Cold and Missing: Regina Armstrong - Part 2

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780
The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.

2
00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400
All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

3
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160
Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.

4
00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560
Listener discretion is advised.

5
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280
I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.

6
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680
And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.

7
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,480
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.

8
00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:37,360
Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.

9
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:38,640
I'm Ali.

10
00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:39,840
And I'm Eli.

11
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:48,600
We are on part two of episode 86 this week, which I guess would be episode 87, right?

12
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:55,920
I am, I've been looking forward to this second part since we did the last episode.

13
00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,080
I'm hoping our listeners are right there with me.

14
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,480
Yeah, I say let's just get into it.

15
00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:03,600
Let's do it.

16
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,160
So again, just as a content warning, this case does involve a young person.

17
00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,720
So just as a quick recap to remind you all where we are, if you are new to Cold and Missing,

18
00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:21,760
stop here and go back and listen to last week's episode to get all caught up as this is a part

19
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:26,880
two, but if you listened last week, here's just a quick little reminder of where we are

20
00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:27,600
in the timeline.

21
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:33,040
Six-year-old Regina Armstrong was abducted from behind her babysitter's apartment while

22
00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,760
playing barefoot in a green dress with blue flowers.

23
00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:41,040
Something new that I actually learned this week was that it was Regina and her sister

24
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,200
second time at the babysitter's.

25
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,920
They had just started going there the day before the abduction.

26
00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:51,440
While playing, a man approached her, her older sister, and another child,

27
00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:56,000
and offered the older children money to watch an apartment while he took Regina to pick

28
00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:56,880
up his grandkids.

29
00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,400
Despite the children raising the alarm, police weren't alerted until 90 minutes later,

30
00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,240
and then a huge search was launched for Regina in central Florida.

31
00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:11,680
Almost overnight, Orlando was wallpapered with Regina's missing person poster and the

32
00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,440
composite sketch of the suspect.

33
00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,040
Over the next few weeks, police will search block by block for any sign of Regina while

34
00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,960
the tip line keeps getting reports of the man being spotted all around town.

35
00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,440
Regina's family are desperate to get her back and are very hopeful that she is still

36
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:28,320
alive.

37
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,080
They believe that since they have not found her dead, that there's a chance she's being

38
00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:33,680
kept alive by her abductor.

39
00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,120
This is later fueled when a reported sighting of the suspect involved him asking a Popeye's

40
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,720
employee to open a can of ravioli, Regina's favorite food.

41
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,480
So now we are back in the timeline.

42
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:51,440
So we're just a few days after Regina's abduction, and a delivery man comes forward

43
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,280
to police to tell them that he believes he has also seen Regina.

44
00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,040
He believes he saw her the morning after her abduction.

45
00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:04,640
He was driving the back roads of Orlando and was lost when he saw a brown Oldsmobile with

46
00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:06,080
two people asleep inside.

47
00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,200
When he knocked on the window to ask for directions, the little girl in the back seat sat up and

48
00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:12,560
started to cry.

49
00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,880
The man sleeping in the front seat quickly started the car and sped off.

50
00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:21,840
Later, the delivery man will see the missing person poster and remember the strange interaction

51
00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:23,040
he had on the back road.

52
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:30,160
On July 7, 1985, Regina has been missing for just shy of three weeks at this point.

53
00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,360
Friends and family of Regina publish a letter in the newspaper appealing to Regina's

54
00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:35,840
captor.

55
00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,120
It's clear that they're trying to reach his humanity.

56
00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,920
I won't read the whole thing, but I do want to read part of it.

57
00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,920
It says, quote, Regina probably has become precious to you.

58
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,320
And as strange as this may seem to some, we know you have grown to love her in some of

59
00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:51,280
the ways we do.

60
00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:53,360
We don't know why you took her.

61
00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,320
We only know that her absence has left a terrible emptiness in our lives.

62
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,960
What we have heard and read in the news reports has convinced us that you are a different

63
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:03,920
kind of abductor.

64
00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:08,320
And because of your good side, you were smart enough to know that no good can come from

65
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,080
taking someone else's child.

66
00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,160
We beg you to reconsider what you've done.

67
00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:14,480
To be the man we know you can be.

68
00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:15,680
Here's how.

69
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,840
Take Regina to a safe and busy place, perhaps early in the morning.

70
00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,920
Leave her there with instructions to wait a certain amount of time before asking the

71
00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:25,920
nearest adult to contact her parents.

72
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,240
While many people would like to be the hero of the story, you are the only one who really

73
00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:30,800
can.

74
00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,320
Please, please keep her safe.

75
00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,480
Let her go and be on your way.

76
00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:38,880
Allow all our lives to return to normal.

77
00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,280
You don't want thousands of strangers looking for you and Regina for years, as we surely

78
00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:44,000
would do.

79
00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,240
Again, thank you for giving us reason to believe you're a good person who will release

80
00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:48,720
her.

81
00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,600
Regina took a long time coming to us, but she's worth a lifetime of working to get

82
00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:54,160
back.

83
00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:55,520
End quote.

84
00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,960
On July 14th, this is approaching one month of Regina's abduction.

85
00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,160
Police start to pull detectives off the case.

86
00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:09,440
The case is going from about 35 to 40 detectives working full time to around 16.

87
00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:15,040
Detectives are busy interviewing all sex offenders in the area, and they're also

88
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,360
interviewing kidnappers recently released from prison to check on their alibis.

89
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,080
They're also checking court records to see if anyone matching the suspect's

90
00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,280
description had lost custody of his children recently.

91
00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,400
Police haven't had a solid lead in two weeks.

92
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,320
However, Orlando police are encouraged that they can still find her alive.

93
00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,520
Detective Wade says, quote, But we have to remember that it's gone six weeks now, and

94
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:40,800
she hasn't turned up dead.

95
00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,480
That means there's a good chance she's alive and she's safe with the man.

96
00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,360
If that's so, then she'll stay safe.

97
00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:48,160
End quote.

98
00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,440
Suddenly, the tip line is lighting up again with possible sightings for Regina and the

99
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:54,080
suspect.

100
00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,200
This happens during the first week of August.

101
00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,280
It's about six weeks from the time Regina was kidnapped, but police received several

102
00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,560
tips placing Regina and the man in Los Angeles.

103
00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:08,960
Police are hopeful because several callers say the little girl is wearing a blue and

104
00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:13,680
green flowered sundress, the same description of the clothes Regina was abducted in.

105
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,480
Additionally, callers say the girl is barefoot and we know that Regina was too at the time

106
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:19,440
of her abduction.

107
00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,360
Witnesses keep seeing the girl and the man resembling the suspect in fast food

108
00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:25,600
restaurants in the same area of LA.

109
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:31,440
The LAPD begins to search the area for the pair and Regina's parents fly to LA just

110
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,560
hours after police alert them that there has been a break in the case.

111
00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,360
Her mother, Donna says, quote, This is the first positive thing we've had in so long

112
00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:40,720
that I don't know how to take it.

113
00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:42,880
The waiting has been so bad.

114
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:44,320
This has got to be her.

115
00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:45,120
End quote.

116
00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:50,720
As LAPD scour the area, more and more witnesses recognize Regina's presence.

117
00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,880
LAPD decide to stake out the area where they're getting the most witnesses.

118
00:06:55,440 --> 00:07:00,240
Plane closed officers spend the day in and out of fast food places, riding the bus,

119
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:01,440
walking around parks.

120
00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,680
Police are convinced that Regina is in the area since people who are unfamiliar with

121
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,640
the case described her and her dress so perfectly.

122
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:13,360
Additionally, witnesses say that the girl looks scared and the man stops other people

123
00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:14,480
from talking to her.

124
00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,880
The LAPD is also looking for evidence that Regina was abducted in Los Angeles.

125
00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,040
Police also found that Regina was in the area when people were trying to stop other

126
00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:24,400
people from talking to her.

127
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,640
A witness at the donut shop said she served the little girl Regina's favorite kind

128
00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:29,200
of donut.

129
00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,400
On Wednesday, August 7th, police are able to locate the young girl in LA.

130
00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:36,080
It's not Regina.

131
00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,920
Police found her and her father sitting at a bus stop.

132
00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,080
Police brought them in for questioning.

133
00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:47,200
However, the LAPD and Orlando police all agree that the little girl in LA looks

134
00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:49,040
similar to the composite sketch.

135
00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,680
Police aren't surprised that the two were confused for Regina and her abductor.

136
00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:55,920
Regina's parents are crushed.

137
00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,000
Her dad, Bob, says, quote, it's disappointed us, that's for sure.

138
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,440
But I don't want to go home until they tell us for sure there's no hope.

139
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,000
There's still too many coincidences for us to think she wasn't even here.

140
00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:09,040
End quote.

141
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:14,240
Donna and Bob stay in LA a few extra days to continue to search and hand out flyers.

142
00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,840
But eventually they'll head back to Orlando, heartbroken that they're not

143
00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:19,280
bringing Regina home with them.

144
00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,720
Regina's case is on a time crunch with police.

145
00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:27,440
If they're not able to develop significant leads in the next month, then police will

146
00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:29,760
have to reduce the amount of detectives working it.

147
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:34,400
Another false alarm will raise hope in Regina's family and the community.

148
00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:39,280
A security guard finds a man and a young girl experiencing houselessness.

149
00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,440
The man said that he didn't have a job and didn't have anywhere to take his daughter.

150
00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,840
The security guard was suspicious of the circumstances and worried about the little girl.

151
00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,960
So he offered to take them to his apartment.

152
00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:56,720
At some point, the little girl is left with the security guard's wife while the man is

153
00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:57,920
driven back to the park.

154
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,280
As soon as the two men leave, the little girl tells the security guard's wife that

155
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,040
she is Regina Armstrong.

156
00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,920
The woman immediately calls police who show up and begin to question the young girl.

157
00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,640
They interview her for hours and they even go as far as to fingerprint her to compare

158
00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:16,720
them to a set they have of Regina's.

159
00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:18,480
And they're not a match.

160
00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:24,560
The little girl is only four years old, but she did have a strange knowledge of Regina's

161
00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:25,040
case.

162
00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,120
Sergeant Tom Langford says, quote, it was really strange.

163
00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:33,360
The girl sounded so rehearsed and she knew so much about the Armstrong case.

164
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,400
Even after we had determined that she was not the missing girl, she still said her name

165
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,000
was Regina Mae Armstrong.

166
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:42,960
I don't know if it was a publicity stunt or what.

167
00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:44,080
End quote.

168
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,440
The summer continues to march on and every single day without a lead, more and more

169
00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,280
detectives are pulled off the case.

170
00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:57,680
Finally, by September, just over two months since Regina was abducted, only two detectives

171
00:09:57,680 --> 00:09:59,040
remain on the case.

172
00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:06,320
On March 16th, 1986, Regina's seventh birthday comes and goes and her family misses her

173
00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:07,120
every day.

174
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,480
But they feel the absence of her extra on her very special day.

175
00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,360
In June of 1986, it's been a year that Regina has been missing.

176
00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,000
Her dad, Bob says, quote, in a way, it seems like forever.

177
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,320
And in another way, it seems like yesterday.

178
00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,960
Everything that happened on June 18th was so vivid in our minds.

179
00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,520
But when you think about how long she has not been here, it seems like a lifetime.

180
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:33,520
I would love to see her.

181
00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:35,600
I would probably squeeze her so tight.

182
00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:37,200
I would knock the wind out of her.

183
00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,880
I would give my life to see her again and hear her voice.

184
00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:42,720
That will be a miracle.

185
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:44,720
I would never want anything else in life.

186
00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:45,920
End quote.

187
00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,120
Police feel that they are at a standstill with the case.

188
00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,920
Detective Wait says, quote, the only way we're going to solve this case is because

189
00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,680
somebody out there knows this man or he is talking to somebody.

190
00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,000
It is going to be the public who gives us information and it will be up to us to

191
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,320
follow up on the information and find her.

192
00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:05,120
End quote.

193
00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:10,160
Police have boxes and boxes of files and interviews, but they truly have not

194
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,080
developed any credible leads since the day that Regina was kidnapped.

195
00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,400
Regina's family still believe that she is alive, but are faced with the reality

196
00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:19,520
that she could be gone.

197
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:25,200
Her dad had this message, quote, I just want her to remember that we are still

198
00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:26,080
thinking about her.

199
00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:29,120
If she is gone, I want to know she is.

200
00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,880
It takes a pretty low person to do what this person has done.

201
00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,160
If he has taken her life, he should have the decency to call us.

202
00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,400
If he has taken her life, he got what he wanted and he ought to let us have what

203
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:41,120
we wanted.

204
00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:42,320
End quote.

205
00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:50,800
The rest of 1986 ends without any updates about Regina and 1987 comes and goes

206
00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,000
with more of the same.

207
00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,800
Finally, in July of 1988, Regina has been missing for three years now.

208
00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:03,680
Her mother, Donna, is called into a police station to identify a dirty flowered

209
00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:08,160
dress, the same one that Regina had been wearing the day she was abducted.

210
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,520
With the dress was the skull of a small child.

211
00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:16,720
When Donna positively ID the dress as Regina's, police will sign Regina's

212
00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:17,680
death certificate.

213
00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:23,280
How we got to this point is that the dress was found almost 10 months before

214
00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:23,760
this.

215
00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:28,640
What had happened was in September of 1987, construction workers stumbled upon

216
00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,400
the skull and dress in an Ovadio subdivision that was being built.

217
00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:37,280
The chief of police at that time, Robert Wayne Hancock responded to the call.

218
00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:41,360
A crime scene unit arrived on the scene to collect the skull and dress as

219
00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:42,080
evidence.

220
00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,840
The scene was photographed and the surrounding area was searched as well.

221
00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,880
No other bones were found near the skull or dress.

222
00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,360
Police do have the skull and dress.

223
00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,200
The skull belonged to a young girl who was five to seven years old.

224
00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,880
She figured that the child had been dead no more than three years.

225
00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:04,240
While these measures were taken initially by police, after this, there is

226
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,080
no attempt to ID the skull internally by the police department.

227
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:12,400
According to reports, those that knew about the skull and dress speculated

228
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,160
that it could be Regina, but no one thought to notify or report that it

229
00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:16,960
could be Regina.

230
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,520
Chief Hancock will blame the investigator of his department, who, just

231
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,000
as a note, has a very bizarre name.

232
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:30,160
The investigator, Sparky Dingess, points the blame back at Chief Hancock.

233
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,480
A few weeks after the skull is found, Chief Hancock is fired.

234
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:39,040
According to reports, he failed to investigate two murders, falsified

235
00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,240
timesheets and purchase orders, and was arrested on the spot.

236
00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:46,640
He also showed up two and a half hours late to a drug raid and never looked

237
00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,160
into an incident where someone was smoking cannabis in the dispatch room.

238
00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,880
A new police chief takes over and investigator Dingess asks for money to

239
00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,240
run tests on the dress.

240
00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,400
When the new police chief hears about the dress, he immediately connects it

241
00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,200
to Regina's case and contacts Orlando police.

242
00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,600
That same week is when Donna is called in to ID the dress.

243
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,120
Officials are shocked that her dress and skull had been sitting in an evidence

244
00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,520
locker for months without answers.

245
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,800
A state attorney said, quote, this is the most incompetent piece of policework

246
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,200
I've seen in my 20 years in this business.

247
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:22,240
End quote.

248
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:27,280
The city of Oviedo officials said, quote, I'm really saddened and sickened

249
00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,680
that we may have had the answers for those parents for almost a year and

250
00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,800
could have been the answers for the parents of the parents of the parents

251
00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:39,120
of those parents for almost a year and couldn't get to the point of relieving

252
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:39,840
their anguish.

253
00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,320
Apologizing to them for what our police department failed to do is all we

254
00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:44,800
could do.

255
00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:45,920
End quote.

256
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,880
Investigators in Regina's case are unable to determine much from the skull.

257
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,560
It had been sitting in the Florida sun and had been bleached out.

258
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,880
They couldn't tell precisely how long it had been out there or what the

259
00:14:58,880 --> 00:14:59,840
manner of death was.

260
00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,400
Police will go back and search the area where the skull and dress were

261
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:05,200
found.

262
00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,440
But after months of construction, those who live near the area doubted that

263
00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:13,200
police would be able to find anything after everything had been plowed and

264
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:13,920
bulldozed.

265
00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,720
Police will eventually decide not to excavate the land where Regina's skull

266
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,320
was found since the chances of finding more evidence seems slim.

267
00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:28,000
Police do believe that she was put there shortly after her abduction in 1985.

268
00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:34,000
At that time, the area was rural and only dirt roads ran through the area.

269
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,920
Police believe that because of this, the suspect was likely a resident of

270
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,360
central Florida and would have known his way around the back roads.

271
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,680
Also, the fact that Regina was still found in the state of Florida leads them

272
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:49,120
to believe that her abductor is also a resident of Florida.

273
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,440
While a firm idea of the skull is never truly determined, genetic testing at

274
00:15:55,440 --> 00:16:00,560
that time in the 1980s proved fruitless since the skull had sat out in the sun

275
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:01,680
and rained for too long.

276
00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:06,240
Any genetic material in the teeth had disappeared and no dental records were

277
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:07,040
available.

278
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,640
However, police do believe that it is Regina.

279
00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:15,920
Eventually, after a few months, they'll turn the skull over to the family after

280
00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,040
the testing is done so they can hold a funeral service for her.

281
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:21,120
The years come and go.

282
00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:26,000
Regina's family files lawsuits against the police and against a news station for

283
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,560
broadcasting a picture of her skull on TV.

284
00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:33,680
On her 21st birthday, in March of 2000, her dad writes a letter to her in the

285
00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:34,240
paper.

286
00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,520
It says, quote, honey, today you would have turned 21.

287
00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,120
It's been a hard 15 years since you were stolen away from us.

288
00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,840
Although the person responsible for your death has never been caught, God will

289
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:46,880
deal with him soon.

290
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,680
Until daddy gets to see you again, you be the best little angel in God's kingdom.

291
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:53,040
You are safe there.

292
00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:54,560
God will see to this.

293
00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:55,760
End quote.

294
00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,560
In July of 2007, Orlando police announced that they're reopening the case.

295
00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:05,840
They plan to have the dress tested for DNA to hopefully help identify a suspect.

296
00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:11,280
But as of 2024, no suspect has ever been developed from the DNA.

297
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,280
Police believe that their best chance at cracking the case is someone comes

298
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,360
forward with information or DNA technology advances.

299
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,560
But that is all we know about the abduction and murder of Regina.

300
00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:25,520
May Armstrong.

301
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,320
Again, if you have any information about Regina's case, please call Crime Line

302
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,160
at 1-800-423-8477.

303
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,800
And the sources for the timeline today come from the Orlando Sentinel and

304
00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:40,160
Pensacola News Journal.

305
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,560
So that is the full case of Regina Armstrong.

306
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,360
I did it to myself like I always do.

307
00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,720
But I imagine that other people's minds do the same thing.

308
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:58,240
Even when you know it's a cold case, I kept hoping for a different outcome.

309
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:00,960
Even already knowing the outcome.

310
00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:07,760
So like holding that and, you know, kind of breaking my own heart while listening

311
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:16,560
is just a small tiny fraction of what this family so clearly went through and continues

312
00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:17,360
to go through.

313
00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:23,680
Listening to Regina's parents plead with someone who is incapable of choosing to do

314
00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:32,960
the right thing is just, it was devastating to listen to you just quote what he was saying.

315
00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:40,720
Yeah, that letter that was in the newspaper pleading to the abductor was one of the most

316
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:42,960
heartbreaking things that I've ever read.

317
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:44,960
It was so clear.

318
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:51,760
How much they wanted to like reach out and like try to touch the humanity in this person

319
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,040
and like plead to whatever good that they might have had in them.

320
00:18:55,040 --> 00:19:00,400
And you know, they really, the family really did do everything that they could do and

321
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,880
everything in their power to try to bring Regina home.

322
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:10,240
You know, perpetrators like this, they leave such a wake in the violence that they create.

323
00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:16,960
And the extra heartbreaking thing is that most of the time they are very incapable of

324
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,320
understanding that they are creating that heartbreak and they don't care.

325
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:28,320
You know, we could go on and on about that, but just, you know, I send so much love to

326
00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:34,080
the family still to kind of pivot a little bit.

327
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:39,360
I think it's a little shady that it was only the second time these kids had been with this

328
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:44,160
babysitter and maybe I'm grasping at straws, but I don't know.

329
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:45,120
I don't like it.

330
00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:47,680
So I just wanted to talk about it with you.

331
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:54,560
Yeah, learning that detail I thought was kind of striking because initially I had maybe

332
00:19:54,560 --> 00:20:00,560
thought that the kids were in a bit of a routine and maybe somebody in the neighborhood was

333
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:05,280
the kids were in a bit of a routine and maybe somebody in the neighborhood had noticed and

334
00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,040
was watching and knew the kids would be outside playing in the afternoon because that's what

335
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:13,600
they had done day after day after day after day and with minimal supervision.

336
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:20,320
But learning that that was only their second time there feels chaotic in a lot of ways.

337
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:27,360
Like, was this just a completely random opportunity or is there something else going on there?

338
00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:32,080
Police have never charged the babysitter with anything or the babysitter was never,

339
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,920
you know, charged with any crimes related to Regina's disappearance.

340
00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:44,960
I also just have to like, wonder what the hell was happening in central Florida during this time

341
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:51,040
because I wasn't able to mention it in the timeline today, but there were two additional

342
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:57,840
abductions of children where the description very closely matched Regina's abductor and

343
00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:06,240
one of the circumstances eerily resembled Regina's abduction where two sisters were playing outside

344
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,560
in a parking lot of their apartment building and a man approached them asking if they wanted to

345
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:17,520
see some puppies and the girl was taken. She is later dropped off about 32 hours later in a random

346
00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:24,080
parking lot. She's still alive, but there's all of these things and then in our last episode we

347
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:31,200
talked about the Cocoa Beach so it's just like what? Police don't connect these but there's

348
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:36,000
obviously something happening where the same description of the man is seen over and over,

349
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:41,840
either breaking into people's homes or walking up to children and walking away with them.

350
00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:48,240
It just seems wild to think that there are multiple people doing that as opposed to maybe one or two

351
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:53,440
people doing that during this time frame. I don't know if statistics support that but it just seems

352
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:58,880
like statistically there would maybe only be one or two people doing this as opposed to

353
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,720
five different abductors which I think is what it would be.

354
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,720
Yeah, that's a lot of movement, that's a lot of abductions, there are a lot of like amber

355
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:15,040
alerts. I don't know if that existed at the time but you know I imagine if it was multiple people

356
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:24,480
it would have been creating some noise at least in media. Just as a side note amber alerts weren't

357
00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:30,640
introduced till 1996 so those wouldn't have happened at this time. Something that I think was

358
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:38,160
while even if it was well intended, I mean impact over intent, you know, I don't think it was right

359
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:45,920
for law enforcement to create any sense of false hope for this family. Specifically around them

360
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:55,520
saying that she might still be alive and safe with this person and I immediately wrote down as I was

361
00:22:55,520 --> 00:23:01,760
listening to that is I will never assume that a loved one of mine is safe with a man that I don't

362
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:12,320
know. You know so to operate with that kind of mindset as law enforcement it's like you one you

363
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:20,640
should know better, two don't be saying anything like that to the family and I just like don't

364
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:29,920
really understand the lack of transparency and honesty there. I did think that as I was researching

365
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:35,360
but I think what police maybe just didn't know are the statistics that we have today.

366
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,120
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was really in its infancy at this point.

367
00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:50,800
Adam Walsh was murdered in 1981 I believe so John Walsh was pretty integral with the family. He was

368
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:56,560
a big support to them and even he was saying you know after a few weeks that maybe it is possible

369
00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:02,560
that she's alive because they haven't found her and at that point police believed that

370
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:10,080
they would find the body within so many miles of where she was abducted because that's what history

371
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:15,600
had shown them. They didn't really have all the data that we have today and police are more

372
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:20,560
forthcoming with their information and their data and their statistics so that way nationwide we can

373
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:26,400
have a better understanding of child abductions and what the statistics are. So I do agree that

374
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:32,720
I think there was a lot of false hope given to the family but I think at that time it is

375
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:38,320
genuinely what they believed that there was a shot that it could happen. I think you're right and I

376
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:47,120
will you know I'm always willing to table my my judgment and learn and unlearn. As you were

377
00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:54,080
speaking it just also occurred to me that like yeah like maybe in this area something is wrong

378
00:24:54,080 --> 00:25:00,000
like this had never happened so what else are you going to say? It's just as easy for me to sit here

379
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:06,480
and you know make judgment calls on how people behaved at the time but it's a lot easier for me

380
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:13,760
to try to break down the understanding of the mindsets at the time and that you're absolutely

381
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:20,240
right there could have been a hundred percent earnestness in them saying something like that

382
00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:28,160
and I understand that too. I just want to swing over to the sighting in LA really quick which is

383
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:39,280
across the country. I mean I that was my jaw was kind of hanging open because of all of the

384
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:45,600
information around that but you know the girl being four it happening at random the Regina's

385
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:51,760
family going out there I don't know if that was all maybe if I'm completing a couple things.

386
00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:59,440
No the only detail is the four-year-old was the other girl who later would say that she was Regina

387
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:07,840
Mae Armstrong and had all of the knowledge of the case. She was the four-year-old I do believe the

388
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:13,040
girl in LA was around the same age as Regina would have been but police were not surprised when they

389
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:20,000
found the father and daughter in LA because they both looked shockingly like Regina and like the

390
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:30,400
composite sketch so it was a really easy error to make. Yeah that makes sense to me and I'm

391
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:38,640
remembering correctly now that they were two separate incidences but still just I don't know

392
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:46,000
the wild things that people can do because clearly this girl was taught to say and echo

393
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:51,680
these things that she was probably told for whatever reason I do not understand why.

394
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:59,120
I'm so sad it happened I'm sad it happened to that girl I'm sad it you know raised some hope up in

395
00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:11,040
the family but a bizarre moment in the case. Totally and then of course the finding of her dress and

396
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:19,040
her skull that's like really that police their reaction to it of being really slow in trying to

397
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:24,640
figure out who the dress belonged to who the skull belonged to I just thought that this case kind of

398
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:30,560
shows two police reactions the Orlando police you know when she was abducted they pull out all the

399
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:37,040
stops they search for weeks they have 40 detectives on the case for a month they really do kind of

400
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:43,280
everything in their power you know that they're able to do a great response but then you have this

401
00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:49,680
other police department that really drags their feet doesn't really put it as a priority doesn't

402
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,200
talk to other police departments and it just shows that they're not really doing anything wrong.

403
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:59,920
It really is about the people who are doing the job and if people don't want to be doing the job a

404
00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:05,040
lot of things are going to slip through the cracks. Yeah it's a little difficult I'm still kind of

405
00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:13,040
processing the even though I knew Regina was murdered I didn't really know how and I didn't

406
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:20,960
know the details and now that I do it just feels so crass to say but like I don't understand how

407
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:31,440
you find a part of someone's head that's like very clearly a child's size and every part of you doesn't

408
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:37,600
move into action so I think I'm just gonna kind of reflect on you know knowing this very horrific

409
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:47,600
information about what Regina's abductor did to her but I um I'm so sorry to the family that they

410
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:56,160
that the the finding of of their little girl is just a piece of her. You know my future hopes for

411
00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:04,880
this case is really that DNA advances they last tried to test I believe in 2007 we've had a lot

412
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:11,440
of advances in DNA technology since then so I am hopeful that the Orlando police will maybe

413
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:17,600
make a decision in the future to retest obviously you don't want to do it too soon because you only

414
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:24,560
have so much material to use so I know that sometimes you have to be strategic with the

415
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:30,080
advancements in technology but I do hope that they are able to pull DNA evidence that maybe

416
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:38,640
there's a matching CODIS or it can lead to an identity and Regina's killer will have to face

417
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:45,200
some justice in this and have to answer for what they've done. Definitely if this person is still

418
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:53,200
out there they have got plenty of time to uh to pay for what they did you know they're

419
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:59,200
they've got some years left on them and I would imagine that whoever knows

420
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:07,440
anything about this still has time left on their lives as well so I really hope that if they know

421
00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:14,320
anything they come forward because again and we said it last in last week's episode Regina's case

422
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:21,520
is completely solvable. Completely we have a very good composite sketch people talk it is very

423
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:29,440
solvable. We'll be posting some pictures of Regina on our Instagram so if you're not following us

424
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:34,400
please check us out there also thank you to all the new reviews that came in this week we appreciate

425
00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:39,680
it so much if you have time maybe before you go to your next podcast if you could leave us a written

426
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:45,360
review an apple podcast that would be so great it helps other people find our podcast and give it a

427
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:50,800
chance and who knows maybe the person who will give us a chance is somebody who knows something

428
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:57,760
about Regina so thank you for helping us get these cases out there. We also have transcripts

429
00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:05,280
of all our podcast cases at www.coldandmissing.com. If you or your loved one is hard of hearing you

430
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:10,880
can follow along there with our transcripts. That's all I have thank you so much for listening to

431
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:16,720
Cold and Missing. I'm Allie and I'm Eli have a good week and stay safe y'all stay safe y'all