Podcast Summary: The Unforgotten — Episode 9 Breakdown: Coming Home

Podcast: The Unforgotten
Hosts: Adam Rittenberg & Kyle Bonagura
Date: October 1, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode serves as a heartfelt reflection and breakdown of the final full chapter ("Coming Home") in Season 3: Finding Dolores Wulff. Hosts Adam Rittenberg and Kyle Bonagura revisit the emotional journey to unravel the 41-year-old disappearance of Dolores Wulff, focusing particularly on the closing moments—Dolores’s celebration of life, the significance of finally bringing her home, and what the process meant for her family, the community, and the creators of the podcast.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Celebration of Life: A True Commemoration

[00:30 - 03:43]

• The episode opens with Adam and Kyle expressing gratitude for listeners and collaborators, then delves into the “Dolores Wulff celebration of life” held in July 2021, near her last known home in Woodland, California.

  • Kyle Bonagura on the atmosphere:

    “I think the term celebration of life gets thrown around a lot...but this one really did feel like a celebration. It was a very upbeat, you know, there was emotional, you know, moments to it, of course...but other than that, it really was a celebration.” [02:13]

  • Attendees included people who hadn’t seen each other in decades, underscoring the depth of community connection Dolores inspired.

  • Kyle compares the gathering to a joyful reunion, closer to a wedding than a traditional funeral—emphasizing joy and reconnection over grief.

  • Both hosts noted leaving the event with a more vivid sense of who Dolores was as a person, beyond just the tragic circumstances of her disappearance.

2. Centering Dolores: The Story Is Hers

[03:43 - 05:03]

• Adam highlights their intent with the final episode: to focus on Dolores as a person, rather than the tragedy alone.

  “We wanted to end the podcast again on Dolores, and her life rather than this horrible thing that happened to her.” [03:43]

• The celebration provided new insights, especially as they were able to finally hear from Anna, Dolores’s daughter, who had previously not spoken publicly. Her speech and presence added a powerful, personal dimension for the hosts and guests.

3. Anna’s Voice and Personal Healing

[05:03 - 05:43]

• Kyle reflects on Anna’s openness and vulnerability during the event.

  “She went through a lot...It seemed like she was at peace with it in a way that she felt comfortable really sharing what she went through and kind of how she processed it along the way.” [05:03]

• The event doubled as a therapeutic moment for Anna, offering her a platform to share her journey, achieve closure, and directly address those who supported her family.

4. Retracing Dolores’s Journey: Physical and Emotional Geographies

[05:43 - 08:45]

• The hosts discuss their methodical retracing of critical locations—starting at Woodland's St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, visiting the Vallejo cemetery where Dolores was once buried as a Jane Doe, and finally the shoreline in Benicia where her remains were discovered.

  Adam: “We really try to highlight...our own almost retracing of those key sites where Dolores's remains were found—or stored, I guess is a better term—in reverse order.” [05:43]

• Kyle’s insights on the cemeteries:

  • The emotional weight of seeing Dolores’s final resting place beside family, including her brother “Slick,” was profound.
  • The contrast between the anonymity of her initial Jane Doe burial and her final resting place, now marked and accessible for remembrance.

  “It's sad to think about that these people are buried among others who have, you know, people visiting them, leaving flowers...I do think it’s important for some people to have that option. It’s a way to kind of remember people for generations.” [07:03]

5. The Project’s Personal Impact

[08:45 - 10:37]

• Adam reflects on the project’s emotional and professional significance:

  “Neither of us have done anything like this in our careers, and I know it was incredibly satisfying for me to put this project together, obviously, with you...It was really satisfying and exciting to kind of get to the finish line.” [08:45]

• Kyle discusses the challenges and creative decisions involved:

  • Balancing accuracy with sensitivity to the families’ memories and wishes, while honoring Dolores.
  • The pressure and responsibility felt when representing such a complex, multi-decade story.

  “There’s a lot of moving pieces here, and it’s a lot to piece together...all the details were as accurate as possible. Right. There’s obviously conflicting opinions at times about how things took place, so you have to kind of navigate that...I’m really proud of the work we did…” [09:26]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Anna’s speech and healing:
  Kyle Bonagura, [05:03]:
  “She was really vulnerable and open about it...It looked like a very kind of therapeutic opportunity for her to address a lot of people and kind of try to put everything behind her.”

• On the emotional power of retracing Dolores’s journey:
  Adam Rittenberg, [05:43]:
  “It was a pretty powerful thing, I think, for us to retrace those steps.”

• On the impact of the project:
  Adam Rittenberg, [08:45]:
  “Neither of us have done anything like this in our careers...it was really satisfying and exciting to kind of get to the finish line.”

• On family trust and purpose:
  Kyle Bonagura, [09:26]:
  “I think we both knew that this is a story that deserved to be told in detail, and the family deserved that. Dolores deserved that. So we were able to get it done.”

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:30 – Reflections on support, gratitude, and background to "Coming Home"
• 02:13 – Describing the emotional tone and communal aspect of Dolores Wulff’s celebration of life
• 03:43 – Deliberate focus on honoring Dolores’s life, not just the tragedy
• 05:03 – Anna Wulff’s speech and its impact
• 05:43 – Retracing the journey of Dolores's remains and the significance of the cemeteries
• 08:45 – Personal reflections on completing such an ambitious, emotional project
• 09:26 – The creative process, challenges, and pride in the finished work
• 10:37 – Appreciation for the families' trust and hints at potential bonus episodes

Final Notes

The episode is a thoughtful, emotionally resonant reflection on the long arc of the Dolores Wulff case and the conclusion of the season’s storytelling. Adam and Kyle express deep empathy and a sense of responsibility towards the family, the story, and their audience, emphasizing the healing that came with finally honoring Dolores’s memory after decades of mystery. The breakdown brings listeners behind the scenes, underscoring the transformative nature of the experience for all involved—family, community, and creators alike.

The hosts tease bonus content in the future and warmly invite listener questions and engagement as they close out the main arc of this moving season.