The Unforgotten – Season 3: Finding Dolores Wulff

Episode 3: This Way to the Murderer's House

Release Date: August 18, 2025
Podcast by: Free Range Productions
Hosts: Adam Rittenberg, Kyle Bonagara

Overview

This episode of "The Unforgotten" explores the family dynamics, community context, and aftermath of the disappearance of Dolores Wulff in Woodland, California, in July 1979. Through the voices of friends, family, law enforcement, and the hosts’ own on-site reconstructions, it reveals not only the impact of Dolores's vanishing but also the extraordinary actions her family took to seek justice and keep the story alive for decades. The episode spans personal memories, community intrigue, vigilantism, desperate searches—including the use of psychics—and the emotional fallout for all involved.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Revisiting the Wulff Home and Community Context

Timestamps: 00:14–08:31

• Setting the Scene: Hosts Adam and Kyle, led by local Darrell Ehrsman, revisit the former Wulff home on Hillcrest Drive—Dolores's last known location ([01:05]).
• Darrell's Memories: Darrell, a childhood friend of the Wulff family, describes the home as unremarkable but haunted by the memory of Dolores’s warmth and Carl Wulff’s "menacing presence."
  • “She would always have food... She came home, we’re sitting at the dinner table eating that chicken, and she goes, ‘What are you guys doing?’ and just shook her head.” – Darrell Ehrsman [05:22]
  • Darrell recalls Carl's temper, alcoholism, and the way he targeted Tom for most of his abuse ([06:23]).
• Tight-Knit, Powerful Neighborhood: The area housed several law enforcement families, making what (may have) happened all the more shocking.
  • "Sometimes he was the deputy sheriff.... Ron Rumsey and Mr. Murphy right here.” – Darrell Ehrsman [08:04]
• The Community Atmosphere: After Dolores’s disappearance, the neighborhood became tense, especially as the investigation ramped up.

2. Family Trauma and Aftermath

Timestamps: 09:00–11:33

• Immediate Impact: Darrell describes the abrupt end to his former everyday interactions with the Wulff family after Dolores vanished ([09:23]).
• Law Enforcement’s Role: Detective Ron Heileman, close to the Ehrsman family, monitored Carl's house early in the investigation.
  • “There were some evenings I would just go do that, you know, sometimes you get lucky. But that didn’t happen.” – Ron Heileman [10:14]

3. The Roaches Wage War

Timestamps: 10:46–24:30

• The Family Takes Action: Frustrated with official progress, the Rocha family, led by Dolores’s cousins Tony Rocha, Debbie Baker, and others, begins an overt harassment campaign against Carl Wulff.
  • "We didn’t want peace. We wanted revenge." – Tony Rocha [10:46]
  • The Rocha family admits openly discussing ways to kill Carl and “get away with it,” but ultimately opted for constant harassment instead ([12:40]).
• Harassment Escalates:
  • Public confrontations, following Carl everywhere, scaring him out of public places, and vandalizing his property ([13:54]–[17:39]).
    • “I chased him out of several grocery stores...” – Tony Rocha [13:54]
    • “We slammed those doors open... and [Wulff] made a run for the door...” – Tony Rocha [14:42]
    • “When he tried to show up at sporting events, they’d pop his tires, they’d write stuff on his house in blood.... did movie type stuff to screw with him.” – Matt Rocha Jr. [17:27]
  • Gruesome pranks included painting “Killer Wolf” on his driveway, placing a pig’s head and fish entrails on his property, and even throwing a jar of 13-year-old urine into Carl’s house ([18:09]).
• Neighbors Caught in the Crossfire: Some neighbors supported the harassment quietly; others distanced themselves in fear.
  • “[Neighbors] picked up their lawn chairs, ran in their garage, put the door down. They weren’t about to talk because they didn’t want this rain of terror brought down on us.” – Tony Rocha [19:29]
• Tensions with Law Enforcement: The family’s vigilante tactics frustrated Detective Heileman, who had his own undercover efforts planned ([21:01]–[21:46]).

4. Desperate Search Tactics – The Psychics

Timestamps: 25:10–35:34

• Turning to the Supernatural: With no official leads, Dolores's family began consulting psychics, a surprisingly consistent and expensive part of their search ([25:10]-[31:55]).
  • "She said, ‘She’s dead. Her husband killed her.’... When she said that, I knew she was right.” – Slick [25:39]
• Psychics Across America: The family flew in or consulted with psychics from around the country, each offering new “leads” and areas to search. One even produced automatic writing in Dolores’s handwriting.
  • "There was never a day go by where they weren’t actively planning physically trying to do something in regards to find her." – Tony Rocha [27:09]
• Skepticism and Selective Memory: Hosts discuss how selective memory and the psychology of believing psychics fit into the desperation of the era ([33:30]).
• Detective’s Role: Heileman was willing to humor them, but insisted on being called immediately if anything tangible turned up ([35:02]).

5. The Endless Digging and Emotional Fallout

Timestamps: 35:34–39:48

• The Foot Soldiers: The cousins dubbed themselves "the foot soldiers of the case," conducting physical searches, sometimes even skipping major life events for the effort ([36:10]).
  • “I missed the first half of the 1980 Super bowl... because I was out digging looking for Dolores.” – Tony Rocha [36:10]
• The Scale of the Search: Family members explain the near-impossibility of finding Dolores in such vast, rural territory.
  • “If you said there’s a dead body buried out there ... that’s how next to impossible it is.” – Janet [36:29]
• Relentless Hope: Family kept searching for years despite waning optimism ([37:47]).
• Law Enforcement Support: Detective Heileman often joined in the family’s searches, understanding their pain and the need for closure ([37:58]).

6. A New Father Figure – Life for Dolores's Sons

Timestamps: 38:30–39:48

• Paul and Tom Wulff’s New Home: After Dolores disappeared, her sons found a new home and father figure in their uncle Slick and aunt Janet.
  • “He treated me well, way better than my father ever did.” – Tony Rocha [39:00]
• Who Was Slick Rocha?: The episode foreshadows a deeper exploration into Slick's character and his central role in keeping the family together, emotionally and physically.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "We didn’t want peace. We wanted revenge." – Tony Rocha, on the family’s approach to Carl ([10:46])
• "She would always have food... we're like, oh man, the whole house smells awesome." – Darrell Ehrsman, remembering Dolores ([05:22])
• "Paul couldn't have took in the brunt. Mrs. Wolf, there's no way. It wasn't that Mrs. Wolf was not looking out for Tommy. It was just he knew how to do it and when to do it." – Darrell Ehrsman, on Carl's abuse ([06:23])
• "Carl once drove around for several days with a sign on his car that read, 'I murdered my wife.' It was placed there by Debbie's sister Kathy." ([17:01])
• “This is the sheriff's department, and I'm 16, hearing these stories and going out on digs with the shovel, looking. Thinking about it now, it's horrendous.” – Matt Rocha Jr. ([24:30])

Essential Segment Timestamps

• [01:05] – Hosts revisit the Wulff family home with Darrell Ehrsman.
• [05:22] – Darrell recounts memories of Dolores’s kindness.
• [08:04] – Discussion about the law-enforcement-heavy neighborhood.
• [10:46] – The Roaches voice their desire for revenge, not peace.
• [13:54] – Details of how family cousins harassed Carl throughout Woodland.
• [17:01] – The incident with the “I murdered my wife” sign and other intimidation tactics.
• [25:10] – Introduction to the family’s reliance on psychics.
• [36:10] – Dedicated search efforts, even at the expense of missing major sports events.
• [39:00] – Paul describes being treated better by his uncle than by his father.

Tone and Style

The episode interweaves first-person recollections, investigative journalism, and documentary-style storytelling with moments of dark humor, nostalgia, exasperation, and longing for justice. The familial voices range from regretful to defiant, the hosts blend objective reporting with empathetic understanding, and the law enforcement voices add gravity and complexity.

Summary for New Listeners

If you haven't listened, this episode offers a riveting look at the aftermath of a tragic disappearance: a tight-knit, traumatized community, a family unwilling to let the case go cold, and a small town that becomes permanently changed. By weaving together voices from the past and present, the podcast paints a vivid picture of the enduring effects of violence and suspicion—not just on victims, but on all those who love them.