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0:44

Con. Deception

1:06

is a tactic of desire

1:08

or desperation, something used when

1:10

backed into a corner or, for

1:12

some, as a way to

1:14

simply make it through this

1:16

life. On the opposite end

1:18

of that spectrum are trustworthy

1:20

people. Honest, caring people whose

1:22

personality, upbringing, and circumstances came

1:24

together in a significantly different

1:26

way. So how do we separate

1:28

the two? Stories,

1:31

proverbs, and biblical texts have attempted

1:33

to conquer this question for ages.

1:35

The concept of a wolf in

1:37

sheep's clothing is now used to

1:39

describe anyone who isn't as they

1:41

appear. And though the imagery gives

1:43

us a clear warning, like so many other

1:45

tales, it fails to tell us how

1:47

to look at a group of sheep and

1:49

find those wolves. I'm

1:51

John Lordham, and today we discuss

1:53

the seriously mysterious case of

1:56

a kind -hearted and generous man. A

1:59

story that leaves

2:01

me... wondering did he welcome

2:03

a wolf into his home, one

2:06

that betrayed him? Or did he

2:08

stumble into something else? The world

2:10

wants to know what really happened

2:13

to Shane Springer. On September 23rd

2:15

1974, Shane Eldor Springer was born

2:17

as the third of five children

2:20

and only son of Eldor and

2:22

Marge Springer. He and his two

2:24

older and two younger sisters spent

2:27

their early years playing outside, making

2:29

forts, and spending time with the

2:32

animals on a farm in rural

2:34

Winthrop, Minnesota. The small city has

2:36

a population of roughly 1,300 people.

2:38

The combination of the tough chores

2:40

and playful adventures of farm life

2:42

likely helped shape his humble, hardworking

2:44

personality and his love of the

2:46

outdoors. Shane's sister, Mr. Euchar, said

2:48

He was the most laid-back, soft-spoken,

2:50

and kind-hearted person you would meet.

2:52

He always had a smile on

2:55

his face. He was quick to

2:57

offer support to anyone in need,

2:59

whether that be someone who needed

3:01

a shoulder to lean on, or

3:03

someone who needed a hand with

3:05

a building project, and he never

3:07

expected or asked for anything in

3:09

return. When Shane was in the

3:11

sixth grade, his family left behind

3:13

farm life and moved to Hutchinson,

3:15

Minnesota, a city much larger than

3:17

Winthrop. Shane studied and skateboarded his

3:19

way through high school and went

3:21

on to study forestry at Vermilion

3:23

Community College in Ely, Minnesota, about

3:25

five hours away. After college, Shane

3:27

decided to move to Oregon with

3:29

his girlfriend at the time. Though

3:31

respectful of his choice, his family

3:34

would miss having Shane close by

3:36

and deeply cherished the time they

3:38

did have when he visited. His

3:40

sister missed, he said. He was

3:42

the highlight of every family gathering.

3:44

Everyone was so excited to see

3:46

him. catch up and just be

3:48

around him. We were all very

3:50

connected to Shane and on every

3:52

visit it felt like he was

3:54

never gone. Painfully, Shane's world changed.

3:56

When the college girlfriend he had

3:58

moved to Oregon with... passed away

4:00

not long after their move together. Though

4:02

devastated, he stayed in Oregon

4:04

and tried to find solace and healing

4:07

by spending time outdoors in the lush

4:09

forests of his new home. He liked

4:11

mushroom hunting, fishing, spending time

4:14

with his dog, and he also

4:16

started his own construction company.

4:18

He was a brilliant carpenter

4:20

and easily gained the same

4:22

hard-working good-natured reputation in Oregon

4:24

that he had back home. He fell

4:26

in love again and married a

4:28

woman named Crystal. Unfortunately

4:30

a different type of tragedy would

4:33

strike both Shane and Crystal in

4:35

September of 2020. A catastrophic wildfire

4:37

dubbed the Holiday Farm Fire tore

4:40

through more than 173,000 acres around

4:42

the McKenzie River Valley where they

4:44

lived. Allegedly, starting from

4:47

a power line, the fire spread

4:49

so quickly that thousands, including Shane,

4:51

Crystal and their dogs, barely had

4:53

time to escape. Although it was

4:56

painful to watch their home and

4:58

sentimental belongings turned into ash, Shane knew

5:00

he was lucky to be safe with what

5:02

was most important to him, his

5:05

wife and his dogs. In the aftermath of

5:07

the fire, Shane had the skills

5:09

and desire to help rebuild the

5:11

community and his own home. At the time,

5:13

Shane was living in a trailer on

5:16

another property in the McKenzie River Valley

5:18

area in the town of Vida,

5:20

Oregon. It was Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021.

5:22

and he went to a job site

5:24

to help rebuild a home. He left work

5:27

to go back to his home in

5:29

Vida around 9.30 or 10 a.m. that

5:31

would have been about 22 miles or

5:33

a 28-minute drive away. It's unknown exactly

5:35

why he left since it was a

5:37

little early for his lunch break, but

5:39

it was his construction company

5:42

so no one questioned it. What

5:44

exactly happened next is unclear,

5:46

because although there are four people that

5:49

may have seen Shane after he left

5:51

work, Their stories differ have changed

5:53

over time or honestly just don't

5:55

make much sense. Although his family

5:57

finds some of them suspicious...

6:00

It's important to note that these

6:02

four people are not considered suspects.

6:04

What is clear is that Shane Springer

6:07

went missing that day and he would never

6:09

be seen alive again. Shane's

6:23

sister Misty has been in touch

6:25

with me a few times. However,

6:27

my friend Marissa Jones of the

6:29

Vanish podcast conducted numerous family interviews

6:32

in episode 335 that brought a

6:34

new awareness to the family's thoughts

6:36

and perspective. If you're looking to

6:38

hear more, please give that episode

6:40

a listen. The first of the four people

6:42

who may have been at Shane's home at

6:44

the time that he went missing was

6:46

his wife, Crystal. Crystal currently

6:48

claims that she didn't see Shane

6:50

arrived back home, but... It's also been

6:53

alleged that she sent a text message

6:55

to her stepmother at 10.13 a.m. saying,

6:57

Shane is home. I have to go.

6:59

Shane's family admits that they weren't

7:01

particularly close with Crystal and only

7:03

know what they've observed from visits

7:06

or heard from Shane. Shane's mother

7:08

claims that on a family trip

7:10

to Texas, Crystal was making trips

7:13

to Mexico to get drugs. She

7:15

explained that Shane told her that

7:17

he was concerned about Crystal's drug use

7:19

and they were probably headed for divorce.

7:22

Even though they had split up for a

7:24

bit at the time of Shane's disappearance, she

7:26

was back living in their trailer. While initially

7:28

cooperative with Police, Crystal has since

7:31

lawyered up. His family finds

7:33

it odd that she refused to participate

7:35

in any searches and she won't speak

7:37

to the media about Shane, even to

7:39

refute his family's statements about

7:41

her. Shane's best friend Justin was

7:43

the second person, and he doesn't deny

7:46

being at the home, claiming that Crystal

7:48

was there too. Justin and Shane were

7:50

old friends from back in Hutchinson, Minnesota.

7:53

When Justin moved to Oregon, Shane gladly

7:55

gave him a job and let him

7:57

stay on his property. However, it seems

7:59

that Justin... may have worn out his welcome.

8:01

Reportedly, Justin was allegedly also

8:04

using drugs and not showing up

8:06

to work far too often, so Shane

8:08

fired him and told him he had a

8:10

few days to leave the property. In addition

8:12

to Crystal and Justin, two other men

8:15

were potentially there, according to Justin. Ray

8:17

was a homeless man who Shane was

8:19

letting live on his old property. Ray

8:22

said that he was there that day

8:24

and he backs up Justin's story that

8:26

another man named Eric was sleeping in

8:28

Shane's trailer at the time. It's been

8:30

said that seeing Eric sleeping there angered

8:32

Shane when he returned, but there is

8:35

really no proof of this, and Eric

8:37

actually denies being on the property at

8:39

the time. Amidst all the he said

8:41

she said stories from the day he

8:44

disappeared, there are some hard facts. A

8:46

security camera on the job site confirmed

8:48

that Shane could be seen at work

8:50

that morning. When he left, he kept

8:52

his tools plugged in, as if he

8:54

had every intention of returning. He also

8:57

had a meeting set up with

8:59

a subcontractor that afternoon. Shane would

9:01

never miss a work meeting or leave

9:03

his tools plugged in and exposed to

9:05

the elements overnight. On Wednesday,

9:08

November 3rd, the day after his

9:10

disappearance, Shane's sister Misty says there

9:12

was activity seen on Shane's phone

9:15

between 4 and 6 a.m. Crystal's

9:17

story is that Shane called her saying he

9:19

lost his keys and he needed her to

9:21

come get him. He'd given her his

9:23

location, which would later be where his

9:26

truck was eventually found, a logging road

9:28

near Blue River Reservoir, about 16 miles

9:30

away from his home. This was near one

9:32

of his favorite mushroom picking spots,

9:34

which led to some initial speculation

9:36

that he had gone mushroom hunting

9:38

and gotten lost. A strange choice for

9:41

the middle of a workday, and with a

9:43

meeting and his plugged-in tools, it doesn't seem

9:45

to make much sense. Crystal says that

9:47

she responded that she would come and get

9:49

him. But when she went up the road,

9:51

she couldn't get past a logging crew that

9:54

was there. She then texted to tell shame that

9:56

Ray would come to meet him on the main

9:58

road with food and water. Another... seemingly

10:00

bizarre choice, but the logging crew

10:02

did confirm that they saw

10:04

Crystal's vehicle that morning. However,

10:07

they had another detail. She wasn't

10:09

alone, like she claimed. They saw

10:11

three people and picked both Crystal

10:13

and Shane from a photo lineup.

10:15

Unfortunately, they couldn't see

10:18

the third person in the car well

10:20

enough to identify them. Eyewitness

10:22

accounts are not always reliable.

10:24

So was this really Shane

10:26

with Crystal? Loggers also said

10:28

it was around 4 a. which is

10:30

when Crystal says Shane called her. Did

10:32

Shane actually make that call?

10:35

Crystal says she found his silver

10:37

2009 GMC Sierra on the logging

10:39

road by Blue River Reservoir on

10:41

Thursday, November 4th, the day after

10:43

she last had phone contact with

10:45

Shane, and two days since he

10:47

had last been seen. Why did

10:49

it take her until Thursday to go

10:51

looking for the car if she

10:54

had his rough location since Wednesday

10:56

morning? Why was Crystal not alarmed after

10:58

Shane never came to the road to

11:00

meet Ray? At least one of the

11:02

group went back to the truck twice

11:04

after finding it, wants to leave food

11:06

and water, and wants to leave a map.

11:08

More strange choices for someone supposedly

11:11

concerned that he might be lost,

11:13

but not lost enough to get

11:15

back to his truck. If that wasn't

11:17

hard to understand, they also took the

11:19

tools that he had in the truck. I

11:21

don't know about you. But this sounds like

11:24

some drug-induced logic, and I have to

11:26

wonder if those tools would wind up

11:28

at a local pawn shop or on

11:30

Craig's list. Shane also knew this area extremely

11:32

well. It's not likely he would have

11:35

gotten lost at one of his favorite

11:37

mushroom hunting spots, but more importantly, why

11:39

didn't any one of the four

11:41

people, and more directly, his wife, not

11:44

call the authorities after being unable to

11:46

find him on Wednesday, or when they

11:48

found the empty truck on Thursday? That

11:51

call wouldn't happen until Friday,

11:53

November 5th. Investigators looked

11:55

at his cell phone activity, talked

11:57

to witnesses, and did canine searches.

12:00

near where Shane's truck was found,

12:02

his phone location put him around

12:04

the Blue River Reservoir near the

12:06

truck, but the phone was turned off

12:08

on Thursday, November 4th. The area was

12:10

difficult to search and the canine

12:12

units and searches turned up nothing.

12:15

Shane's family also struggles to

12:17

understand why Crystal or Justin

12:19

didn't call them. Justin called

12:21

his mother back in Hutchinson and

12:23

his friends with Shane's mother, she

12:26

immediately called to relay the news.

12:28

And that happened on Saturday, five days

12:30

after Shane left the job site. Shane's

12:32

family rushed to Oregon to help search,

12:34

but as they spoke to Crystal and

12:37

Justin, they became uncomfortable and suspicious

12:39

because the story shifted and just

12:41

didn't make sense. The police interviewed

12:44

all four of the people and took

12:46

data from their phones, but none have

12:49

been named suspects or persons of interest

12:51

publicly. While Shane's disappearance isn't solved

12:53

by any means, there was

12:55

a tragic development in late

12:57

2022. Skeletal remains of a hand

13:00

and arm were found on the riverbank

13:02

a mile and a half downstream from

13:04

Shane's property and about five miles southwest

13:06

of the Blue River Reservoir where his

13:09

truck was found. In June of 2023, the

13:11

Lane County Sheriff's Department confirmed

13:13

that these remains were indeed

13:15

Shane's. They remain unsure if foul

13:17

play was involved given the lack

13:20

of evidence. Sergeant Tom Spaldrick with

13:22

Lane County Sheriff's office stated An

13:24

animal could move remains, and for

13:27

some distance, depending on what kind

13:29

of animal it could be, also

13:32

conditions with rising and lowering water

13:34

levels, could move remains. So what

13:36

happened to Shane? The family wonders

13:38

if Shane came home that day and

13:40

there was an altercation with one or

13:42

more of the four people. We often

13:45

say that murder is problem solving

13:47

for the murderer. And while he

13:49

can't say with any certainty that

13:51

Shane was murdered, There are multiple people who

13:53

have been accused of having problems with him

13:55

at the time that he went missing.

13:57

Crystal and Shane's marriage was likely...

14:00

which would have led to splitting

14:02

up funds, property, and pets. That's

14:04

no longer a problem for

14:06

Crystal. Justin was fired and asked

14:08

to leave in the days just before

14:10

Shane was last heard from. Now there

14:12

was no pressure for him to move out.

14:15

Did an altercation over one of

14:17

these problems lead to an accidental

14:19

death that was covered up? Did

14:21

Eric or Ray have some unknown motive

14:23

to harm Shane? Despite the theories,

14:25

there's no physical evidence publicly known

14:27

supporting that any of them had

14:30

anything to do with his disappearance

14:32

or death, just a lot of very

14:34

hard to understand stories. Given that

14:36

drugs have been mentioned in reference

14:38

to his friends, some people speculate that

14:40

Shane could have been a user himself

14:42

and run into some issue with a

14:44

dealer. His family believes that since

14:46

Shane was concerned about Crystal and

14:49

Justin's drug use, he probably wasn't

14:51

using hard drugs himself. He used

14:53

recreational marijuana, but that's legal

14:55

in Oregon, and wouldn't require

14:58

any sort of dangerous drug

15:00

dealing to get. Of course, in any

15:02

missing person's case, we always have to

15:04

ask if the person had any reason

15:07

to go missing of their own volition,

15:09

even to end their own life. Shane

15:11

had no known mental health history,

15:13

no work struggles, and he was

15:15

excited to begin construction on his

15:17

own new home soon. Could he have

15:19

seen something when he arrived at home

15:21

that shattered his reality? Ultimately,

15:24

more evidence, more witness statements,

15:26

and locating the rest of his

15:28

remains would be the best bet at

15:30

moving the case forward and determining what

15:32

caused Shane's death. Candace Cooley, the

15:35

mother of murdered young farmer Dylan Rounds,

15:37

has been helping with the search for

15:39

Shane, and it's because of her that

15:41

we're discussing him here today. But she's

15:43

also pointed out something else to me

15:46

about this area. Apparently, there

15:48

are numerous other unsolved disappearances and

15:50

deaths in the McKenzie River Valley

15:52

and Greater Willamette National Forest that

15:55

cause people to speculate possible connections

15:57

between them. There's a case we've covered.

16:00

previously unseriously mysterious, the case of

16:02

Michael Bryson, a 27-year-old man who

16:04

went missing from a campground after

16:07

a party in Durena on August

16:09

5th, 2020. There's Eric Brazil,

16:11

a 34-year-old man, potentially suffering

16:13

from paranoia, who went missing

16:15

from Springfield on March 14th,

16:17

2022. There's Chase Robertson, a 25-year-old

16:20

man with a history of substance

16:22

abuse, whose abandoned car was found

16:24

near Vida, after he went missing

16:27

on April 29th, 2020. And there's

16:29

also McKenna-Reilly, a 40-year-old woman who

16:31

went missing April 5th, 2023, after

16:34

a possible mental health episode. She

16:36

was found deceased in the Blue River

16:38

Reservoir on August 13th, 2023. I

16:40

covered McKenna's story and interviewed her

16:42

sister on my YouTube channel, Lord and

16:44

Arts, if you'd like to learn more

16:46

about that case. We have several cases

16:49

close in proximity and within a few

16:51

years of each other. Is there someone responsible

16:53

for all of this? Sergeant

16:55

Tom Spaldrick of the Lane County

16:58

Sheriff's Office said, the best I could

17:00

do to put any minds at ease on

17:02

this is say that we have not discovered

17:04

any evidence that leads us to believe that

17:06

they are linked or related or that there

17:08

is a serial killer. It's a wooded

17:11

wilderness rural area. It's tough terrain. It

17:13

could be hard to find people if they

17:15

go missing in those areas. So while

17:17

I can't say definitively that there's not

17:19

a link, we have nothing that makes us

17:21

think that there is at this point. In

17:24

all these cases, the search for answers

17:27

continue. In November of 2024, Candace

17:29

Cooley and three canine teams from

17:31

Utah, Colorado, and Washington were planning

17:33

to go search for Shane as

17:36

well as Michael Bryson. But days

17:38

before, they had to postpone due

17:40

to the weather and dangerous conditions

17:42

of the river. They are looking to

17:44

reschedule the search for spring of

17:46

2025. Shane's family also runs the Missing

17:48

in Blue River Oregon area Fine Shane Springer

17:51

Facebook page to raise awareness about Shane and

17:53

many others missing in the area, which will

17:55

have a link to you in the show

17:58

notes and you can follow for updates. They

18:00

hold on to the hope that someone

18:02

will come forward with the answers they

18:04

deserve. The family said, We are devastated.

18:07

Shane was a gentle soul, a

18:09

selfless provider, a skilled and

18:12

trusted carpenter, and the hardest

18:14

worker we know. He was accepting

18:16

of everyone and loyal to all that

18:18

loved him. His was a senseless

18:20

death. And there's more to uncover.

18:22

We are eager to see truth and

18:24

justice prevail. Shane was

18:27

a 47-year-old white male standing

18:29

at 6 foot 1 inch

18:31

tall and weighing 165 pounds

18:33

at the time of his

18:35

disappearance in the McKenzie River

18:37

Valley area of Oregon on

18:39

November 2nd 2021. If

18:41

you have any information

18:44

regarding Shane's death, please

18:46

contact the Lane County

18:48

Sheriff at 541-682-4150 and

18:50

reference case number 2-1-6268.

18:52

or you can submit an anonymous tip

18:54

at crime stoppers of Oregon.com. Do

18:56

you have any insights or a

18:58

case you'd like to suggest? Feel

19:00

free to send it to me.

19:02

You'll find a comment form and

19:05

case submission link at lordinarts.com. Thank

19:07

you to the missing in the

19:09

Blue River Oregon area fine Shane

19:11

Springer Facebook page. Namus, NBC16.com, K-E-Z-I

19:13

News, Eugene Weekly, the disappeared blog,

19:15

Solve-the-case.org, Medium.com, the Hutchinson Ledger, the

19:17

Register Guard, Wikipedia, and a very

19:19

special thank you to Marissa Jones

19:21

and the Vanish podcast for information

19:23

contributing to today's story. This episode

19:26

was written by Kierra McQueen, edited

19:28

by John Lorden and produced by

19:30

Lorden Arts. Thank you to our

19:33

audience here for the live recording

19:35

session hosted on the YouTube channel

19:37

Lord and Lorden Arts Studio Studio

19:40

2. Special thanks to seriously mysterious

19:42

financial supporters Casey Schaefer, Mike W,

19:44

B. Jones, Amber Rust, and in

19:47

honor of Dr. Ed Moskowitz, a

19:49

big thank you to his wife

19:51

Julie as well. Most of all,

19:53

thank you for listening. I'm John

19:55

Lorden. Please join us again next

19:57

week for another case I know

20:00

you'll find seriously

20:02

mysterious.