The Red Weather | E5 | Mick’s Tape

Summary

Pod Meets World – “The Red Weather | E5 | Mick’s Tape”

Date: March 15, 2026
Host: Ryder Strong (with appearances by Danielle Fishel, Monica Tremblain & others)
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode of “The Red Weather,” titled “Mick’s Tape,” transports listeners into the 1990s as Ryder Strong (recognized for his role in “Boy Meets World”) continues his investigative podcast examining the disappearance of Anna Trainor in 1995. The installment centers on the discovery and impact of a mysterious mixtape Anna made for her boyfriend Mick Bowden, and how this relic from the past complicates relationships with law enforcement, unearths old dynamics, and intensifies the web of small-town secrets, privilege, and corruption.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recap & Introduction to Mick’s Mixtape (02:24–07:02)

• Ryder recaps previous findings: Anna disappeared from a commune, Mick Bowden (her boyfriend) was a person of interest, but the investigation was steered away from him, possibly due to his family’s influence.
• Mixtape discovery: Monica, a journalist who covered the case, reveals to Ryder that Mick had left a tape in Anna’s car, unearthed decades later.
• Ryder emphasizes the personal nature and "haunted" legend of the tape, highlighting Anna’s candid, sometimes eerie recordings (03:39–04:32).

2. Exploring the Tape’s Contents (04:39–06:33, 14:31–15:36, 20:46–23:31)

• The mixtape blends 90s alt-rock (Portishead, Nick Cave, Concrete Blonde, The Breeders), personal ramblings, rants, and in-jokes.
• Anna intersperses Poe poetry readings (04:17) and wry, irreverent McDonald's drive-thru banter.
• Her tone shifts dramatically—from somber introspection to sharp humor. One notable instance is the taunting of Mick for his taste in dad-rock:

  "On this tape, there will be no Billy Joel. Fuck the Eagles. Fuck Hotel California. Fuck your dad's music.”
  —Anna, quoting the tape (22:25)

• Anna references Vincent Van Gogh both as a creative in-joke (“Operation Van Gogh”) and as commentary on mental health and societal constraints (22:59–23:27).
• Anna and Mick’s relationship is painted as passionate, combative, and unusual:

  “Everyone thinks you’re the man, but I make you… you like it when I mean to you.”
  —Anna, on the tape (23:31)

3. Investigative Tensions: Privilege, Corruption, and Journalistic Ethics (07:02–13:56, 25:15–26:38, 27:22–28:21)

• Ryder suspects a cover-up: Mick’s father, a wealthy tech investor, is believed to have contributed to the sheriff’s election campaign, influencing the original investigation.
• Monica guides Ryder:

  “Journalism 101. Follow the money.” (08:53)

• Monica considers the risk of sharing the tape with the police, skeptical they’ll act in good faith (15:52–16:56):

  “Every cop, every team... given a choice between something that makes them look bad and the truth, they never choose the truth.”
  —Monica (16:47)

4. Pressures of Family, Fame, and the Investigator’s Dilemma (25:46–29:53)

• Ryder describes his own childhood and his uneasy feelings about Mick, highlighting old social hierarchies and resentments.
• The work affects Ryder’s marriage and work-life balance—he admits neglecting a screenwriting job and feeling guilt about his priorities (29:10–30:19).
• He fantasizes about cracking the case and being embraced by law enforcement, only to be sharply reminded of the barriers and skepticism that come with being “an actor with a podcast” (30:19–32:02).

5. Confronting Law Enforcement (36:03–40:53)

• Ryder meets with his police liaison Greer and Sheriff Laughlin to hand off the tape.
• The tone is immediately adversarial:

  “It’s a serious chain of custody issue.”
  —Sheriff Laughlin (36:59)

• They press Ryder for the tape’s source, which he refuses to reveal, provoking frustration and suspicion (“You see how that’s not helping us? You help us, we help you.” —Greer, 37:51).
• Police try to discredit Monica Tremblain, questioning her professional ethics and reputation (38:24–38:43).

6. Fallout: Publication, Backlash & New Leads (41:09–43:56)

• Monica breaks news of the campaign contributions on her Substack, naming Ryder as the podcasting actor investigating the case.
• Ryder is immediately cut off from law enforcement:

  “I advise Robert Maldonado to no longer speak with you. And Officer Greer is under orders to keep this work internal.”
  —Sheriff’s Office (44:24)

• Ryder reflects on whether his role yields true progress or simply stirs up old trouble, but hints at a revelation buried on the tape that might break things open (44:44, “my biggest breakthrough… I’d already heard it was right there on the tape”).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anna’s voice on tape (eerily prescient):

  “I love you. I really do. I’ll do whatever I say.” (05:46)
  “…if you caught that, that’s the first of many Vincent Van Gogh references. Get used to it, because I’m picking all the music in Operation Van Gogh. I’m gonna make you camp. You’re gonna hate it.” (22:47)

• Ryder’s reflection:

  “It felt like a window cracked through time. A direct connection.” (05:52)

• Monica’s warning:

  “Every cop, every team, law enforcement team that I have worked with, given a choice between something that makes them look bad and the truth. They never choose the truth.” (16:47)

• Police skepticism, chain of custody:

  “You hand over a tape, but you won’t tell us who gave it to you?... You see how that’s not helping us?” (37:08–37:51)

• On social class and resentment:

  “He’d strut around everywhere he went…like he owned the place. Which maybe served him well.” (26:31)

• Monica confronting Ryder’s hesitation:

  “Ryder, you’ve only been doing this for a few weeks now, right? They have had this case for 30 years, and you have done more on it than they have. Doesn’t that tell you everything you need to know?” (40:53–41:09)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:24: Recap and introduction of Anna’s disappearance & the mixtape
• 03:39: Anna’s voice from the tape first played
• 04:17–05:27: Anna reads Poe, jokes at McDonald’s, exhibits range of tone
• 14:31–15:36: Deep dive into tape’s musical picks and Anna’s rants
• 22:25–23:31: Anna’s strong opinions on music, Van Gogh, & her dynamic with Mick
• 27:22–29:53: Discussion of class differences between Ryder and Mick, and familial background
• 36:03–38:43: Tense meeting with law enforcement about the tape, issues of trust
• 41:09–43:56: Fallout from Monica’s article, Ryder losing access to the case
• 44:44: Tease of a major breakthrough hidden “right there on the tape”

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Takeaways

• The episode exemplifies how relics from the past (like Anna’s mixtape) can shift the direction of a cold case, especially when filtered through contrasting lenses of nostalgia, power, and skepticism.
• It throws into relief the eternal tension between “outsider” investigators (podcasters, journalists) and official authorities—raising questions about truth, gatekeeping, and who gets justice.
• Ryder’s personal struggle with stepping outside his comfort zone and confronting authority adds a relatable, vulnerable dynamic to the story—his ambivalence and self-doubt are as central as any clue.

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For Listeners:
If you missed the episode, this summary covers the twists and turns of both the investigation and the emotional journey of its narrator. The implications for Anna’s case remain unresolved, but the mixtape and the explosive revelations about campaign contributions have clearly reignited the mystery—setting the stage for what’s next.

Transcript

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[Ryder Strong]

the Red Weather is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons or events reflects the adaptation of real publicly available materials for creative and legal reasons. The content of this podcast is the sole responsibility of Red Weather, LLC and does not reflect the views and responsibilities of iHeartMedia or its affiliates. Previously on the Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor Anna Trainor disappeared from a commune.

They looked at Mick. He had somebody with him every step of the way, and we know he was with for the rest of the night.

Change her story.

Suddenly she's dating Mick.

Oh, so they dated for real? Yeah, six months.

Registered her Diana on November 18, 1995.

So she had a new car within two weeks. Yeah, but it's not until this interview, which is her third one, that she says that she was with Mick Bowton. Correct. Let's talk about Maldonado.

You want to talk about how this guy can look the other way when

it comes to Mick, you got to

talk about his campaign.

The next. Who paid for that shit?

I knew about a mixtape.

A mixtape?

A haunted tape. It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea.

This is Anna Trainor's voice, which I hadn't heard in 30 years. It's the infamous haunted tape. It turns out it's a mixtape that anna made in 1995. So there's music, of course. Songs like Sour Times by Portishead. Songs she must have loved or felt compelled to share. But also like a lot of us did back then, Anna recorded herself talking. And mostly she sounds like a teenager. Intense at times, like when she reads Edgar Allan Poe.

I was a child and she was a child in this kingdom by the sea. But we loved with a love that was more than love. I am my Annabel Lee. With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven coveted her and me.

Other times she's completely irreverent. Like when she records herself going through a drive through at McDonald's.

Number two. No pickles with a token. Two Cokes, please. This is so good. No, no, never mind that she drinks like a glass of like. Or like not even like a glass. She drinks like a bottle of wine, like every night, which is poison. Every day. Oh, but God forbid I have a Coca Cola. Well, you know what, Laney, this one's for you. I'm going to have to. Chocolate latte. Wait. One, two chocolate latte. Chocolate latte. That's you.

I have no idea what's going on here. Some kind of in joke.

Wait, that look on the lady's face when you said that. I can't believe you said that.

I can understand why the rumor started that this was a voice from beyond the grave. There are moments that feel eerie. Especially not knowing what happened to her.

I love you. I really do. I'll do whatever I say.

It felt like a window cracked through time. A direct connection. I thought for sure it would open up a whole new line of investigation. But actually, it had the opposite effect. I am actor and filmmaker Ryder Strong. This is the red weather,

Sam.

Last week had changed the way I was thinking about Anna's disappearance. I was talking with Sheriff Maldonado, the lead investigator from 1995, and starting to wonder why he chose to focus on some suspects and ignore others. I know he got to change his

story, got Maldo to look the other way.

And I had sat down with Sparks, an old acquaintance who was convinced. Convinced that Maldonado and the sheriff's department were thoroughly corrupt. Isn't it a little bit weird that they obsess over hippies in the woods and not the obvious boyfriend who was all pissed because her girl's sleeping around? I kind of agreed. I'd gotten the vibe that Tender Hearts was a boogeyman for Maldonado. But why would they want it to not be Mick? Well, one reason might be Mick's family. His dad, Thomas Bowden, was an early Microsoft investor back in the pre dot com boom. Mick grew up on a big house with its own vineyard. My brother remembers it. And it kind of stuck out, like in the field. Yeah, it was like open vineyards and then just this big. Yeah, like plop down. Yes. Well, just. It's like that faux, like Italian Tuscan wannabe vibe, you know, so it's like just a huge. It's a mansion McMansion house, but it's trying to like be like classy at the same time. Rich daddy, perfect football, playing stud, you know, like Mick was rich on track. He already had early acceptance to Stanford. In other words, Mick and his family were good, upstanding folks, while Anna and the Tender Hearts was a sleazy, creepy commune. But in real terms, Sparks was sure that Mick's family had actually contributed to Maldonado's campaign for county sheriff the next year. Daddy promises a moolah.

They half assed.

Their investigation goes away.

Journalism 101. Follow the money.

That's Monica Tremblain, the reporter who covered the case. So when I was in there with the evidence, Maldonado did this weird thing. I told her that Maldonado helped me sneak photos at the sheriff's department, which felt to me like a sign of his corruptability.

Oh, no, I wouldn't read too much into that. I mean, I have sources all the time. Back channel sources.

So, yeah, I guess you're right. It's not like this one little move means that he's a crooked cop.

But he could be. I mean, but helping you, helping Elite, that's what you want, right? Like, how do you think we got the Pentagon Papers? Watergate? I mean, as a journalist, that's the goal.

I'm hardly a journalist.

What are you waiting for, permission?

She said she would look into the campaign contributions. All right, well, really, what we need to do is get a hold of Mick. I had been trying to reach Mick from the moment I started this podcast, to no avail. I tried every number I could find. Hi, is. Is this Luke? No. I even tried to track him down through his brother, who had been a friend of mine for a brief moment in second and third grade. Okay, sorry about that. Thanks. And since our first sit down, Sparks was mia.

The mailbox is full and cannot accept any messages at this time. Goodbye.

Which was worrisome. If I was going to use any of his information, I would need him. He's not getting back to me either. My buddy Chris was the one who connected me to Sparks in the first place. Well, it's just shitty because he said so many things and, you know, I can try and confirm this stuff, but if I can't find him, I can't. It makes you look, dude. Monica had actually interviewed in the 90s. She never went on record, but Monica still had her contact info.

Hey, did you know she's a grandmother now?

What? This idea rocked my world. Yeah, I guess if she had a kid when she was 20 or something.

Oh, come on, Ryder, it's not that crazy. A lot of people have kids young.

The main feeling that this gave me was embarrassment. Here I am, running around with a microphone and trying to call her about her teenage boyfriend, and she's a grandmother. Her life had moved on in every way. Well, if not me, then. Will she talk to you?

I don't think so. On record.

After my experience with Maldonado and Thomas Greer, the Sheriff's Department liaison, I was feeling more comfortable with the idea of reciprocity, of making deals. Can you do me a favor? Could you send her something and then ask her again if she might talk to me? I was talking about a copy of the transcript I had smuggled out of the Violent Crimes Investigative Unit. I'd noticed something from Mick's first Conversation with Maldonado. And then this is you asking about the here?

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[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Harsh. I sent Monica a screenshot that I'd collected with Maldonado's phone.

Oh, damn.

Yeah, right. In their first interview, Maldonado wanted to know why Mick was getting paged by Anna and. And yet he spent the night with. And here's what he said. Maldonado asks, so what about. Why are you showing up at her place so late? Mick says, likes me? Maldonado asks, she's your girlfriend, Mick. No, no. Maldonado says, so what a hookup. She's hot. Not even. Maldonado says, not hot, Mick, she's there, all right? Is there guy like you has a lot of these? I do all right. You score. I do all right. This was a Mick that I remembered. And maybe if she knew what Mick had said to the cops might change her mind about talking to me.

You know, Ryder, you're better at this than you think.

Two days later, Monica called me back. She's going to talk to me.

No, she's not gonna talk to you. But you know, Mick left something in her car years ago.

And that was how I got the mixtape. Monica didn't have a tape player, but my parents did in their garage. The day the tape arrived, Monica had a trial she was covering. So I met her in the parking lot outside the courthouse. Believe it or not, this was our first time meeting in person. Up until now, everything had been over zoom or on the phone.

Crazy to finally see you. Sorry, I do not have a tape player.

Yeah, no, why would you? I just. My parents never threw anything away.

Yeah, look, I'm dying to hear this, so give me an update on this tape. The second that you listen to it,

figure out how to digitize it or whatever and then I'll send you copies. What's. What's this? I meant the trial.

That's no murder.

Oh, really? Yep.

Drugs. Death, death, drugs, you know, doesn't get old. Okay, gotta get back. Recess is probably over. Talk soon.

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I watched her hurry into the courthouse. It was really hard for me to imagine her job covering multiple cases, the crime beat in general. I was only looking into one case and I was overwhelmed. I got home, dusted off my parents old tape player and got it working. Anna's mix is 120 minutes and it's full.

Okay, but you have to listen to the whole thing. You can't fast forward it.

The first song was Nick Cave's Red Right Hand, which launches Anna into a rant about society.

I think you just, like, need it to be true that, like, you like me and that I like you. But it's not okay. It, like, isn't okay for society. It's what I'm saying. So I say society.

Then there's the really unnerving presence of Concrete Blonde's Tomorrow Wendy with its chorus.

And now for your listening pleasure, some more chick music.

Saints by the Breeders was a song I didn't know. It definitely has a manic 90s energy. So much of what she was saying didn't make sense, but one thing was clear. It put Mick front and center again.

You're my sailor. You're my real life, Mickey, because you are so cool.

I sent Monica a digital copy that I made by running the line to my laptop. I was excited. It felt like real progress. There was no way the sheriff's department wouldn't revisit Mick as a suspect now. But then I mentioned sharing it with them to Monica.

Wait, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don't do that. I would not do that. Not yet.

What? Really? Why?

Ryder? You got a source telling you they buried this case. They're corrupt, they took bribes.

Okay, well, that's Maldonado, maybe, but Lachlan,

like, they're gonna ask you where you got the tape. Look, don't mention my name.

Why not?

I've earned trust. I gave you the tape because she told me that was all right. She chose not to turn it into the cops for 30 years.

Well, but they told me that if there's new evidence that they could open up the case.

You believe them? You want that?

Well, maybe, yeah. Greer, the guy, the liaison that they put me. He loves me. He's like. He's actually ridiculously, he's. He's a fan.

Oh, wow. Okay, look, don't fall for that, okay? These are not your friends. Every cop, every team, law enforcement team that I have worked with, given a choice between something that makes them look bad and the truth. They never choose the truth.

The more I thought about it, I didn't feel right not sharing evidence, so I didn't heed her advice. I wish I had.

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[Ryder Strong]

Anna's tape, I listened to it three times. All the way through. There was Girl, you'll Be a Woman soon, which was from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack Pearl Jam's Daughter. There was some of the hip hop that everyone listened to in Sebastopol at the time. Digable Planets, Tribe Called Quest. The one that really brought me back personally was a song by Ani DiFranco, out of range. The second that opening riff started, a memory rushed in, Willow cranking the song up while we drove around, bouncing and thrashing in her seat the way that only teenagers can do. Willow must have been introduced to Ana DeFranco by her sister. Some of the most interesting parts of the mix are when Anna included movie clips. I remember doing this too. The audio's terrible. She must have been holding her recorder right up to the tv.

This whole world wild and hard and weird. The clown in that stupid jacket.

This is a snakeskin gagging, and for me it's similar to my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

Assholes.

That's from Wild at Heart. And this, of course.

I had to keep all this a secret from my dad. He would have had a fit since Kit was 10 years older than me and came from the wrong side of

the track, so called, which I recognized from Badlands, one of my favorite movies. All in all, Anna had good taste and apparently Mick did not.

On this tape, there will be no Billy Joel. Fuck the Eagles. Fuck Hotel California. Fuck your dad's music.

This is how she talks to him a lot. Taunting him, teasing him.

Is this torture? What? Does it hurt? Does it make you want to cut your ear off?

And if you caught that, that's the first of many Vincent Van Gogh references.

Get used to it Because I'm picking all the music in Operation Van Gogh. I'm gonna make you camp. You're gonna hate it.

She even reads from a book at one point. It's an encyclopedia, I guess.

Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch painter whose vivid colors and expressive brush work.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, dear.

[Ryder Strong]

Van Gogh suffered from severe emotional and psychological problems and died in France at the age of 37. 37. Severe emotional and psychological problems. That's what happens when you let society tell you how to feel, which, by the way, you do it. You do it all the time because you're scared.

All in all, it sounds like she and Mick had a pretty strange dynamic.

Everyone thinks you're the man, but I make you, And here's why. And this is really fucked up about you and your brain. You like it when I mean to you.

There's no way the sheriff's department wouldn't find this helpful. I called my liaison, Thomas Greer. Mr. Hunter? Yeah, hi. He also seemingly could only think of me as the. The guy from Boy Meets World. Dun, dun, dun. Do you remember that Halloween episode? Which was better than Lachlan, who had openly dismissed me as an actor, with a podcast, Like a cassette. Old school. Yeah, it's. It's got songs, and then she has movie clips, but she also talks a lot to Mick. I was surprised, though, by Greer's reaction to the tape. And how do you know it's from the real girl? The. Anna. Anna? Yeah. Well, I mean, I don't know for sure, but, yeah, it's her. I mean, it's. And who. Who gave it to you? I'd rather if. Can I keep that confidential? You know, it's your tape. You called me, but it doesn't mean that much unless it's real. No, it's definitely. I mean, it's a direct source. I thought he would have been more excited. All right, well, why don't you bring it over and we'll give it a listen. Hi, this is for Thomas Greer.

Yeah, I can take that.

The next morning, I dropped the tape off, and Greer didn't even come out to get it. I left it at the front desk. And I met Monica for lunch. We met at the Pinecone Diner and went over the table.

It's her, right?

I mean, yeah. I don't. It's not like I remember her voice perfectly, but it totally fits. Even though I have no idea what she's talking about half the time.

No, like, more than half the time.

Yeah, like all this Van Gogh stuff,

I have no idea Yeah, I have no idea.

The fact that Anna had made this tape for Mick and that he'd never brought it forward was not a good look for him. But then I have to be careful because I went into doing this podcast with a chip on my shoulder. Nick Bowden, going all the way back to when we were kids, was. I don't know how to put this delicately, not my favorite person. He was arrogant, condescending. I was friends with his brother for a little bit, and I remember going over to the house and Mick would torture us, lock us in a room. He was just a dick. Yeah, I just remember him just always. Yeah, just being a dickhead. Chris, in particular was picked on relentlessly by Mick and his friends. Chris was a goofy, funny kid with a slightly off sense of humor. Exactly the kind of kid someone like Mick would target. He'd strut around everywhere he went, anywhere he went, like he owned the place. Which maybe served him well.

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Mick did the smart Northern California thing and moved into tech out of Stanford. He was part of that first dot com boom. He sold an ad integration company in 2002, and apparently that sold to a bigger company, which sold to a bigger company, and on and on. You have any idea how much he's worth?

It's a lot. I mean, this one, he just invests and buys.

He does very well with his investment firm, J Light.

You know, he started off rich.

I know. Yeah. Must be nice.

You said that as if you were in a different situation.

I mean, what I was.

Really?

Yeah. My dad was a firefighter. My mom taught a class at the JC, you know, and you were on

TV at 12, so working.

Okay. This was one of the first times I got a sense of how good Monica is at her job. She was comfortable with conflict and not in an aggressive way. She would just let a moment sit there.

I was just confused. Cause you said, must be nice. Like you and Mick were in totally different worlds.

Well,

I. I grew up in Oakland, so. Bronte Park.

Yeah, that's. That is different. We had spent the last few weeks talking obsessively about my childhood and my friends, and yet I didn't even know if Monica was married or had kids. Before I could ask, she moved right on.

Yeah. Mick's dad, he died. But I do still think it might be worth checking out those contributions. The.

For Maldonado.

Right. Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

The 90 she was pounding on her phone it looked like she was writing four different stories at once.

So I'm gonna go to the registar in person if there's nothing digital, and if that does not work, check with the fppc.

She sounds like a lot.

Well, legally they're supposed to respond in 10 days, but you see how it works, so.

Okay. I paid the bill with Sparks, off the grid, the tape with the sheriff's department, and having interviewed most of my family and friends already, I started to feel like I should probably head home. How's Indy? I called my wife, Alex.

Oh, he's okay, you know, Already crying about having to do the conservatory on Saturday, even though, yeah, it's five days away.

Alex had been holding down the fort back at home for almost three weeks now. She's in the business too. And like most of us these days, she's a multi hyphenate writer, director, producer, actor. When you're married and both of you work this way, where everything is freelance, you have to take turns. Whoever's got a job, whoever's got a project, the other one becomes a single parent. And the truth was, going back to my hometown and looking into Anna's case was a little different. Not an actual job. She would never say so, but I was pretty sure Alex's patience was wearing thin.

Have you been able to write?

No, I was supposed to be writing a script. An actual job. It was due in a matter of weeks, but I hadn't even written a word yet. I know, I know. You think I should come home.

I didn't say that.

No, but I can feel it. Well, it just.

That is a job that you have, right?

I know, I know.

You're supposed to be writing. That's all you ever want to do, is write. And you're not doing that.

It's, I, it's, it's fine. I'll come home. I mean, I, I, there's nothing happening here and I can't just keep sitting around. Right then, though, an email came through. Oh wait. I actually just got a note from the sheriff's office. Can you come in and meet me at 9am tomorrow? Yeah, I guess they listen to the T. The next morning I went to the building and waited to see Greer. I couldn't wait to hear his thoughts on the tape. Finally, I was no longer begging for access or evidence or a return phone call. The sheriff's department was taking me seriously. And this is really painful to admit, but while I sat there, I actually had a fantasy. I mean, I know it's ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. It was me embedded with Greer and a team of cops. Like a SWAT team I guess. And I'd have my mic and my headphones so I'm recording audio while we jumped out of the vans and marched into this big office building. It's J Lite. Mick's company shocked faces of employees. Mick protested while Greer cuffed him and then then Mick would catch my eye. But then while waiting in the lobby, I got a text from Monica. It said Sparks may have been right. I texted her back about what she replied with $3 bills. Follow the.

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[Ryder Strong]

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I called Monica back from the lobby.

Ryder. There are two contributions to the 1996 Maldonado campaign.

Okay?

These two companies. Free flow and Overture Holdings. Thomas Bolden was on the board for both.

That would be mixed.

Dad.

Well, Jesus. I'm. I'm walking into Greer right now.

Strong. Wait, is he gonna let you record?

Yeah. Okay, well then. Well, you.

You got to ask him about this. Just get his response in real time.

No, I'm not sure I can do that.

Rider Strong.

Yeah, no, I got. I gotta go. I gotta go. I gotta go. When Greer walked me down the hallway, I tried to give him something that I had found at my parents house while digging out the tape player.

Hey.

So here's what I found. Mm. What's this? It was a boy meets world script from the 90s. My parents had kept a box of them and I thought he'd Appreciate it. It's an original. Oh, cool. Yeah, I can sign it for you if you want. Come on in. We walked into a bare room with a metal table. Sheriff Grace Laughlin was waiting. Hi. Oh, hi. Yeah. Nice to meet you.

Yeah.

Take a seat. Was this an interrogation room?

Yes.

I sat down. Greer stayed standing. They got right to the tape, but not in the way that I hoped.

Yeah, it's compelling stuff. But see, here's the real thing. It's a serious chain of custody issue.

How. What does that mean? You hand over a tape, but you won't tell us who gave it to you? Oh, yeah, well, I. I'm sorry, does that even matter? I mean, it's. If it's real, it matters. Well, it's definitely real.

Well, come on, Ryder. You're an actor. You make movies, right? For a living. You're working with audio equipment.

Okay, well then can you, like, test it? I mean, I'm sure, yeah.

We have a forensics team processing it, but I. I don't understand the hesitation here.

What hesitation? Tell us where you're going.

So can you tell us the name of the person who gave you this recording? No, they.

I'm sorry, they just. They want to remain anonymous.

You see how that's not helping us?

You help us, we help you.

You said you have a new witness. Who's that?

I. Okay, I. And that I can. If with that one, I can get back to you probably in a couple of days. I just. I need to get his. Okay, look, we're all for journalists.

Obviously we invited you in here, right? We're letting you record right now. All we want is more eyes and ears on any case. We want everyone to come forward, tell us. Tell us what they know.

Okay, but then this wasn't just about me. We heard you've been talking to Monica Tremblane. Uh huh.

You know her history, right?

She's got a bit of a reputation. For what?

She has had to retract more than one story, published some things before she gets all the facts, and then other times, not publishing things, not sharing information. That could help.

If you listen, you can hear my phone going crazy.

Do you need to get that?

No. No.

We're the ones who can solve this case. We have the people, we have the resources. We are the professionals.

Not Monica trembling, not you. Okay, it does sound like you're. You're gonna reopen the case. When I asked that, they looked at one another.

If we verify the tape, then it could move up the chain. And Greer, he'll put it on his active rotation. But we need full transparency. Anything you find, any information you have, anybody that comes forward, that's.

Yeah. Okay. Of course, I'd walked into this building with this fantasy that I would help crack the case and join the SWAT team, take down a criminal. And I'd love to tell you that this was the moment that I did the right thing, did the bold thing. But unlike Monica, I am incredibly uncomfortable with conflict. Turns out I am just an actor with a podcast. So I didn't tell them how I got the tape. I didn't tell them about the pager I found. I didn't mention Sparks, and I didn't confront them on the campaign contributions.

You didn't say anything?

Monica wasn't happy? No. I mean, they wanted to know where we got the tape.

You have to push back.

Well, I mean, maybe eventually, but right now I'm not in the position. I don't feel like I'm the right person to do that right now.

If you're not gonna go for this, then what are we doing?

Okay, well, I'm. I. I will go for it. I'm just. Right now, you know, I want to get all the information. I'm looking at these people and they're. They're helping me. They're probably going to reopen the case, and I'm looking at them, so I don't want to.

No, you're just. You're tiptoeing around. You're just not trying to piss anybody off.

Well, yeah, why should I? I don't. You know, I don't want to piss them off unnecessarily.

But they're not your friends.

I know, but they might be reopening the case, right? And if I piss them off, then they don't talk to me. That. Nobody wins in that scenario.

Ryder, you've only been doing this for a few weeks now, right? They have had this case for 30 years, and you have done more on it than they have. Doesn't that tell you everything you need to know?

All right, I'm all. Bye, guys. I left my parents and drove back to LA that day. I listened to Anna's mix on the way, justifying the fact that I hadn't confronted Lachlan and Greer. I'm not a journalist. I'm not a detective. Maybe I'd done some good, kicked over a few stories. Stones. And I found the tape. Hopefully, they would reopen Anna's case. I could go home, get back to my writing job while they looked into it more. And this idea that the sheriff's department might be corrupt or had been corrupt. That. That was important, of course. But was it my battle? Monica's the professional. She could keep digging. If she found something solid, well, then she could bring it to me or her editors or whomever and maybe get something published. Turns out Monica didn't have to wait for me or anyone. Like most writers these days, Monica runs her own substack. And by the time I woke up, the news had already broken.

Questions linger in Missing persons investigation from 1995.

Okay, whenever reviews come out for something that I've worked on, I have Alex read it first. For some reason, it feels better to have a human buffer. I did that with Monica's article, too.

It's about contributions to a campaign.

She put it all in there.

Sheriff Robert Maldonado did not respond to calls.

Of course. Not for a moment, one brief, shining moment, I hope that Monica might have been put this out there without involving me.

The allegations came to light because Ryder Strong, the actor best known for his role in Boy Meets World, has been revisiting the case for a podcast.

Shit. And suddenly, this project, before I'd even finished editing my very first episode, was out in the world. And I had a bad feeling. It was not gonna make things. That day. The deluge. Messages and emails. News outlets wanting comments. When stuff like this happens, anybody who represents me or ever once represented me starts fielding requests. Old agents from when I was still acting. Publicists I worked with years ago. Anywhere somebody can find contact info for me, they try. And the whole morning, I watched phone calls come in from unknown numbers. But then there was one that I recognized, and I knew I had to answer.

Well, congratulations. You've got the clicks.

No, I had no idea. It wasn't ever anything that I was going to do.

You know what this means, right? This makes it harder. This is exactly why we need to control the flow of information. This is the kind of thing that we cannot have.

I tried to explain myself, to distance myself from Monica, but I could barely get a word in.

Okay, look, I don't need the state and the district attorney suddenly banging on my door. We were trying to help you, and now we're fielding conspiracy theories.

I know, and I appreciate your help, and I. I advise Robert Maldonado to

no longer speak with you. And Officer Greer is under orders to keep this work internal.

At that point, I was cut out of the case. No more access to the evidence or the sheriff's office. I thought this was it, that there was no way I could put anything together without help. Or new leads. Without more evidence, I didn't realize that my biggest breakthrough, what I really needed to push the case forward. I'd already heard it was right there on the tape. The Red Weather is an iHeart podcast hosted by Ryder Strong Sound engineering, editing and mixing by Bo Milkus Produced by Tess Bartholomew, executive producers at iHeartRadio Trevor Young and Matt Frederick, associate producer, Bo Milkus Original score by Kyle Morton. If you're enjoying the show, please remember to leave a review and rating. Thanks for listening.

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[Danielle Fishel]

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