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Free Spirit - Simone Ridinger Was 17 When She Disappeared · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: Ever get pulled into those mysteries that just kind of
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  stick with you. That's Simone writing her story vanished in
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  seventy seven, and we're still trying to, you know, figure
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  it all out. But here's the thing. We're not talking
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  about some theories here. We're diving into actual police reports,
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  first hand accounts, the real deal. So get ready because
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  we're about to do some detective work together.
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  Speaker 2: It's easy to forget about the human side of these cases.
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  I mean, imagine being Simone's family decades without answers. That's
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  where we need to start understanding Simone.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, she wasn't just a name in a file. So
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  picture it nineteen seventy seven. Disco's in full swing and
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  Simone she's seventeen, working at the Ringo restaurant. Her sister
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  told police. Simone was a real free spirit, like the
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  kind of person who'd climb a tree during a concert
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  just to you know, get a better view of better
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  greeting in.
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  Speaker 2: Oh there's more. She once took off to Marty Grass
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  on a whim, even called her boss from the road.
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  Shows you what kind of person she.
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  Speaker 1: Was, right, totally makes it even tougher to piece together
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  what happened. It's labor day weekends. Simone's supposed to meet
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  her mom at their cottage in chap Equidic And remember
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  no electricity, no phone back then, you were really off.
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  Speaker 2: The grid, which makes that set meeting time even more crucial.
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  It wasn't like Simone could just call and say hey, running.
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  Speaker 1: Late, right exactly. And a coworker actually sees her hitchhiking
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  after her shift, which wasn't unusual for her. But then
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  nothing poof gone.
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  Speaker 2: And at first the family they figured, well, that's Simone.
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  She probably just decided to keep traveling. Given you her
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  past adventures.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, sounds like her pretty spontaneous. But when she missed
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  that meeting with her mom, that's when things got.
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  Speaker 2: Real, right, Oh, absolutely, And this is where Simone's father
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  he really takes charge. Rallied his friends and get this
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  organized a Sebee radio search party CEBE Radio. Yeah, this
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  is nineteen seventy seven. Seb's were mostly for truckers back then.
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  The fact that he did that just shows how determined
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  they were.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, talk about going above and beyond, but it didn't
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  in there did it? Let me get this whole photographer thing.
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  Speaker 2: And this is where things get a little Strie. An
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  amateur photographer. He contacts the family claiming to have pictures
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  of Simone, but instead of just handing them over, he
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  insists her sister meet him in his parents' basement to
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  get them.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, that's that's kind of creepy. Not gonna lie. I mean,
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  who was this guy? And how to you even know Simone?
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  Was he the last person this year?
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  Speaker 2: Those are the million dollar questions, aren't they? And sadly
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  this encounter it didn't clear anything up. It just kind
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  of made the whole thing more mysterious. So we've got
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  a missing girl, a determined family, a strange photographer, and
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  then silence for nine years.
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  Speaker 1: Nine years? Are you serious? I mean people probably thought
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  it was like never going to be solved.
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  Speaker 2: It's a long time for any lead to go cold.
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  Makes the next part even crazier. Out of nowhere, in
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  nineteen eighty six, a guy comes forward says he gave
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  Simone a ride that day.
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  Speaker 1: Wait, hold on, after all that time, what's his story?
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  Speaker 2: He was seventy nine by then told police he was
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  driving to Barnstable when a state trooper pulled him over.
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  And get this, the trooper asked him to give Simone
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  a lift to Cape.
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  Speaker 1: Cod tripper asked for a ride. That's kind of strange
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  even back then. I mean, don't they usually have their
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  own cars?
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  Speaker 2: You'd think, right. But here's where it gets interesting. This
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  guy he remembers like super specific details about what Simone
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  was wearing, stuff that matched perfectly with what we know
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  she had on. And those details were never released to
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  the public.
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  Speaker 1: So we've got a possible witness, maybe placing Simone with
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  a trooper the day she disappeared. Did the police ever
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  check that out?
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  Speaker 2: That's the frustrating part investigators. They couldn't find any record
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  of a traffic stop like that. And to make things worse,
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  both the witness and that photographer we talked about both
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  gone now passed away.
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  Speaker 1: Man talk about dead ends. So where does that leave
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  us back to square one?
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  Speaker 2: Not necessarily, just because we can't prove that traffic stop
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  happened doesn't mean it didn't absence of evidence.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so we're not rolling it out completely, but you're
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  saying there could be other explanations too.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly one theory that's always been on the table Simone
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  never acts actually left the area at all.
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  Speaker 1: That's interesting. Why would they think that that she might
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  still be local after all this time. So we've got
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  this theory right that Simone might never have left the area.
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  It's a bit of a head scratcher. I got to say,
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  what's the thinking there.
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  Speaker 2: Well, remember those those persons of interest from that Rainbow
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  restaurant right right? Police they looked at them initially, but
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  seems like, you know, maybe it's time to revisit those connections.
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  Speaker 1: You know, you mean besides the photographer guy, there are
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  other people they were looking into.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's all about connecting those dots, right, Someone there
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  at the restaurant. Maybe they knew Simone's routine, her plans
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  for that weekend, and her purse with her ID money.
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  All that found untouched in her apartment. Makes you wonder
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  maybe she never even tried to leave for shappocaluitic at all.
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  Speaker 1: Huh. That definitely changes things. Okay, so we've got what
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  a possible abduction, a mystery witness, and now we're back
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  to people from her work. Feels like we go deeper
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  down the rabbit hole with every detail.
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  Speaker 2: And that's exact exactly why the police they're hoping someone
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  out there maybe they hold a piece of this puzzle.
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  Even if they don't think it's important.
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  Speaker 1: You're talking those little things, something that maybe back then
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  nobody thought twice about because they didn't make the connection exactly.
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  Speaker 2: Could be anything a conversation overheard at the rainbow, someone
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  who looked like Simone in a weird place, even a rumor,
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  you know how they'll start Sometimes those little things they
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  blow the whole thing wide open.
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  Speaker 1: It's kind of wild when you think about it. Maybe
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  someone listening right now they hold the key to solving
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  this and they don't even realize it. What are the
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  answers been right there the whole time.
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  Speaker 2: That's the power of these deep dives, right. We bring
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  these details to light, hoping to spark a memory, a connection.
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  Something reminds us that even with a case like this,
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  one little detail it can change everything.
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  Speaker 1: So if you're listening and anything anything at all comes
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  to mind about Simone writing or no matter how small
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  or insignificant you think it might be, please please contact
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  the Sherborne Police Department. Your tip could be the one
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  that brings Simone home.