Alone Time —Talina Zar E1

Summary

Summary of What Happened to Talina Zar – Episode 1: Alone Time

What Happened to Talina Zar is a gripping true crime podcast produced by iHeartPodcasts, delving into the mysterious disappearance of Talina Zar during the COVID-19 lockdown. This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and developments from the inaugural episode titled "Alone Time."

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Introduction and Setting the Scene

The episode opens with host Melissa Jeltson reflecting on the tumultuous early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the pervasive fear and uncertainty that gripped the United States. Melissa sets the tone by describing the collective psyche shift as isolation became the norm, leading individuals to make decisions they might not have otherwise considered.

Notable Quote:

"COVID Isolation severed even the strongest connections. Made it easy to hide behind a mask or behind closed doors." ([03:03])

Talina Zar’s Disappearance

Talina Zar, a 53-year-old woman from Wagner, Oklahoma, becomes the central figure of the mystery. In a Facebook post dated April 7, 2020, Talina announces her decision to isolate herself due to COVID-19, expressing a will not to seek medical care or be intubated if her condition worsens.

Key Details from Talina’s Post:

"I'm on day nine of this virus and I am pretty sure it has reached my lungs... I have DNR orders... I will not let anyone intubate me." ([05:52])

Notable Quote:

"This is what happened to Talina Zar. Episode 1 alone time." ([08:22])

Following her post, Talina vanishes, leaving friends and family bewildered and concerned about her sudden disappearance.

Introduction of Jess Trevino

Jess Trevino, a 41-year-old events planner from Minnesota, emerges as a pivotal character in the investigation. Jess admits her lifelong fascination with true crime, spurred by infamous cases like the Menendez brothers and Aileen Wuornos. Her passion evolves into a methodical approach to investigating mysteries, especially in the digital age.

Notable Quote:

"I just love to know, like, how point A got to point F, trying to follow all the dots in between." ([15:59])

Nicole Carr’s Plea for Help

Nicole Carr, a close friend of Talina Zar, becomes instrumental in bringing attention to Talina’s disappearance. After noticing Talina's deteriorating health posts and subsequent disappearance, Nicole reaches out to the What Happened to Talina Zar podcast seeking assistance.

Notable Quote:

"I really wasn't comfortable in traveling at that point... I'll never know what would have happened if I'd gone." ([23:07])

Formation of the Internet Sleuth Group

Nicole's distress prompts her to seek help online, leading her to a Facebook fan page for crime enthusiasts. Here, she encounters Jess Trevino, who initially approaches her with skepticism, accusing Nicole of lying about Talina's situation. However, after a confrontation, Nicole and Jess form an unlikely alliance driven by their mutual determination to uncover the truth.

Notable Quote:

"I love you." – Jess Trevino, after reconciling with Nicole ([34:10])

Expansion of the Investigation Team

The quest to find Talina Zar attracts other internet sleuths, including Rosie from Ohio and Brittany from Arkansas. Together, this group forms the "Find Talina Zar" Facebook page, pooling their resources and investigative skills to piece together Talina’s last known movements and communications.

Notable Quote:

"We just wanted to help this person, help Talina and find her. Like, where was she." ([38:32])

Challenges and Conflicts

As the investigation progresses, the team encounters numerous obstacles, including uncooperative locals and conflicting information. Jess, in particular, exhibits a relentless drive, often clashing with individuals who seem to withhold critical information about Talina’s disappearance.

Notable Quote:

"If that was my friend, I would be flipping over rocks trying to find her." ([39:32])

Insights and Revelations

Through their persistent efforts, the team uncovers unsettling secrets and hidden facets of Talina's life. Each revelation adds layers to the mystery, hinting at possible motives and dark subcultures that may be linked to her disappearance. The investigation not only seeks to find Talina but also exposes deeper interpersonal betrayals and societal issues exacerbated by the pandemic.

Conclusion and Ongoing Quest

The episode concludes with the team acknowledging the complexity of Talina’s case and their unwavering commitment to solving it. Their journey sets the stage for future episodes, promising a deep dive into the enigmatic circumstances surrounding Talina Zar’s disappearance.

Notable Quote:

"This group of women that came together to look for Talina will always have my heart. I just had to know, how did this happen?" – Nicole Carr ([41:14])

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Key Takeaways

• Impact of Isolation: The pandemic-induced isolation significantly influenced personal decisions, leading to Talina Zar’s drastic choice to isolate herself.

• Role of Internet Sleuths: The modern digital landscape empowers individuals like Jess Trevino and Nicole Carr to investigate and seek truths that traditional methods may overlook.

• Human Resilience and Determination: Despite facing skepticism and challenges, the team's dedication underscores the lengths to which people will go to uncover the truth and find lost loved ones.

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What Happened to Talina Zar sets a compelling foundation for a true crime series, combining personal narratives with investigative journalism to unravel a contemporary mystery. As the team delves deeper, listeners are poised to uncover the intricate web of events that led to Talina Zar’s disappearance.

Transcript

[Melissa Jeltson]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

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[Jess Trevino]

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[Melissa Jeltson]

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[Melissa Jeltson]

Hi, I'm Melissa Jeltson, host of what Happened to Talina Czar? I'm excited to share episode one of our new podcast with you, but I also wanted to let you know that you can listen to episodes completely ad free on IHEART True Crime plus, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. I'm a subscriber and you should be too. So head to Apple Podcasts, search for Iheart True Crime plus and subscribe today. The early days of the COVID pandemic were scary. The mayor today calling the spread unpredictable and worrisome. This morning, a grim new prediction. Nearly 300,000 deaths in the US before the new year.

[Jess Trevino]

People come in, they get intubated, they die.

[Melissa Jeltson]

The cycle repeats, but also with some distance. The things we did to cope with our Fear were pretty weird. Remember disinfecting our groceries? Hoarding toilet paper? Burning our mattresses? I didn't do that. But I heard about a woman who did. Because she thought it was contaminated with COVID I remember holding my breath when I walked past another person on a secluded lake in the middle of winter with masks on. I'd left New York for rural Pennsylvania with my boyfriend to ride out the worst of COVID We packed for a weekend and stayed for two months. I ended up marrying the man, too. We have a baby now. Looking back, what sticks with me the most about that time is that queasy feeling that everyone I encountered. The Amazon driver, the checkout lady at the grocery storewas a potential suspect. Someone who could unwittingly kill me and my family just by breathing. COVID Isolation severed even the strongest connections. Made it easy to hide behind a mask or behind closed doors. And this changed our collective psyche. Made us do things we probably wouldn't have otherwise. Things we were forced into or things we'd always wanted to do and never had the opportunity. It certainly changed the trajectory of Jess Trevino's life.

[Jess Trevino]

I was scared. You know, like most of the world, I didn't know what was going to happen or how deadly the virus was or. We didn't know very much. Right.

[Melissa Jeltson]

One day in April 2020, Jess is in her kitchen, newly unemployed because you know Covid. And she's trying to take her mind off the chaos of the pandemic. She's attempting to replicate the latest food trend she sees online. A two layer drink called Dalgona Coffee.

[Jess Trevino]

I was making that whipped coffee that you'd seen go viral during COVID I'm obsessed with coffee. Obsessed. It's a terrible obsession. I drink probably two pots a day, plus espresso. It's nuts. But I was making this coffee and I'm scrolling on Facebook and I see this post and I was like, this sounds insane.

[Melissa Jeltson]

The post is by a woman in Oklahoma who contracted coronavirus and announced she would not be seeking medical care. Something about her post stops Jess cold. Here's a recreation of parts of the post.

[Nicole Carr]

Hey, everyone.

[Talina Zar]

I'm on day nine of this virus and I am pretty sure it has reached my lungs. Feeling a little raspy and tight. I made the decision at the onset that if it got bad enough, I would not go to the hospital. Those of you who know me well know I have DNR orders in my health directive and I'm not gonna let anyone intubate me. So I've made arrangements to spend some quality alone time at one of my favorite hideaways at one of my favorite lakes, and I've booked it for the remainder of this week. Didn't feel up to driving, so I hired a ride. I'm almost there. Please respect my privacy and give me my alone time on the lake. I haven't been chatting with some of you or calling you back. I didn't want to be talked out of this plan. After I post this, I am turning off my phone for exactly this reason. I'll catch up with everyone on the other side.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess reads Closer the woman says name is Talina zar. She is 53 years old. It seems that no one has heard from Talina since her post a few weeks ago. Jess squints at Talina's profile picture, a smiling selfie taken in the car, her blue green eyes twinkling, and tries to understand why a person would make such a decision. Why would someone with COVID leave their friends and family and go off alone instead of seeking help? And where did she go? Jess will spend the next four years searching for the answer.

[Jess Trevino]

Sometimes when I tell this story, they're like, you're making this up. But nobody has an imagination like this. You couldn't make this story up. There's a hundred little twists and turns that every time you go down a different road, it's another what the fuck is this? Why is this happening? I mean, initially, when I told you, did you believe me?

[Melissa Jeltson]

From I Heart Podcasts I'm Melissa Jeltson, and this is what happened to talina zar. Episode 1 alone time my name is Jess Trevino.

[Jess Trevino]

I'm a really nosy person, so that's how I got caught up in all this. My mom said I've always been nosy my whole life. She said, you've always just wanted to know everything about everything. So if I didn't know something, I'd be poking around trying to figure it out. It's not a very endearing thing about me, but it is who I am. It took me like 40 years to like me, so I'm just gonna embrace it.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess Life can be divided into two parts. Before she read Talena's Facebook post and.

[Jess Trevino]

After my whole life has been consumed by this since 2020. I've spent four years of my life on her.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess emailed me in 2023, asking me to look into the disappearance of her friend Talina Zar. She'd come across the earlier seasons of this podcast. What happened to Sandy Beale? What happened to Libby Caswell?

[Jess Trevino]

I remember that I couldn't stop listening. I'd listened to it when I was going to bed and then when I got up in the morning and I'd listen to it throughout the day. And you were so honest about everything in it, like you seen both sides. Right? So I was like, I'm going to reach out to her. Like maybe she'll tell a story and she can get both sides, you know?

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess and I emailed back and forth a little bit and had a few phone calls. I learned she was using a loose definition of the word friend when she first reached out to me. She hadn't met Talina. But from what I was able to understand about Talina and Jess's multi year investigation into her life, I was convinced I needed to learn more. And so I flew to Minnesota to meet with Jess in person. Jess lives in an old farmhouse surrounded by cornfields, about a 50 minute drive from Minneapolis. We are just about three minutes away, passing some more corn fields. No grocery stores, no gas stations, nothing. I think it's maybe this house.

[Jess Trevino]

Welcome. We were a greeting party.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Yes.

[Jess Trevino]

We wanted to be out here when you guys came in because this is kind of like, okay, am I going to the right place or not?

[Melissa Jeltson]

No, it was perfect. Hi, I'm Melissa. Hi.

[Jess Trevino]

She's my own Jocelyn.

[Nicole Carr]

Nice to meet you.

[Jess Trevino]

So, okay, heads up. The two dogs that are out are going to bark at you. Okay. She's big, but she doesn't.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess doesn't grow vegetables or raise farm animals, but her walls are dotted with signs like Farm, sweet farm and farmhouse. Ish. Jess does have a lot of pets. Three dog, two cats and a lot of kids. And about a dozen wall clocks that chime at different times of the day. And, well, there's a lot going on.

[Jess Trevino]

I'm 41. I am an events planner, hospitality director for Minnesota Horse and Hunt.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess was born and raised in Minnesota and has spent most of her life working in bars and restaurants. She had her first child when she was 17.

[Jess Trevino]

I was a dumb teenager. I did a lot of stuff that, I mean, nothing criminal, but just stupid. The minute I found out I was pregnant, I decided I cannot screw this.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Up and went on to have three more. What have we got over here? We got some family photos.

[Jess Trevino]

We do. So the tall one, this is Riley. He's my son. He's 23. This is Ty, he's 21. Maddie, 17, and Jocelyn, 14. This is my husband and myself.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess had wanted to be a writer, she told me, but becoming a young mom meant she wasn't able to finish high school. Eventually she got her GED and took some college level writing classes before ultimately getting a more practical degree in business. Since then, Jess has worked in various capacities in the hospitality industry, from bartending to large event planning. She likes the work, but it's not her calling.

[Jess Trevino]

I feel like the only thing I've ever done that's been really, really good is raise my kids.

[Melissa Jeltson]

While she's giving me a tour of her home, I notice her bookshelf is crammed with true crime stories, old and new.

[Jess Trevino]

My husband makes fun of me. I am, and it sounds really bad, but let me explain. I'm obsessed with serial killers and I mean obsessed. I don't know what my problem is. It all comes from wanting to know how their brain works. Not like obsessed with, oh, I love murder, but I love trying to figure out why and who and what was going through their brain. What makes you want to kill somebody?

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess tells me her fascination with crime started when she was still a kid. She remembers following the Menendez brothers case on TV and watching O.J. simpson's Bronco Racing down the expressway in real time. But the first true crime story that completely enthralled her was that of Aileen Wuornos, who killed at least seven men between 1989 and 1990 and has been dubbed America's first female serial killer.

[Jess Trevino]

Eileen Wuornos was a huge one for me. I thought she was fascinating. I felt like she was very much a victim and tried to understand where she was coming from. You know, she was a prostitute and she had a really hard life growing up. Really hard life. She was molested and raped, you know, from the time she was a child so that I got super interested. And then I started looking at the Green River Killer and the Zodiac Killer and just deep dived into all the serial killers. I find them fascinating.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess became an avid reader of crime novels. She devoured In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, worked her way through the back catalog of true crime icon Anne Rule. The story she liked the best dealt with big, complicated questions of justice, punishment and fairness. What's right and what's wrong and where those lines become blurry. As a reporter who's dedicated my life to these topics, I can relate. Later, around 2017, after crime podcasts exploded onto the scene, Jess got into those too.

[Jess Trevino]

I listened to a ton of podcasts. I started with Crime Junkies and then I went to Morbid. I'd listened to Dateline. If I'd miss an episode on TV I found you recently.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Obviously, for Jess, part of the thrill of all this was discussing the cases with others on social media.

[Jess Trevino]

I just would join the pages after I'd listened to a podcast, wanting to know, like, let's discuss this. And like, hey, what'd you think of this? What'd you think of that?

[Melissa Jeltson]

So you were an active participant, not just a lurker?

[Jess Trevino]

Correct. You'll notice that about me. I don't lurk. I'm out there. I'm an action kind of girl.

[Melissa Jeltson]

All those hours reading about true crime, listening to true crime, discussing true crime provided Jess with a master class on how not to get murdered. She knows, never go to a second location. Always trust your instincts. You're much more likely to be killed by someone you know than a stranger. If you can run, run. It also taught her some real world skills on how to investigate cases, the same type of skills I use in my reporting. In between bartending shifts and putting the kids to bed, Jess learned how to do a background check, how to trace people's Internet footprints, how to track down old criminal records and dig up archival news coverage.

[Jess Trevino]

I just love to know, like, how point A got to point F, trying to follow all the dots in between. I know that people get a lot of shit online about being, you know, Internet tough guys and Internet armchair detectives, but we're in a digital age. Maybe 30 years ago, you needed the boots on the ground and be there, but this is the way that it's happening now. I feel like a lot of stuff is solved literally on the Internet.

[Melissa Jeltson]

It's on the Internet on a Facebook fan page for crime junkies, where Jess first sees Talina Zhar's post about having Covid and choosing to go off into the wilderness alone rather than go to the hospital.

[Talina Zar]

Please respect my privacy and give me my alone time on the lake.

[Melissa Jeltson]

A friend of Talena's named Nicole had uploaded screenshots of Talina's post to the group. In an attempt to solicit help, I asked Jess to read some of Nicole's plea.

[Jess Trevino]

Hi, junkies. Since April 7, my dear friend has been missing. She left this post and we haven't heard from her since. The information we have doesn't make sense. I've spent every day and night going over them. Out of desperation, I thought I would post here and see what you all think. My friend lives in a very small town near Tulsa, Oklahoma. The police would not investigate this because of the post. She would not make people worry for this long. She just wouldn't. And if she died from this virus. Where is her body? Am I being paranoid? What can I do to locate her? I can't sleep and I can't really grieve or have any hope after this time. Anyone? Anyone have any ideas on what to do? Thanks in advance.

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[Nicole Carr]

I just didn't feel like she would leave that many people worried about her.

[Melissa Jeltson]

This is Nicole Carr. She's the author of the post asking for help finding Talina.

[Nicole Carr]

It wouldn't be strange for her to go off because if she was sick, she wouldn't have wanted to make anyone else sick. But for her to just leave people with no way of contacting her and knowing if she was alive or dead was strange to me.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole knew Talena's habits because she was one of her best friends. They'd been close since they met in 2010.

[Nicole Carr]

It was love at first get together. She was the kind of friend that you could call at 3am knowing that she would answer with equal part concern and humor to cheer you up. Her kitchen was her happy place and she always had the aroma of something simmering or cooking or frying and if not, she was planning something to simmer, cook or fry. Sharing a meal with her was really like being wrapped up in love. She lived with her heart wide open and you couldn't help but just feel lucky that she was in your life.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole and Talina's friendship had always been long distance. They'd never lived in the same state at the same time, but they found ways to connect both online and in person.

[Nicole Carr]

We did text a lot and talked on the phone and then also through Facebook a lot sharing memes, trying to make each other laugh.

[Melissa Jeltson]

In February 2020, Talena went to Tennessee to visit Nicole at her home.

[Nicole Carr]

She came and spent three days with me. We of course cooked and played video games and watched TV and talked and cried and laughed and we really had a great visit and it was right before they asked everybody, you know, to go home and stay.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Talena left and immediately the friends started planning their next visit. This time Talina would host Nicole at her house in Wagner, Oklahoma. But Covid got too big too quickly.

[Nicole Carr]

She wanted me to come visit her And I really wasn't comfortable in traveling at that point. All of my family, we have stuff wrong with us. You know, they were really concerned about people like us having Covid. So I declined the offer. And you know, I'll never know what would have happened if I'd gone.

[Melissa Jeltson]

As the COVID pandemic took over everybody's lives, the friends continued to communicate as they normally did. Texting, keeping up with each other's social media. And it was on Facebook where Nicole saw that her friend wasn't feeling well. First, it was a post on Sunday, March 29, about a migraine.

[Talina Zar]

Day two of a bad migraine. Taking more meds and turning down my phone volume so I can sleep. I'll catch up with everyone later.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Migraines were a fairly regular occurrence for Talina, so Nicole didn't think much of it. But a day later, on Monday, March 30, she saw a post about Talina's headache.

[Talina Zar]

Worsening my weekend migraine developed into a fever lasting night and it is currently hovering around 100.5. I'm surfacing long enough to go to the bathroom and get a drink. Then it is back to sleep. All I want to do is sleep. Send your well wishes and energy, but please don't expect a response. I called my doctor and was told to stay in bed and stay hydrated and self medicate and call back or go to the ER if my temp reaches 102. I think Oklahoma's medical system is stretched thin right now. Everyone stay safe, healthy and please practice social distancing. If you don't live with someone, don't visit them.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole texted Talina a few times checking up on her, but didn't hear back. A week went by and then on April 7th came Talina's cryptic post.

[Talina Zar]

Hey everyone, I'm on day nine of this virus. I've made arrangements to spend some quality alone time. After I post this, I am turning off my phone.

[Nicole Carr]

Talina would occasionally about once a year go on a sabbatical where she didn't talk to anybody and she was pretty strict about it. She would let everybody know if I don't answer my phone, this is why. And I'm just going to go off somewhere for a couple of days and be with myself. It was just a spiritual time for her to get herself together and kind of reconnect with herself. She's a very giving person. So I think people that give to a lot of people need that little bit of downtime.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole knew that her friend prized her solitude, but After a few days without hearing from Talina, she had a feeling that something wasn't right.

[Nicole Carr]

At the time, I was laid off from work, so I didn't have that much to preoccupy myself with. I wasn't leaving the house because of COVID Every morning, I would wake up and check Facebook and check the phone and text her and call her, and I didn't hear anything.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole was in lockdown in Tennessee, hundreds of miles away from Talina's home in Wagner, Oklahoma. Feeling antsy, Nicole started reaching out to Talina's friends. Some of them also in far flung states, others in the same town as Talina.

[Nicole Carr]

I kept just kind of asking everybody, anyone else think this is strange? And everybody's like, no, no, this is, you know, this is Talena. This is how she acts. You know that experiment where they show people that are in a room and there's smoke coming out of the grate? Nobody does anything because they're all kind of looking around to see if someone else is going to do something? That was where we were. People were just worrying in their own space. We're all just waiting for someone else to do something or for a word from, you know, to Lena. But the more time that went on, it just didn't. Her story didn't make sense.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole wasn't sure what to do, but she felt compelled to at least do something.

[Nicole Carr]

And so one night, out of desperation, I just, you know, I listened to this little podcast. I had no idea how popular it was. I just knew that I liked listening to it. And so I thought I would go on there and see if anybody else thought it was strange. So I typed out a little message and posted it, went to sleep, and I woke up to thousands of replies. Some of them were from my friends, people I actually knew that I didn't know. Also listened to this podcast, and then some of them were from strangers, and none of them more strange than Jess.

[Jess Trevino]

It's a sounded fishy. You've read the post, right? That sounded really weird.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Making her whipped coffee in Minnesota, Jess sees Nicole's plea for help. And her immediate response is bullshit.

[Jess Trevino]

The way Nicole explained it in the post was very weird. And then, obviously, I'm bored. It's Covid, and I can't go anywhere or do anything. So I creep on Nicole's Facebook and see that she has another friend who's missing as well. And I was like, there's no way that, you know, two people who just up and disappeared. So I called her out on it. I called her a liar.

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[Melissa Jeltson]

Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health, but what about our sexual health? I've been there, feeling totally stuck when it comes to my libido. That's why I started taking Addi. And let me tell you, I have seen firsthand what a difference it can make in how you feel. Addi is the only FDA approved pill clinically proven to help certain premenopausal women have more interest in sex, have more satisfying sex and lower the stress from low libido. Addi has helped hundreds of thousands of women get their drive back, including me. Talk to your doctor or visit a d-y.com to learn more about Addy the Little Pink Pill. Individual results may vary.

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[Melissa Jeltson]

A--Y I.com to learn more about Addie Nicole had turned to the Internet for help looking for her missing friend, and now she was being accused of lying or worse, being involved in Talina's disappearance herself.

[Nicole Carr]

I had a friend that her niece had also shown up missing in Georgia, and I didn't really know the niece, but if someone you know is missing someone they love, you share it. So I had shared that and I guess Jess had gone back and looked at my history and she kind of thought that maybe I was the one responsible and had no qualm in telling me. So she said that she was going to be my worst nightmare.

[Jess Trevino]

I messaged Nicole on Facebook and I said, hey, you sound like you're lying. Like how many missing people can you know, right?

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole is taken aback by Jess's aggressive messages, but instead of just ignoring this Internet stranger she engages, she offers to connect Jess on a call with some of Talina's friends in Oklahoma who can verify Nicole's story. And Jess, she backs down pretty quick.

[Nicole Carr]

She called me back and she said I wanted to apologize and you know, I appreciate that so much about her that she was just so ready to apologize.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole accepts her apology and almost immediately their hostile encounter transforms into the Start of a real friendship.

[Jess Trevino]

Nicole will post on my Facebook. So happy you became my beautiful nightmare. I love you.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Nicole sees a tenacity in Jess that could be helpful in finding Talina. And the two of them start working together that day.

[Nicole Carr]

I have to say, Jess is a force to be reckoned with. She's a woman of unwavering determination, and that intensity can catch you off guard. She was unwilling to let anyone or anything get in her way. It made us a very good pair because she could be very direct and very not cold, but just determined. And I have a more gentle, kind approach to people.

[Jess Trevino]

She made me feel like I could help and we could figure it out. We could solve what happened, you know, we could fix it, maybe, or at least catch the person that did it.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess is not the only Internet stranger activated by Nicole's post about her missing friend. It gets hundreds of comments from people all over the US Most of them are just there to stir the pot, instigate fights, entertain themselves. But some of them seem to actually want to find out the truth. Jess corrals a select few into a private group. There's Rosie, who, like Jess, is also a mom in her mid-30s. She and her husband are own a welding business in Ohio.

[J]

I commented on the post, this doesn't sound good. You know, you need to contact the police. I had a woman reach out to me named Jess via Facebook messenger. And in the nutshell, she was basically like, hey, this sounds really weird to me. You and I kind of sound like we have the same vibe about her needing to contact the police. Do you want to talk about this? I don't know what it was that made me say yes, other than I was intrigued. And I thought, well, what could the harm be? I was bored because of COVID And I was like, sure. And then more girls kind of joined the group, and we just sort of started armchair detectiving this situation.

[Nicole Carr]

And I was like, this is. This is crazy.

[Melissa Jeltson]

This is Brittany younger than the others. She's in her early 20s and works at a bank in Arkansas. Brittany's eager to jump in and help because she too feels drawn to Talena's story.

[Nicole Carr]

It seemed like she was, like a really sweet person, and she was really easy to like. It didn't seem like anyone had, like, any hatred towards her. She seemed like a nice person that everyone loved. When there's mysteries to stuff, there's some people that just have to know why and how. And I'm definitely one of those people. I have all the questions all the time.

[Melissa Jeltson]

And so Organically, cosmically, this group of online sleuths comes together and forms a new Facebook page called Find Talina Zar, Nicole in Tennessee, Jess in Minnesota, Rosie in Ohio, Brittany in Arkansas, and more. Joining by the hour, these women are strangers thrust together by their desire to solve the mystery of what happened to Talina. Here's Jess, the ringleader.

[Jess Trevino]

We ended up staying up until like 4 o' clock in the morning that first night, talking to each other via Facebook messenger and then starting little side messages like, oh, this person's this. Or it was almost high school esque, to be honest with you. Just kind of like being a little bit bitchy about who. Who was saying what and what we believe.

[Melissa Jeltson]

The online sleuths, even from that first night, are exhilarated. They're energized for the first time since the pandemic slowed the world down and made their lives very small. Suddenly they have a distraction and a purpose.

[J]

It kind of felt like I was.

[Nicole Carr]

Living out one of, like, my fantasy dreams of being a detective. It kind of gave me something to do and something else to think about rather than what's going to happen to the world.

[J]

We just wanted to help this person, help Talina and find her. Like, where was she.

[Melissa Jeltson]

In those early hours? As this new group of friends start to gel the online sleuths return to Talina's post.

[Talina Zar]

I made the decision at the onset that if it got bad enough, I would not go to the hospital.

[Jess Trevino]

Those of you who know, it just.

[J]

Felt a little off. It felt weird.

[Melissa Jeltson]

The post itself is odd.

[Talina Zar]

I didn't want to be talked out of this plan, but so are the.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Comments left by Talena's friends.

[J]

It was just really strange. And her friends reactions to it also felt like they were concerned, but people were afraid to kind of pull the trigger and, you know, get something going about trying to find out where their friend was.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Jess is judging these people. To her, they are at best bad for friends, at worst, potential suspects.

[Jess Trevino]

Like friends of hers, all kind of saying, well, we wish you well and we love you and we respect your privacy. And I'm like, what in the hell? What do you mean? This woman's basically saying she's going to go kill herself in the woods. And you guys are like, okay, see you later. Have fun. If that was my friend, I would be flipping over rocks trying to find her. I'd call the National Guard. I would be out there. I would not be sitting there wishing her well on her journey.

[Melissa Jeltson]

And so Jess, Rosie, Brittany and Nicole, they get busy from afar There were.

[J]

A lot of secrets that were very hard to find and no one wanted to talk about anything.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Day and night they research online and talk to anyone who will pick up the phone.

[Jess Trevino]

I probably spent 12, 14 hours on my phone or computer a day talking to people. People cold calling strangers.

[Melissa Jeltson]

They trust no one.

[J]

They're not telling us the truth. Like there's, they're lying. There's, there's no truth to what these people are saying.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Don't believe them and what they uncover shocks them to their core.

[Nicole Carr]

Rarely do people just drop off the.

[Jess Trevino]

Face of the earth and disappear.

[Melissa Jeltson]

This season on what Happened to Talina Czar.

[Nicole Carr]

How in the world can somebody even contemplate doing something? How evil can one person really be? She's always willing to help somebody and that was her downfall as well as.

[Melissa Jeltson]

One of her greatest strengths.

[Jess Trevino]

When I read the details, I collapsed.

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I would agree that I have never had a case involving these kinds of details.

[Jess Trevino]

I was like literally not very polite of me. What the hell are you doing people? Into what is going on here?

[Nicole Carr]

This little group of women that came together to look for Talina will always have my heart. I just had to know, how did this happen?

[Melissa Jeltson]

What happened to Talina Zar is a production of iHeart podcast. It's written, reported and hosted by me, Melissa Jeltson with writing and story editing by Lauren Hanson. Our executive producer is ryan Murdoch. For iHeart podcasts, executive producers are Jason English and Carl Cadle. Fact checking by Savannah Hughley. Zoe Denkla is our associate producer. Jeremy Thal is our editor. Original music by Aaron Kaufman with additional music by Jeremy Thal. Episodes are mixed and mastered by Carl Cadle. Voice acting by Lizzie Gore, Chris Ferry, Stephanie Frame, Pete Monica and Molly Maslin. Our logo is designed by Ido Moore. Thanks so much for listening. Ready to hear more? Remember, you can get access to 100% ad free episodes with an iHeart True Crime plus subscription available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So open your Apple podcast app, search for iheart True Crime plus and subscribe today.

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Hey, Jenice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankwitz.

[Nicole Carr]

We're the hosts of Mind the Business.

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Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Nicole Carr]

Catch up on seasons one and two and join us for a brand new.

[Jess Trevino]

Season of the podcast as we talk.

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To small business owners about how they manage and grow their businesses with the help of platforms like Intuit QuickBooks.

[Melissa Jeltson]

Listen to mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Matt Rogers from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Have you ever felt that uneasy anxiety when the 4pm hour strikes? That creeping meal related distress that happens.

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[Melissa Jeltson]

Let's get rid of that unpleasant feeling forever with one word. Stouffers. No matter what happens, you'll have a dinner plan that everyone loves with Stouffer's some chicken enchiladas or a cheesy chicken and broccoli pasta. Bake is always welcome whether it is Plan A or Plan Delicious. Not gonna lie, I eat the lasagna once a week and that's a fact. When the clock strikes dinner, think Stouffer's. Shop now for family favorites.

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You're listening to an iHeart podcast.