Cold and Missing: The Thompson Family

100:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.200:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.300:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.400:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560Listener discretion is advised.500:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.600:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.700:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,240And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.800:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,960Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.900:00:36,960 --> 00:00:41,240I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski, and it will just be me this week.1000:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,460My darling husband, Eli, is out running Christmas errands right now.1100:00:45,460 --> 00:00:49,720So while he's doing that, I thought I would take advantage of the quiet house and bring1200:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,120you a new episode of Cold and Missing.1300:00:53,120 --> 00:00:58,340So just to get right into things, this week we are covering a missing person case.1400:00:58,340 --> 00:01:02,000And just as a bit of a content warning, this case does involve young people.1500:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,840There are mentions of sexual assault and death by suicide.1600:01:05,840 --> 00:01:12,120So this week on Cold and Missing, we are going to review the Thompson family disappearance.1700:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,920And this happens in July of 1996 in Chicago, Illinois.1800:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,680So first, a little bit about the Thompson family.1900:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,020Everett Thompson is 40 years old in 1996.2000:01:23,020 --> 00:01:26,040His wife, Lydia, is 43 years old.2100:01:26,040 --> 00:01:32,000And their two sons, Everett Jr., is 11 years old, and Andrew is 8 years old.2200:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,600The Thompson family live in the Chatham neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, which is on the south2300:01:36,600 --> 00:01:37,600side.2400:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,560They have two young sons, as I mentioned, Everett Jr. and Andrew.2500:01:41,560 --> 00:01:47,080Everett Sr. and Lydia were married in 1982 after Everett moved to the area to work at2600:01:47,080 --> 00:01:48,760the nearby steel mills.2700:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,080Originally, Everett is from Philadelphia, but he still talked with his parents all the2800:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,160time who were back home in Philly.2900:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,720Everett and Lydia had taken a chance and started a restaurant called EAT & Co.3000:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,960The word EAT is Everett's initials, Everett Andrew Thompson.3100:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,840He was the head cook there, and cooking was a passion of his.3200:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,440Lydia had inherited the Chatham home from her parents after they passed away.3300:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,880She owned one-third of it with her two other siblings, Kenneth and Phyllis.3400:02:16,880 --> 00:02:21,880In February of 1996, so just a few months before the family goes missing, Lydia's3500:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,600brother Kenneth was released from prison and he came to stay with the family at the home.3600:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,240This quickly causes tension in the household.3700:02:29,240 --> 00:02:34,680Kenneth felt annoyed that he had to share a house that he believed was his and his alone3800:02:34,680 --> 00:02:41,220with his sister and her family, and Everett's family believed that Kenneth was a freeloading3900:02:41,220 --> 00:02:43,440house guest, quote unquote.4000:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,980Arguments would break out in the home frequently.4100:02:46,980 --> 00:02:49,780And now a timeline of events.4200:02:49,780 --> 00:02:55,640On July 3rd, 1996, Lydia calls the police because Kenneth is out of hand.4300:02:55,640 --> 00:03:00,040She tells the police that her brother is chasing her around with an axe threatening to kill4400:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,040her.4500:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,560Police arrive at the home, but no arrests are made since things appear to have calmed4600:03:04,560 --> 00:03:05,560down.4700:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,960The police do enter the home to have a look around, but everything is in its place and4800:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,120nothing seems out of the ordinary, so they go ahead and leave the family alone for the4900:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,120night since things do seem to have cooled down.5000:03:17,120 --> 00:03:23,440But two days later, July 5th, 1996, Everett is working at EAT & Co.5100:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,160While at work, he was talking with his father on the phone.5200:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,500His father, Herman Thompson, wants to know when he's bringing the family to Philadelphia5300:03:30,500 --> 00:03:32,920so he can see his grandbabies.5400:03:32,920 --> 00:03:36,320Everett promises that as soon as he can get away from work, he'll bring the family out5500:03:36,320 --> 00:03:37,320for a visit.5600:03:37,320 --> 00:03:41,440While talking on the phone, Everett gets a phone call from his wife on the other line.5700:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,240When he answers the phone, Lydia is frantic.5800:03:44,240 --> 00:03:49,520She is home with her boys and Kenneth is, once again, chasing her around with an axe.5900:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,960According to Herman, Everett jumps back on the line and says, quote, I gotta go home6000:03:53,960 --> 00:03:54,960right away, Dad.6100:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,740Lydia's brother is chasing her around the house with an axe.6200:03:57,740 --> 00:04:00,560She locked herself in the bedroom and called me to come home.6300:04:00,560 --> 00:04:01,560End quote.6400:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,160Everett quickly hangs up with his dad and then tells the manager on duty that he's6500:04:05,160 --> 00:04:06,640leaving to go home.6600:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,380Employees of the restaurant see Everett leave in a hurry in the family van.6700:04:10,380 --> 00:04:13,800This is the last time that anyone sees or talks to Everett.6800:04:13,800 --> 00:04:20,000However, about two hours after Everett leaves, Kenneth arrives at the restaurant driving6900:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,400the family van.7000:04:21,400 --> 00:04:26,400He tells the manager on duty that Everett was arrested after a car accident.7100:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,840The manager notices that Kenneth is wearing white shoes and there's blood on them.7200:04:30,840 --> 00:04:34,760Over the next several days, Herman tries to get in contact with his son but is unable7300:04:34,760 --> 00:04:35,760to reach him.7400:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,080He calls the family home.7500:04:37,080 --> 00:04:38,080He calls the restaurant.7600:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,280But nobody has heard from Everett, Lydia, Everett Jr., or Andrew.7700:04:42,280 --> 00:04:48,600Finally, on July 17th, 1996, 12 days since Everett hurried off the phone with his father,7800:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,880Herman calls the Chicago police and asks that they do a welfare check on the family.7900:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,720Police stop by the Thompson home and Kenneth tells police that the family went on vacation8000:04:57,720 --> 00:05:02,320to either Pennsylvania or Minnesota, but they drove the family van there.8100:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,120Since the family van is also missing from the home at this time, police believe the8200:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,360story and go ahead and leave.8300:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,280Kenneth's story keeps changing, however.8400:05:11,280 --> 00:05:15,140He tells folks that the family drove to Philly, and then he tells some people that they caught8500:05:15,140 --> 00:05:19,400a bus to Minnesota, and then he tells others that they flew to Hawaii.8600:05:19,400 --> 00:05:24,800At some point, it's unclear exactly when this happens, but Kenneth is pulled over while8700:05:24,800 --> 00:05:26,560driving the family van.8800:05:26,560 --> 00:05:31,080Chicago police do not put two and two together and realize that by Kenneth driving the van,8900:05:31,080 --> 00:05:36,200he is contradicting his own story that he told the police that the Thompson family had9000:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,440driven to Philadelphia or maybe Minnesota.9100:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,080Herman and Erling Thompson, that's Everett's parents, continue to worry about their son9200:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,700and his family and decide to take matters into their own hands.9300:05:47,700 --> 00:05:53,860In late July of 1996, the two drive from Philly to Chicago to search for the family themselves.9400:05:53,860 --> 00:05:57,920They stop by the EAT & Co. restaurant and talk with employees and learn that Everett9500:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,720has not come back since he left after the frantic phone call from Lydia.9600:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,880They also hear the manager's story of Kenneth showing up in the family van with blood on9700:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,860his shoes and they call the police.9800:06:07,860 --> 00:06:11,880The family begs the police to investigate the Thompson's disappearance further.9900:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,640As police check out the story that Kenneth told the EAT & Co. manager, they find no record10000:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,960of an automobile accident or an arrest record for Everett.10100:06:19,960 --> 00:06:25,640Again, it's unclear when police discover these facts or when exactly they took place,10200:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,360but police do figure out that Kenneth has sold the family van to a scrap yard where10300:06:30,360 --> 00:06:35,080it was immediately crushed so police are unable to examine the car.10400:06:35,080 --> 00:06:39,680And additionally, Kenneth forged his sister's signatures to sell the home that they all10500:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,040had inherited, the house where the Thompson's were living.10600:06:43,040 --> 00:06:47,960By the time police catch up to the illegal sale of the home, the new owners have taken10700:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,160ownership of the home and gutted the interior.10800:06:51,160 --> 00:06:55,480Lieutenant Robert Hargishmeyer says, quote, any evidence of foul play that might have10900:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,280been in the house was now lost, end quote.11000:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,440They do find the inspector's notes that happened before the sale went through.11100:07:02,440 --> 00:07:07,400The inspector noted that the kitchen floor had been ripped out and a bathtub and toilet11200:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,000had been painted red.11300:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,960When police visited the home on July 3rd, after Lydia called the police the first time11400:07:13,960 --> 00:07:18,880for Kenneth chasing her with an axe, the responding officers had walked through the home and said11500:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,520that the kitchen floor was intact and that there were no red bathroom fixtures.11600:07:23,520 --> 00:07:29,080So this all happened after July 3rd and presumably after the Thompson's went missing.11700:07:29,080 --> 00:07:34,000Kenneth White, Lydia's brother, is the prime suspect in the disappearance of the Thompson's.11800:07:34,000 --> 00:07:39,080But despite the illegal sale of the home and the family van, police do not arrest him.11900:07:39,080 --> 00:07:46,040On July 14th, 1997, a year after the Thompson family was last seen, police and FBI searched12000:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,880the trailer that he was living in in Gary, Indiana, which is about an hour and 15 minutes12100:07:50,880 --> 00:07:52,400outside of Chicago.12200:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,960Cadaver dogs are brought in to search the property and investigators find men's gym12300:07:56,960 --> 00:07:59,400shorts and a boy's sock.12400:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,080Both are soaked in blood.12500:08:01,080 --> 00:08:08,020Still, no arrest is made until November 1997 when they arrest Kenneth for a probation violation12600:08:08,020 --> 00:08:10,760for failure to register as a sex offender.12700:08:10,760 --> 00:08:16,120In December of 1997, the FBI arrests Kenneth for forging Lydia's signature on a check12800:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,600for $13,272.12900:08:19,600 --> 00:08:24,400While being held in the Federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, Kenneth13000:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,440dies by suicide.13100:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,240No note was left, but the cause of death was self-inflicted.13200:08:30,240 --> 00:08:35,760Lieutenant Robert Hargishmeyer says, quote, We believe he had a lot to do with their disappearance.13300:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,840Now that he is dead, it is our hope that people who knew him in prison as well on the outside13400:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,440will come forward with answers.13500:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,640Lieutenant Hargishmeyer continues to say, quote, If there was foul play, and we think13600:08:47,640 --> 00:08:53,040there was, it happened on July 4th, 5th, or 6th, 1996.13700:08:53,040 --> 00:08:57,040No one saw the Thompson family after that time, and Kenneth was seen driving the Thompson13800:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,240van soon after that weekend.13900:08:59,240 --> 00:09:05,200The enormity of an entire family of four people missing, under dread circumstances, demands14000:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,920a continued police presence and review.14100:09:07,920 --> 00:09:08,920End quote.14200:09:08,920 --> 00:09:13,560However, after Kenneth's death, I could not find any updates that the Chicago police or14300:09:13,560 --> 00:09:18,680the FBI have done any additional searching to recover the bodies of the Thompson family.14400:09:18,680 --> 00:09:22,960We do know that none of their social security numbers have been used, and Everett and Lydia's14500:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,960credit cards and bank cards were not used except when Kenneth attempted to forge checks14600:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,560in Lydia's name.14700:09:29,560 --> 00:09:34,480So with that, if you know anything about the disappearance of the Thompson family, Everett,14800:09:34,480 --> 00:09:41,760Lydia, Everett Jr., and Andrew, or their whereabouts today, please call the Area South Chicago Police14900:09:41,760 --> 00:09:47,640Department at 312-747-5789.15000:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,840And the sources for today's timeline come from the Chicago Tribune, the Tribune, the15100:09:51,840 --> 00:09:56,680Northwest Indiana Times, the Charlie Project, and the NamUs database.15200:09:56,680 --> 00:10:00,600So that is the disappearance of the Thompson family.15300:10:00,600 --> 00:10:07,120And I personally was just floored by how little information is out there.15400:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,240I thought that there would be a lot of newspaper articles that I would have to go through that15500:10:11,240 --> 00:10:18,040this would make national news, but it didn't really, nothing really showed up about this15600:10:18,040 --> 00:10:22,080family until after Kenneth's death.15700:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,960That's when I was able to find newspaper articles when they were looking back over a year later15800:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,520at the disappearance of this family.15900:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,360But that's four people missing.16000:10:32,360 --> 00:10:34,760Four people missing.16100:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,280And there was no wide search for them.16200:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,440There was no immediate police presence.16300:10:39,440 --> 00:10:49,960There was no big convoy of investigators searching near the home, around the home, nothing, nothing16400:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,720that I could find.16500:10:51,720 --> 00:10:53,660And that's just shocking to me.16600:10:53,660 --> 00:10:54,920Four people are missing.16700:10:54,920 --> 00:11:00,280You think, you know, on a scale of resources, one case that involves four people, two of16800:11:00,280 --> 00:11:07,960which are very young boys, Everett Jr. and Andrew are only 11 and 8, you think that that16900:11:07,960 --> 00:11:13,260would climb up on the police priority list, but it just didn't here.17000:11:13,260 --> 00:11:19,240And it really seems as if Kenneth got away with four murders.17100:11:19,240 --> 00:11:28,200I don't know how Kenneth White was able to not be arrested after illegally selling the17200:11:28,200 --> 00:11:29,200home.17300:11:29,200 --> 00:11:34,400He owned one third of it, but the other two thirds were owned by his sisters.17400:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,320And he forged both of their signatures to make the sale go through.17500:11:38,320 --> 00:11:43,720From my understanding, the sale was pretty quick and the new owners immediately gutted17600:11:43,720 --> 00:11:44,960the interior.17700:11:44,960 --> 00:11:51,240And I have to wonder, to me it seems like an obvious thing that you would talk to the17800:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,600new owners to say, hey, can we search?17900:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,660Was there anything there when you gutted?18000:11:56,660 --> 00:12:00,420Or you know, the construction crew who I'm sure were hired out, it probably just wasn't18100:12:00,420 --> 00:12:02,120these two people, but you never know.18200:12:02,120 --> 00:12:09,200Like, did they notice anything strange in the house besides, you know, a red bathtub18300:12:09,200 --> 00:12:10,400and a red toilet?18400:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,040That is very strange to me.18500:12:12,040 --> 00:12:18,940That's not really a color one sees and nobody paints their toilet and bathtub.18600:12:18,940 --> 00:12:24,400It sounds as if it was just, you know, like household paint used and you don't use that.18700:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,520So to me, that seems like it's trying to cover up.18800:12:27,520 --> 00:12:32,440And my first thought is that it's trying to cover up a presence of blood.18900:12:32,440 --> 00:12:37,720And if the kitchen floor was tore up, again, I would think that you are trying to hide19000:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,840something or you couldn't clean something, you couldn't get rid of something.19100:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,560So you have to just get rid of the floor altogether.19200:12:43,560 --> 00:12:48,680So my question would just be to those folks who worked on, you know, the gutting of the19300:12:48,680 --> 00:12:52,240interior, did they notice anything else odd?19400:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,880Anything strange at all when they redid the plumbing?19500:12:54,880 --> 00:12:59,560I'm sure they did not keep the red toilet seat and the red tub.19600:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,400Did they notice anything strange there?19700:13:01,400 --> 00:13:07,400Was there any kind of, you know, like DNA blood type substance found in the pipes?19800:13:07,400 --> 00:13:13,760Like there's so many questions and it seems so glaringly obvious what happened here.19900:13:13,760 --> 00:13:19,080And I don't know, again, for the life of me why he was not arrested after an illegal sale20000:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,880of the home and forging these signatures.20100:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,320I'm, you know, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that's a crime.20200:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,880I'm pretty sure it's against the law to forge homeowner signatures to sell a home.20300:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,280I think that's illegal in my book.20400:13:32,280 --> 00:13:39,220Another question that I just have is why has there been no additional searching?20500:13:39,220 --> 00:13:44,560Is it just because they really don't have anywhere to go?20600:13:44,560 --> 00:13:50,480I mean, they have no clues as to where these four people could be?20700:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,200That's the thing.20800:13:52,200 --> 00:13:59,600Like there's four bodies that in theory Kenneth had to get rid of.20900:13:59,600 --> 00:14:00,600That's a lot.21000:14:00,600 --> 00:14:01,600That's a lot.21100:14:01,600 --> 00:14:07,840I would think that the reason he got rid of the car, sold it to a scrapyard and had it21200:14:07,840 --> 00:14:17,160immediately crushed was because that car was used to transport the family, you know, after21300:14:17,160 --> 00:14:18,760they were dead or before.21400:14:18,760 --> 00:14:21,520But somehow the family was in that van.21500:14:21,520 --> 00:14:26,160Obviously they had driven the van around, but I think it was used in their disappearance21600:14:26,160 --> 00:14:27,720somehow for sure.21700:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,840Because why else would you get rid of the car?21800:14:29,840 --> 00:14:36,840It just, it just really frustrates me that a family of four, of four go missing in the21900:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,76090s and there's just no major search done for them.22000:14:40,760 --> 00:14:46,440Everett's parents, Herman and Erlene, they try to raise the alarm pretty quickly.22100:14:46,440 --> 00:14:51,400They ask for a welfare check and police just take, you know, Kenneth's word at face value,22200:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,260which like, okay, sure, sure.22300:14:54,260 --> 00:15:00,440But then after they come to Chicago, Herman and Erlene and, you know, talk with the workers22400:15:00,440 --> 00:15:04,920of the restaurant that Everett and Lydia owned and hear the story of him showing up with22500:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,160this car accident and he was arrested.22600:15:08,160 --> 00:15:13,560And then 12 days later, he's telling the police that, oh, they actually drove to maybe Philadelphia,22700:15:13,560 --> 00:15:19,440which is where Herman and Erlene are and they obviously didn't see their son or his family.22800:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,280Or maybe Minneapolis or maybe they flew to Hawaii, like all these different stories.22900:15:23,280 --> 00:15:27,480It just feels like if maybe the police had taken their disappearance a little bit more23000:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,600seriously in the beginning, that maybe we could have answers today.23100:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,640Maybe Kenneth wouldn't have been able to get rid of so much evidence like the car and the23200:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,660home as quickly as he did.23300:15:38,660 --> 00:15:40,920Maybe we would have answers.23400:15:40,920 --> 00:15:47,040Obviously the police, they don't have any hope of finding the Thompsons alive.23500:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,240And unfortunately, I agree there.23600:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,560I don't think that the Thompsons ran away to get away from Kenneth.23700:15:53,560 --> 00:15:54,840I don't think that happened.23800:15:54,840 --> 00:15:59,760I don't think that there's a world where Everett would have just ran without telling23900:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,880his parents who he had a really great relationship with.24000:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,960And Lydia was close with her other sister, Phyllis.24100:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,040And you know, the boys were obviously in school and had friends.24200:16:10,040 --> 00:16:15,320Like I don't see them completely disappearing, going off the grid or anything like that to24300:16:15,320 --> 00:16:16,320get away from Kenneth.24400:16:16,320 --> 00:16:17,760I don't see that.24500:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,800I think something happened to them, to all of them.24600:16:20,800 --> 00:16:26,800And it's insane that Kenneth was not taken into custody for selling the house, for selling24700:16:26,800 --> 00:16:28,080the car.24800:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,880And then when they search his trailer and Gary and they find men's gym shorts and a24900:16:32,880 --> 00:16:38,000boy's sock that are soaked in blood, whose blood is that?25000:16:38,000 --> 00:16:39,760There's no answer to that.25100:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,120And I would have to think with technology today if that, if those items are still in25200:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,760evidence, that that is something that can be tested.25300:16:46,760 --> 00:16:54,360I don't know if we have the family's DNA on file, but I would almost wonder, did Kenneth25400:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,280hurt other people in Gary, Indiana?25500:16:57,280 --> 00:16:58,760Was he hurting people in Gary?25600:16:58,760 --> 00:17:03,840And that's why he had these blood soaked shorts and socks.25700:17:03,840 --> 00:17:09,440Maybe they're not related at all to the Thompson's disappearance, but it's related to something.25800:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,400Whose blood is it?25900:17:11,400 --> 00:17:17,240And that's a question that's never been answered that I think needs to be answered because26000:17:17,240 --> 00:17:22,360Kenneth seems to be responsible for the disappearance of four people, but are there more people26100:17:22,360 --> 00:17:25,680in his wake that he's also responsible for?26200:17:25,680 --> 00:17:29,000That's something that I would be curious about.26300:17:29,000 --> 00:17:35,060I just hope that in the future we can find the Thompson family and just bring them to26400:17:35,060 --> 00:17:40,240rest in a beautiful spot, not wherever they are.26500:17:40,240 --> 00:17:46,660And while, you know, it seems pretty clear that Kenneth was involved in their disappearance26600:17:46,660 --> 00:17:51,440and the cause of their disappearance, and since he did die by suicide, you know, he's26700:17:51,440 --> 00:17:57,080not going to stay on trial, which is why I think this is not a priority for the police26800:17:57,080 --> 00:18:01,200because the person that they would want to charge is, has already died.26900:18:01,200 --> 00:18:07,360So I think that's why police resources are not being used, but that just, that doesn't27000:18:07,360 --> 00:18:08,360seem fair to me.27100:18:08,360 --> 00:18:15,620That doesn't seem fair that because he dies by suicide, he doesn't get, even in death,27200:18:15,620 --> 00:18:18,480he should still be like held responsible.27300:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,080I don't know if that makes sense, but it's like, people should know that he did this27400:18:23,080 --> 00:18:27,720100% with certainty and not just all of us thinking.27500:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,560It seems pretty obvious.27600:18:29,560 --> 00:18:35,160He's chasing around his sister with an axe threatening to kill her.27700:18:35,160 --> 00:18:36,260It's just sad.27800:18:36,260 --> 00:18:37,680It's just really sad.27900:18:37,680 --> 00:18:45,200And I can't get over the fact that it's a whole family, a whole family just gone.28000:18:45,200 --> 00:18:50,040You know, right now, I'm, as I'm recording this, it's, you know, it's right around the28100:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,840Christmas season, the new year, Thanksgiving just passed.28200:18:52,840 --> 00:18:58,720So you spend all this time with family and it's just so hard to imagine a family of four28300:18:58,720 --> 00:19:06,880going missing and no alarm being raised, no major searches, no national coverage.28400:19:06,880 --> 00:19:07,880It's really sad.28500:19:07,880 --> 00:19:08,880It's sad to me.28600:19:08,880 --> 00:19:15,720And I really hope that we find out what happened to the Thompson family because they, they28700:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,500deserve answers still.28800:19:18,500 --> 00:19:24,720Their families, their loved ones, their cousins, their classmates, anybody who knew them, they28900:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,200deserve answers.29000:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,760Well I just have you for a few more minutes here.29100:19:30,760 --> 00:19:36,880If you want to give us a holiday present, a new year's present, just a present in general,29200:19:36,880 --> 00:19:42,320something that would be so helpful is if you leave a written review in Apple podcast, if29300:19:42,320 --> 00:19:46,280that's where you're listening, or give us five stars, thumbs up, whatever the metric29400:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,720is in your favorite podcast player.29500:19:48,720 --> 00:19:55,240It is so helpful for others to find our podcast and for others to give us a chance and a listen.29600:19:55,240 --> 00:20:00,080So that would be such a fantastic gift if you don't mind doing that.29700:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,960And it also helps get these stories out to other people, which is the ultimate goal of29800:20:03,960 --> 00:20:08,400cold and missing is to cover stories that don't really get told that often.29900:20:08,400 --> 00:20:13,360We will be posting on our Instagram pictures of the Thompson family.30000:20:13,360 --> 00:20:17,840So if you want to follow us there, if you're not already, we'll have pictures of them up30100:20:17,840 --> 00:20:18,840this week.30200:20:18,840 --> 00:20:24,360And we also post active missing person cases in our stories and just try to keep a lot30300:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,240of true crime information going in our story.30400:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,080So it's a really good follow if that's something that you are interested in.30500:20:31,080 --> 00:20:38,800You can also head over to our website www.coldandmissing.com where we have all of our transcripts, all30600:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,760of our episodes, everything, everything is over there.30700:20:42,760 --> 00:20:47,680So if you or someone you love is hard of hearing, our transcripts are available to follow along30800:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,600with over on our website.30900:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,080And that is all I have.31000:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,500If you're listening to this in real time, I hope you are having a wonderful holiday31100:20:57,500 --> 00:21:01,660and I hope you have a happy new year as well.31200:21:01,660 --> 00:21:05,360If you're not listening to this in real time, I just hope you're having a great day.31300:21:05,360 --> 00:21:07,760Thank you again so much for listening to cold and missing.31400:21:07,760 --> 00:21:09,140I'm your host Allie.31500:21:09,140 --> 00:21:23,680Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.