Transcript
Sarah Reid (0:00)
Sequestered is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.
Sponsor/Advertisement Voice (0:26)
When Mother's Day means celebrating your mom, your wife, maybe even your daughter as a new mom. Trust 1-800-FLOWERS to help you celebrate every important woman in your life with double blooms from 1-800-Flowers. Order one dozen roses and get another dozen for free. It's a simple way to give beautifully, with colorful blooms that make Mother's Day feel meaningful for every mom you're celebrating. Order with confidence and get double blooms at 1-800-FLowers.com podcast. That's 1-800-FLowers.COM podcast.
Sarah Reid (0:57)
There's something uniquely American about a state fair. The smell of funnel cakes in the air, the sound of rides rattling overhead. It's nostalgia and noise all at once, a place built for excess, freedom and the illusion that nothing bad could happen there. In September of 1981, the Oklahoma State Fair was in full swing. Lights stretched across the fairground, midway games stacked high with oversized stuffed animals, and the sounds of the fair drifted through the night air while families moved through the crowd and teenagers roamed in groups. It just felt safe, the kind of place where parents handed their kids a little cash, told them to be smart and trusted, that they'd be home later. It was a typical Friday night when two teenage girls walked into the fairgrounds together. Shortly after they arrive, a man approaches them and offers them a job unloading stuffed animals from a truck. There are already two boys helping him, so nothing feels unusual about it. Nothing about it feels dangerous. Plus, it's quick money and easy work. So the girls say yes. They even called home to tell their families they'd been offered work at the fair, helping to unload the stuffed animals. They're supposed to call back later to arrange a ride home, but they never do. Their names are Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett. They're both 13 years old, and whatever happened after they left that fair, they have never been seen again. I'm Sarah Reid, and this is sequestered season four. The year is 1981. We're in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and this is the disappearance of Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett. Before the fair, before their phone calls, before anyone knew something was wrong, There were just two girls, Cinda Leann Pallet and Charlotte June Kinsey, both 13 years old, both from Oklahoma City, both born in 1986, and both at that age where childhood starts to loosen its grip, when parents begin trusting you a little more and the world starts to feel bigger. They attended Jefferson High School together, and by all accounts were the kind of friends rarely seen apart. On the night of Friday, September 25th, they planned to go to the Oklahoma State Fair together without their parents. The state fair wasn't just about rides and fried food. For some, it was about independence. A place where kids were allowed to roam free to meet friends and make their own little decisions without adults hovering nearby. For Charlotte and Cinda, this was supposed to be one of those nights. The kind of night that should have become a fun memory. Charlotte stood about 5ft tall with blonde feathered hair and blue eyes. She weighed about 100 pounds and had a scar below her left eye. Her ears were pierced and she had silver caps on her lower front teeth. They're the kind of details that families memorize later when they're trying desperately to describe someone who should still be here. On the night of September 25th, Charlotte was wearing blue jeans with a maroon blouse and Nike sneakers. Cinda wore blue jeans too, and a white ZZ Top jersey style shirt with the number 81 printed on the back. She was about the same height as Charlotte and around 88 pounds. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and she also had a small scar beneath her left eyebrow. The point is, these were two normal girls, two friends eager to spend their first time alone at the fair. And before the night was over, both would vanish together. It's unclear how Charlotte and Cinda arrived at the fair that night. We don't know if they were dropped off or if they found their own way there. What matters is that once they arrived, they were on their own in the crowd. And not long after they got there, a man approached them. We don't know exactly where, we don't know exactly when, but we know he offered them work. And it's unclear exactly what was said, but he made it sound harmless enough that two 13 year old girls believed him. It was a simple job, helping unload stuffed animals from a truck. That detail matters because it explains why they ultimately left the fairgrounds with the man. This wasn't force. It wasn't panic. It wasn't a stranger dragging them into the dark. To the girls, this was an opportunity, a harmless favor. It was easy money, the kind they'd be happy to spend at the fair that night. And more importantly, the girls believed it enough to call home around 5pm and tell their parents about the job offer. Both of their moms agreed and told them to call back around 9pm so those phone calls matter because they tell us that Charlotte and Cinda did not believe they were in any danger. They thought they were doing something normal, temporary and safe. Plus they saw two teenage boys with him. Apparently, they were also there to help with the stuffed animals, which likely made the whole thing feel even more legitimate. The girls were last seen at the fairgrounds around 5:30pm and by 9 o' clock that night, when they still hadn't called home, their parents contacted the Oklahoma City Police Department to report them missing. As investigators began piecing together what happened, the two teenage boys came forward. They told police they believed they had information about the girl's disappearance. According to the boys, they had also been recruited by the same man. Turns out they had both got into his car along with Charlotte and Cinda, and together the group left the fairgrounds with the man. The boys explained that the man drove them to a truck stop off of Interstate 40. He told them that they were meeting a truck that was carrying the stuffed animals. But when they arrived, the truck wasn't there, the boys explained. That's when things changed. The man told the boys to stay behind at the truck stop while he took Charlotte and Cinda to go check on the truck. He left with the girls and never came back. And that is the last known movement of Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallet. The boys were able to give investigators a clear description of the man and helped create a composite sketch. That sketch, along with the girls descriptions, was then distributed on missing persons flyers across the country. In the days that followed, a massive search effort took shape. A dedicated task force was formed. Uniformed and undercover officers returned to the fairgrounds, walking the same paths, scanning the same crowds, looking for any sign of where the girls had gone. But there was nothing. Let's slow this down, because everything in this case comes back to just a few moments and a handful of statements. There was no struggle, no panicked screams, no witness to violence. There wasn't even a crime scene. Which meant that in those early hours, police had to consider every possibility. Did the girls run away? Were they abducted? Had they been killed? As one investigator would later say, we have suspects.