Cold and Missing: Maria Bianca Cortes

WEBVTT

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The views and opinions expressed in Cold and

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Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All

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parties mentioned are considered innocent until

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proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing

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also contains adult themes and languages. Listener

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discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin

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-Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski.

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And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover

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cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,

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and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your

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host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome

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back, everyone. Yes, Eli's work schedule has

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calmed down this week, so we were able to get

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together and record, and we just thought we should

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just go ahead and get into this week's episode.

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We're both here. We should just get into it.

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Yeah, we are on episode 154, and this week's

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case is a... A cold case. All right, let's do

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it. Let's do it. Today... We are talking about

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the cold case of Maria Bianca Cortes, and this

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takes place in March of 1992 in the Mission Valley

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neighborhood in San Diego, California. But first,

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a little bit about Maria. Maria Bianca Cortes

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is just 23 years old in 1992. It does seem like

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she goes between the name Maria and Bianca, so

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you might hear me refer to her as both throughout

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the podcast or people refer to her as Bianca

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as well. She was a young mother devoted to raising

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a two -year -old daughter who was the center

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of her world. Maria's daughter is also very important

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to this timeline. However, it does seem that

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Maria's daughter is seeking privacy in her adult

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life, so For that reason, I'm just going to refer

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to her as her daughter throughout the podcast.

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I don't think it will be too confusing, but I

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just want to respect her privacy. Maria was born

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and raised in Mexico, but in 1987, she made the

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decision to move to the United States, settling

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in San Diego. She was in the process of becoming

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a U .S. citizen and worked very hard to build

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a stable life for herself and her daughter. Maria

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lived with her boyfriend, Raul, who was also

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the father of her daughter. Maria didn't have

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a car, which meant navigating San Diego almost

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entirely by bus. Many days required two or more

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buses to get where she needed to go, and when

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transfers ran late, Maria often found herself

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walking alone at night for long stretches. Occasionally,

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to avoid these long and exhausting trips, she

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would sometimes accept rides from strangers.

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Despite these challenges, Maria never let transportation

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stop her from giving her daughter a full life.

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As her sister said, quote, Whatever that little

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girl wanted, she would take her. Maria worked

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long hours as a babysitter and housekeeper. When

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she was working, her daughter was often cared

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for by family and close friends. Those close

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to her described her as a loving, attentive mother

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who lived a quiet, honest life. Her brother -in

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-law says, quote, It's a tragedy, a total tragedy.

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And with that, we'll get into a timeline of events.

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Tuesday, March 3rd, 1992. So Maria was last seen

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around 6 .30 p .m. on that Tuesday evening. She

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was picking up her daughter, I believe from a

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relative's house. It's reported that it was her

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sister. It's believed Maria could have been heading

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to a sewing class in Linda Vista at the Bayside

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Settlement House later that evening. Some reports

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say that her sister drove Maria and her daughter

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to a bus stop and dropped them off around 6 .30

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p .m. So 6 .30 p .m. is the last known sighting

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of Maria. Police, however, will continue to report

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that the last confirmed sighting of Maria Bianca

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Cortes was her walking toward Marina Boulevard

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with her two -year -old daughter. Maria's boyfriend

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was working that evening, but when he returned

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home later that night, He found neither Maria

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or his daughter were home. He immediately knew

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something was wrong as this was extremely unusual.

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He waited anxiously through the night. But finally,

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on the morning of Wednesday, March 4th, when

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the sun started to rise and they still were not

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home, he called police to report them missing.

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Early that morning, a man was reading a newspaper

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near a shopping center in Mission Valley. Behind

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the shopping center was an open field. From a

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distance, he noticed something that didn't make

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a lot of sense. Unsure of exactly what he was

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seeing, the man flagged down a woman riding her

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bike. She decided to ride into the field to investigate,

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expecting to find a person facing homelessness

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who maybe needed help. Instead, she made a horrifying

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discovery. She says, quote, I saw it was a little

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girl, who was bloody, who was sitting on a body,

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and she just turned and looked at me. Quickly,

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the biker rode off to find a phone to call police.

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At approximately 7 .15 a .m., police were dispatched

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to 7500 Mission Valley Road after receiving a

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call that a child was sitting on top of a body

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in an open field. Today, this area is very busy

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and built up, but back in 1992, there was far

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less there. When officers arrived, Maria's daughter

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ran into the arms of a female officer that came

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to the scene. Reports say that she didn't start

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crying until police arrived, and that's when

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she began to cry. Maria's daughter had been sitting

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with the body of her mother in a muddy field

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behind a shopping center. Ultimately, the autopsy

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will show that Maria had been strangled and stabbed

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in the groin. Investigators believe the stab

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wound was ultimately what killed her. The autopsy

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will also confirm that she had not been sexually

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assaulted. Maria's daughter had been sitting

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with her mother's body for hours. She was covered

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in blood. None of it was her own. Hypothermia

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was beginning to set in, but otherwise, the two

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-year -old was unharmed, physically unharmed.

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Maria's daughter was taken to a hospital and

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treated for the exposure. Police immediately

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start searching for her father, Raul, as they

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need to question him before they're able to release

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her to him. Based on the condition of both Maria

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and her daughter, investigators believe that

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they had been in the field for several hours

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overnight. But they never give a specific time

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of death or window when they believe that the

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murder had actually happened. They just say several

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hours overnight. The next day, Thursday, March

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5th, police continue to question Raul in connection

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with Maria's murder. He is ultimately released

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from custody and he's never called a suspect

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in this crime. Investigators stated they did

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not have a clear motive in the crime. While there

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had been two other stabbing murders in the week

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prior to Maria's death, police did not think

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that they were related at that time. The next

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day, so this is two days after the murder, Friday,

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March 6th, police released photos of Maria Bianca

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Cortes to the public, hoping someone would recognize

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her or recall seeing her the night that she was

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killed. Investigators urged anyone who may have

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seen Maria traveling that evening to come forward

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with the information. There was no tip too small.

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But sadly, after this, Maria's case really goes

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cold. I tried to dig and dig for updates, but

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I really couldn't find any until 2022, so that's

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nearly 30 years since the murder. And in 2022,

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Maria's case is being revisited by the media

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and by the police, bringing renewed attention

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to her murder and the unanswered questions surrounding

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it. Police do share a little bit more about the

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timeline. Investigators believe that Maria may

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have taken the bus as far as Mission Valley and

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then accepted a ride. Tony Johnson, a senior

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investigator with the district attorney's office,

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says, quote, The only thing that hurt Maria was

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that she didn't have a car. It seems certain

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that she was picked up in some vehicle and driven

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to that location. It's revealed that there were

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tire tracks in the mud that night, suggesting

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that Maria and her daughter had been driven into

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the field where Maria was found. Investigators

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still don't know whether Maria knew the person

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that she got in the car with or if it was a stranger.

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At the time of the murder in 1992, no real DNA

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evidence was collected from the scene as, you

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know, it was still in its infancy and kind of

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getting started in criminal investigation. However,

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police are hopeful that advances in forensic

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technology could finally bring answers to her

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case. Tony Johnson says, quote, one of the big

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developments is the ability to get DNA from rootless

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hairs. Investigators did collect several hairs

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at the scene. They were found on Maria's body

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and did not match her own hair. So investigators

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are hoping that this new forensic technology

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will be able to pull a DNA sample out of the

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hair and then ultimately lead to a hit in the

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system. Again, Tony Johnson says, Now that update

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was in 2022. I looked to see if there were any

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results or updates in the story from those hairless

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or those hairs without roots. But there doesn't

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seem to be any update. I'm hopeful that maybe

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the tests are just very backlogged in California

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and maybe they haven't gotten to them yet. But

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there are no more updates around that if they

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did get a match or if they were able to extract

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DNA from that at all. But with that, if you have

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any information about the murder of Maria Bianca

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Cortes, please contact the San Diego Police Department.

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So that is the cold case of Maria Bianca Cortes.

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Just to speak on Maria quickly here at the top,

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I love that she was such a caring and present

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person, especially in her commitment to motherhood

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and parenthood. It speaks volumes about how she

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was navigating her entire life about how she

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was just kind of committed to those roles as

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a person and as a mom. And she was building something

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beautiful for herself and for her daughter, for

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her family. I think she sounded awesome and unstoppable.

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Yeah. I really think so many of the same things

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you just said, like I really got the impression

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that she was just like building this amazing

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life for herself, for her daughter, building

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this home and like such an incredibly hard worker

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and just like dedicated to what she was doing.

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Like it takes a lot of dedication to work multiple

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jobs, but that's like dedication to a goal you're

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trying to meet, you know, so. I just really admire

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her. I think she was an excellent person. Yeah,

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moving right into that, you know, she was someone

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who was, yes, using but relying on public transit.

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You and I are no strangers to that. We both have

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put in, I think, over 10 years of being public

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transit people with where we live, and it is

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a whole skill set on its own. navigating your

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life, your jobs, your career through using and

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relying public transit. So while, you know, now

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we have access to Lyfts and Ubers and ride shares

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and taxis, it wasn't the same back then. So I

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understand her, you know, if it was kind of a

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last resort, but, you know, shit needed to be

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done. She needed to get to work. So she hopped

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in a car. And I would probably have done the

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same back, you know, during the early 90s if

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I was trying to get to work. Because if you miss

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that connecting bus, you're walking. Yeah. I

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mean, I think of just tonight where, you know,

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I was taking the train home from work and it

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was delayed. And I'm like refreshing my phone

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again and again to try to figure out, you know,

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if it's delayed and what I'm taking home to get

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around this and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

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You know, just thinking about in 1992, it's like,

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OK, if the train's delayed, like you won't know.

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You'll just have to sit there and either wait

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it out and hope it comes eventually or start

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walking, figure something else out. And yeah,

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like, you know, there were taxis back then, but

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you really had to actually see one and hail it.

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You couldn't really call it unless you got to

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a phone. So, yeah, just. incredibly tough to

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get around on public transit, you know, just

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today. But, you know, without technology and

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convenience of rideshares, it would have been

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so much more difficult in 1992. It was. It was

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more difficult. Yeah. So I guess mentioning,

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you know, how she was navigating transit to get

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to her job takes us right into the timeline.

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And I know it's a pretty short one, but Something

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I just want to say as we start unpacking the

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timeline and her murder is that it feels odd

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to say that I'm thankful, but in this case, one

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of the only things I'm thankful for is how young

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her daughter was. And the only thing I can hope

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for is that her daughter doesn't carry any memories

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of what her mother's last moments were like.

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Yeah, my heart breaks thinking about this two

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-year -old little girl in these terrifying moments.

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And I hope she has no memories of it either.

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But, you know, we hear that phrase, like, the

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body keeps the score. So, like, I can't imagine

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the impression that this made on that little

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two -year -old's life and the ripple effects

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of that. I can't imagine. But I am so thankful

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that she wasn't physically harmed during this.

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I will say in listening to this, it immediately

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reminded me of a case we covered, I think two

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cases ago, Lori Bolger. And I know their timelines

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are different, obviously, but the shocking reveal

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of A young woman's body being found in the middle

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of the day in the middle of a field. Again, even

00:16:43.210 --> 00:16:46.210
more shocking that this is a case that there's

00:16:46.210 --> 00:16:49.169
very little information on. Again, I think it's

00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:52.169
awesome that there are new eyes on it and that

00:16:52.169 --> 00:16:56.350
people are looking for answers and the case has

00:16:56.350 --> 00:16:59.629
been reopened. But the two cases had striking

00:16:59.629 --> 00:17:04.170
similarities. Just shocks me that more people

00:17:04.170 --> 00:17:08.109
don't know about them because of what happened

00:17:08.109 --> 00:17:12.849
and how they were found. Yeah, Lori's case, we

00:17:12.849 --> 00:17:15.369
did cover it a couple episodes ago. And yeah,

00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:19.529
similar in the field, causes of death are different

00:17:19.529 --> 00:17:23.029
here. And timelines, like you mentioned, are

00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:25.910
different. But yeah, like you said, the description

00:17:25.910 --> 00:17:29.450
and like kind of that visual of like a body.

00:17:30.190 --> 00:17:32.289
In the middle of a field and in this case, you

00:17:32.289 --> 00:17:35.650
know, a child sitting on a body in the middle

00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:39.470
of the field, like it's very shocking to just

00:17:39.470 --> 00:17:42.809
like pull that image up. Now, I do have some

00:17:42.809 --> 00:17:45.529
questions about the timeline, more specifically

00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:49.230
around the information about her last sighting

00:17:49.230 --> 00:17:54.230
and that there are two accounts. One is law enforcement.

00:17:54.269 --> 00:17:58.279
And I just wanted to clarify. Whose is the others?

00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:02.099
Or if there are, I guess I just wanted to circle

00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:06.160
back to that part of the timeline and the information

00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:10.160
you had. Okay, yes. So there are some questions

00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:13.980
around this. But back in 1992, police say at

00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:16.799
that time that the last confirmed sighting of

00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:20.059
Maria, she was seen walking toward Marina Boulevard

00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:24.440
with her two -year -old. And then the next time...

00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:29.599
Maria's found, she's near the 7500 block of Mission

00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:34.700
Valley Drive or road. So that's about an 18 minute

00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:37.720
drive, but it's an hour bus trip, just like kind

00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:39.559
of pulling up Google Maps, at least today. I

00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:41.740
don't know how long it was back in the day, but

00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:44.720
today it's about an hour bus trip. So where she

00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.660
was last seen walking, where it was reported

00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:50.940
in 1992, that would suggest that she was going

00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:55.049
to get on the bus. And then in 2022, police say

00:18:55.049 --> 00:18:58.710
that they believe that Maria had taken the bus

00:18:58.710 --> 00:19:02.029
as far as Mission Valley and then accepted a

00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:04.849
ride. So it's somewhere along Mission Valley

00:19:04.849 --> 00:19:08.410
that she likely got off the bus and then into

00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:12.230
a car. But I'm not sure if police have ever found

00:19:12.230 --> 00:19:16.809
any other witnesses to place her either on the

00:19:16.809 --> 00:19:19.470
bus or near that area outside of her getting

00:19:19.470 --> 00:19:22.720
in the car. Does that answer your question? Yeah,

00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.660
that clarifies a bunch of things for me, and

00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:32.140
it also takes me right into, you know, almost

00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:34.559
right now, you know, the fact that there are

00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:37.779
eyes on the case again, something that I immediately

00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:42.119
thought of after, you know, you telling us that

00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:46.450
there were tire tracks seen. As far as 2026 goes

00:19:46.450 --> 00:19:51.130
and technological advancements in evidence, I'd

00:19:51.130 --> 00:19:54.369
just be really interested to see what's the make,

00:19:54.509 --> 00:19:57.170
model, year of the tires, what are the tracks,

00:19:57.410 --> 00:19:58.990
what are the dimensions, what are the measurements,

00:19:59.230 --> 00:20:02.430
because that can tell you a lot and might lead

00:20:02.430 --> 00:20:07.269
to who was driving that car and was it the car

00:20:07.269 --> 00:20:09.890
that had her in it? Yeah, I'd be so curious to

00:20:09.890 --> 00:20:12.029
know. You know, if they've been able to glean

00:20:12.029 --> 00:20:14.490
any of that information from the tire tracks

00:20:14.490 --> 00:20:17.549
that they were able to collect from the scene.

00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:20.549
Because, yeah, like you said, it can get really

00:20:20.549 --> 00:20:23.089
specific to the point where you can get some

00:20:23.089 --> 00:20:25.210
information or maybe maybe it's not. Maybe it's

00:20:25.210 --> 00:20:26.869
really general, but that's still more information.

00:20:26.990 --> 00:20:30.569
So I think in a case like this where information

00:20:30.569 --> 00:20:33.970
seems to be lacking, any and all details are

00:20:33.970 --> 00:20:37.109
welcome. Yeah. And including with the DNA, I

00:20:37.109 --> 00:20:39.410
know you mentioned that there were hairs that

00:20:39.410 --> 00:20:43.309
didn't match her that were found on her. So I

00:20:43.309 --> 00:20:47.049
am I mean, I know evidence in DNA can degrade

00:20:47.049 --> 00:20:50.269
over time, but I'm hopeful that that those were

00:20:50.269 --> 00:20:52.450
even thought of to be collected at the time,

00:20:52.509 --> 00:20:56.589
because that means that to me, it says that those

00:20:56.589 --> 00:21:00.769
officers at the time were really working the

00:21:00.769 --> 00:21:06.980
case and trying. So I'm hopeful of those discoveries

00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:11.059
and the tests done on them. I hope that they

00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:15.599
reveal the information that all of us want, but

00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.940
more than anything, I hope that it brings justice

00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:23.359
and peace to her daughter because her daughter

00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:27.599
sounds like, well, she sounds exactly like her.

00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:33.460
Very committed and dedicated to... And, you know,

00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:36.839
unfortunately, a big part of her life is finding

00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:40.160
justice for who did this to her mom. But it's

00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:42.319
incredible that she has stayed committed to it,

00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:45.759
just like her mom was committed to her. While

00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:50.140
this case is very heartbreaking, I'm eager to

00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:55.200
spread the word about who Maria was and dig into

00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:58.480
more information that I can find on my own, honestly.

00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:01.759
I think it could have been really easy for Maria's

00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:06.339
case to really just be cold from the very jump.

00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:10.000
And of course, it kind of is, right? But we do

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:13.240
have, you know, reporting on it. And there is

00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:16.279
an investigation now or, you know, reinvestigation

00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:19.720
of it. But I think Maria's daughter really impacted

00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:24.119
a lot of investigators in this case. I think,

00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.839
you know, coming to a crime scene and finding

00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:31.220
this two year old who was so brave and, you know,

00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:35.119
stayed with her mom until until the end, you

00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:38.859
know, like that is that's so brave. And it's

00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:40.519
something that a two year old should never have

00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:44.640
to do. So I think a lot of investigators really

00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.339
feel like they owe Maria's daughter an answer

00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:51.980
in this because she was so brave. I think that's

00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:53.819
I think it's personal for a lot of investigators

00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:58.460
in this case. And frankly, like it feels personal

00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:01.799
for me. Like, you know, I think we should get

00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:03.619
some energy behind this case, like you said.

00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:07.339
And I really hope that, you know, with this reinterview

00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:09.599
or reinvestigation that was happening in 2022,

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.920
you know, this hope that maybe we can pull some

00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:16.170
DNA that there's. Even more evidence that we're

00:23:16.170 --> 00:23:18.009
unaware of that, you know, police are keeping

00:23:18.009 --> 00:23:21.069
close to them. So I'm really hopeful that somewhere

00:23:21.069 --> 00:23:24.349
in there is DNA and that DNA is somewhere in

00:23:24.349 --> 00:23:27.930
a database that will get us answers for Maria's

00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:32.650
daughter and for Maria. Nobody should be allowed

00:23:32.650 --> 00:23:35.309
to walk around and not answer for what they did

00:23:35.309 --> 00:23:39.009
here because this this is awful. This I mean.

00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:43.980
You took one wonderful person out of this world,

00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:47.619
and then you really threatened the life of a

00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:51.200
very innocent two -year -old. Because while she

00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.019
was unharmed, you know, she was starting to hit

00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:56.240
hyperthermia out there. So, like, bad things

00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.180
could have happened anyway. But ultimately, this

00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:01.839
case, it makes me really angry on a lot of levels.

00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:06.400
And so I want to turn that anger into energy,

00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:12.920
energy behind Maria's case. just in getting answers

00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:16.759
and demanding answers and that resources continue

00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:19.759
to be used for Maria's case and getting those

00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:23.079
answers. So again, if you have any information

00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:26.480
about the murder of Maria Bianca Cortes, please

00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.619
contact the San Diego Police Department at 619

00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:35.529
-531 -2293. And we will have a picture of Maria

00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:38.710
on our Instagram, at coldandmissing. Eli makes

00:24:38.710 --> 00:24:41.289
those graphics every week. So please share that

00:24:41.289 --> 00:24:45.069
picture. Let's get her case out there. Let's

00:24:45.069 --> 00:24:46.609
get more people talking about it. Let's get other

00:24:46.609 --> 00:24:49.329
podcasts covering it. Let's just get her case

00:24:49.329 --> 00:24:53.309
out there. And let the police know. We haven't

00:24:53.309 --> 00:24:55.109
forgot about her, and we still want to see answers

00:24:55.109 --> 00:24:57.609
here. So at coldandmissing, you can follow us

00:24:57.609 --> 00:25:00.049
there. And again, if we ever have to take a week

00:25:00.049 --> 00:25:02.960
off the podcast, we'll always update it. Thank

00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:33.819
you so much. If you could leave us five stars,

00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:36.700
it really goes a long way. And ultimately, it

00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:38.839
gets people listening to this case. So I see

00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:40.740
it as advocacy work. I think you should too.

00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:43.319
So go ahead, leave five stars. Leave a written

00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:45.019
review if you're an Apple podcast. It would mean

00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:47.380
the world to us. It always does. We celebrate

00:25:47.380 --> 00:25:49.940
each one that comes in. But that is all I have

00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:52.099
for you this week. Thank you so much for listening

00:25:52.099 --> 00:25:54.740
to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali . And

00:25:54.740 --> 00:25:57.180
I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and

00:25:57.180 --> 00:26:03.730
stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all. Thank you.