130: The Morgan City Murders: Mary Rodermund, Bertha Gould, and the Teens Who Never Came Home

In 1978, a series of disappearances and murders terrified Morgan City, Louisiana.  Sixteen-year-old Mary Rodermund vanished after leaving home to run a simple errand. Hours later, her parents received a phone call—it was her kidnapper. He forced Mary onto the phone, where she told her parents she was okay.  It would be the last time anyone ever heard from her. Weeks later, nineteen-year-old Bridget Cantrell Sons disappeared from the grocery store where she worked. When police arrived, her cigarette was still burning. Seventeen-year-old Gordon Canella Jr., who had been with her, was also missing.  Then, in May, fourteen-year-old Bertha Gould and fifteen-year-old Judy Ann Adams left a school fair together. A witness saw the girls get into a car with a man.  Authorities eventually connected the cases to Robert Carl Hohenberger, a former California sheriff’s deputy living in Louisiana under an alias and with a history of violent assaults. Investigators believe he used his position and perceived authority to gain the trust of his victims. In this episode, we examine the disappearances of Mary Rodermund and Bertha Gould, the murders of Judy Adams, Bridget Cantrell Sons and Gordon Canella Jr., and the unanswered questions that remain decades later. 📍 Morgan City, Louisiana  | 1975📖 Featuring an original poem written in their honor, read by our host, Aimee Baker➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women—subscribe and share this episode. ➡️ Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women.  📍 Find us on Instagram & Facebook.📚 Get Aimee’s book, Doe, now available via University of Akron Press, Bookshop.org, and Amazon. 📰 For more women-centered true crime content, subscribe to Aimee’s newsletter, GIRLHUNT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices