examining the systemic issues surrounding missing girls, flawed investigations, and the enduring impact on the victims' families.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Rawlins Rodeo Murders (00:32–24:38)

• Background:

  • Summer 1974, Rawlins, Wyoming (pop. <8,000): Four girls, aged 10–19, vanished during the town’s annual rodeo and fair.
  • Two—Christy (Christine) Gross (19) and Carlene Brown (19)—never made it home after heading to the fair on July 4, 1974.
  • Their van's location remains a point of confusion—either near the fairgrounds or 200 miles away, adding to the mystery ([06:33]).

• Investigation & Discovery:

  • The disappearance was initially attributed to runaway behavior but concern escalated after no contact for weeks ([08:03]).
  • Christy’s remains were found in Sinclair, Wyoming in 1983—nine years later—identified via dental records and a unique ring ([09:24]).
  • The cause of death: blunt force trauma to the head ([11:26]).
  • Carlene’s body remains missing. Complications in identifying unidentified remains due to her being adopted ([11:26–12:34]).

• Subsequent Disappearances:

  • August 4: Deborah Meyer (15), visiting from Montana, disappeared en route to the movies ([12:59]).
  • August 23: Jaylene Banker (10) vanished near a popcorn stand at the fair ([13:20]).
    • Jaylene’s remains were found eight months later, several miles from town, also showing signs of blunt force trauma ([21:31–23:00]).
    • Hundreds of tips were received, including a possible sighting in a vehicle hours away, but none panned out ([18:12–20:47]).
    • Rumors circulated of mass graves and church discoveries, all unfounded ([20:47]).

• Pattern Recognition:

  • The frequency and similarity of the cases—disappearing at crowded fairs—sparked fears of a local serial killer ([21:20]).

Royal Russell Long: The Suspect (24:38–30:39)

• Profile:

  • Carnival and fair employee, former long-haul trucker, go-kart track owner, and sometimes police informant ([24:38–25:09]).
  • Described as charming yet manipulative, with a known violent temper ([24:41]).
  • Criminal history includes contempt of court and an escape attempt; boasted about his skills in body disposal ([25:14]).
  • Quote: “If you cut the bodies up small enough and shove them down a rat hole, no one will ever find them.” ([25:02])

• Relevance:

  • Had means and opportunity to prey on victims around carnivals and fairs.
  • Later linked to similar unsolved cases in other states, including the disappearances of Native American girls and the Oklahoma State Fair murders.

The Sharon Bald Eagle and Sandy Brokenleg Abductions (31:46–45:26)

• Case Overview:

  • September 1984: Sharon Bald Eagle (12, Cheyenne River Sioux) and Sandy Brokenleg (15) ran away from a residential school, aiming to reach Idaho.
  • While hitchhiking, both were picked up by Royal Long in Wyoming ([33:39–35:41]).

• Attack and Escape:

  • After being offered food and shelter at Long’s house, he propositioned and then attacked them at gunpoint, raping Sandy and beating Sharon ([36:01]).
  • Sandy managed a daring escape; police arrived but found Long and Sharon gone ([36:46–38:39]).
  • Blood was later found in the house—possibly Sharon’s ([38:39]).

• Investigation and Arrest:

  • Long was apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico after a tip from the public ([38:39–39:18]).
  • He spun conflicting tales, claiming he sent Sharon off to Texas, but she was never found ([40:05–40:47]).
  • Sandy’s account was backed by evidence found in Long’s truck: stuffed animals, likely used to lure the girls ([41:13]).
  • Long accused the girls of lying about their age and claimed innocence, despite overwhelming evidence ([40:47–41:13]).
  • Sharon’s father, Taylor Bald Eagle, spent his life seeking answers:

    “It hurts to even talk about it. She’s in my prayers every meal, and she’s traveling with me. ... In Lakota, we don’t say goodbye because goodbye is final. We say toksha, which means later.”
    —Taylor Bald Eagle ([45:01])

• Outcome:

  • Long was sentenced to two life sentences for rape and kidnapping, never admitting to Sharon’s murder ([44:03]).
  • “He received two life sentences for the abduction and assault of the girls. Until the day he died, he maintained that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of Sharon Bald Eagle or any of the murders that he was suspected of committing...” —Daphne ([44:03])

The Oklahoma State Fair Murders & Other Linked Crimes (46:36–59:26)

• Charlotte Kinsey & Cinda Pallett (13):

  • Disappeared from the 1981 Oklahoma State Fair after taking a job from a fair employee offering $5/hour to unload stuffed animals ([47:14–48:03]).
  • Witnesses—their boyfriends—identified Long as the man who took them ([50:14]).
  • The car used was found; luminol tests on a trunk mat revealed two small body-sized stains and blonde hair matching one victim ([50:21–51:57]).
  • Long’s daughter testified about his predatory MO with young girls, and his ex-wife identified him from a police sketch ([52:12–53:26]).

• Long’s Disturbing Admissions:

  • Told his daughter, “No one over the age of 13 could ever satisfy him sexually.”
    —Daphne ([54:05])
  • Bragged: “Even if I was found in a locked room straddling a dead body and holding a gun, I could manage to get away with the murder because I was so slick and smooth talking.” —Daphne ([54:29])
  • Taunted families:

    “Only I know where those bodies are and I’m not talking.”
    —Assistant DA Ray Elliott ([55:39])

  • Claimed, if pressed, he could prove the girls were alive with “photos taken last year,” yet never produced proof ([57:47–58:38]).

• Trial and Frustrations:

  • Despite witness testimony and forensic evidence, Long was acquitted in Oklahoma for lack of “enough evidence,” remaining imprisoned for other charges ([56:42–57:08]).
  • District Attorney Ray Elliott:

    “I truly believe that the bodies are within 45 miles of where we sit right now, in a rat hole, just like he said, in some field grown over with grass.” ([57:26])

• Legacy and Likely Scale of Crime:

  • Long continued denying involvement until he died in 1993 at age 58, but is suspected in as many as 50 murders ([61:12]).
  • Janet Franson (Natl. Center for Missing & Exploited Children):

    “Not only did he drive trucks, but he killed girls all over the country. ... The only good thing is that I know that the son of a gun is in hell and he won’t hurt anyone else.” ([59:44])

  • Families of the missing still seek justice and closure as decades pass.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Community Fear:
  “After four disappearances of young girls in the span of under two months, the small community of Rawlins suspected that a serial killer was lurking among them.” —Heath ([21:20])

• On Identification Challenges:
  “Think about all the Jane and John Does that are in the system that they ... have no way of connecting ... without DNA or dental records...” —Daphne ([12:14])

• On Changing Times:
  “The 70s was a little bit more ... street lamp societies ... we didn’t quite know the dangers, I guess.” —Heath ([15:35–16:11])

• On Law Enforcement Hurdles:
  “We hear that all the time. ... We have so many cases exactly like today’s ... to use as examples as to why we should be accompanying our 10 year olds to the fair, etc.” —Daphne ([16:24])

• On the Suspect’s Manipulation:
  “Royal also made a point of taunting the grieving families savagely ... ‘Only I know where those bodies are and I’m not talking.’” —Daphne, quoting Assistant DA ([55:39])

• On the Enduring Pain for Families:
  “It hurts to even talk about it. ... In Lakota, we don’t say goodbye ... We say toksha, which means later.” —Taylor Bald Eagle ([45:01])

• On Systemic Issues:
  “These perverts are everywhere. You expect something like this to come from a big city ... Bad guys go anywhere.” —Janet Franson ([59:44])

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Timestamps for Critical Segments

• Case Introduction/Rundown – [01:39–05:44]
• Christy Gross & Carlene Brown Disappearance – [05:44–11:26]
• Carlene’s Indigenous Heritage & Challenges of Identification – [12:14]
• Debra Meyer & Jaylene Banker Disappearances – [12:59–17:16]
• Jaylene Banker’s Remains Discovery – [21:34–23:00]
• Pattern, Fears of Serial Killer – [21:20–24:38]
• Royal Russell Long Background – [24:38–25:14]
• Royal’s Chilling Boast to Cellmate – [25:02]
• Sharon Bald Eagle/Sandy Brokenleg Abduction – [31:46–40:47]
• Royal Long’s Lies on Sharon’s Fate – [40:05–41:13]
• Trial, Imprisonment, and Royal’s Death – [44:03–61:12]
• Oklahoma State Fair Murders & Composite Sketch Breakthrough – [47:14–53:26]
• Long’s Daughter’s Testimony & Disturbing Quotes – [54:05–54:55]
• Royal Taunting Victims’ Families – [55:04–55:39]
• Acquittal and Final Frustrations – [56:42–59:26]
• Legacy and Scale of Royal Long’s Crimes – [59:44–61:12]

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains a mix of somber reflection, personal commentary, incredulity at investigative failures, and empathy for victims’ families. Heath and Daphne’s conversational style balances factual recounting with the raw emotional impact of these decades-old crimes.

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Conclusion

Daphne and Heath provide a meticulous, compassionate account of the Rawlins Rodeo Murders and connected cases, highlighting the systemic blind spots that allowed Royal Russell Long to evade justice for so long. Despite the passage of time, multiple families and entire communities are still haunted by the unanswered questions and lingering pain of these tragedies. The episode calls for continued remembering of the victims and vigilance, as so many cases remain officially unsolved.

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Transcript

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[Heath]

What is going on? True crime fans? I'm your host he and I'm your host, Daphne. And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Thank you for tuning in today. We have a bunch of rodeo murders here that intersect a missing indigenous girls case that intersects with some other state fair murders in a different state. Like this case has a whole lot going on and there is a very disturbing suspect at the heart of it all.

[Heath]

Oh yeah, there is one piece of shit that all of these crimes are pointing to and we're going to talk about that guy a lot today.

[Daphne]

Well, without further ado, let us all.

[Heath]

Right guys, this is episode 539 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Daphne]

Sam. During the summer of 1974, four girls between the ages of 10 and 19 vanished from the same small Wyoming community while the rodeo was in town. Two of these girls were found dead and two remain missing all these years later. Were these abductions committed by the same depraved killer who is thought to have a dozen or more victims? A depraved killer who worked at carnivals, who is also connected to other state fair disappearances. These are the Rollins Rodeo murders. Every summer on the Carbon County Fairgrounds, the community of Rollins, Wyoming holds its annual carnival and rodeo. Located in southeast Wyoming, the town of Rawlins has a population of fewer than 8,000 people. They did, at least at the time of the disappearances that we're going to talk about today. On the 4th of July holiday, 1974, two teenage girls were headed to the fair for a brief visit and they were never seen again. And this was the beginning of the Rollins Rodeo murders, which is a chain of disappearances that had the small town gripped in fear. And sadly, they have continued to go unsolved, even now over 50 years later. So let's take it back to the beginning. That Thursday, July 4th, two 19 year old girls named Christine or Christy Gross and Carlene Brown headed out for a brief stint at the fair. But they never seemed to even make it there. We're going to talk about that in a minute of why I say seem. Now, Christy was visiting from Bowdle, South Dakota, which is over nine hours drive away. Whereas Carlene was living in Rollins at the time with her father Carl, who owned a dry cleaning business in town, and her brother Rick. Her parents had recently divorced, so her mom was living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. But that day, you know, Christy was in town. So what better thing to do than set out for the Carbon County Fairgrounds for the go to local event for this rodeo. Yeah, what else are they going to do?

[Heath]

Yeah, exactly. You know, Rollins is not a huge place. So whenever this, whenever this, this rodeo is happening, that's the thing to do.

[Daphne]

Yeah, it's. It's the event of the summer. So they planned on seeing the famed Little Britches Rodeo and were supposedly only planning on being there for a short time. However, no one could confirm that they ever even made it into the fair because there were no sightings of them. So when hours passed and Kristi's family hadn't heard from her, even though she was 19, the girls were quickly reported missing and their van was discovered in the parking area undisturbed with no sign of a struggle.

[Heath]

So, yeah, it seems like they made it to this property, but it's like they vanished upon getting out of their car.

[Daphne]

Right. Or if they did make it inside and like amongst the crowds, nobody remembered seeing them, which I feel like seems reasonable, honestly. But I do want to mention that this part might not even be true because some sources allege that the van that the girls had driven to the fairgrounds in was actually found in Worland, Wyoming, which would make a huge freaking difference because Worland is located over 200 miles or 320 kilometers away from Rollin. So, like, I don't know how you get that detail mixed up. They were either at the. Their van was either at the fair, or it's 200 miles away.

[Heath]

Like, what do you mean? I mean, it kind of feels safe to assume that because they were headed to the fairgrounds, I mean, that's where they were going, that that's probably where the van was found. Because what would be the motivation to go?

[Daphne]

Well, maybe they were. Maybe they were abducted and taken, and somebody disposed of their car far away, and they did so 200 miles away so that it wouldn't be found or connected.

[Heath]

I mean, it's possible. I just. Again, like you said, I don't know how you mix that up.

[Daphne]

No, Yeah. I don't know how this is misreported. But to be very clear, Christy and Carlene's disappearances have very little information available, you know, publicly. So this. This detail is really just part of the mystery of their cases as a whole.

[Heath]

Well, a friend of Carlene's named Mary Kay initially wondered if maybe Carlene had taken off to stay with friends or gone to visit her mom in Colorado. Again, her mom lived in Colorado Springs, so obviously, that wouldn't explain where Kristi would have gone. But the idea that someone you know and love is missing for nefarious reasons is probably tough to settle on. And on top of that, Mary Kay remembered that if Carleen was fighting with one parent and that she would sometimes favor the other, as many teens do now. She actually wasn't even the only person to think this until a couple weeks passed, and they really began to worry.

[Daphne]

Yeah, I mean, it makes sense why. At first, they're like, oh, she's 19, and it's this summer, and maybe she went to go see her mom. They're not going straight to she was murdered.

[Heath]

Right. Which is something that we don't. It's kind of a mix in cases that we cover. Sometimes they're like, hey, you're 19. You can do what you want. You're a legal adult. But then other times, they're like, hey, we should probably look into this right away. You know, I guess it just depends on the circumstances there. Well, it was all made worse when a decade passed without a single clue.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So now they're like, okay, wait, maybe something did happen. They report her missing, and then they get absolutely nothing.

[Heath]

Well, here's what Happened a decade later in 1983, in a field just south of sinclair, wyoming, which is about 10 minutes east of Rollins. Christie's remains were discovered on October 27, 1983. Two siblings came across Christie's body while out driving in their father's new truck in a remote field. When an autopsy was performed, Christie was identified via her dental records, as well as a very recognizable handmade ring that she had been given by her uncle. So it was a gift from her uncle. Now, surprisingly, despite nine years having passed since her murder, the carbon county sheriff's office announced that they were exploring multiple leads and that they had already identified a person of interest and that they were actually pretty close to making an arrest. The suspect they announced had been located, but they would need more evidence in order to secure an arrest warrant. So things were happening very fast, you know, very suddenly, because now they find Christie's body, and they're really trying to find Carleen's as well. But the sheriff's office assured the public that they were doing everything that they could to pursue justice for Kristi and also for Carlene. Now, sadly, after that announcement in the paper, with everything feeling so close to resolution, the girls cases went quiet again. And it's remained as such even now, 42 years later.

[Daphne]

You know, so much goes on behind the scenes that we can't see and don't know about, obviously. So even to have this little peek makes me believe that they probably know what happened or have a really good idea, at least. But they just, like you said, didn't have enough evidence to secure an arrest after all. And therefore, the public isn't privy to anything. But they might have, like, almost every answer, and they just cannot say it.

[Heath]

And that's exactly what happened. You know, they just couldn't make an arrest in her case, but they knew that she had been murdered and that Carlene probably met the same horrific fate. And even though she had been dead for over 10 years, the autopsy proved that Kristi had been struck in the head twice and died of blunt force trauma. Thus far, Carleen's remains have still not been found, but we and also law enforcement imagine the very same thing probably happened to her. Some believe that Carleen may have actually been found already, but because she was adopted into the brown family, Her DNA could not be matched to that of her immediate family, and they just don't have her DNA on file. So obviously, they can't do very much here.

[Daphne]

That's just crazy, though. Like, they could have answers, and they just have no idea. Like, think about all the Jane and John does that are in the system that they sure, they just have no way of connecting them to people without DNA or dental records or missing persons reports or anything like that. And she is probably potentially one of those Jane Does.

[Heath]

Well, what we do know at this point is that Carleen is believed to be of Native American descent. So in 1955. Sorry. When she was born, at least one of her biological parents was believed to have been working at an air force base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. But without more information, it would be nearly impossible to match the remains of a Jane Doe to Carleen's identity.

[Daphne]

Well, unfortunately, the disappearances of Kristi and Carlene were not the last of that fateful summer of 1974 in Rollins. Cause exactly one month later, another teen girl went missing. And just like the two before her, seemed to vanish straight into thin air. 15 year old Debra Meyer lived in Red Lodge, Montana at the time, but she was in Rollins visiting extended family when she disappeared. I mean, literally exactly one month later, on the afternoon of August 4, 1974, Deborah left the home of a family member near the intersection of 7th street and West Spruce street. She was planning to walk to a local theater to see a movie. I tried to look at what was out at the time, but I didn't recognize any of the movies. I don't know what she was going to see. But sadly, she never made it there in time and she never returned home. According to her family, 15 year old Debra was studious and well behaved and she would not have run off on her own. So her disappearance has always felt incredibly suspicious. And then just 19 days later, on August 23, 1974, yet another Rollins girl went missing. And I don't know why the hell. None of these cases have more information than what we're giving you guys. By the way, this next one is also kind of limited. Now this was 10 year old Jaylene Banker. So Jaylene and some friends were attending the fair at the Carbon county fairgrounds, which were located just five blocks from her home. And while at the fair, Jaylene and her friend split up temporarily. And she was last seen waiting near a concession stand selling popcorn. And I don't mean she was selling it. I just mean she was waiting by like a popcorn concession stand. So as the hours ticked by and Jaylene didn't come home after the Fair ended, by 10:30pm her parents knew that something had gone awry. You know, she's only 10 years old. So they called the police to file a missing person's report.

[Heath]

And I feel like sometimes within, like, you know, smaller cities like this, smaller towns, it's probably a lot more acceptable for like a younger person to go to a fair not accompanied by an adult.

[Daphne]

Yeah, especially because it was just a few blocks from her house. She could walk there. Again, this is the 70s.

[Heath]

Yeah, the 70s was a little bit more like, you know, it was one of those, like, street. Street lamp societies where it's like, okay, when the. When the street lamp comes on, that's when you come home kind of thing. Yeah.

[Daphne]

But that has always confused me because as we always say, the 70s was like the decade of the serial killer. So I'm like, hello?

[Heath]

People might have been a reason for that. I mean, aside from the fact that, you know, we now have DNA testing and things like that. That was probably another issue was just people were kind of feeling like, you know, it was. We didn't quite know the dangers. I guess.

[Daphne]

You're saying that's why there was a lot of murder, because people. Kids were just out doing shit.

[Heath]

Well, yeah, kids were out doing shit. And we also just really didn't understand the dangers of kids being off by themselves 100%.

[Daphne]

We hear that all the time. That, you know, we're so aware now. We have so many cases exactly like today's, like Jaylene's, for example, to use as examples as to why we should be accompanying our 10 year olds to the fair, etc.

[Heath]

Sure.

[Daphne]

But, you know, of course, Jaylene was going off with friends. She's only a few blocks away. This is a small town. Like we're saying they did. They didn't have any idea that something could happen to her. Even though, as we know, three girls had gone missing from this town just in the last few weeks alone.

[Heath]

And again, this is a town of about 8,000 people. And this is not to blame Jaylene's parents at all, because it's not their fault. But, you know, we really did learn a lot over those decades of, you know, these serial killers coming around and being around.

[Daphne]

Absolutely. Well, in this case with Jaylene, you know, it was like she was last seen standing by that popcorn stand and then she was never seen again. Nobody saw her being swooped up by a tall man or nobody saw her being put into a car like it was. She just vanished. Like I said, all of these girls kind of just vanished into thin air.

[Heath]

Yeah, she was there and then she was gone.

[Daphne]

Like they. They got. They disappeared amongst the chaos of the fair, which we actually talked about in our episode a couple months ago on Erin Gilbert when she was at that fair in Alaska.

[Heath]

Oh, right. Yeah.

[Daphne]

It's almost like sometimes when there's so many people around, you see less.

[Heath]

Yeah, totally. And I think that possibly this person, if they were kind of stalking these fairgrounds, they knew that. They knew that this was a great opportunity. People would be distracted. There's a lot of noise. You can't. It's almost like there's too much to look at.

[Daphne]

Yes, exactly.

[Heath]

That you can't pinpoint any. Anything else, you know?

[Daphne]

Yeah. Well, the police, of course, were not alerted of Jaylene's disappearance until after the fair ended. So by the time that they went down there, there's really nobody there, and there's nobody there to question. It's not like today where you can send out an alert on, like, the citizen app that there's a missing child. Please come forward if you've seen them, like, so off the bat, it's difficult, but they know that she is not at the fairground. So once her disappearance became publicized, once it's being spoken about locally, the carbon county sheriff's office actually received hundreds of tips, but none materialized in a suspect or even a viable lead in Jaylene's disappearance. Police scoured Jaylene's neighborhood, going house to house, later broadening their search, of course, to the entire community and then sweeping across the entire state. Two planes were even used to search the area from overhead, but no sign of her was spotted. Residents of Rollins, as we see happen a lot, were asked to check their properties, their dumpsters, and any farmland they had in case Jaylene had been dumped there. But no one could find her. Three days after Jaylene's disappearance, there was a sighting that was called in from rock Springs, Wyoming, which is about an hour and a half west of Rollins, where a trucker claimed to have spotted Jaylene in a vehicle with an adult couple. But this tip was fumbled, and by the time it was pursued, this couple was gone. So police couldn't determine if this truly was her or if it was a different kid with her parents. I know we clarify things from other cases a lot, like we've been doing today already, but we do see this a lot. You know, somebody will. We'll find out later that all these tips were coming in of sightings of a person, and then we know that before those sightings came in, that person was deceased. So this is just a tough thing for police of, like, this random person an hour and a half away, saying, oh, I think I saw that little girl. And it's like, okay, well, did you just see a girl that looked like her, or was it actually her? Should we follow this or should we drop it?

[Heath]

Yeah, I mean, it's. It's. It's tough to tell. I mean, I'm glad that this person was trying to do their due diligence and be a upstanding citizen, but at the same time, it can, unfortunately, kind of muddy the waters of an investigation, because a lot of times, it's. It's not the person.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And. And this is just, like I said, one of hundreds of tips they were getting, so. And this is a small sheriff's department. So. Following Jaylene's disappearance, rumors circulated in Rollins that her body had been discovered in a mass grave in Montana, but also that her remains had been found dismembered in a church. But both of these turned out to be false. And this is just even more proof of the rumors and the lies that surround many different investigations.

[Heath]

So, after four disappearances of young girls in the span of under two months, the small community of Rollins suspected that a serial killer was lurking among them.

[Daphne]

I mean, naturally.

[Heath]

Well, almost exactly eight months after her disappearance on April 24, 1975, Jaylene's badly decomposed remains were found in a field near a gravel pit. So, basically, a local man was jogging with his dog in this field about 2 miles or 3.2 kilometers outside of the city and 5 miles or 8 kilometers away from the Carbon County Fairgrounds, when he came across Jaylene's body. She was positioned face down on some rocks, and she had been left partially clothed, as only her shirt, socks, and shoes remained. But a few of her articles of clothing were actually scattered near her body, along with some shell casings. The shell casings were investigated extensively, but weirdly, they were too old to have been used as a method of murder in Jaylene's case. But I will say that people go out into the woods all the time and go shooting, so it's really not a weird thing to find some shell casings near a gravel pit, I will say. But anyway, so, like Christie, Jaylene is believed to have been killed from blunt force trauma to the head, giving police another reason to believe that they were killed by the same person. Now, because the murders took place over the course of two months, it's most likely that the perpetrator lived and even worked in the community and was probably known to other residents. And there was a suspected serial killer right there in Rollins who has been at the forefront of the investigation into the Rollins rodeo murders. Convicted pedophile Royal Russell Long who's suspected of 30 or more murders, but was never convicted of a single one. Royal Long was born on May 15, 1935 to Nettie and Russell Long in Brazil, Indiana. Yes, there is a Brazil in Indiana. Now, he was married multiple times, but they all ended in divorce. He moved around frequently and lived all over the country, including in Rollins, Wyoming. Now, he's remembered as charming and gregarious by many and was even well known and liked in his small community. Now, obviously this does not mean that he's a good guy, maybe just manipulative, especially since he's a known killer. Also, a select few recalled a ruthless temper that he managed to keep concealed most of the time. Now, Royal did have a criminal record and was actually a felon, but his charges stemmed from an arrest for contempt of court and then a charge for attempting to escape from prison. After that, he worked a myriad of short term jobs, including employment as a long haul trucker, a deli employee, and guess what, guys, a carnival employee.

[Daphne]

Creepy, but also relevant. He knows his way around a fair.

[Heath]

Yes, he does. Well, more recently in this story, he owned a go kart track near the fairgrounds in Rawlins. He even spent time moonlighting as an informant for the police, which is something that he later bragged would keep him out of trouble. Though it's unknown if, you know, he achieved any sort of immunity through police corruption or not.

[Daphne]

I mean, a really interesting detail to know.

[Heath]

Yeah, like, what was he doing with the police? I don't know.

[Daphne]

He cannot be trusted. I mean, I'm surprised that they gave him such a. Such a position.

[Heath]

Well, with all the things that are going to come to light and all the things we're going to talk about later in this episode. Yeah, I don't know why they trusted this piece of shit. Well, years prior to his public suspicions and the Rollins Rodeo disappearances, Royal had been serving a short prison sentence in California and told his cellmate that because of his expertise as a meat carver at a deli, he knew that if you cut the bodies up small enough and shove them down a rat hole, no one will ever find them foreign.

[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

Yeah, exactly. Really adds up.

[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

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[Heath]

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[Daphne]

Get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com goingwest that's betterhelp.com goingwest let's get into the other crimes that are connected to Royal Long, because there are others. So on September 18, 20, 1984, 10 years after the Rollins Rodeo murders, two young Native American girls ran away from the boarding school that they'd been placed in, bound for Idaho. And further details on this departure, sadly, are murky at best. But here is what we've got. So Sharon Bald Eagle, who was just 12 years old at the time, hailed from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and she was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe. She had just begun attending Brainerd Indian Training School, which was a boarding school for, you know, Native American students, aiming to disturbingly assimilate them into white American schooling and culture, which obviously is a practice that is thankfully very looked down upon today, but something that many young people had to suffer through. And not only were the residential schools known for stripping its students of their native culture, there was also emotional, physical and sexual abuse happening at many of these schools, if not all of them. We actually talked about this a lot more in depth in our recent episode on the Jack family disappearances.

[Heath]

Yes, we did.

[Daphne]

And just how truly disturbing residential schools were. So Sharon was new to this school and she found herself three and a half hours away from home in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Now, depending on the source, she either got kicked out of the school or she was fleeing to stay out of trouble, or she simply understandably wanted to run away to visit somebody, either some friends or her brother in Idaho. Sharon covertly asked one of her peers to accompany her, but the girl said no. And then while attending a basketball game, that same girl introduced Sharon to a 15 year old girl. Remember, Sharon is 12. Introduced Sharon to a 15 year old girl named Sandy. Broken leg. Now, Sandy had also attended Brainerd in the past, but now went to a public high school in Hot Springs. So Sharon and Sandy decided to run away together, packing overnight bags and slipping out quietly, bound for Idaho. They decided since this is the 80s, to hitchhike their way there. And it was along a Wyoming highway near Casper when they had the misfortune of coming across Royal Long. Within days of running away, Sandy was contacting the police department in Evansville, Wyoming to tell them that she and her friend Sharon had been abducted and that Sharon was now missing. The half dressed teen, 15 years old, explained to police that she had escaped the home of a violent rapist and murderer who would have killed her if he had gotten the chance. According to Sandy's account, Royal pulled up alongside Sharon and Sandy while they were hitchhiking by themselves, themselves on the highway and offered them a ride, telling the girls something like, we're gonna get you guys some food, then take you back to the house so you can clean up and eat.

[Heath]

But after they arrived at his house and ate dinner, he propositioned them with $100 in exchange for having sex with him. And remember again, Sharon is 12 and Sandy is 15. And at this point, Royal is 49 years old. So this is beyond disgusting.

[Daphne]

And they thought this guy was offering them a ride and giving them some food and helping them get cleaned up like this was probably a total shock. They're way too young for their minds to be going there.

[Heath]

Oh, absolutely. So when Sandy told him, quote, we're not those kinds of girls, Royal pulled a gun on them. He beat Sharon, tied up both girls with coat hangers and duct tape, and then raped her. Then when he fell asleep, Sandy managed to escape, running to the home of Royal's neighbor. But as she waited for police, Sharon still back at Royal's house, Sandy heard his pickup truck peel out of the driveway. So when police arrived at his home, both 12 year old Sharon and 49 year old Royal were gone.

[Daphne]

And you have to have a bit of hope here because they've got his house. Soon they'll have his name, his license plate, but still, time is very much.

[Heath]

Of the essence, of course, because now they have no idea in which direction Royal was headed and if they're gonna find him. So Sandy's helping in basically any way that she can. She described his vehicle as a brown truck with a white camping shell on the back and told him that their captor was a middle aged man with a beard who lived next door. Of course. So police search his home and inside blood was found. So of course police feared the worst, you know, that maybe he had killed Sharon Bald eagle. But I will tell you guys right now that we really don't know how much blood or where it was. It's just been reported that it proved that Sharon may have been injured. However, later reports suggest that Sharon may have had a nosebleed while she was at Royal's house. So we really don't know here and we actually don't even know if it was Sharon's blood. A statewide search was underway. I mean, law enforcement is looking desperately for this guy. But after days without a sighting of him, they pushed this bolo, this alert for him into surrounding states. Fearing that he possibly left Wyoming, the FBI became involved and the entire country was searching by both air and land, but turned up no sign of Sharon. Then after a week long search, Royal was apprehended on September 26, 1984 in Albuquerque, New Mexico after the FBI descended upon him when he was leaving a phone booth after somebody actually recognized him and called in a tip. So, you know, good on this person that they actually recognize this guy.

[Daphne]

He has like, I'm trying to describe his look, you know, out loud. He's like, I mean, there's one picture of him that's pretty creepy. He's in a cowboy hat, he has a dark beard, he kind of has, his nose is kind of specific. But we couldn't even find if there was a composite sketch of him that was released. We, if there is, it's not on the Internet or in newspapers. So.

[Heath]

Yeah, I mean I, in my opinion, I believe he just looks like your run of the mill, kind of like 1970s cowboy trucker, you know, like.

[Daphne]

Well, luckily somebody recognized the guy well.

[Heath]

But to the dismay of Sharon's family, she was not with Royal at the time of his arrest. So he was arrested and charged with one count of first degree sexual assault. But because his second victim, Sharon was still missing, he couldn't yet be charged with murder. And he wasn't staying totally silent about her either because actually as soon as he was placed in handcuffs, he was offering up a slew of excuses, telling authorities that Sharon was fine and that he had sent her off to Texas by way of Cheyenne, Wyoming on a light colored bus or a long haul truck, which he couldn't remember which one it was, how. And it's like, bro, that literally happened just like a week before this.

[Daphne]

Yeah, like you should remember if you're putting one girl on a bus or in a truck, you should know if it happened literally the other day.

[Heath]

I mean, it's very clear that he is full of shit. Well, though this tip was thoroughly investigated, no confirmed sighting of Sharon was ever reported in Cheyenne, Texas or anywhere else. As for the abduction and sexual assault, Royal claimed that Sandy was lying about the circumstances of their arrangement and that the girls had lied about their ages, telling him that they were over 18 instead of 12 and 15 and that they had wanted to engage in sexual acts with him because they needed the money.

[Daphne]

God, it's such bullshit. But also, I will add, Sharon looked like a kid. Like there's only a couple photos of her out there that we will post, but she looks like a few freaking kid because at 12 she still was a kid. And we don't know about Sandy actually, because she survived. So there aren't Photos of her. But yeah, these girls are very young and Royal is clearly trying to lie his way out of this, and it's disgusting.

[Heath]

Of course he is. You know, everybody believes that this guy Royal was very manipulative. Well, on top of this, already feeling like a lie. A search of Royal's car revealed two stuffed animals. A pink snake with a bow tie and a green frog, which he had probably used to lure the girls into his vehicle.

[Daphne]

Well, after his arrest, multiple people that he had spoken to in the time between Sharon's disappearance and the arrest over a matter of a few days, came forward to tell the authorities that he had mentioned picking up a hitchhiker, but no real further details there. And then sending her south to Texas with a long haul trucker, which is kind of surprising that they didn't report him bragging about killing a girl or, I don't know, like, why would he send her off? What's up with the blood? Like, it's just kind of weird that he would tell multiple people. Oh, yeah, I picked up a hitchhiker and I sent her off with a long haul trucker. But then when police arrest me, I don't really know what I did.

[Heath]

Yeah. Is he trying to like subtly brag here, like maybe giving like partial details but not the full story to people.

[Daphne]

Or like plant a fake story so that, you know, gets his ducks in a row? Well, Royal was charged with three counts of kidnapping, plus attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and delivery of marijuana while incarcerated. Royal remained very tight lipped on the details while Sharon's father, Taylor Bald Eagle, traveled to Wyoming to beg Royal for his daughter's whereabouts. Now, Taylor had been a single father since splitting with Sharon's mother, Helene, and he was raising Sharon and her three brothers on his own. And her three younger brothers, by the way. He was a Supreme Court justice for the Cheyenne River Sioux and was very well liked and respected in his community. So everybody really rallied behind him upon finding out that Sharon was missing and that suddenly there's this man in prison for other reasons, but that he could be related to whatever happened to her.

[Heath]

Yeah, he might know exactly where she is.

[Daphne]

And apparently he does. I mean, we know that he was the last person to see her because he is saying, oh, yeah, and I sent her off to Texas, which just feels way too convenient that you just, oh, I sent her off. Somebody else must know where she is. So Sharon's mother, Helene, had recently gone away to prison for a year long sentence. And Sharon was really struggling with this transition which was likely just another contributing factor or factor to her running away from her residential school. Royal was extradited back to Wyoming from New Mexico, where he was caught to stand trial for the abductions of the two girls and, of course, for Sandy's rape. But sadly, without a body, getting a murder charge on behalf of Sharon would be exceedingly difficult, especially with as little evidence and information as they had. While the state built their case against Royal, the exhaustive search for Sharon continued, with many believing that she had been murdered in January of 1985. So a few months after his arrest, Royal accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to two counts of rape, though he later claimed that he was coerced into doing so and maintained that he hadn't had anything to do with the abductions and rapes of Sharon and Sandy. But still, he received two life sentences for the abduction and assault of the girls. Until the day he died, he maintained that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of Sharon Bald Eagle or any of the murders that he was suspected of. Of committing, which. Come on. Like, just the fact that he's saying, yeah, I had nothing to do with her disappearance. I just sent her off on a truck to Texas randomly. I know. I feel like I keep saying the same thing. I'm just. I'm just shocked. Yeah.

[Heath]

Appalled. And this guy, really, you're going to get into a comment that he makes during the trial, and it just makes you want to. It makes you want to slap the shit out of him.

[Daphne]

So true. So tips about Sharon have continued to trickle in, but no sightings have ever been confirmed since that day over 40 years ago. Sharon's father, Taylor Bald Eagle, passed away on March 25th of this year, actually 2025, at the age of 89. And he spent the rest of his life searching for his daughter. Before his death, he said of Sharon, it hurts to even talk about it. She's in my prayers every meal, and she's traveling with me. I got her picture on my dashboard, in my car, in my truck. She's with me. I will never forget her. She was the lady of the house, and she was a daddy's girl. Taylor added that in Lakota, his native language, they don't say goodbye because goodbye is final. We say toksha, which means later. We'll always meet later again, no matter what.

[Heath]

Though Royal's reign of terror was officially over when he died, there are more disappearances that he's believed to be responsible for still waiting to be solved, two of which we've discussed here before, actually, in episode 336, we covered the murders of Cheryl Genzer and Lisa Pennington, otherwise known as the Oklahoma State Fair murders. And although that pair of murders has not been attributed to Royal long, the investigation into the assumed murder of another pair of girls from the Oklahoma State Fair has named Royal as their only suspect.

[Daphne]

More fair murders for the carnival worker.

[Heath]

Exactly. So on September 26, 1981, so seven years after the Rollins Rodeo murders and three years before Sharon Bald Eagle's disappearance, two 13 year old girls, Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett attended the fair together for the day alongside their boyfriends. Well, that evening the girls called their moms while still at the fair, asking if it was okay if they took a job helping a fare employee unload stuffed animals from a truck. That's, that's a weird little thing here because remember the stuffed animal thing that, you know, was found in Royal's vehicle. So this man offered these girls $5 an hour for doing so, which according to an inflation calculator is like about $17 an hour today.

[Daphne]

That's a lot.

[Heath]

Yeah, it's quite a bit of money. So the girls were absolutely thrilled to have a bit of spending money to use at the fair and their moms obliged. But they did request that they call home to check in by 9pm that evening. You know, of course they're still 13 year old girls. Then the girls and their two boyfriends piled into the back of the truck with the man who drove them down the street, saying that they would meet the truck hauling the stuffed animals at a truck stop nearby. But when they arrived at this truck stop and the truck wasn't there to greet them, he told the boys to wait there. He basically said, hey, you boys stay here. I'm going to take the girls with me to another local truck stop. And this one was off of Interstate 40 in hopes of intercepting the delivery. Well, the last thing that these boyfriends saw was their girlfriends waving out of the back of the truck at them. When Charlotte and Cinda neither called nor showed up at home, they were officially reported missing. And Royal Long was on the initial list of persons of interest. Somehow he was actually removed from suspicion after a few days. But following his arrest for the abduction of Sharon Bald Eagle and Sandy Brokenleg, he was back under the radar of suspicion for the disappearances of Charlotte and Cinda, which were believed to be murders.

[Daphne]

Well, after being convicted of the rape and abductions of Sharon and Sandy, Royal was extradited to Oklahoma from Wyoming to stand trial for the disappearances of Charlotte and Cinda. That is how much evidence they were able to compile. Investigators even claimed that he had been employed there that summer so they could place him at that state fair on the day the girls disappeared, because he was freaking working there. During the preliminary trial in which the state presented their case to Judge Charles L. Owens, the two teen boys who were with Charlotte and Cinda on the day they disappeared, their boyfriends testified against Roya Long, identifying him as the man who drove off with their girlfriends.

[Heath]

And I'm sure that this is something that those two boys would not misremember, like, of course they're going to recognize that guy.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Well, they both agreed that he looked just like the guy. And actually the car that they had last been seen in had been a rental car with a mat in the trunk which had been painted over. But detectives were able to track the car down. And that mat was sprayed with luminol, which, according to the prosecution, lit up with the silhouettes of two small figures, as if the bloody bodies of Cinda and Charlotte had been laid down side by side. A blonde hair was also found stuck to that mat still. And a large section of blonde hair was also recovered from Royal's house in Evansville, Wyoming. And, you know, obviously this was the 80s, so DNA testing was far less sophisticated back then, but a forensic analyst used blonde hair from a hairbrush of Cinda's and identified them back then as similar. So, of course, I'm sure we all wonder if they would be willing or able to retest this today. I don't know how good similar is as an identification for that time, but also going back to a sketch of the perpetrator in this case, because like I was saying, in Sharon's disappearance, we didn't know if there was a composite sketch, but there was in the case of Charlotte and Cinda, because of course, their boyfriends described what the man looked like who had taken their girlfriends away. And this composite was circulated all over the country. And it was actually Royal, one of Roya Long's ex wives, who had recognized him and called in the tip.

[Heath]

I mean, that's amazing that she didn't try to protect her. Her ex husband. You know, the fact that she was like, yeah, you know what? That looks exactly like my ex.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And even his own daughter later testified against Royal, telling the court that her father had molested her multiple times when she was a child. So his ex wife was probably like, yeah, he's a piece of shit. That's him.

[Heath]

Yep.

[Daphne]

Doing more shitty things to people and it is interesting that she was able to see this image and believe that it was Royal. There's an image that we found online. It's a colored composite, and it looks, I mean, pretty much almost exactly the way that that one photo of him in the cowboy hat looks.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

Which is like one of the only photos of him available.

[Heath]

I don't know if that's the accurate one because it feels a little too detailed.

[Daphne]

It's almost like too good. Like, too spot on. But there are a couple others that are far less detailed. But it's like, I think I'm just thinking, if I was his wife and I saw this one, we're gonna post it. It's a black and white, more like sketch version. Like, I don't know if you would see that. Maybe if you had more information about, oh, he worked at this fair, then maybe she'd be like, wait, I think that's him.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

So maybe it was coupled with some more stuff. But we will post both for you guys to see. But anyway, actually, going back to Royal's daughter, she had also witnessed his MO in action because she says that she watched her dad attempt to lure young girls into his vehicles with puppies and stuffed animals. Which is just what you were saying, Heath. What we thought he was doing with those stuffed animals. And then, of course, Cinda and Charlotte go missing. Picking up and transporting stuffed animals.

[Heath]

Oh, yeah. This guy is. Was a major pedophile.

[Daphne]

Well, disgustingly. I don't know if this is what you were referring to earlier about something he said. That's horrific. But his daughter said that he told her that no one over the age of 13 could ever satisfy him sexually.

[Heath]

I mean, the only answer to that is a bullet. A bullet, like, through his head. I'm so sorry. Like, I don't give a fuck. This guy is horrible.

[Daphne]

No, I mean, he is beyond disgusting because he also bragged to his daughter that even if he was found in a locked room straddling a dead body and holding a gun, he could manage to get away with the murder because he was so slick and smooth talking. Which, like you were saying, really lends to. To that kind of manipulative angle, Heath, that. That side of him.

[Heath]

Actually, the comment that I was referring to earlier, you're. You're going to be talking about here just in a second. But. But go ahead, go ahead. We'll get to it.

[Daphne]

Oh, the, like, the taunting one.

[Heath]

Yes.

[Daphne]

Okay. Okay. So basically, despite denying involvement in any of the crimes for which he was being accused, which is many at this point and he's just denying left and frickin right. Royal also made a point of taunting the grieving families savagely. This is, this is where Heath's part comes in. Because Royal would tell them to tell the families, even though he's denying involvement, he would tell them that he was the only one who would ever know their whereabouts. Which, it's like, how can you say that and then say you didn't do anything?

[Heath]

Yeah, it's, he's just, I don't even know.

[Daphne]

He's a liar. He's just a monster. He's a monster. So Assistant District Attorney Ray Elliott recalled, quote, he leaned over to the victims families, the mothers and fathers who were sitting in the front row as they had been every day from day one. He leaned over in handcuffs, whispered to the family, only I know where those bodies are and I'm not talking. Royal also bragged that he would not be put away for this because the big boys owed him a favor. Referencing of course, his time working as an informant for the police. Unfortunately, even after his daughter testified to his perverse and predatory nature, Judge Owens ruled in favor of the defense and decided that there was not enough evidence to convict Royal of the murders of Charlotte and Cinda.

[Heath]

I just don't, I just don't agree.

[Daphne]

Like why, luckily he's gonna be in prison forever anyway because of his other charges.

[Heath]

But yeah, I mean he's got two life sentences, but still.

[Daphne]

So it's not like this is spitting him back out on the street, but you're right, still, this is so frickin unjust.

[Heath]

Yeah, the boyfriends pointed him out, you know, they, they know that it was him. Yet there was still not enough evidence, which just, it just feels like complete bullshit.

[Daphne]

Well, so he was acquitted in 1985 and extradited back to Wyoming to serve his sentence for the two abductions instead. District Attorney Ray Elliot maintained. I truly believe that the bodies are within 45 miles of where we sit right now in a rat hole, just like he said, in some field grown over with grass.

[Heath]

Now, according to Royal and his defense team, he could prove that Charlotte and Cinda were still alive.

[Daphne]

You can prove that, but you're not involved? What?

[Heath]

Yeah, well, the statement his defense attorney read to reporters said if required, we were ready to prove Pallet and Kinsey are alive today. We would have done this if necessary. Not by innuendo, lies and inadmissible evidence like the Oklahoma County District Attorney wanted to use, but by hard evidence, such as witnesses who have been with the girls as recently as several months ago and photos of them taken last year. I mean, it's just lies though. Royal admitted to being present at the Oklahoma State Fair on the day that the girls disappeared. He alleged, quote, I was at the State Fair in 1981 to talk to my ex mother in law about opening a savings account for my children. And that was my sole purpose of being there. I am innocent of any charges in Oklahoma.

[Daphne]

It's just so disappointing. And what you were reading as well, about them saying we could approve that they were alive, but you know, essentially you guys didn't ask for it. As if somebody, some random person saying, oh, I saw those girls really means anything or is hard proof. Yeah, they're out there alive taking pictures with people like, what are you talking about?

[Heath]

Yeah, I do not believe that those photos existed. But at that point the trial was already over, so they had no obligation to show these quote, unquote photos.

[Daphne]

But it's also like it just shows, you know, their, their motivation in the first place. You're telling me that you know concretely that these girls are alive and their grieving families are sitting in the court and you can't show them? It's because you have nothing. It's because you, you're not telling the truth.

[Heath]

Well, yeah. And then decades and decades passed and nobody had seen these girls since. So it's like you just. They were 13 year old girls when they went missing. It's not like they just decided to run away and change their identities for decades and decades and never contact their family. Like it's all just a lie.

[Daphne]

Especially because they're connected to this guy who all he does is, is tell falsehood. So Janet Franson's France Franson. Janet Franson, sorry, was a law enforcement officer who later volunteered with the national center for Missing and Exploited Children to work on the girl's case. Actually remarked, quote, not only did he drive trucks, but he killed girls all over the country. There's no doubt in my mind there are more victims of his that we will probably never know. The only good thing is that I know that the son of a gun is in hell and he won't hurt anyone else. It's just really sad. These perverts are everywhere. You expect something like this to come from a big city. It's just as likely to happen here as anywhere in this country. Bad guys go anywhere. You just don't like to see the bad guy get away with murder. Royal Russell Long died of a heart attack in prison in Rawlins in 1993. At the age of 58.

[Heath]

And although it is nice to see that this pedophile and monster didn't get to live out the rest of his life to, you know, an old age, the negative here is that they weren't able to ask him about more crimes that he was potentially connected to. You know, they weren't able to make any more connections to other cases.

[Daphne]

Yeah, he never, he never confessed, but he is believed to have as many as 50 victims. Obviously we talked about many of those today, or really just two handfuls of them less today. But there are so many others that he has been publicly linked to. But sadly, because he passed away over three decades ago and continued to proclaim his innocence until his death, we may never know the true scope of his crimes. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Heath]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Head on over to our socials to see photos from this, from these cases, I should say. And photos of Russell Long.

[Daphne]

Yes, we are on Instagram oingwestpodcast. We're also on Facebook and we're also on TikTok@goingwest podcast. We're still making some videos over there. Check them out. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to this one and we will see you on Tuesday.

[Heath]

All right, guys, so for everybody out.

[Daphne]

There in the world, don't be a stranger. Sam.

[Heath]

You ever wonder how far an EV can take you on one charge? Well, most people drive about 40 miles a day, which means you can do all daily stuff no problem. Go to work, grab the kids at school, get the groceries and still have.

[Daphne]

Enough charge to visit your in laws in the next county. But they don't need to know that. And the best part, you won't have.

[Heath]

To buy gas at all. The way forward is electric. Explore EVs that fit your life at electricforall.org.

[Daphne]

Insurance may all seem the same on the surface, but having insurance isn't the same as having State Farm. It's like getting a granola bar with a candle in it. When you wanted a three layer birthday cake, you wouldn't settle for just any dessert on your birthday. So don't settle for just any insurance. When it comes to getting the help you need, State Farm is the real deal. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Ever since switching to T mobile, something weird has been happening. I get to cut lines.

[Heath]

Oh, right this way.

[Daphne]

Who me? I can stream shows at 30,000ft and I was able to buy reserve tickets for my favorite band. It's not just you.

[Heath]

With T Mobile, everyone can get VIP status. That means access to exclusive events and experiences just for being a customer at T Mobile. VIP means y o u. Check out the VIP treatment at T Mobile.com benefits.

[Daphne]

Department of Rejected Dreams if you had a dream, rejected IKEA can make it possible.

[Heath]

So I always dreamed of having a man cave, but the wife doesn't like it.

[Daphne]

What if I called it a woman cave? Okay, so let's not do that. But add some relaxing lighting and a comfy IKEA hofburg ottoman. And now it's a cozy retreat. Nice.

[Heath]

A cozy retreat, man. Cozy retreat, sir.

[Daphne]

Okay, find your big dreams, small dreams, and cozy retreat dreams in store or online at ikea.us dream the possibilities.