
Randa was last seen on February 10th, 2009 at her apartment complex. By the next morning, she had disappeared without a trace, leaving a close-knit family of ten to unravel the mystery. Fifteen years later, detectives are still trying to find her and figure out what happened that fateful night… and who might be responsible.
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Ashley Flowers
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Dee Dee
Rhonda was very predictable. I mean if she called at 8:30, she did it every day. She didn't just call at 8:30 randomly one day and oh, today I feel like this. Nope, she called all of us every day, all day long.
Ashley Flowers
So Anise got in her car and drove over to Rhonda's apartment, less than 10 minutes away in Fenton, Michigan. And when no one came to the door, she used her spare key to get inside. Rhonda wasn't in any of the rooms that she checked, but the kitchen light was on and it looked as though her bed had been slept in. None of this was really cause for alarm yet. Rhonda typically went to Catholic service in the mornings around like 8:15 after she got off the phone with her mom, of course. But what did concern Anise was something else that she saw in the bed bedroom, the clothes that she had laid out for Rhonda that day before. Like when she went over to help her get ready for bed, they were still laying on the chair where she had left them, completely untouched. And as soon as Anise saw that outfit laying there, she knew that she had to call the police. She told them all the things that caused her concern that morning and how she had last seen her daughter the night before at 8pm wearing her long blue bathrobe, which was now missing from the apartment. She expressed even more worry because she said that Rhonda's physical illness and the medication she'd been prescribed for it had taken a toll on her mental health, causing both anxiety and a general dependency on others.
Detective Thomas Cole
To see somebody walk off in a bathrobe, disappear in a bathrobe is extremely odd. And you kind of start to formulate different possibilities of what happened that was.
Ashley Flowers
Fenton Police Detective Thomas Cole. And he told us that when Anise called that morning, Rhonda was actually already on Fenton PD's radar, but not because she'd done anything wrong.
Detective Thomas Cole
Within a week and a half span prior to Rhonda coming up missing, three of us at the police department had been called on her only about a mile away from her residence. People that called in were concerned about just the way she looked, and it looked like she was struggling, walking and those type of things. People didn't understand where she was physically and mentally at that time. And at every point she was picked up, she was dressed. We never had any calls of her walking around town in her robe.
Ashley Flowers
Detective Cole actually directly responded to one of those calls on February 10th. That was the day before Rhonda went missing. Someone had called the police just before 11 in the morning to report that a woman looked like she needed help. The caller said that the woman was walking in the middle of the road, just kind of wandering through traffic.
Detective Thomas Cole
I can remember thinking she just. She looked disheveled and it wasn't safe for her to be walking out there, so I just took her home. We had an actual conversation. I don't recall what it was, but it was definitely nothing out in left field to where I'm like, whoa, we need to get you some mental help right now.
Ashley Flowers
Given what Fenton Petey knew about Rhonda, they hoped that a call would come in soon from somebody who spotted her walking around the neighborhood. And in the meantime, they began checking the surrounding area and local businesses near her home. And when they realized there were no traces of Rhonda anywhere in town, they got a warrant to search her apartment, hoping that maybe they could find some clues there. But just as Anise reported, aside from the untouched clothing on the chair, nothing looked out of place. There were no signs of a struggle, no signs of forced entry, and the apartment looked how Rhonda normally kept it. So with that and Rhonda's history of going off on her own, detectives didn't want to jump to any conclusions about foul play. Plus, things like that didn't happen around Fenton. But still, detectives weren't just going to brush this off either. That same day, they got a warrant for Rhonda's phone records. That's when they learned that on February 10, after Anise left Rhonda's apartment, Rhonda spoke to her sister Fadia on the phone at around 11pm I called her.
Fadia
And normally she always wants to talk to me, and she kept saying, I'm tired. Sis. And I was like, oh, that's all right. You know, just stay on the phone. Let's talk. And me and Rhonda used to talk on the phone almost every night. That night was just. Just wanted to hang up, but I just kept trying to keep her on the phone for some reason. I don't know what it was.
Ashley Flowers
Halfway through their conversation, Rhonda told Fadia that she was getting another call, and she clicked over to answer it. And then when Rhonda got back to Fadia, she seemed upset.
Fadia
I asked her, who was that? And she said it was Diana, my baby sister. I was like, what'd she say to you? I noticed a chain, and she wouldn't say anything about it. I kept wondering, well, what did my sister say that made her upset? I don't know what it was. And come to find out, it was never my sister that called. At least that's what the police is saying, that it wasn't her.
Ashley Flowers
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Detective Thomas Cole
Originally, the assumption was maybe she had walked off, got lost. That's why they searched the woods there really hard. And maybe she twisted an ankle or hurt herself and needed assistance and that's why she wasn't coming back. I think once they flew that area, once they walked that area and they realized, wow, we can't find her. She hasn't come back. She hasn't called her family, what she would do for assistance. Possibly something else happened.
Ashley Flowers
With no trace of Rhonda anywhere nearby, this is when investigators seem to start suspecting foul play, meaning Rhonda had to have encountered someone else before she disappeared. So detectives looked into some security camera footage from Rhonda's apartment complex to see who would have been coming and going from the area that night. And when they got it back, it showed that between 8pm on February 10 and 8am on February 11, three cars came by the apartment complex.
Detective Thomas Cole
Due to the dark, the lighting, everything like that, it's so pixelated, it is extremely hard to tell what type of vehicle those were. Go back 15 years with our technology. And this is not the top of the line surveillance at the time either. So you factor that in. The apartment parking area is far enough away, even during the daylight, you're not going to be able to tell who that particular person is getting into a car. So you factor the nighttime, you can't see anything.
Ashley Flowers
At the same time, detectives were looking around the apartment complex, they were also looking within it, talking with Rhonda's neighbors. Now, there are only four other units in her apartment complex, so they believed someone must have heard or seen something. Now, the first neighbor detectives spoke to, who we'll call Ellen, said that she last saw Rhonda at 8pm the night before with her mother. She said she didn't know Rhonda very well and their contact was limited to running into each other at the mailbox. But she did know that aside from her family, Rhonda didn't typically have many visitors. According to Ellen, Rhonda spent most of her time with a different neighbor, who we'll call Duane. And other neighbors said the same thing. Duane and Rhonda were always hanging out together. So obviously detectives went to speak with Duane.
Detective Thomas Cole
He told the initial officer on scene, who was Officer Cross, that he arrived home around 10 o'clock that evening, saw that Rhonda's light was on in her apartment, but did not see her or talk to her. Detective Skarzinski went out there later that same day on the 11th and talked to Dwayne again. And he told Detective Skarzynski that he did see Rhonda and he did talk to Rhonda that evening. So his conversation with the detective was kind of opposite of what he told Officer Cross initially, which kind of sparked my interest to that.
Ashley Flowers
Do we know what Rhonda's relationship was like with Dwayne?
Detective Thomas Cole
That varies from who you talk to. Some people would say Dwayne would categorize himself as a big brother. Tarondum would look out to her. Other people would say that there was some type of relationship, maybe even intimate, that was occurring at the time. He had told Skarzinski that he'd do whatever he could to help out the investigation. And then when it came to the polygraph, that's when he agreed at first and he did not end up showing correct, he ended up contacting his attorney and decided not to take the polygraph.
Ashley Flowers
Rhonda's family didn't know Duane very well, but that was actually why they started to become suspicious of him. According to Dee Dee, it wasn't like they heard anything bad about him. They just hadn't really heard anything. Now, the Johari family was extremely close, all 10 of them. Rhonda had six sisters, one who was her twin, and a brother. And they shared everything. I mean, they typically got together at least twice a week back in those days.
Detective Thomas Cole
They're so close that they feel. They feel each other's emotions, and you'll hear that a lot talking to all of her sisters. And they're just like, I feel Rhonda, or I could feel that something was wrong. And they're very, very connected.
Ashley Flowers
Rhonda's family told detectives that she was a beautiful person on the inside and out. They said that she was always so full of life.
Dee Dee
Rhonda was I am me. And you couldn't help but love her for it, too, at the same time. And she kind of gave me a lot of strength.
Ashley Flowers
Rhonda was an aspiring actress, and according to her family, she even had bit parts in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie True Lies. She did other kinds of art, too. Over the course of her life. She wrote, she painted, and at the time of her disappearance, she even taught acting lessons for children at a community center in Flint.
Dee Dee
She just had this, like, full of life personality. She was no ordinary girl, you know, So I always felt safe around her growing up, and she'd always come up with the best. Like, we'd make up dances, we'd make up plays. We would just have so much fun and just be real creative.
Ashley Flowers
Rhonda's family said that she was in her late 20s when she first began experiencing the symptoms of her physical illness. It wasn't long before these symptoms began to affect her mentally, but she was still able to live a very full life. And then in 2003, Rhonda actually gave birth to Maddie. Soon after that, on top of her illness, though, she began to experience postpartum depression, and it became hard for her to take care of her baby. At that point, Rhonda was living at home with her parents so she could focus on bettering herself while they helped her take care of her daughter. And Dee Dee told us that Rhonda had agreed to get help, even had gotten on some new medication, but it just slowed her down. And subdued her energy. But about six months before she disappeared, Rhonda went on a different medicine, Started doing really good.
Dee Dee
So good that they agreed she's ready for her own place. She got her daughter. She was taking care of her daughters. She was herself again, and it was so beautiful to see.
Ashley Flowers
That's when rhonda moved into her fenton apartment. Her parents still came over regularly to help her out, but rhonda was developing her own daily routine. She spent her time going to church services, Being with her daughter, Teaching acting classes, and, of course, talking on the phone with family.
Detective Thomas Cole
She was always talking to her family. She was very dependent at that time on her family. So if she needed something, she called them, and they brought it to her.
Ashley Flowers
According to rhonda's siblings, the something she needed Was usually either cigarettes or pepsi. And when she called, Whoever in the family Was closest to her apartment at the time Would bring some over. And that was how rhonda's life was for a while. Structured, predictable. That is, until the week before her disappearance. That week, Rhonda came down with something and was feeling especially out of it. So much so that she decided she needed to hand maddy off to her parents For a few days While she got some rest and recovered. But even without a child to take care of, Rhonda had a difficult time. And that was the week she wandered off, and detective cole had to pick her up. But even with all of that going on, it seemed like rhonda could have still been hanging out with duane. So rhonda's family really wanted detectives to take a closer look at this guy. And a lake less than 10 minutes from Rhonda and duane's apartment complex, where duane used to fish. This place called crane lake. Now, February in michigan. The thing was, well, frozen over, but that didn't mean it'd be impossible to hide a body there.
Detective Thomas Cole
You would have had to drill a hole and then weight her body and submerse her in there. That's one of the assumptions.
Ashley Flowers
Detectives agreed to search the area with canines, and they spent about a week Walking the dogs around the lake. According to detectives at the time, the dogs actually indicated On a few different occasions, which basically means that they signaled to their handlers that they detected the scent of human remains nearby, but they weren't able to find anything where the dogs had alerted, and the ice was making things really difficult to search. So at a certain point, Detectives decided that instead of continuing the search, Then they should wait until the lake thawed so that the canines could get a Better read on it now. Over the next couple of months, while they waited for the ice to thaw, different tips came in. One from Rhonda's dentist office. Even the caller explained to detectives that months ago, she was working the reception desk when Rhonda came in for an appointment with a younger black man.
Detective Thomas Cole
He just seemed kind of eager, wanted to be back there with her when she was getting work done. She didn't say he was pushy or anything like that, or even that his interaction with Rhonda was unusual. It was just that he was kind of anxious. What was going on with Rhonda. He wasn't grabbing on to Rhonda or, you know, threatening the people at the front desk. She just thought it was odd.
Ashley Flowers
Detectives followed this tip up with a forensic sketch artist and put that drawing out on Rhonda's missing person flyers, but nothing ever came of it. No one recognized the man from the sketch. Detective Cole actually looks back on that tip now as a bit of a distraction. But the reality was detectives didn't have much else to go off of, and they wanted to exhaust every possible lead that they got. Another tip came after some skeletal remains were found about two hours from Rhonda's apartment. But within days, dental records confirmed that they weren't hers. And then in July, detectives were finally able to go back to Crane Lake to search, this time with sonar tools, but there was nothing. Now, Dee Dee didn't think that that necessarily meant there was never anything to find there. She couldn't help but wonder if investigators had just been too late. What if Rhonda had been in there? But in the time since the first search, she'd been moved either way. With no new indications, detectives found themselves at the end of the road yet again. Here's Rhonda's brother, Sam.
Sam
As time went by, here's the one year you know, the newspapers are calling you, the news teams are calling you. Then it's another year, then another year, and it's like nothing is happening. But every year, it's the anniversary. We get back on tv. Everything gets reopened up, but nothing has happened. But the wound just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And every day you wake up and it's like, still nothing. We're still in the same boat. Is she really gone? Is she here? Is she going to just show up? Is she suffering? Is she eating? Is she awake? Is she sleeping? What's going on with her?
Ashley Flowers
It took 10 years before police got their next break in the case. 10 years for someone new to come forward with A tip about Rhonda everyone's got a thing, whether it's vinyl records, sneakers, or sports memorabilia. And talking to people about how you found them on ebay can quickly become your whole personality. Even at 2am when you can't get your obsession off your mind, you're on ebay for sure. Scrolling your favorite seller's storefront, setting search alerts, building the watch list of your literal dreams, and making everyone in the group chat jealousy. Maybe you've even gotten your bestie onto ebay too. And it's pretty likely that when they found out that they could get their favorite thing and for a good deal too, well, it's game over. And if vinyl records, the newest sneaker drops, and sports memorabilia aren't your thing, the best part about ebay is that it doesn't matter what you're into. Designer watches, car parts, vintage furniture. It's all there. You might just discover your next passion on ebay too. So go find the things that keep you up at night. Ebay. Things people Love For a gift that is always on time and lasts a lifetime, you can't do better than Masterclass. Masterclass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 plus of the world's best instructors. Learn from any Masterclass instructor anywhere on a smartphone, computer, smart tv or even in audio mode. With Masterclass, your loved ones can learn from the best to become their best. And listen, you're clearly a crime junkie. I bet you have crime junkies in your life. They have Masterclasses from people like John Douglas, one of the fathers of the bau. I mean, take it from me, in another life, I wanted to be a profiler. Well, welcome to Masterclass. In this life I can be. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com dec for the current offer. That's up to 50% off@masterclass.com dec masterclass.com Deck this tipster, who we'll call Brenda, came to police in February of 2021 with a story that she said happened about six or so months prior. She said that she was driving around Fenton with her mid-30something nephew when apparently out of nowhere, he pointed out the window and said something along the lines of she should be buried over there somewhere. Now, somehow she knew that he was talking about Rhonda. But Brenda didn't offer any other information to detectives other than to let them know that that nephew, who we'll call Jack, had been killed In a car accident just a few months earlier. Now, she didn't say if she knew Rhonda or how or why her nephew was talking about Rhonda, Just that she wanted to get this off her chest after he died. Now, detectives were confused, to say the least, but they saw the lead through anyway.
Detective Thomas Cole
A single K9 unit went over and searched that immediate area. Jack had pointed off to Brenda, where he was told that Rhonda was. They did not indicate on any area there.
Ashley Flowers
Still, detectives agreed that Brenda's tip was too bizarre to just brush off, so they started looking more into Jack. At the time of Rhonda's disappearance, Jack was in his 30s, but he was also in prison. That meant that he couldn't have been responsible for whatever happened to Rhonda, but he still could have known who was. Now, with Jack having died, Detectives knew that they wouldn't be able to get any more information from him, but they thought maybe they could get something from his brother, who we'll call Bill. In March of 2021, Bill agreed to sit down with detectives. And in that interview, they asked him who else would know more about Jack's connection to Rhonda. And Bill said, I kid you not, Dwayne, who, by the way, had not been attached to this case publicly at this point.
Detective Thomas Cole
These dots keep on connecting in a certain avenue, and it is hard to not push more down that road.
Ashley Flowers
Now, it didn't really seem to detectives like Duane would have had a strong motive to harm Rhonda, but they came up with a couple of possible theories as to what could have happened that night if he was involved. The first was that Rhonda and Duane actually had a more serious relationship, maybe, and something sparked a fight between them that night, which maybe led to Duane losing control and harming Rhonda. Now, Duane was known to be a pretty heavy drinker, so that could have factored into a brief episode of rage, but it would have been a one off. Detective Cole confirmed that he couldn't find any police records that showed Duane had a violent history. The other theory was that Rhonda and Duane were maybe hanging out as usual, when, given Rhonda's weak physical state, she suffered some sort of fatal accident, and Duane then just panicked and tried to cover it up. Now, unfortunately, by the time detectives went to check on these theories, they discovered that Duane had actually passed away four years prior in 2017. So they were kind of stumped until detective Cole stepped in. When Cole got put on the case in 2023, this is like 14 years after Rhonda went missing, he decided to start from scratch. He spent months reworking the case from the beginning, starting with the who.
Detective Thomas Cole
I've gone back, and I've talked to all the family members. I've brought them in here. I've interviewed them one by one. And like I said prior, the ones that couldn't come in because they're out of state, I talked to them via Zoom or over the phone. Other people that lived in the complex that are still alive today, I've tracked the vast majority of them down, and I've talked to them. The most I get is very little, which is I know nothing about nothing. The least I got was, I'm not gonna waste my time coming in and talking to you about this. They have so many missing pieces of the puzzle that would help me to where if Dwayne's not somebody to look at, I can move on so much easier. Instead of wasting all this time, Detective.
Ashley Flowers
Cole even went back to the dentist's office and to Brenda. He also put callouts on social media and in the papers, but no one had any new information for him. And by that point, a lot of the people connected to this case had passed away, including Duane, Jack, and Bill. So Cole focused on the evidence, hoping that another comb through with fresh eyes might reveal something new. And he really wanted to start with that mystery phone call that had interrupted Rhonda and her sister's conversation the night she went missing. Now, back in 2009, all detectives knew was that the number had a Saginaw area code, which Saginaw is, like, a few cities over from Benton. But it seemed like they didn't have the capabilities to trace it back then. Well, in 2023, even though new technology existed, Cole said it was still difficult to trace a number that was now 15 years old. He even brought in analysts from the Michigan State Police Department, but they weren't able to link the phone number to anyone either. So with that, Cole moved on to the where. And he dug up the footage from Rhonda's apartment the night that she went missing. And as initial detectives found that video quality was bad.
Detective Thomas Cole
It's not well lit out there, and that could be some of the problem we're having, because it's the headlights and tail lights that are distorting the image at nighttime. It's very, very frustrating.
Ashley Flowers
All Cole could see and confirm were the three cars that investigators noted during the initial investigation.
Detective Thomas Cole
There's one that I'm particularly looking at that came in right around 5:00 in the morning. The Michigan State Police have analyzed the surveillance video hard drive. They even took it frame by frame of the one particular car around 5am and tried to enhance it with no success. I also had the FBI take the hard drive and do similar thing with.
Ashley Flowers
No success with the quality of the video. Cole said that he couldn't even determine the color of the car, let alone the make or the model. He also went to check out Crane Lake, hoping to uncover what the cadaver dogs indicated there initially, even though no body was ever found when they'd searched it.
Detective Thomas Cole
There's more than one assumption when it comes to those indications. If you believe those dogs had a train indicated response, you look at the wind, you look at, okay, maybe she wasn't put in the water. Maybe she was put in a shed around that particular area. Maybe she was anywhere around there. It led me to start looking into that area, and I found somebody who lived on the lake at that time. That was, I think, one of Dwayne's best friends. This is the thing. It's more of a private lake. So that led me to think he had to know somebody on that lake.
Ashley Flowers
Actually, Dwayne knew multiple somebodies who lived at least close to the lake, along with his best friend, who's unfortunately deceased. Now, Jack and Bill's family also lived in that area.
Detective Thomas Cole
I'm not talking a mile away. I'm talking walking distance away and without giving too much more, because I'm still actively looking over in this particular vicinity. There is a big chunk of undeveloped land over there. I mean, big. We're talking well over 100 acres that I'm combing through right now.
Ashley Flowers
With this search underway, Cole is hopeful. He wants to learn more about Duane and his circle of friends. But he said his number one priority is still finding Rhonda.
Detective Thomas Cole
It's not for my closure. It's for her family's closure. I see their pain every time we talk to them. I want to give that to them. And that will be the highlight of my career. I've had a very amazing career. I've got to do a lot of awesome things, meet a lot of really good people. But this would by far be the biggest highlight of my career is finding Rhonda.
Ashley Flowers
How many homicides or missing people do.
Detective Thomas Cole
You even have here unsolved? This is it. This is our one and only Cole case.
Ashley Flowers
Detective Cole has exhausted every resource at his fingertips. Along with sending evidence to the MSP and the FBI, he has also partnered with Western Michigan University's Cold Case Program to Look over and digitize around 1,600 pages of Rhonda's case file.
Detective Thomas Cole
I am not going away. This investigation's not going away. It's getting bigger.
Ashley Flowers
And thanks to a new cold case card deck that came out earlier this year, Rhonda's story is getting even more attention. For the Johari family, seeing Rhonda's face on the 10 of spades meant everything.
Dee Dee
It gave me strength to keep going on. It gave me that little kick in the ass and get your ass up and let's go do this and let's find her.
Ashley Flowers
But Dee Dee knows that she can't do it alone. Just like Cole, she is hoping that someone, anyone, with information is going to come forward and finally bring some justice for the Joharis.
Dee Dee
Do it for you and do it for Rhonda. Do it for our family and for her daughter. Do it for her daughter, who deserves that. She had to grow up without her mom. She's always waiting for her mom to come back. You know, she always has it in the back of her mind, you know, is she going to show up for this? Is she going to show up for that? Or just do it, Just do it. Take a load off. That's what I'd say.
Ashley Flowers
Rhonda's daughter Maddie, was only six when Rhonda disappeared. She has spent the last 15 years longing for answers that have never come. Earlier this year, Maddie wrote a remembrance for her mom that was published in the local Fenton newspaper, the Tri County Times. And I want to end this episode with an excerpt from it. It says, I spend so much time wondering if she'd be proud of me, wondering if she'd smile when I walked in the room. I spend time trying to remember what it felt like to hug her, to hear her say, I love you. I sometimes feel as though I hardly know my mom. But I did know her. I loved her. I still do. And I always will. The hardest part of loving someone is losing them. The hardest part of losing my mom is not knowing what happened to her. If you know Anything about the 2009 disappearance of Rhonda Jahari, or if you have any information about suspicious activity relating to the Crane Lake area at that time, you can reach Fenton Police Detective Thomas Cole at 810-629-5311, or you can email him at coletonpolice.org and if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can report information to Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee county at 1-800-422-5245. Or on their website crimestoppersofflint.com the deck is an Audio Chuck production with theme music by Ryan Lewis. To learn more about the Deck and our advocacy work, Visit the Deck podcast.com so what do you think Chuck? Do you approve? This lasagna was so cheesy. My plate was filled with saucy slices. Then a flimsy store brand plate. No no no no. Ruined it. Next time get Dixie Ultra plates three times stronger than the leading store brand 10 inch paper plate Dixie make it right. Texas Pete is the sauce that allows you to sauce like you mean it. It's what people gather around. It's generosity in its simplest form and it's a swagger people have who know what's good each Texas Peat Sauce is packed with bold, balanced flavor. The signature tanginess is what makes it a legendary hot sauce that can be used on just about anything. It has been at the center of dinner table since 1929 and is still heating things up today. You're definitely going to want to try every flavor. The original hot sauce has a famous secret blend of fermented peppers. The hotter hot sauce is three times hotter than the original and not for the faint of heart. Sabor by Texas Pea adds authentic Mexican flavor and their dust dry seasoning matches the flavor of the original hot sauce in a flavorful dry rub. I actually put that dry rub on my chicken last week and loved it. Texas Pete Sauce like you mean it. Visit texaspeat.com and use the store locator to find Texas Pete products as well as purchase sauces and get recipe inspiration and use promo code deck24 for 20% off@texaspeat.com.
Podcast Summary: The Deck – Episode: Rhonda Jawhari (10 of Spades, Michigan)
Release Date: November 6, 2024
Host: audiochuck (Ashley Flowers)
In this emotionally charged episode of The Deck, host Ashley Flowers delves into the mysterious disappearance of Rhonda Jawhari, known as the 10 of Spades from Michigan. Distributed as part of a unique initiative to help solve cold cases, Rhonda's case has remained unsolved for over 15 years. This episode aims to uncover new insights and renew efforts to find Rhonda, hoping that someone listening might finally bring her the justice she deserves.
Rhonda Jawhari, a vibrant and creative individual, was a natural-born artist who left her mark through murals in Hawaii, appearances in movies like Arnold Schwarzenegger's True Lies, and contributions to television. By the age of 42, Rhonda had also authored her own book and was teaching acting lessons for children in Flint, Michigan. Her family describes her as full of energy, always embarking on new projects, and possessing a contagious zest for life.
Dee Dee Jawhari, Rhonda's younger sister, reflects on her character:
"Rhonda was I am me. And you couldn't help but love her for it, too, at the same time. And she kind of gave me a lot of strength."
(Timestamp: 17:30)
On February 11, 2009, Rhonda disappeared without a trace from her apartment in Fenton, Michigan. Rhonda maintained regular morning check-ins with her mother, Aneesh Johari, due to her chronic physical illness and mental health challenges. However, Rhonda failed to call that morning, raising immediate concerns.
Aneesh Johari recounts the morning:
"Rhonda had moved into her own place, she called every morning at 7:30 to check in. But on that morning, Rhonda didn't call, which was unusual."
(Timestamp: 04:11)
Upon finding no response, Aneesh drove to Rhonda's apartment. While there was no sign of struggle, Rhonda's bed appeared recently used, and her clothes for the day remained untouched on a chair—an anomaly that prompted Aneesh to contact the police.
Detective Thomas Cole of the Fenton Police Department took charge of the case. Early investigations revealed that Rhonda was already on the police radar due to concerns about her well-being. Just a week and a half before her disappearance, Rhonda had drawn police attention for appearing disheveled and struggling physically.
Detective Cole explains:
"Within a week and a half span prior to Rhonda coming up missing, three of us at the police department had been called on her, concerned about her appearance and behavior."
(Timestamp: 05:52)
On the day Rhonda vanished, Detective Cole had responded to a call about her potentially wandering in traffic but had nothing alarming to report, noting:
"She looked disheveled and it wasn't safe for her to be walking out there, so I just took her home."
(Timestamp: 06:28)
Despite these concerns, Rhonda's disappearance initially didn't point strongly towards foul play. Her behavior had been somewhat unpredictable due to her health, but there were no clear signs of a struggle or forced entry at her apartment.
1. Mysterious Phone Call
Investigators discovered that Rhonda had a call with her sister Fadia around 11 PM on the night she disappeared. During the call, Rhonda mentioned another caller identified as "Diana," who later turned out not to be her sister. This unidentified number became a critical but unsolved lead.
Fadia recounts the call:
"Rhonda kept saying, I'm tired. Sis... she seemed upset after taking the call."
(Timestamp: 08:38)
Despite efforts, including showing the call log to family members, the police couldn't trace the number, suspecting it might have been from a burner phone.
2. Security Footage and Suspect Vehicles
Security camera footage from Rhonda's apartment complex showed three cars passing by between 8 PM on February 10 and 8 AM on February 11. However, poor video quality hindered the ability to identify the vehicles or any potential suspects.
Detective Cole notes:
"Due to the dark, the lighting... it's extremely hard to tell what type of vehicle those were."
(Timestamp: 13:51)
3. Suspected Involvement of Duane
Duane, Rhonda's neighbor and frequent companion, became a person of interest. Initially, Duane provided conflicting statements about seeing Rhonda on the night of her disappearance. He eventually contacted his attorney and refused to take a polygraph test, raising further suspicions.
Detective Cole observes:
"Duane had not been publicly attached to this case until after investigating Jack's connection."
(Timestamp: 15:58)
Tragically, Duane passed away in 2017, complicating further investigations.
4. Crane Lake Search Efforts
Detectives conducted extensive searches around Crane Lake, near Rhonda's residence, using canine units. While the dogs indicated the presence of human remains multiple times, no evidence was found due to the frozen conditions. Subsequent searches with sonar tools in 2010 also yielded no results.
Rhonda's disappearance has had a profound impact on her large and close-knit family. With six sisters, one of whom is her twin, and a brother, the Johari family maintains a strong emotional bond, feeling each other's pain deeply.
Sam Jawhari, Rhonda's brother, shares the family's anguish:
"Every day you wake up and it's like, still nothing. We're still in the same boat. Is she really gone? Is she here? Is she going to just show up?"
(Timestamp: 23:42)
Rhonda's six-year-old daughter, Maddie, continues to long for her mother's return, having never received answers about her disappearance.
After a decade with little progress, Detective Thomas Cole was assigned to Rhonda's cold case in 2023. Determined to uncover new leads, Cole re-examined all existing evidence and re-interviewed family members and witnesses. Collaborating with Western Michigan University's Cold Case Program, over 1,600 pages of Rhonda's case files were digitized for a comprehensive review.
Detective Cole states:
"I've gone back, and I've talked to all the family members... they have so many missing pieces of the puzzle that would help me."
(Timestamp: 30:19)
Despite advancements in technology, tracing the mysterious phone call from 2009 proved futile. Cole also revisited Crane Lake with fresh forensic methods, exploring new theories about Duane's possible involvement despite his passing.
Cole emphasizes the importance of closure:
"It's not for my closure. It's for her family's closure... finding Rhonda would be the biggest highlight of my career."
(Timestamp: 35:04)
As Detective Cole continues to piece together Rhonda's disappearance, the Johari family remains hopeful that renewed attention and persistent investigation will eventually lead to answers.
Dee Dee passionately urges:
"Do it for you and do it for Rhonda. Do it for our family and for her daughter... Just do it. Take a load off."
(Timestamp: 36:39)
Maddie Jawhari, Rhonda's daughter, expressed her lingering pain and hope in a heartfelt remembrance:
"I spend so much time wondering if she'd be proud of me... The hardest part of loving someone is losing them. The hardest part of losing my mom is not knowing what happened to her."
(Timestamp: 37:05)
Rhonda Jawhari's disappearance remains one of Michigan's most perplexing cold cases. Despite extensive investigations and numerous leads, her whereabouts are still unknown. The Deck episode serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring pain such unresolved cases inflict on families and communities.
Listeners are encouraged to reach out with any information that might shed light on Rhonda's disappearance:
About The Deck:
The Deck is dedicated to solving cold cases by highlighting the stories of missing and murdered individuals. Each week, alongside investigators and families, The Deck seeks justice for those who have been forgotten.
This summary was crafted to provide a comprehensive overview for listeners and those interested in Rhonda Jawhari's case. For the full emotional journey and detailed discussions, tuning into the episode is highly recommended.