Somebody Knows Something

Detectives leave Elgin and head southwest to Joliet, Illinois — chasing one of their strongest theories in the search for missing woman Wyteria Jones. Could she have quietly slipped away to another city in 1982? The detectives trace every route she might have taken — Greyhound, Trailways, RTA buses, commuter trains — uncovering just how complicated that journey would have been. Then, when they go looking for the hotel a witness said Wyteria was headed to, they hit a wall. The "Joliet Motor Lodge" doesn't exist. But what they find in its place is a connection that changes everything. Along the way, they shine a light on other long-forgotten Will County disappearances, reminding us that every missing person leaves behind a family still waiting for answers.

In this episode, newly uncovered records turn the entire investigation upside down — revealing a timeline no one expected and connections to Elgin that run far deeper than anyone knew. Detective Beth Sterricker joins the team to break it all down, and what they find forces them to rethink everything. How long was Wyteria really here? Where did she go before Elgin? And does any of it point to what happened to her in 1982? The answers will surprise you.

In 1982, Wyteria Jones vanished from a rundown Elgin, Illinois hotel where she was living as an outpatient of the Elgin Mental Health Center. Over 40 years later, her case remains unsolved. In this episode of the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Podcast, Detectives walk the same streets Wyteria walked — from the historic Douglas Hotel to the bus stops of downtown Elgin — piecing together her final known movements. With one witness account, a rainy October day, and a building that's been completely gutted since 1982, the trail is cold. But somebody knows something.

Season 3 of Somebody Knows Something — the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Podcast — opens a brand new case: the 1982 disappearance of Wyteria Jones.Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall introduce listeners to Wyteria, a Black woman from rural Tennessee whose family roots stretch back to the Civil War Era. After moving north to Illinois, Wyteria found herself in Elgin in the spring of 1982, staying at the Douglas Hotel while receiving mental health treatment. When the hotel closed that October, she walked out with her luggage — and was never seen or heard from again.What makes this case especially challenging? Her disappearance wasn't reported to police until January 1983, nearly four months later. The case file is thin. And the detectives are left with more questions than answers: Where was she going? Did she make it there? And why did she stop cashing her government checks and contacting her children — forever?In this season opener, the detectives share what little is known, lay out five working theories, and make a direct appeal to the public for help. If you knew Wyteria, lived at the Douglas Hotel, or have any information about her whereabouts in the fall of 1982 — somebody knows something.Tips can be submitted at www.ElginColdCases.com or by calling the Cold Case tipline at 847-289-COLD.

Bonus Episode – Still MissingAs the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit heads into 2026 and prepares for Season 3 of Somebody Knows Something, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall are taking stock of every open missing persons case in their files — and asking the public for help finding answers for families still waiting. The unit is also growing. Detective Beth Sterricker brings nearly two decades of Elgin Police experience to the team, and Sergeant Matt Vartanian — co-host of Season 1 — is back, this time overseeing the Cold Case Unit as part of his new role in the Major Investigations Division. Four people are still missing. Their families are still waiting. Franco Loyo was 61 years old when he walked north along N. Airlite Street in Elgin on the evening of April 19, 2023, and was never seen again. Listed as missing and endangered, his case will officially become a cold case in April 2026 — but his family isn't waiting for a label. Maynor Escalante-Martinez was just 16 — an unaccompanied minor placed with a sponsor family in Elgin — when he was reported missing on June 29, 2021, after allegedly leaving with a man claiming to be his uncle. He would be 20 years old today. Whether he left safely or not, no one has been able to confirm it. Chad P. Smith was reported missing in February 2021 after his family hadn't heard from him since December of 2020. Unconfirmed sightings have placed him on the south side of Chicago, but his whereabouts have never been verified. His mother is still in Elgin. She is still looking. Daren Wood was 24 years old when he stopped by his mother's east-side Elgin home in July 2017 and promised he'd be back in two days. He never came back. Eight years of investigation, including cross-referencing his case against unidentified remains in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, has yet to bring his family closure. There is one piece of good news. Willie Wilder, previously on the unit's caseload after disappearing in December 2021, was found alive in South Elgin in September 2025 — proof that these cases can be resolved. But behind the four open cases is a fifth that goes back even further. In the fall of 1982, Wyteria Jones was last seen near the Douglas Hotel in downtown Elgin and vanished. Hers is the oldest cold case missing persons investigation in the unit's files, and she will be the focus of the full Season 3 investigation launching in March. Someone out there knows something about each of these people. If you have information, contact the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit at [email protected], call 847-289-COLD, or visit www.ElginColdCases.com.

In this final episode of the season, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit lay out the investigation into Renee’s murder in 1979, release new information about the case, and discuss potential links between Renee’s murder and the serial killer group known as the Ripper Crew. They also close out the season and remember all 27 homicide victims from 1970’s Elgin.

On November 23, 1979, the day after Thanksgiving, Renee Cruz Tovar decided to stay home while her roommate went out on a date.  The following morning, November 24, 1979, her roommate returned home and found Renee murdered in their apartment.  In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit meet with family members and friends of Renee to learn more about her brief life and the impact her tragic death had on the Elgin community.

It was a warm, summer evening when 68-year-old Cayce D. Kyles strolled down an alley behind the Douglas Hotel in downtown Elgin on July 21, 1977. Moments later, he was attacked and stabbed to death less than a block from the Elgin Police Department. Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit revisit the Cayce’s case and seek information from the public in his cold case murder.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit continue their investigation into the disappearance of Barbara Glueckert as they meet with retired Mount Prospect Detective Mike Nelson who worked on Barbara Glueckert’s case for over two decades. They also speak with a listener who contacted the cold case tip line to report an  experience she had with Thomas Urlacher when she was just 16-years-old in the early 1970’s for the first time in over 50 years.

During “Season One: Where Is Karen?” Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian researched the previous tenant of Karen Schepers’ apartment, Thomas Urlacher.  They found that while he was not involved in Karen’s disappearance, he was the prime suspect in the disappearance of 14-year-old Barbara Glueckert from nearby Huntley, Illinois on August 21, 1976. In Part 1 of this two-part investigation, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit discuss Urlacher’s links to Karens’ case and meet with Barbara Glueckert’s family to learn about her and the impact that her disappearance has had on her family and on her community. 

On the morning of June 22, 1976, 16-year-old Lori Jean Bolger left a summer driver’s ed class at Larkin High School to walk home to South Elgin, Illinois. She planned to meet friends to swim, but she never made it.  Less than two hours after she left the school, two workers found her body lying in a grassy field near Randall Road in Elgin.  Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit reopen Lori’s case file to discuss her life, her murder, and to seek answers in her case.

It was a cold, winter night when 47-year-old Maynard Chester Holley left his wife and children to head to work at the Yellow Cab Company in downtown Elgin on February 18, 1975.  Hours later, he was murdered in the office as he sat dispatching taxis.  Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit remember Maynard and review his case to seek new information.

On June 30, 1971, a 35-year-old foreman at the Woodruff and Edwards Foundry, Guadalupe Alanis, was murdered while working in downtown Elgin.  Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall of the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit review Guadalupe’s case and discover that it has links to two other Elgin murders.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit make an announcement for Season Two and introduce a new detective, Chris Hall, as Matt is promoted and leaves the unit.  Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley also joins the episode to reflect on Season One and to discuss the future plans for the Cold Case Unit.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit reflect on the past 6 months of this investigation with Karen’s family, friends, and coworkers as Karen finally comes home and is laid to rest.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit wrap up Karen’s cold case investigation by detailing the final steps in Karen’s case and they discuss what they believed most likely happened to Karen on that fateful night in April of 1983.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit speak with Jacob Grubbs and Lindsay Bussick from Chaos Divers, the group which was instrumental in bringing Karen Schepers home, to talk about their organization, their experience in search and recovery, and their amazing work on Karen’s case. 

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit search the Fox River with the Illinois-based search and recovery team Chaos Divers and make a discovery almost 42 years in the making. 

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit move up their original Theory #6, that Karen and her car are submerged in a body of water, as new tips come in and new technology becomes available.  They identify the routes that Karen would have likely taken, travel those routes, and follow-up on new tips about a car recently discovered in the Fox River.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit review multiple serial killers who were active in the Elgin area in the early 1980’s and travel to the Pontiac Correctional Facility to interview Brian Dugan, an Illinois serial killer who is serving a life sentence for three murders in the area, one of which has similarities to Karen’s disappearance.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit continue their investigation into Theory #2, that something happened at PM Bentley’s.  As they review the case file, they discover that a former employee of PM Bentley’s was never interviewed, so they track her down and she reveals new information about a man who stalked her and her and her car in the parking lot and followed her home in the months leading up to Karen’s disappearance.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit travel to the site where PM Bentley’s was in 1983 with the owner as they investigate Theory #2, that something happened at PM Bentley’s.  They discuss a witness who claimed he saw Karen with some bikers both inside and outside the bar and another witness who detailed her interaction with a man who allegedly claimed he was involved in her disappearance.

Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit interview members of Karen's family, her close friends, & her co-workers to get a sense of who Karen was as a person and to evaluate Theory #1, that Karen made a desperate choice to either run away or harm herself.

Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit begin their investigation into the 1983 disappearance of Karen Schepers by interviewing the people who knew her best, members of her family.

On Friday, April 15th, 1983, Karen Schepers, a vibrant 23-year-old woman from Elgin, Illinois, went to see a live band and socialize with a group of co-workers at a bar called P.M. Bentley's in Carpentersville, Illinois. Karen danced, drank, and enjoyed what she believed would be just another Friday night out with friends.  Then, in the early morning hours of April 16th, 1983, Karen and her car vanished without a trace. Her case remains unsolved over 40 years later. Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit introduce Karen's case, interview several co-workers who were among the last people to see her, & discuss the 6 theories of what could have happened to Karen that they will investigate throughout Season 1 to try to answer the question, "Where Is Karen?"

In May of 2024, Chief Ana Lalley created the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit to review cold case homicides, missing persons, sexual assaults, and unidentified remains cases in Elgin, Illinois.  In this episode, Chief Lalley  provides some background on the Elgin Police Department, the City of Elgin, and she discusses why she felt this unit was necessary and what she hopes to achieve with it.  Detective Andrew Houghton and Detective Matt Vartanian from the newly created Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit, who will host this podcast, also introduce themselves, discuss the creation of the unit, and select the first case that they are investigating for Season 1.