0:00

How well do we really know our neighbors?

0:03

Not like whether they have a birthmark

0:03

or if they like brussel sprouts,

0:07

but who they are ethically, morally.

0:11

It's a topic of conversation when someone

0:11

new moves into a neighborhood.

0:16

Have you met the new neighbors? What are they like?

0:19

Conversate Asians take place at the dinner

0:19

table in the driveway,

0:23

at shared fences over beer

0:23

while manning the grill.

0:27

Eventually, the conversation dies down.

0:30

The main questions have been answered,

0:30

and we go on with our lives.

0:34

Feeling satisfied

0:34

that the newcomer has been cataloged,

0:38

labeled, quantified.

0:41

In the late 1880s, news

0:44

and people traveled at roughly

0:44

the same rate.

0:47

Letting your loved ones

0:47

know you arrived at your new property

0:50

to set up housekeeping and establish

0:50

your family in a new place could take days

0:56

unimaginable by today's standards

0:56

of wireless immediate communication.

1:01

Meeting new neighbors might also be

1:04

a slow process over seasons,

1:04

especially in farming communities

1:09

where there's no shortage of work

1:09

to occupy your time.

1:13

Is your neighbor

1:13

at the next parcel of land

1:17

just shy, poor social skills?

1:20

Maybe they're just really private or

1:23

just a little odd.

1:26

Eugene Butler was one such neighbor

1:30

and he proved to be more than just

1:30

a little quiet or a tad bit strange.

1:36

He proved to harbor a dark secret

1:36

within his very home,

1:42

a secret that would shock

1:42

his community and beyond.

2:06

Born in Niagara, New York in

2:08

1849, the third of six

2:11

children, he worked as a farm laborer

2:11

in his early adulthood

2:16

before setting out

2:16

for the Dakota territory in 1882.

2:21

A bachelor farmer,

2:21

he purchased several parcels of land

2:26

northwest of Larimer, near

2:26

a small settlement named Niagara.

2:31

By the time North Dakota

2:31

officially became a state in 1889,

2:36

he owned and worked 480

2:39

acres, hiring farm Hands and Laramore

2:39

for each growing season

2:45

and hunkering down for each bitter

2:45

northern winter alone.

2:50

He lived as a miser and recluse

2:50

for several years,

2:55

following the same seasonal patterns

2:55

of only hiring workers

2:59

on for the growing season

2:59

and choosing to do all the house

3:03

chores himself

3:03

rather than hire on a housekeeper.

3:07

He was reported to be popular enough

3:07

and well-liked,

3:12

though

3:12

he preferred a more solitary lifestyle.

3:17

As the years passed, he began to exhibit

3:20

unusual habits,

3:20

such as riding his horse at breakneck

3:24

speed around the town

3:24

in the middle of the night.

3:27

Sometimes

3:27

also yelling at the top of his lungs.

3:31

He began to claim that men had been coming

3:31

to visit him late at night,

3:37

insisting he get out of bed, get dressed

3:40

and go for long walks or horseback rides.

3:44

Another claim he put forward

3:44

was that all of the widows

3:47

and old maids around wanted to marry him,

3:51

especially in a leap year.

3:54

Eventually, these odd behaviors

3:54

and assertions landed him in the state.

3:59

Insane Asylum

3:59

at Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1904.

4:05

Back in these days,

4:05

mental illnesses were only described

4:09

and classified in a primitive way,

4:09

as were treatments

4:14

at the time of Eugene Butler's

4:14

entry into the asylum, there were seven

4:19

conditions

4:19

listed as cause for involuntary commitment

4:24

mania,

4:24

which could come from euphoria, delusions

4:27

and hyperactivity, melancholia,

4:31

monomania, which is simply mania

4:31

with an obsession over one specific thing

4:37

paresis otherwise known

4:37

as partial paralysis dementia.

4:41

Gibson mania defined as alcoholism

4:41

with obsessive

4:45

cravings and epilepsy.

4:49

Common practice for the time

4:49

was the quote unquote, insanity board,

4:55

where a panel of doctors evaluated

4:55

had cases submitted to them for review.

5:00

Family members could recommend

5:00

someone be reviewed

5:04

or neighbors or other witnesses

5:04

may also submit complaint

5:08

and give testimony

5:08

based on Eugene's reported behaviors.

5:12

It's likely he was diagnosed with mania

5:12

on the strength of his neighbors testimony

5:18

to reinforce his miserly reputation.

5:22

He was reported to have had 40 $600

5:26

in cash on him

5:26

when the board committed him.

5:30

That's just over $151,000 today.

5:35

He was committed in 1904

5:35

and by all reports was a pleasant

5:40

and agreeable patient.

5:42

He even developed

5:42

a rather passionate affection

5:44

for one nurse, which was unrequited,

5:48

and resulted in a bit of teasing

5:48

from her fellow staff members.

5:52

Eugene Butler only had

5:52

but a handful of years

5:56

remaining in his life and passed away

5:59

on October 22nd, 1911.

6:02

But the true mystery of this bizarre

6:02

figure

6:06

was only just about to begin to unfold.

6:12

a law firm from Buffalo

6:14

at the direction of his siblings

6:14

had been administering his farm holdings,

6:19

renting the farm and hiring laborers

6:22

until other arrangements became necessary.

6:25

Upon his death, his siblings divided

6:28

the proceeds of the sale of his farm.

6:31

And that should have been

6:31

the quiet end of this story.

6:35

But it's not.

6:37

It took a few years to sell

6:37

such a large plot of land

6:41

worth roughly $1 million today.

6:44

When excavation began in 1915

6:44

for a New Homes foundation

6:49

at the old home

6:49

site, workers were astonished

6:53

to find human bones buried

6:53

three feet down in the clay soil.

6:58

The old house had a hidden trap door

7:02

opening into the crawl space underneath.

7:05

The bones were a complete skeleton

7:05

of a male buried naked.

7:10

Since no traces of shoe material, clothing

7:13

or even buttons were found

7:13

in the surrounding soil.

7:16

After this shocking discovery,

7:16

the rest of the old home's

7:20

foundation was inspected

7:20

for any other anomalies along one side.

7:27

They discovered

7:27

the foundation had been disturbed

7:30

and another set of remains

7:30

were discovered,

7:34

followed by another and another

7:34

and another.

7:39

And another. Five more bodies pulled from beneath

7:41

where Eugene Butler spent

7:46

so much of his time

7:46

isolated, away from the outside world.

7:52

Early

7:52

newspaper reports described all six bodies

7:55

discovered as adult males,

7:55

but more careful investigation revealed.

8:00

The grouping of five bodies,

8:00

all discovered together

8:04

was likely a family adult,

8:07

male and female with three juveniles.

8:10

All five were buried at a slanted angle,

8:10

and both adults

8:14

had their legs broken

8:14

in order to fit in the allotted space.

8:19

As with the first male body,

8:19

no traces of shoes,

8:23

clothes or buttons were found in the soil.

8:26

Each of the six victims had a sharp,

8:26

clearly defined hole

8:30

in the left side of the skull,

8:30

made by a sharp instrument.

8:35

Analysis of the soil layers

8:35

and patterns of disturbance concluded.

8:40

The bodies had been under the house

8:40

for approximately

8:43

15 to 20 years

8:47

after the initial shock of the discovery.

8:50

The questions began. Who were they?

8:53

Where did they come from? Why did Eugene kill them?

8:57

Did he just snap? Did he catch potential thieves

8:59

trying to steal his money?

9:03

He was known to be tight with a dollar.

9:06

Did he overreact to the natural curiosity

9:09

of children snooping around on his land?

9:12

Did one of his hallucinations

9:12

suggest the idea?

9:17

None of the neighbors reported

9:17

any suspicions he mentioned.

9:21

Aside from the assertion

9:21

that widows and old maids

9:24

pursued his hand in marriage,

9:24

but also no one in the community

9:29

knew of a man who had gone missing,

9:29

let alone a family of five.

9:34

The only lead ever suggested

9:37

was an inquiry from Leo Urbanski

9:40

about his younger brother, John Urbanski.

9:43

John had returned home last in 1902,

9:47

saying he was working for a bachelor

9:47

on a farm in Niagara.

9:52

The letter had been mailed from Laramore.

9:55

It was the last communication

9:55

Leo had from his brother.

10:00

Forensic investigation

10:00

has changed a lot in the last century.

10:06

Now crime scenes are cordoned off

10:06

during evidence collection

10:10

to prevent tampering or outright

10:10

destruction of evidence by onlookers.

10:15

Whether intentional or by accident.

10:18

In 1915, by contrast,

10:21

once the neighbors found out the shocking

10:21

turn of events

10:24

and it was printed in the newspapers

10:24

as people began coming to take a look.

10:29

Some took more than a look.

10:31

However,

10:31

a local news station reported in 2016

10:36

that the bones of the six victims

10:36

weren't stored at the Grand Forks

10:41

County Sheriff's Office, as had been

10:41

originally reported, but had been looted

10:46

by townsfolk during the investigation

10:46

of the Homesite site.

10:51

Unless some of those bones are located

10:51

and returned, it's extra grimly unlikely

10:57

we will ever know

10:57

the identities of the victims.

11:01

But considering it's been so long,

11:05

hope has more than dwindled.

11:08

Had the mania begun before the murders?

11:12

Or was it guilt that fractured his mind?

11:15

Did his sanity slowly slip away

11:19

during the bitter North Dakota winters?

11:21

Were the murders crimes of passion

11:24

precipitated by suspected theft

11:24

triggering rage?

11:29

Was paranoia

11:29

about being stolen from the reason

11:33

he was carrying a fortune in his pockets

11:33

when he was committed?

11:37

Did Eugene act alone?

11:40

Had he had any hand in it at all?

11:44

It's highly unlikely that any of

11:44

these questions will ever be answered.

11:49

But the only way to keep hope alive

11:49

is to talk about these kinds of cases

11:54

such as Eugene Butler,

11:57

and to occasionally ask ourselves

11:57

an important question.

12:01

Are you sure

12:01

you really know your neighbors?

12:09

1991. It was an incredible time to be alive.

12:13

The nineties had just begun

12:13

and for many the future was full of hope.

12:18

But in the quiet heart of Clinton,

12:18

Missouri, a phone call shattered

12:23

the silence, a call

12:23

that marks the beginning

12:26

of a mystery

12:26

that has echoed through the years.

12:30

That call happened on April 4th, 1991,

12:34

and that date became imprinted

12:34

in the memory of a small town,

12:39

a night when a young woman

12:39

on the cusp of a new chapter in her life

12:43

vanished into the dark, leaving behind

12:43

nothing but a trail of questions.

12:49

And the town forever changed.

12:53

This is the story of the disappearance

12:53

of Angela marie Hammond.

12:57

From the heartwarming to the heart

12:57

stopping.

13:00

Join us as we delve into the depths

13:00

of Angela's story,

13:04

where every detail uncovers

13:04

layers of a mystery unsolved left,

13:07

a community rattled

13:07

and a love story interrupted.

13:12

And as the night unfolds,

13:12

so too does the realization that sometimes

13:16

the most terrifying

13:16

twist of fate are hidden right behind us.

13:22

I'm Bob Gaffigan,

13:22

and this is seriously strange.

13:40

Clinton, Missouri, a small town that prides itself

13:41

on community and safety.

13:44

It's here

13:44

where Angela marie Hammond, a 20 year old

13:47

local known for her friendly

13:47

nature and bright future,

13:51

and her fiancé, Rob Schaefer,

13:51

were planning their lives together.

13:55

Angela, affectionately known as Angie,

13:58

had recently graduated from Montrose

13:58

High School and was eagerly anticipating

14:03

the birth of her first child

14:03

with Rob by her side.

14:07

Angie was four months pregnant

14:07

and the two were engaged to be married.

14:12

The couple's excitement

14:12

for their growing family

14:14

and future was palpable

14:14

among those who knew them.

14:17

They shared dreams common to many,

14:17

a happy relationship,

14:21

a hopeful future, and a peaceful life.

14:24

Then came the evening of April 4th.

14:27

Angie and Rob were together. As was so often the case,

14:29

but she had to drop Rob off at his parents

14:32

house for a while so that he could

14:32

watch his younger brother.

14:36

And she decided to leave for a bit.

14:39

But the two still wanted

14:39

to see each other again later that night.

14:43

However, it wasn't confirmed

14:43

where they'd be meeting, and Angie

14:47

wanted to contact Rob

14:47

to figure out what the plan would be.

14:51

One single decision.

14:54

If only she had decided to drive

14:54

directly to rob,

14:58

the two would likely be alive

14:58

and well in their 50 is by now

15:02

with the baby now a full grown adult,

15:02

perhaps with a family of their own.

15:08

But that wasn't what she did.

15:10

She decided still being out to stop

15:13

at a downtown payphone to give Rob a call.

15:17

There was no way for her to know

15:17

that a threat

15:20

had been watching her.

15:27

15 p.m., Angie stopped at a well-lit payphone

15:29

in downtown Clinton to call Rob.

15:34

During the conversation,

15:34

Angie mentioned a strange truck

15:37

circling the block a late 1960s

15:41

to early 1970s green Ford pickup

15:44

with a distinctive

15:44

fish decal on its rear window.

15:48

They continued speaking,

15:48

but as time passed, Angie's

15:52

tone shifted from casual observation

15:52

to concern.

15:57

And then it very rapidly escalated

15:57

from there.

16:02

Rob could hear a disturbance

16:02

on Angie's end,

16:04

and the worst was confirmed immediately

16:04

after.

16:08

As Angie, soft and worried voice

16:08

suddenly tore into

16:11

a series of bloodcurdling screams.

16:14

Rob, listening and shouting on

16:14

the other end was helpless.

16:18

And then the line went dead.

16:21

Panic stricken. Rob immediately

16:23

dropped everything and rushed to his car,

16:23

which wasn't in the best shape.

16:27

But he didn't care what danger

16:27

he may have been put in.

16:30

Angie definitely was in danger,

16:30

so he tore out of the driveway

16:34

and rushed to the payphone a mere seven

16:34

blocks away as Rob neared the location.

16:40

His heart was already pounding.

16:43

He was sick with anxiety, not having

16:43

any idea what he was going to encounter.

16:47

Would Angie be hurt dead,

16:47

but his life be in danger, too?

16:52

It didn't matter. You just needed to get there

16:53

to save Angie.

16:55

If it was at all possible.

16:58

But that's when he saw the sight.

17:01

He'll never forget.

17:03

As he arrived in the area, Rob saw a truck racing down the road

17:05

in his direction

17:09

because of how fast they were both going

17:09

and the fact that it was dark out.

17:13

He didn't have an opportunity

17:13

to identify the truck from a distance.

17:16

It was only once

17:16

the truck was quite close.

17:19

That time seemed to slow down.

17:22

Rob could see now that the truck was green

17:22

and matched the exact description

17:26

Angie had given of the truck that had been

17:26

suspiciously circling the block.

17:32

In that same moment, Rob was able

17:32

to see into the truck and to his horror,

17:37

that a clear

17:37

but brief view of his beloved Angie

17:40

struggling against a man inside.

17:43

And that's right. When he heard her voice

17:44

just as the truck blew past.

17:48

Angie must have seen his car.

17:51

And so she screamed out Rob's name.

17:56

Wasting no time, Rob whipped his car around

17:57

and gave chase, pushing the accelerator

18:01

as far as it could go,

18:01

fueled by desperation and fear for Angie

18:07

and their unborn baby.

18:10

But soon after the very sudden U-turn,

18:10

he made Rob's car

18:14

begin to experience trouble

18:14

with its transmissions and broke down.

18:20

Rob could only watch as against

18:20

all his efforts, his car slowed down.

18:25

The distance between him and the truck grew greater,

18:26

and he gradually came to a stop.

18:30

Stranded, watching and crying out

18:30

helplessly as the love of his life

18:36

and his unborn child were taken away

18:36

into the night and worked on

18:41

with the dim red glow of tail

18:43

lights in the distance.

18:47

O The disappearance

18:52

of Angela Hammond sent shockwaves

18:52

through Clinton, Missouri.

18:56

What began as a frantic search

18:56

in the immediate aftermath quickly

18:59

evolved into a full scale investigation.

19:02

As the days turned into weeks and weeks

19:02

and months, the mystery of Andrea's

19:06

fate deepened. Entwining the community

19:07

and a web of theories leads and dead ends.

19:12

The Clinton Police Department, along with the Missouri State Highway

19:13

Patrol, spearheaded the investigation.

19:17

They followed every lead,

19:17

no matter how small,

19:20

in hopes of uncovering any clue

19:20

that might have led to Angie.

19:23

The green Ford pickup

19:23

described by Rob Schafer as speeding away

19:27

with Angie that fateful night

19:27

became a focal point of the search.

19:31

Yet despite numerous tips, the truck

19:31

and its driver remained elusive.

19:38

The case took an even more sinister

19:38

turn with the introduction of potential

19:41

connections to other disappearances

19:41

within a 100 mile radius.

19:46

The abduction and murder of Trudy Darby

19:46

and the unsolved

19:50

disappearance of Cheryl

19:50

Kenny hinted at a possible pattern,

19:54

raising fears of a predator

19:54

targeting women in the region.

19:59

However, despite similarities

19:59

and extensive investigations, definitive

20:03

links between these cases and Angie's

20:03

disappearance remained out of reach.

20:09

Over the years,

20:09

several suspects came into the frame,

20:12

each scrutinized

20:12

under the weight of evidence

20:14

and speculation from local criminals

20:14

with histories of violence

20:18

to notorious serial killers

20:18

known to operate in the Midwest.

20:22

Investigation casting a wide net yet

20:26

none could be conclusively

20:26

tied to Angie's abduction.

20:30

As the years turned into decades

20:30

without resolution,

20:34

the disappearance of Angela Hammond

20:34

continued to haunt Clinton, Missouri.

20:38

Then, on the 30th

20:38

anniversary of Andrea's abduction in 2021,

20:43

the Clinton Police Department

20:43

revealed a previously undisclosed

20:47

piece of evidence,

20:47

a ransom note composed of cut

20:50

and paste letters like a scene

20:50

straight out of a crime movie.

20:54

It was connected to a police informant

20:54

who had given critical information

20:59

to authorities regarding a large drug

20:59

operation in the area.

21:03

The note mentioned

21:03

the informants, police issued number

21:06

to let the informant know

21:06

that the sender knew who he was

21:10

and mentioned the informant's estranged

21:10

wife's name.

21:14

Both of these things were redacted

21:14

from the ransom note,

21:18

but the note reads a low number.

21:22

We know who you are. People like you deserve what you get.

21:27

We know where your foxy daughter is,

21:27

that she will see us soon.

21:32

Tell her she has our deepest sympathy

21:32

and her further loss.

21:38

Goodbye, Number.

21:42

This cryptic message which was sent

21:42

the night Angie was abducted,

21:45

suggested a devastating possible scenario.

21:49

Investigators shared a theory that the

21:49

intended target the night Angie was taken

21:54

might not have been Angela Hammond,

21:54

but rather the informant's daughter.

21:59

And that Andrea's abduction

21:59

was a case of mistaken identity.

22:03

This seems even more plausible

22:03

when you find out that the informant's

22:07

daughter was also named Angela,

22:07

and she too lived in Clinton at that time.

22:13

This leads suggested a grim reality.

22:16

Angie Hammond might have been abducted

22:16

not because of who she was,

22:20

but because of a tragic error

22:20

in the kidnapers judgment

22:23

or the information

22:23

they had on the actual target.

22:26

The revelation reinvigorated

22:26

the investigation,

22:30

offering a new angle

22:30

that was previously unexplored.

22:33

Police appealed to the public for any information

22:35

related to this newly publicized lead.

22:39

Hoping to untangle the web of hopelessness

22:39

and desperation

22:43

that had ensnared Angie

22:43

and her loved ones for so long.

22:46

Yet the truth about what happened

22:46

to Angela Hammond

22:50

on that April night in 1991

22:53

to this day, remains shrouded in mystery.

22:56

The tireless efforts of law enforcement

22:56

and the unwavering

23:00

hope of a community continue

23:00

fueled by the desire

23:04

for answers and justice

23:04

for a sweet and generous young woman.

23:09

Her devoted

23:09

fiance, Jay, and the family and future

23:13

that was just within their grasp.

23:20

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Angela

23:21

marie Hammond,

23:24

you are urged to contact the Clinton

23:24

Missouri police Department

23:28

at 16608852679

23:35

or the Missouri State Highway Patrol

23:35

Missing Persons Unit

23:39

at one 800 8773452.