PNW Haunts & Homicides

PNW Haunts and Homicides

Join Caitlyn and Cassie as they chat about true crime, the paranormal, and all kinds of spooky sh*t in the Pacific Northwest. Just two "normal-ish" friends who wanted more local, creepy stories so they never sleep or leave their houses again. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pnw-haunts-homicides--5955451/support.

PNW HAUNTS & HOMICIDES

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  1. 3d ago

    Two Girls, Two Parks, Two Killers: Michella Welch & Jennifer Bastian | Tacoma, Washington

    In 1986 the North and West End neighborhoods of Tacoma trusted their parks. That was, until two girls disappeared from public parks in Tacoma, Washington within a few miles and a few months of each other, both stories ending in tragedy. Twelve-year-old Michella Welch disappeared from Puget Park on a bright Wednesday afternoon in March. Thirteen-year-old Jennifer Bastian vanished from Point Defiance Park while riding her brand-new Schwinn bike that same year in August. For nearly three decades, investigators believed the girls had been killed by the same man. The circumstances were too similar to imagine otherwise. As Jennifer's mother Pattie put it, there couldn't possibly be two monsters in Tacoma. And yet – there were. In this episode we walk through what happened to Michella and Jenni, the assumption that shaped multiple decades of the investigation, the evidence that finally broke that assumption apart, and the two very different paths that led to justice. Their cases also led to Jennifer & Michella's Law – the 2019 Washington legislation that expanded mandatory DNA collection for convicted felons and now stands as a legislative legacy for both girls. Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian were just little girls who should have had the chance to grow up. Both were blonde, blue-eyed girls on their bikes, doing exactly what kids had always been trusted to do – enjoying their local park. If the story moves you, we'd love it if you shared the episode - it helps the show, and most importantly these two girls deserve to be remembered by name. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pnw-haunts-homicides--5955451/support.

  2. 3d ago • Subscribers Only

    Two Girls, Two Parks, Two Killers: Michella Welch & Jennifer Bastian | Tacoma, Washington

    In 1986 the North and West End neighborhoods of Tacoma trusted their parks. That was, until two girls disappeared from public parks in Tacoma, Washington within a few miles and a few months of each other, both stories ending in tragedy. Twelve-year-old Michella Welch disappeared from Puget Park on a bright Wednesday afternoon in March. Thirteen-year-old Jennifer Bastian vanished from Point Defiance Park while riding her brand-new Schwinn bike that same year in August. For nearly three decades, investigators believed the girls had been killed by the same man. The circumstances were too similar to imagine otherwise. As Jennifer's mother Pattie put it, there couldn't possibly be two monsters in Tacoma. And yet – there were. In this episode we walk through what happened to Michella and Jenni, the assumption that shaped multiple decades of the investigation, the evidence that finally broke that assumption apart, and the two very different paths that led to justice. Their cases also led to Jennifer & Michella's Law – the 2019 Washington legislation that expanded mandatory DNA collection for convicted felons and now stands as a legislative legacy for both girls. Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian were just little girls who should have had the chance to grow up. Both were blonde, blue-eyed girls on their bikes, doing exactly what kids had always been trusted to do – enjoying their local park. If the story moves you, we'd love it if you shared the episode - it helps the show, and most importantly these two girls deserve to be remembered by name. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pnw-haunts-homicides--5955451/support.

  3. Jul 23

    Leah Roberts: The Crash That Wasn't an Accident | Unsolved, Bellingham, Washington

    On March 9, 2000, Leah Roberts left her home in Durham, North Carolina, on a Kerouac-inspired cross-country road trip in search of something she couldn’t quite name, telling no one exactly where she was going. At 23, in the wake of multiple personal tragedies she had recently dropped out of college just as graduation was nearly in sight. Days later, she reached Bellingham, Washington.  Five days later her Jeep was found wrecked at the bottom of an embankment, where many important and prized possessions remained but there was no sign of Leah. What investigators would eventually uncover about that crash site would take years to come to light – and it would change everything they thought they knew about the case. Twenty-six years later, her case remains open. Her family and friends are still searching, hopeful for her eventual recovery – or at least answers. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pnw-haunts-homicides--5955451/support.

  4. Jul 23 • Subscribers Only

    Leah Roberts: The Crash That Wasn't an Accident | Unsolved, Bellingham, Washington

    On March 9, 2000, Leah Roberts left her home in Durham, North Carolina, on a Kerouac-inspired cross-country road trip in search of something she couldn’t quite name, telling no one exactly where she was going. At 23, in the wake of multiple personal tragedies she had recently dropped out of college just as graduation was nearly in sight. Days later, she reached Bellingham, Washington. Five days later her Jeep was found wrecked at the bottom of an embankment, where many important and prized possessions remained but there was no sign of Leah. What investigators would eventually uncover about that crash site would take years to come to light – and it would change everything they thought they knew about the case. Twenty-six years later, her case remains open. Her family and friends are still searching, hopeful for her eventual recovery – or at least answers. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources

  5. Jul 16

    Pacific Northwest Reddit Stories: Hiking Horrors

    In this episode, we dive into chilling Reddit true stories from across the Pacific Northwest, featuring creepy encounters, unexplained mysteries, and possible paranormal activity in Oregon and Washington. First, a couple hiking Hobbit Beach on the Oregon Coast discovers a disturbing forest altar made of candles, feathers, eggs, and animal bones before crossing paths with two suspicious strangers. Then, we explore a terrifying encounter on the Pacific Crest Trail near White Pass, Washington, where a solo female thru-hiker is stalked by a man obsessed with missing hikers and bodies disappearing in the surrounding bogs. Next, we examine a sighting of mysterious glowing green orbs witnessed by people in western Washington during the late 1990s, an unexplained phenomenon that some believe could be UFOs or something even stranger. Finally, we end with one of the oddest stories yet, as two friends hiking outside Eugene, Oregon, repeatedly encounter nearly identical cyclists wearing black hoodies, knee-high socks, and nothing but thongs deep in the forest. Whether these are true crime close calls, paranormal encounters, or simply bizarre moments in the wilderness, these Reddit stories prove that the forests of the Pacific Northwest still hold plenty of mysteries. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources

  6. Jul 9

    Two Deaths, One Date: Patience Boston & the Purrinton Family | York & Augusta, Maine

    On July 9, 1734, a Native woman named Patience Boston confessed to drowning an eight-year-old boy in a well — then walked two miles to turn herself in. Seventy-two years later, to the day, a respected Maine farmer spent an evening sharpening an axe and reading his Bible by candlelight before murdering nearly his entire family. Two tragedies. Same calendar date. Both set in colonial Maine, centuries ago. Two documents, centuries-old that survive only because someone who knew the people involved decided to write down what happened — a pair of Puritan ministers shaping one woman's last words into a lesson for their congregation; a midwife, recording only what she witnessed, with no agenda at all, though her heartbreak is apparent.  This episode pairs both cases – set in York and Augusta, Maine – tracing the unlikely survival of their stories throughout history, and asking who gets to tell the story of the dead, and why it matters. This episode exists because July 9 is our cohost Cassie's birthday — and when that date flagged two colonial Maine tragedies separated by exactly seventy-two years, it felt like too strange a pairing to pass up. I had no idea quite how dark it would get when I picked up the mantle of telling these stories – sorry, Cassie. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts.

  7. Jul 9 • Subscribers Only

    Two Deaths, One Date: Patience Boston & the Purrinton Family | York & Augusta, Maine

    On July 9, 1734, a Native woman named Patience Boston confessed to drowning an eight-year-old boy in a well — then walked two miles to turn herself in. Seventy-two years later, to the day, a respected Maine farmer spent an evening sharpening an axe and reading his Bible by candlelight before murdering nearly his entire family. Two tragedies. Same calendar date. Both set in colonial Maine, centuries ago. Two documents, centuries-old that survive only because someone who knew the people involved decided to write down what happened — a pair of Puritan ministers shaping one woman's last words into a lesson for their congregation; a midwife, recording only what she witnessed, with no agenda at all, though her heartbreak is apparent. This episode pairs both cases – set in York and Augusta, Maine – tracing the unlikely survival of their stories throughout history, and asking who gets to tell the story of the dead, and why it matters. This episode exists because July 9 is our cohost Cassie's birthday — and when that date flagged two colonial Maine tragedies separated by exactly seventy-two years, it felt like too strange a pairing to pass up. I had no idea quite how dark it would get when I picked up the mantle of telling these stories – sorry, Cassie. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources

  8. Jul 2

    Ghost of the Gold Dredge

    Deep in eastern Oregon, the historic town of Sumpter is home to one of the Pacific Northwest's most fascinating Gold Rush landmarks: the Sumpter Valley Dredge. Built to recover gold flakes from the Powder River, these massive gold dredges operated around the clock, reshaping the landscape and leaving behind towering tailings that are still visible today. Now preserved as the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area, visitors can tour one of the largest surviving gold dredges in the United States, explore its mining history, and even try gold panning. But the dredge isn't just famous for its gold. It's also known as one of Oregon's most unusual haunted locations. For decades, workers, park rangers, paranormal investigators, and visitors have reported eerie footsteps, cold spots, phantom laughter, disappearing tools, flickering lights, and the ghostly figure of a miner known as "Joe Bush." Though no historical records confirm his identity, many believe the friendly spirit watches over the old machinery, sometimes even preventing accidents. Join us as we uncover the true history of Sumpter's legendary gold dredge, the haunting tale of Joe Bush, and one of Oregon's most unique paranormal legends. Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources

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About

Join Caitlyn and Cassie as they chat about true crime, the paranormal, and all kinds of spooky sh*t in the Pacific Northwest. Just two "normal-ish" friends who wanted more local, creepy stories so they never sleep or leave their houses again. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pnw-haunts-homicides--5955451/support.

Information

  • Creator
    PNW Haunts and Homicides
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    483
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © PNW Haunts and Homicides
  • Show Website
    PNW Haunts & Homicides
  • Provider
    Caitlyn Shearer