Host Eva Pilgrim

From ABC Audio in 2020, this is What Happened to Holly Bobo? Episode 1, A Scream on Swan Johnson Road. To understand the Holly Bobo case, you have to understand Decatur County, Tennessee. It's the kind of place where locals can tell you're not from there. Literally, my first day there, my producers and I went to a restaurant and they asked me, where are you from?

From ABC Audio in 2020, this is What Happened to Holly Bobo? Episode 1, A Scream on Swan Johnson Road. To understand the Holly Bobo case, you have to understand Decatur County, Tennessee. It's the kind of place where locals can tell you're not from there. Literally, my first day there, my producers and I went to a restaurant and they asked me, where are you from?

And we laughed because it was just so obvious we weren't from there. Not because our clothes were different, but because it's rare in a place like this for a stranger to walk in, let alone a whole table full of them. I grew up in South Carolina, and it reminded me of the small southern towns I knew. There is a tangible warmth that comes from a history between people that goes back generations.

And we laughed because it was just so obvious we weren't from there. Not because our clothes were different, but because it's rare in a place like this for a stranger to walk in, let alone a whole table full of them. I grew up in South Carolina, and it reminded me of the small southern towns I knew. There is a tangible warmth that comes from a history between people that goes back generations.

Neighbors truly help neighbors. They care about each other. And even if you don't like someone, you know them. Decatur County runs right along the Tennessee River. If you look up the county on Google Maps, you'll see mostly green. The vastness of the woods is interrupted just once in a while by a church, a sawmill, or maybe a gravel company.

Neighbors truly help neighbors. They care about each other. And even if you don't like someone, you know them. Decatur County runs right along the Tennessee River. If you look up the county on Google Maps, you'll see mostly green. The vastness of the woods is interrupted just once in a while by a church, a sawmill, or maybe a gravel company.

There are two main roads and then a few smaller ones that pass by farms and big, towering pine trees. The county has a lot of creeks which look like long, skinny fingers on the map. And then there are the few small towns in the county which stand out as gray splotches from above. Keith Byrd is the former sheriff of Decatur County.

There are two main roads and then a few smaller ones that pass by farms and big, towering pine trees. The county has a lot of creeks which look like long, skinny fingers on the map. And then there are the few small towns in the county which stand out as gray splotches from above. Keith Byrd is the former sheriff of Decatur County.

The biggest employers in the county include the local government, a construction company, a manufacturing company, and a trailer company that employs 36 people. Many people in the county also work in agriculture and logging. According to the U.S. Census, 94% of the county is white and nearly 20% of its residents live in poverty. That's almost double the national average. Decatur County is small.

The biggest employers in the county include the local government, a construction company, a manufacturing company, and a trailer company that employs 36 people. Many people in the county also work in agriculture and logging. According to the U.S. Census, 94% of the county is white and nearly 20% of its residents live in poverty. That's almost double the national average. Decatur County is small.

The population of the entire county is just under 12,000 people.

The population of the entire county is just under 12,000 people.

When Holly went missing, people were shocked that this kind of crime, a kidnapping, could happen in a place like this.

When Holly went missing, people were shocked that this kind of crime, a kidnapping, could happen in a place like this.

I know it's a trope to talk about a place where people trust their neighbors and say, nothing this bad ever happens here. But the setting of Holly's disappearance is surprising for reasons beyond that collective sense of security. This isn't a place where you could just stumble upon someone's home by accident. You'd have to know how to get to the house.

I know it's a trope to talk about a place where people trust their neighbors and say, nothing this bad ever happens here. But the setting of Holly's disappearance is surprising for reasons beyond that collective sense of security. This isn't a place where you could just stumble upon someone's home by accident. You'd have to know how to get to the house.

In the town of Darden, where the Bobo house is, there aren't many street signs. The roads are largely one-way, unlit. There are also unmarked logging roads used to haul trees out of the forest. Cell phone reception is spotty, and without GPS, it would be very easy to get lost if you haven't driven around here before. Houses can be miles apart from each other.

In the town of Darden, where the Bobo house is, there aren't many street signs. The roads are largely one-way, unlit. There are also unmarked logging roads used to haul trees out of the forest. Cell phone reception is spotty, and without GPS, it would be very easy to get lost if you haven't driven around here before. Houses can be miles apart from each other.

The best directions to get around come from landmarks, that bright mailbox, that little furniture store. Investigators said to find the Bobo house, you'd really have to know the area. You'd have to basically be targeting the house, targeting Holly. Their house is at the end of a long driveway. At the time, it was marked by a black mailbox with a green wooden sign under it that read, The Bobos.

The best directions to get around come from landmarks, that bright mailbox, that little furniture store. Investigators said to find the Bobo house, you'd really have to know the area. You'd have to basically be targeting the house, targeting Holly. Their house is at the end of a long driveway. At the time, it was marked by a black mailbox with a green wooden sign under it that read, The Bobos.