4 | Swamp-ilvanya

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Red Weather – Episode 4 | "Swamp-ilvanya"

Host: Ryder Strong
Release Date: February 6, 2026
Podcast: The Red Weather (iHeartPodcasts)

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Main Theme & Purpose

In Episode 4, "Swamp-ilvanya," Ryder Strong digs deeper into the 1995 disappearance of Anna Trainor from a commune called Tender Hearts in Sebastopol, Northern California. This episode explores the complexities of the investigation, shifting alibis, community rumors, and the murky role of law enforcement—particularly Sheriff Maldonado—while highlighting both the reliability and bias of key witnesses. Strong also wrestles with his personal involvement, the evolution of local culture, and the difference between constructing a narrative and seeking truth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Revisiting Evidence and Trust in Authorities

• Ryder reviews the evidence catalog in Anna’s disappearance, noting the vagueness of descriptions and personal reactions to items (CDs, sandals, bullet fragments) (04:00–05:00).
• He recalls Sheriff Maldonado's central principle:

“You gotta let the evidence tell the story, even if it's not the one that you like or the one that you want to hear.” – Sheriff Maldonado (04:28)

2. Sheriff Maldonado’s Bias and “Old School” Attitudes

• Ryder and his friend Chris confront the sheriff’s outdated and offensive language discovered in the original investigation transcripts (07:10–16:57).
• Maldonado's justification for using a slur in reference to Elric, the commune leader, highlights persistent generational divides and questions about bias:

"Well, you know, it was different times back then." – Sheriff Maldonado (14:50)
"Should I have called him a name? No, but I've said a lot of stupid shit in my day. ... If I'm doing my job, I'm letting the evidence tell the story, okay? It speaks for itself." (16:05)

3. Small Town Lore & Cultural Change

• Maldonado shares a lengthy, humorous, and mostly apocryphal story about local apples and Johnny Appleseed, underlining Sebastopol’s transformation from apple-country to a place dominated by wine and cannabis (09:08–11:11).

"That's—That's horrible." – Ryder Strong, reacting to the story’s punchline (11:07)

4. Commune Life, Drug Raids, and the Satanic Panic

• Ryder and Monica Tremblain discuss the Tender Hearts commune’s reputation in the ‘90s, and the possibility that moral panic around cults and drugs skewed the investigation (12:50–13:34).
• Ryder reflects on pop culture’s influence, referencing his own role in a Boy Meets World episode about cults.

5. The Challenge of Witness Testimonies: “Sparks” and Contradictions

• Sparks, a local with a checkered past, meets with Ryder to share insights and skepticism about law enforcement, especially Maldonado.
• Sparks alleges that Anna’s ex, Mick Bowden, changed his story and received a suspiciously convenient alibi, including his girlfriend’s new Jetta obtained shortly after Anna's disappearance (24:37–26:44).
• Trustworthiness is questioned:

“In situations like this, you really gotta ask yourself: how reliable is your source?” – Monica Tremblain (26:14)

• Monica suggests verifying vehicle records to check the timeline on the car transfer (35:30).

6. Maldonado’s Reputation, Community Grudges, and Allegations

• Sparks claims Maldonado was corrupt or at least played favorites due to politics and connections, hinting Mick’s wealthy family helped him avoid deeper scrutiny (30:58–35:04).

7. Access to the Case File & Navigating Red Tape

• Ryder doggedly seeks access to official files, leveraging both help from Maldonado and a fateful appeal to his celebrity status (via a FaceTime call with "Topanga"/Danielle Fishel) to persuade Officer Greer, a Boy Meets World fan (43:00–44:01).
• Ryder illegally photographs documents while distracting Greer, rationalizing it as a necessary compromise in the quest for truth (44:48–45:16).

8. New Discoveries & Shifting Alibis

• Key revelation: Interview transcripts confirm that Mick's girlfriend changed her alibi in her third interview, right when police attention shifted from Elric to Mick (41:58–43:00).

“...between their interviews with the sheriff's department, both Mick and had chosen to change their story...It certainly looked like they coordinated, like they could have worked together to secure Mick's alibi.” – Ryder Strong (45:25)

• Monica independently verifies the Jetta registration:

“Registered her Jetta on November 18, 1995.” – Monica Tremblain (39:15)
“Stop. So she had a new car within two weeks.” – Ryder Strong (39:19)

9. The Podcast’s Ongoing Tension: Personal vs. Objective Truth

• Ryder reflects on the compromises inherent in seeking justice, the limitations when working with potentially biased or unreliable sources, and the risks of using personal influence or connections for information (45:25–end).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• On Investigative Bias:
  “Are you justifying it?” – Chris (14:39)
  “No, no, but...when you got older, you wised up. They were older back then. They were grown up. ...The problem was Maldonado was an essential source. If I wanted more information on this case, I knew I was gonna have to make compromises.” – Ryder Strong
• Sheriff on Doing the Job:
  “Look, there's no excuse, but the job is always the same. I'm not making the laws. ...If I'm doing my job, I'm letting the evidence tell the story, okay?” – Sheriff Maldonado (16:05)
• Sparks on Law Enforcement:
  “Maldonado's barely a cop. Totally a dick. 100% horseshit.” (16:57)
  “A villain. It was hard to take this seriously. But then again, maybe I didn’t want to.” – Ryder Strong (28:02)
• Cultural Zeitgeist:
  “I guess you know about satanic panic, right?” – Monica Tremblain (13:02)
• Comedic Interlude:
  “Finally, Johnny takes a bite of this gravensteen. He says, mmm, this is se best apple. We've been Sebastopol ever since.” – Sheriff Maldonado (10:54)
• On Using Fame for Entry:
  “It’s a story about how not to be if you’re famous. And yet here I was making a phone call...Yes, Topanga on FaceTime.” – Ryder Strong (43:00)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:56] – Recap of Anna’s disappearance & evidence catalog
• [07:10–16:57] – Discussion about language, homophobia, and trust in law enforcement
• [11:08–12:18] – Local lore and Sebastopol’s agricultural transformation
• [13:02–13:34] – Satanic panic and cult rumors of the 1990s
• [24:37–26:44] – Sparks’ suspicions and the Jetta timeline
• [35:04–35:30] – Allegations of corruption and political favoritism
• [39:10–39:25] – Monica’s DMV breakthrough on the Jetta
• [41:58–44:48] – Reviewing the transcripts and stealing photos
• [45:25–end] – Reflections on compromise, justice, and next steps

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Tone & Style

The episode blends investigative seriousness with wry humor. Ryder’s voice remains introspective and self-aware, balancing small-town color, moral complexity, and moments of levity. Dialogues are candid, sometimes uncomfortable, yet human and nuanced.

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Summary & Takeaway

“Swamp-ilvanya” deepens the mystery of Anna Trainor’s disappearance by revealing fractured alliances, shifting alibis, and potential manipulation within the justice system. Ryder Strong grapples with ambiguous evidence, unreliable narrators, and his own biases, painting a vivid picture of small-town intrigue and the personal cost of searching for truth when everyone—including the investigator—might have something to hide.

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Transcript

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Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures.

[Ryder Strong]

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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 or responsibilities of iHeartMedia or its affiliates. Previously on the Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor Anna Trainor disappeared from a commune.

[Monica Tremblain]

Anna Traynor was at a party in downtown Sebastopol. She had a fight with her boyfriend.

[Sparks]

Oh, man. My boy Mickey.

[Ryder Strong]

Kid got a pass.

[Sparks]

He got a pass.

[Monica Tremblain]

Even if Mick managed to meet up with Anna, then murder her, could he have gotten rid of the body and driven her car all the way to sfo?

[Ryder Strong]

Not without help.

[Monica Tremblain]

Right. Not without help. And we know he was with for the rest of the night.

[Ryder Strong]

Chris, they're here. When I finally got the transcripts of Elric's interrogations, I realized Maldonado wasn't giving me the whole story. Look at that.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Ooh, who said that?

[Ryder Strong]

That's Maldonado. Man, that really sucks. And you're going to go meet this guy. Sandals, size 6. I was reading the evidence catalog for Anna Trainor's case. Long sleeve shirt, necklace. It was a list of objects recovered in the course of the investigation. But the descriptions were vague. Too vague. Like when it said sandals, did that mean Birkenstocks or flip flops? Or. Most frustrating, this, three compact discs. It doesn't even say what they are. I was dying to know what albums was Anna listening to? Smashing Pumpkins or Tori Amos? I mean, that would say something about her, wouldn't it? I wanted to read everything, hold everything. But I also knew I. I couldn't help but give my own history and my own emotions to these details. And I was reminded of something Maldonado said to me a few days earlier.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

You gotta let the evidence tell the story, even if it's not the one that you like or the one that.

[Podcast Advertiser]

You want to hear.

[Ryder Strong]

There's a big difference between finding meaning and giving meaning, between understanding and fetishizing. And actually, the most important thing I was looking for wasn't an object. It was a few lines in the witness log. Gave three interviews. This was more important than the CDs, the sandals, even the small squished bullets in a plastic bag. But while I was sitting there making this discovery, I couldn't react.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah, Looks like it.

[Ryder Strong]

Why? I'm not sure. Even though he was sitting right next to me and. And he was helping me, I couldn't let Sheriff Maldonado know how much of a game changer this was. Because after the last week, I wasn't sure I could trust him. I am actor and filmmaker Ryder Strong. This is the red weather, Sam. I was two weeks into reviewing the disappearance of Anna Traynor and getting nowhere new. Elric, the leader of Anna's intentional community. The tender hearts had an alibi, but this only brought me up to speed with where the investigation turned cold in 1995. To get any further, I wanted access to the official case file. Hi, it's Ryder Strong calling again for Sheriff Laughlin. Okay, yeah, okay, that'd be great. Thank you. Oof. Man, she is blowing you off, giving you the cold shoulder. Yeah, but I don't. I can't take it personally. And at least Maldonado's talking to me. You shouldn't even meet that guy. My friend Chris, who'd come home to help me with the podcast, had good reason to be wary. The day before, he had heard back from Sparks, which I know sounds like a code name I made up, but he called himself that. For real, though.

[Sparks]

You want to talk Anna Traynor, you gotta talk about those fuckers detecting that shit. Maldonado? Come on, man.

[Ryder Strong]

He left this right after we saw the transcripts of Maldonado's interrogations of Elric. They had uncovered that Elric was gay and Maldonado, talking to his deputies, had thrown out, oh so casually, an anti gay slur. You're shocked that your new best pal, the sheriff is a homophobic man. Nazi fascist. Okay, but I know it's awful.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yes, it is.

[Ryder Strong]

But that's the way people talk back then. Are you justifying it? No, no, but. Well, here, let me. I'll cut this out if you want me to, but didn't you use the F word back then? That F word? I don't think I did. I probably did and I didn't. I didn't even think of it literally. It was just like. Just something. It never even crossed my mind until I was older. Right, but when you got older, you wised up. They were older back then. They were grown up. The problem was Maldonado was an essential source. If I wanted more information on this case, I knew I was gonna have to make compromises. So the sad fact of the matter was, I need his help. Fine, but ask him about it. I wasn't sure I could do that. Maldonado wanted to meet at a food stand down the road from my parents. You find these kinds of places on the back roads of Sonoma County. A cart or a little wooden structure, sometimes a truck. Where farmers sell produce, they can develop into institutions that draw hardcore fans, acolytes. And Maldonado claimed that this one little seed was the strawberry spot.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Ryder, come meet Andres.

[Ryder Strong]

Hey, how you doing?

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Hey, good to meet you. You guys are legends. Family's been here for, what, decades?

[Ryder Strong]

Andres is the owner of Little C. So how long you been here? Or I guess your family? You guys always. Well, my.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

My family. My grandfather, he had the west side of the valley. The whole hill, actually, before they put in the fence and all that shit. And the grapes? Actually, there weren't any grapes. It was all orchards back then.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, that's what I remember. My hometown used to be famous for its apples. Specifically the Gravenstein apple. And Maldonado had a bit to say about that.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

You know how Sebastopol got his name, right?

[Ryder Strong]

It was from Russia, right? Sebastopol in Russia. Some, like, argument with a shop owner or something.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

He doesn't know.

[Ryder Strong]

Andre's rolled his eyes, and I could tell he'd heard this one before.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Don't listen to this. It was when they grew the first gravity stones. Johnny Appleseed. You know, he was right, of course.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Yeah.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah, well, Johnny was coming to the area. You really don't know this? You can tell him to stop now before it gets too.

[Ryder Strong]

But. Okay.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

So Johnny's wandering the country barefoot, planting trees. He's the apple guy, the apple prophet. So when he came to town, that's a big deal. Everyone wants to know, what's old Johnny gonna think of the Gravis team? Will he like it? People were placing bets. Andres, your grandfather was there, wasn't he? Jeff Story. Anyway, they bring him a graven scene. Well, first they gotta decide which orchard they're gonna take it from. There's a lot of back and forth about this.

[Ryder Strong]

I only have so much time per episode. So suffice to say, Maldonado walked me through a classic shaggy dog story.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

They were in this feud. Coopers and the Martinellis hated each other. People said it was because one of the Cooper boys had run off with Martinelli's daughter. But everyone knew that fight was really a. The Golden Tree.

[Ryder Strong]

One of those Mark Twain yarns that goes on way too long, actually gets.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

On his dog and gallops to the Golden Tree. Now shots are fired, bullets whizzing past.

[Ryder Strong]

His head to reach a very Very underwhelming punchline.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Finally, Johnny takes a bite of this gravensteen. He says, mmm, this is se best apple. We've been Sebastopol ever since.

[Ryder Strong]

That's. That's horrible.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Well, that's five minutes of your life you'll never get back.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, dad, jokes aside, apples did define the area for decades. Nowadays, it's all cannabis and grapes, wine and weed. There are only a few old school family spots, like Andres making do.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Oh, you gotta try this.

[Ryder Strong]

I've gotta try the strawberry.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

He's never had yours.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, wow.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. The best, Barry.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

See, you get it. All right, let's take a walk.

[Ryder Strong]

We went to the edge of the Tender Hearts property where Anna was last seen.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

This is where the guys on the engine passed her.

[Ryder Strong]

I had told Maldonado that Willow started the fire that night after she found cannabis in the barn, which, looking back now, I think was an act of rebelling against her mom. Yeah, she was totally pissed at Lainey. Right? My buddy Connor and I talked about this. Willow was being raised by her mom and all these other women on the Tenderheart's property. And they were supposed to be spiritual idealists. But when she found a barn full of weed, she knew the rumors were true. They were dealing drugs and she lit it up. So you knew where it started?

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Oh, yeah. We could smell the pot, too, but it was gone. Connecting those dots to Anna, well, we had Nutty.

[Ryder Strong]

There's an irony here. By burning the weed she found, Willow actually prevented Elric and her mom and the Tender Hearts from being charged with anything. There was no cannabis left, so there was no evidence. But in terms of Anna, even after Elric's alibi, Maldonado and his team focused on the Tender Hearts. Okay, but that. See, that doesn't make any sense to me.

[Monica Tremblain]

Ryder. They were a culture, but they weren't.

[Ryder Strong]

Not really.

[Monica Tremblain]

Well, look, we know that now. I know that you know that, but at the time, I mean, that was part of the zeitgeist.

[Ryder Strong]

That's Monica Tremblain, a reporter who was helping me.

[Monica Tremblain]

I mean, I guess you know about satanic panic, right?

[Ryder Strong]

But wasn't that the 80s?

[Monica Tremblain]

No, I mean, West Memphis, three, all that. That was the 90s.

[Ryder Strong]

This was a good point. In 95, there were still rampant fears of cults, ritualistic killings. I even did a somewhat infamous episode of Boy Meets World where my character joined a cult. I believe that I finally found a place where people let me be who I am, you know, without trying to change me or need to know what my Goals are in life. I mean, why do I need that?

[Mortgage Ad Voice / PennyMac Rep]

Sean, what do you believe in?

[Ryder Strong]

What do you believe in, Corey? The transcripts and the message from Sparks were weighing heavily on me. Was Sheriff Maldonado biased in this investigation too? Obsessed with weed and focused on the culty commune. Maybe even targeting Elric personally. It took me almost an hour before I could bring it up.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

The search party started in groups from here and then fanned out. Well, I'll show you.

[Ryder Strong]

So, yeah, Lachlan sent me the transcripts and I went through the interviews with Elric.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

He played it coy. What'd it take, three or four sit downs before you finally broke?

[Ryder Strong]

Broke? I mean, he didn't admit to anything having to do with Anna.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

The man had secrets.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay, but you know, it wasn't. I mean, there's one part in the transcripts where you refer to him as a faggot.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Did I?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, it's the full quote is, the swami turned out to be a faggot. Damn.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Well, you know, it was different times back then.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a slightly awkward moment because on one hand he was acknowledging the thing, but then on the other, not really. But then what? Do I expect an apology to who did I want him to break down and cry in shame and admit to some deep seated bigotry? Well, but. So I've been thinking about in general, with the tender hearts community. The skin, sure. But you know, what they were doing, what they were actually doing. It'd be legal now. Maldonado only nodded. They were, you know, living off the land and selling cannabis.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Well, they were breaking the law.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, then. Right. But knowing now, laws have changed. I mean, doesn't. Has it changed the way that you feel? How I feel.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

About what?

[Ryder Strong]

Well, you know, investigating them, interrogating him, arresting him. If you could.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Hindsight's easy.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, but you were. I mean, you had the authority.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Should I have called him a name? No, but I've said a lot of stupid shit in my day. A lot of stupid shit. Look, there's no excuse, but the job is always the same. I'm not making the laws. Okay, I know what you're saying. I do. But guys get in trouble if they start thinking that they can decide which laws to care about, which ones not to. You can't decide what evidence you like or don't like, which suspect or which witness. If I'm doing my job, I'm letting the evidence tell the story, okay? It speaks for itself. I'm more like a reader, a listener. So you gotta let the evidence Tell the story, even if it's not the one that you like or the one that you want to hear.

[Sparks]

That guy is utterly full of shit.

[Ryder Strong]

The next day when I met up with Sparks, he had a different take.

[Sparks]

Maldonado's barely a cop. Totally a dick. 100% horseshit.

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[Sponsor Representative]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which are allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you backtest it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, he picked up. Hey, it's Chris Del Vecchio. Chris got Sparks to agree to meet with me. I do know his real first name, but I'm gonna stick with Sparks for legal reasons. But also, it fits. No, no, no, no, no, no. No cameras. It's a podcast. It'll have like a microphone. You won't even know it's there. I actually won't be there. I gotta get back to la. But it'll be you and Ryder. And you remember Ryder. Chris was catching a flight home and I was sad to see him go. It felt like a sign that I wasn't getting anywhere. Don't beat yourself up if you don't solve anything. This would be cool to at least have this stuff recorded.

[Podcast Advertiser]

All right.

[Ryder Strong]

And you got the box with a pager?

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Great. We found a pager on my parents property. It was mostly a random RELIC from the 90s, but I wanted to see if we could extract numbers from it. All right, so there are private investigators who specialize in old technology, but they, they're. No, they're pricey as hell. What are we talking about? It's like $4,000 just to look.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Sheesh.

[Ryder Strong]

I know. I. I have a guy. Surprisingly, this is an area where Hollywood connections came in handy. Chris is a TV writer and he's worked on some big shows, including ones that needed outdated technology, props. Okay, man, so you've got my email, writer's email, my number, writer's number. You are in the loop. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Rinkin.

[Ryder Strong]

Lyle Rinkin runs a tech consulting company for art departments. When you're making a show with medical machines or computers, especially period pieces, you need someone who has all that stuff and knows how to run it.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Okay, there you go.

[Ryder Strong]

He's going to try. My boy Rankin. He's got you.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

He is actually a next level hoarder. Way worse than your parents.

[Sponsor Representative]

He has like two warehouses, just like.

[Ryder Strong]

Wall to wall, Arc of the covenant. Like the scene in Raiders of Lust.

[Sparks]

He has that?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, yeah, in the Valley. God, I would love to see that. We boxed the pager up and Chris took it to the post office on his way to the airport. He was heading back to his normal life, normal work, which made me feel like maybe I should too. I did have a script I was supposed to be writing after all. But for now, I went to meet Sparks. I suddenly felt very alone. Sparks had sent a Google Maps pin deep in west county, but there was no service. Once I got close, I ended up going down this dirt road for 10 minutes. I didn't even see any houses. There were some rusty cars, farm equipment. I had to turn around a few times. Finally, I found a gravel driveway that dead ended. There was a garage.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Hello? Hello?

[Sponsor Representative]

Ride or die.

[Ryder Strong]

What's up? As soon as I saw him, I knew I had met sparks in the 90s, but he remembered Chris better. He brought him up while I was setting up my mics.

[Sparks]

Chris Del Vecchio?

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah, man.

[Sparks]

Couldn't believe getting a call from his ass. Been a while. You remember Danny Perino?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. He was like big tall guy.

[Sparks]

Oh yeah, man. He used to mess with Del Vecchio constantly.

[Ryder Strong]

Really? Oh, yeah.

[Sparks]

You remember the whole fancy pants thing?

[Ryder Strong]

I actually did. Chris had worn suspenders to the eighth grade dance. He never lived that down.

[Sparks]

You know, I thought it was normal. I called him fancy pants.

[Monica Tremblain]

You did?

[Sparks]

Oh, dude, he lost his shit.

[Ryder Strong]

Really?

[Sparks]

Oh, yeah. Went up on top of Coffee Cats. He was throwing chairs.

[Mortgage Ad Voice / PennyMac Rep]

What?

[Podcast Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Chris.

[Sparks]

Yeah, bro.

[Ryder Strong]

I think I would have heard about my best friend throwing chairs around. Which maybe was my first indication that I should take everything that Sparks said with a grain of salt. But then he had a lot of interesting things to say about Anna's case.

[Sparks]

I know for a fact Nick's story is bullshit.

[Ryder Strong]

He meant Mick Bowden, Anna's ex boyfriend. Okay, so what do you mean?

[Sparks]

Oh, he's suddenly not with his girlfriend. He's like vanishes into thin air.

[Ryder Strong]

He's with a new chick he was talking about. After Anna paged Mick, he tried to pick her up at the payphone, but she never showed. And so Mick said he then spent the night with.

[Sparks]

Here's what nobody remembers. It was Halloween, right? But there's school the next day.

[Ryder Strong]

That was true. It was easy for me to forget because I wasn't in a normal school situation. I was still traveling back and forth to work in LA and going to a tiny alternative school in the woods.

[Sparks]

Oh, you know, I used to post up at Gadfly's. You know that spot. Get some coffee before driving up to Rosa.

[Ryder Strong]

Mm.

[Sparks]

I saw come to school that morning.

[Ryder Strong]

And she was by herself.

[Sparks]

She only said Mick was with her later. Guess who got a brand new Jenna? Oh, more that.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I do, actually.

[Sparks]

The next month. Dude, are you saying she full on changed her story? Suddenly she's dating Mick.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, so they dated for real? Oh, yeah.

[Sponsor Representative]

Six months.

[Sparks]

And then she's driving that sweet, sweet Jetta.

[Ryder Strong]

Cars were a big deal when we were teens. A big marker of identity. We knew who everybody's car was. We knew everybody's mom's car. We could tell who was at Coffee Cats or Roundtable Pizza or any parking lot by driving by and seeing their car. So it's not surprising. Even my brother Shiloh remembers The Jetta. Purple 1995 Volcano. Volkswagen Jetta stick shift, tinted windows.

[Monica Tremblain]

Yeah, I mean, it's a stretch.

[Ryder Strong]

I know, I know.

[Monica Tremblain]

In situations like this, you really gotta ask yourself, how reliable is your source?

[Ryder Strong]

As in, like, can I trust a drug dealer?

[Monica Tremblain]

Well, come on. Somebody that's not a huge fan of cops to begin with.

[Ryder Strong]

That was true. Sparks spent a lot of time giving me his opinion of law enforcement. Enforcement. Let's talk about Maldonado.

[Sparks]

Oh, dude, I mean, he's a cop. Cops were dicks. The thing about it, most of the cops is, like, they'd just be a dick to your face. And, like, for him to your face. He was all cool, like, mister, you know, I'm your buddy, you know, I'm your pal. And then, you know, he was really not. He was like, trying to play a game. And like, you know, with me, he knew. He knew where I ran. Like, yeah, we had this little spot called Swamplevania. You ever hang out there?

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

No.

[Sparks]

Really?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Sponsor Representative]

Oh, yeah.

[Sparks]

I guess you were gone after a bit. Yeah, no, it was cool, man. Like, we just sit, we chill and drink, you know, I was like this. In this little kind of like, ravine.

[Ryder Strong]

Water.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Like a culvert.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah.

[Sparks]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay.

[Sparks]

And, you know, he knew about it and, like, let us have it because, you know, he'd come to me every once in a while and, like, you know, want some intel.

[Ryder Strong]

So you're. You were like an informant?

[Sparks]

Oh, yeah, he wishes.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Sparks]

Anyway, one time we went out to. Went out to the spot. Swamplevania. And shit was trashed. Couch was all ripped up. Oh, dude even put, like, barbed wire across the path we used to get out there.

[Ryder Strong]

So how do you know that it was him?

[Sparks]

Oh, because it was the day after he came to me. He wanted to know about some meth thing going on out in Forestville or something.

[Sponsor Representative]

I didn't do meth or anything.

[Sparks]

I didn't know anything about it, so I. So he wanted intel. I had nothing for him. And, yeah, he took our Shangri La. Fucking bitch. Dude's a villain, bro.

[Ryder Strong]

A villain. It was hard to take this seriously. But then again, maybe I didn't want to. For an obvious reason.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

We pulled the bullets from this tree over here.

[Ryder Strong]

One of these trees. Oh, yeah. And where'd they end up? They're inevitably, like, in a locker somewhere at the Violent Crimes Unit.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Investigative Unit. Dci.

[Ryder Strong]

Man, I would. I'd love to see that stuff.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Talked to Lachlan, right?

[Ryder Strong]

Mm.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

She got you the transcript?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, but then she hasn't called me back.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

I tell you, man, that's what I'll miss. Red tape. Typing reports, filing reports, dating reports. You want me to give her a call? I think if I came in with you, she might give us some help.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, that'd be. No, that'd be great. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, man.

[Monica Tremblain]

Well, poor Robert Maldonado can't enjoy his retirement.

[Ryder Strong]

And it worked. I know. It's a situation where I'm just playing catch up.

[Mortgage Ad Voice / PennyMac Rep]

Yeah, me too.

[Monica Tremblain]

Trust me, me too. And I have a full caseload as it is. You know, this office is responsible for all. All of Sonoma County.

[Ryder Strong]

Loughlin explained that they didn't have the resources to reopen the case.

[Monica Tremblain]

Cuz we're not there. I'm not there. And that's when you're talking new testimony, new evidence.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, I mean, doesn't like me coming forward. Isn't that new testimony? Or. I mean, it's new Information.

[Monica Tremblain]

An actor making a podcast.

[Ryder Strong]

Ouch.

[Monica Tremblain]

There's never been anything to move the needle on this, okay? Nothing from a missing person to homicide or kidnapping, anything. There's no body, no new witness, so.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay, you know. Okay, well, actually, there is a witness that I'm talking to.

[Monica Tremblain]

Who is this?

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Well, I'm not.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm trying to still gather, you know, all the background and. But basically, what. What they're saying, there are some contradictions.

[Monica Tremblain]

Contradictions?

[Ryder Strong]

Maybe, or maybe, you know, maybe it's easy to clear up, but I really can't do that unless I can see the evidence.

[Monica Tremblain]

Okay, is this person on the record?

[Ryder Strong]

It was a good question. I had a phone number for Sparks, the Google pin to a garage, but I didn't even have a last name. Yeah, I mean, I have them recorded, but I still need to get their official.

[Monica Tremblain]

All right, look, if you're serious, I. I'll. I'll put someone on this, all right?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. You mean like a detective?

[Monica Tremblain]

Like a liaison. Okay, this person will be our contact from now on, so you give them what you've got, and they will coordinate access.

[Ryder Strong]

Did you hear how she slipped in? You give them what you got. Was I expected to hand over my recordings for access? I wasn't ready to do that. Because Sparx didn't just accuse Maldonado of slashing up a couch and blocking his chill spot. And he wasn't only saying General Jennifer lied. He took aim at Maldonado and the entire sheriff's department.

[Sparks]

You want to talk about how this guy can look the other way when it comes to Nick, you got to talk about his campaign the next year. Who paid for that?

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[Sponsor Representative]

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[Ryder Strong]

Okay, so what do you mean? Like, is Maldonado like, stealing from crime scenes or something? No.

[Sparks]

Legit money. He was sheriff. That's a elected position, right? Mick definitely got a pass. Daddy promises to a moolah, they half ass their investigation, it goes away.

[Monica Tremblain]

That's a big allegation.

[Ryder Strong]

I know, I know. And it's kind of paranoid, but also not impossible mix. Dad was wealthy, well connected, and it was weird to me that Maldonado fixated on Elric and the tender hearts. Okay, what about the smaller stuff? Because this car thing, it's interesting that Mickey bought a car, a Jetta, and she changed her story, right?

[Monica Tremblain]

You could try the dmv or maybe if she registered for new insurance. But if you get access to the files, this just gets a little bit easier.

[Ryder Strong]

I had no idea what my chances were now that Lachlan had passed me off to a new liaison. Someone named Thomas Greer. It seemed obvious that Lachlan was trying to get me off her back. Let someone else stonewall me. I needed more information from Sparks. Like to start his full name. Hello.

[Monica Tremblain]

Sparks?

[Ryder Strong]

Hello? Are you there? But he didn't show up for our second meeting. While I sat in my car, I called Chris. So I am back here at the garage. Nada. How much do you know about this guy? I waited for over an hour. I was a little nervous. Greer had set a time for us to meet at the sheriff's department. I invited Maldonado too, hoping he could vouch for me. But in terms of intel to offer, I felt like I had nothing. I just knew I didn't want to be an actor making a podcast. How is this? That's a jacket. Yes. Okay, I think wear glasses. Good call.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, my God. So I put on the one sports coat I had packed and my glasses. I wanted to look serious, smart. Which, yes, means that in order to not be an actor, I dressed in a costume. Literally, the most actor thing in the world. Yeah. Hi. Ryder Strong. I'm here to Thomas Greer. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong in how to prepare to meet Officer Greer.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Mr. Shawn Hunter.

[Ryder Strong]

Because he was a Boy Meets World super fan. I feel like I know you. Oh, cool, dude, I grew up on you. I used to hate being recognized, especially in my hometown. When you're a Kid, anything that makes you stand out is just mortifying. But these days, people tell me that they know who I am or that they liked the show. And it's great. It's wholly positive. 99% of the time. Greer might be the other 1%. You know, you actually met my cousin. I did? Susan Lacy. You remember her. No, I don't.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah, you were.

[Ryder Strong]

You were taking her to prom. Really? Quite. You don't remember. And you were probably. You told every girl that you were going to prom. Uh, yeah, man.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

You were the man.

[Ryder Strong]

It was awkward, but suddenly I was optimistic you might open the case file. Oh, Topanga, dude. Topanga. Oh, she was hot back in the day. And you, you didn't hit that. Luckily, when Maldonado arrived, Greer shifted into a more professional mode. Hi. Good to meet you. Yeah, you too. Yeah. Seen a lot of Maldonado tags around here? Oh, yeah. He walked us past the lobby and into the building, which, if I was honest, I wanted to be like a James Bond facade. That once we walked through the doors, there would actually be a high tech storage facility. People in lab coats standing over beakers, metal shelving, a gun range. But it was just more office building. The two of them went into a room and left me in the hallway. I sat on a chair waiting. And suddenly it felt like every audition I've ever been on. And then Monica called. Hey, what's up?

[Monica Tremblain]

Hey. So maybe the drug dealer is not so crazy after all.

[Ryder Strong]

What do you mean?

[Monica Tremblain]

Registered her Jetta on November 18, 1995.

[Ryder Strong]

Stop. So she had a new car within two weeks.

[Monica Tremblain]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I gotta go. I gotta go. Maldonado and Greer took me into an evidence review room.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Let me know what you wanna pull.

[Ryder Strong]

Which is how I found myself looking at an evidence catalog. Like a menu with too many options. What did I wanna see? The CDs, bullet fragments? None of it, really. The most important thing was checking out Mick and stories. But Maldonado was encouraging.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

You never know, it might knock something loose up there.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay, well, it's a little superficial, but I would love to see some of this stuff. Like this book, maybe. And then could I see the bullets? I held the three bullets from the tree in my hand. Wow. They're actually smaller than I thought they were. Tiny, flattened bits of metal. And Anna's copy of the book, the Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman was well worn.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

What was this? It was like.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't know. A lot of kids read it. It's like this new age philosophy book. What's this other Note here in the catalog, after the way of the Peaceful Warrior was a line that said damage heart, spelled H A, R, T. That might be.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Note that the book is damaged or could be attacked. Damaged art.

[Ryder Strong]

Couldn't help it. I kind of loved the poetic value of the line damaged heart. But I had already made Greer go back to the storage too many times. I was only treading water and binding time because I'd already seen the list of interviews. Can I just look at these transcripts with Mick and.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

You got it, boss. What do you think?

[Ryder Strong]

I'm just wondering about the timeline.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

What, that night?

[Ryder Strong]

No, more. The investigation.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Our investigation.

[Ryder Strong]

At this point, I had my notebook out on the table, which was a mess of scribbles, but right around here, I realized I had written notes about Sparks, including the words maldo is a villain and circled. I covered it up with my arm. Well, yeah, because Mick stopped talking to you.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

He lawyered up.

[Ryder Strong]

And you never thought about arresting him? For what?

[Sheriff Maldonado]

We didn't have a crime. We were still hoping, I mean, actually mostly expecting, that she might call up in a month or two and say, hey, mom, sorry I took off.

[Ryder Strong]

Greer came back with the transcripts. Sure.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

These are the ones you wanted.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay, cool. Rich. Yep. Oh, wow. So, comes in, but it's not until this interview, which is her third one, that she says that she was with Mick. Correct. That was right after Elric's alibi. Right at the moment when attention would have focused on Mick. I pulled out my phone to take a photo of the pages, but Greer stopped me.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Sorry, my man, no photos.

[Ryder Strong]

Really?

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

You can write down what you want. I can go back to Lachlan. It's probably not a big deal, but I gotta get it cleared. How long is that gonna take? Don't know. Maldonado threw his hands up. He was also frustrated. I'm not proud of what I did next. I excused myself to the bathroom. There's a story everyone knows about somebody famous. You've heard it about someone. It's a story where a famous person can't get into a restaurant or a club. Or they get pulled over for a speeding ticket and they say, don't you know who I am? It's probably never true, but the point of the story is, look at this sad famous person. Look how desperate they are. And pathetic. How much they expect, how much they demand, how much they rely on status. These stories haunt me. I guess they haunt anyone who gets recognized. It's a story about how not to be if you're famous. And yet here I was making a phone call. Hey. All right, I have a really big favor. I know this is super annoying, but do you have a second right now? Hey, thought you might want to say hi to a friend of mine I had called. Danielle Fishel, my old castmate from Boy Meets World. Yes, Topanga on FaceTime.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Oh, no, no, no, you didn't.

[Ryder Strong]

Hi, you must be Tom.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Is this the Daniel Fishel?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Monica Tremblain]

Ryder says you're a big fan.

[Ryder Strong]

Now here's where I realized I hadn't thought any of this through at all. I had distracted Greer, got him out of the room. But in doing so, I had also just let my phone, the very thing I needed to take photos of, the pages were walk out the door. You hear that sound right there? That's Maldonado dropping his phone on the table right in front of me. And then he gave a little Go ahead wave with his hands. So I picked up his phone and I took photos of every page I could. All right, well, thanks for this.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Yeah, no problem.

[Ryder Strong]

Hope you got something good for the podcast. Yeah.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Good to meet you.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. It was a confusing moment because I was thankful. I needed copies of these documents and Maldonado had helped me. So, on one hand, makes me feel like he's a good guy. On the other, doesn't this lend credence to the idea that he's willing to bend the rules? That he's corruptible? Hey, thanks for that.

[Sheriff Maldonado]

Of course, I told you the one thing I don't miss. Red tape.

[Ryder Strong]

Maybe I'm naive, but I've always wanted to believe that people do the right thing for its own sake. But so much of life is a series of trade offs. You help a person because they've helped you. You have your friend Danielle talk to a fan for you. You give information or withhold information from the police. And sometimes you end up with a slashed couch. Other times, you get the evidence you need. Now, I had copies of the interviews with Mick, and I was able to build a timeline. And sure enough, between their interviews with the sheriff's department, both Mick and had chosen change their story, whether he paid her off with the sweet, sweet Jeddah or not. It certainly looked like they coordinated, like they could have worked together to secure Mick's alibi. And if Maldonado was a villain, wanted to look the other way, that might have been enough. More than anything, I needed to hear from. Instead, as insane as this sounds, I heard from Amanda. The Red Weather is an Iheart podcast hosted by Ryder Strong Sounding 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.

[Podcast Advertiser]

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[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

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[Ryder Strong]

Janice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankwitz.

[Sponsor Representative]

We host the podcast Mind the Small Business Success Stories, produced by Ruby Studio.

[Podcast Advertiser]

In partnership with Intuit QuickBooks.

[Various Advertisers / Supporting Voices]

We're back for season four to talk to some incredible small business owners.

[Ryder Strong]

The big thing about working at tech is that it's ever evolving, ever changing. Everyone's a rookie. That's how fast the industry is changing. So what I'm really excited about is.

[Sponsor Representative]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Sheriff Maldonado]

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