Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Red Weather is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons or events reflects the adaptation of real, publicly available materials for creative and legal reasons. The content of this podcast is the sole responsibility of Red Weather LLC and does not reflect the views or responsibilities of iHeartMedia or its affiliates. A few days before she died, I got a letter from Willow.
Willow was my neighbor and one of my best friends as a kid. We grew up in the Redwoods outside of Sebastopol, California. It's about 60 miles north of San Francisco. And even though we were just through the woods from one another, we had very different childhoods. Willow was part of a commune, or what they called it, a collective.
It was a group of maybe 30 people, and it was called Tender Hearts. It was one guy, really, the leader, Elric, and then women and kids. That's Sheriff Maldonado. He was the sheriff back in the 80s and the 90s, so he ended up dealing with the Tender Hearts when neighbors would complain or if kids got into trouble. It was hard to wrap your head around. It was... Nature and trees and praying.
I guess it would be called meditating today. And drugs. Pot, mushrooms, mescaline. Willow's mom was a founding member of Tender Hearts, so she lived there with Willow and her sister Anna.
Chapter 2: What is the significance of the letter from Willow?
When we were young, Willow and I were close. Really close. We used to meet in the woods between our houses and spend all afternoon together, sometimes camping out. But things got complicated in our teens. By the time I got her letter, I hadn't talked to her in years. I didn't even know she had my address. She was in Panama, in Bocas del Toro. It's a series of islands close to Costa Rica.
Apparently, she'd gone with an organization to help sea turtles protect their habitat or something. But really, it sounds like she went to get away and to get sober. The letter was mostly about what she was up to in Panama, working in a vegan pizza place down there. Before I could write her back, I found out she took her own life. My mom saw it on Facebook. So you're still in touch with her mom?
Well, only through Facebook. It's not like I see her or talk to her or have private phone calls, but she posts things, and this was one of the things she posted. I was surprised. It's really sad. Wow. really sad.
Chapter 3: How did Willow's upbringing in a commune affect her life?
She was begging me to come visit her. This is Noah. He grew up with Willow, too. She begged me. She was like, hey, please, please come visit. I'm really lonely. I need a friend. I need some help, you know. She wrote me this poem that was very, you know, in that context was quite deep and dark and basically was talking about loneliness and isolation and kind of meaninglessness of everything.
He's now a psychiatrist up in Seattle. And it's really challenging. It's really, I mean, I've had a number of patient suicide, and even with that, it's really hard to reconcile that of like, could I have done something more? If I was honest, I might not have even written her back. I mean, we were in very different places. She was single, childless, hopping around different countries. I'm married.
I have a kid. I live in LA. I work as a writer, director. And as you might know, I host a podcast about the TV show I was on as a kid. Welcome to Pod Meets World. I'm Danielle Fishel. I'm Roger Strong. And I'm Will Friedle. Willow was still chasing new experiences, new people, and new places in a way that, when we were young, was exciting and admirable.
But now that we're in our 40s, it felt a little desperate, erratic. I remember for the first few years of our friendship, you know, it was like, it was kind of like being on a drug near her. She had so much energy and excitement and spontaneity and, like, But then I remember as she started to decompensate in our teen years, it was really challenging to be around her.
I should say all this with a caveat that it's impossible for me not to use my psychiatric nosology on her now. Now, looking back, I mean, she was just the archetype of someone who had clearly had a lot of childhood trauma. There's a few traumas Noah could be referring to here. There was the fact that she grew up on a collective in the woods. She definitely had some awful boyfriends.
There were drugs. But the central trauma of Willow's life had to do with her sister, Anna. Anna was two years older than us, which isn't much, except when you're 15. Back then, she was in a whole other category of existence, and I probably would have gotten to know her better, except on Halloween night, 1995, Anna disappeared. It was a horrible time.
For a couple of months there, it seemed like everyone we knew was a suspect or had a secret. We all got interviewed by the cops. People blamed Willow's mom, people blamed the Tender Hearts, Anna's boyfriend, people blamed the town. But no one knew what actually happened. No body was ever found, no charges ever filed.
Most everyone assumed that Anna ran away, that she just wanted out of Tender Hearts or a small town, took off. But Willow never thought that. She knew her sister would never leave without her, or at least without saying goodbye. This is from Willow's letter. I know I made you promise something about the night Anna disappeared. You and Crystal Vecchio and Orion and Connor were there too.
Do you remember? We pinky swore. So here's the deal. I want you to know I don't fucking care anymore. I release your pinky, sir. I am no... I can't read this, but I think she wrote authority. But I want to know the truth. If Anna is still out there or the person who killed her is out there, then keeping my secret is stupid. It always has been.
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Chapter 4: What was the impact of Anna's disappearance on their community?
His name is Mick Bowden. My brother Shiloh was actually there at the party. I remember sitting there and I just remember he punched the window. There was a lot of screaming and arguing going on. And then I, you know, I don't remember exactly what it was about, but it definitely stopped the fight.
situation like everyone's like whoa okay and then you know but it's kind of in a party scene so like everybody's you know i think they might have been out smoking well yeah mick uh he left the party an hour or so before anna more on that later so she gets a ride so she gets his ride from these three girls lindsey green gianna parata and audrey wick so i don't know if i should um tell you this but i call them the mean girls
Because weren't they pretending to help her? You know, honestly, there was a lot of back and forth with that. Lindsay, Jenna, and Audrey gave her a ride. And when they were asked by the police, they said they drove her home. Lindsay told the police that they were actually messing with Anna and that they dropped her off a few miles from her house, actually. Like I said, mean girls.
But we can assume, at least, that she didn't go home because then Nick got that page from Anna at 10.03pm. This was the era of pagers. We all had them, and we all had our own code that we used to let someone know if we wanted them to call us back or meet us somewhere. Well, first she paged him to a phone number, which we later found out was the Juniper Street pay phone.
And he told police that he paged her back with his code that he was going to meet her there. But then, the fire. A devastating night in western Sonoma County as fire raged over 100 acres and burned four homes in its path. Sources tell KQED... Well, we have that the first witness called in the fires at 10.20 p.m.
It started out on the Tenderheart property, and then, you know, as we know, it spread. No one was hurt, but a lot of loss. It was a big deal. Two firefighters, I don't know their names in front of me, on the way towards the fire, they saw a young woman, blonde, walking alone on juniper. That was the last time anyone saw Anna Traynor. Okay. Um, well, I have some info, some new info.
Uh, maybe answers for some of this. Well, damn, Ryder. It's only been 30 years. In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband, Mike, was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately, the mask came off. You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband.
To keep this secret for so many years, he's like a seasoned pro. This is a story about the end of a marriage, but it's also the story of one woman who was done living in the dark. You're a dangerous person who preys on vulnerable and trusting people. Your creditor might go up in good. Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's go.
Our iHeartRadio Music Awards are coming back Thursday, March 26th live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music that you loved listening to all year long on your favorite iHeartRadio station and the iHeartRadio app. Hosted by Ludacris. Icon Award recipient John Mellencamp. Innovator Award recipient Miley Cyrus.
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Chapter 5: What theories exist about what happened to Anna?
The Stuff You Should Know Think Spring podcast playlist is available now. Whether spring has sprung in your neck of the woods yet or not, the Stuff You Should Know Think Spring playlist will make you want to get your overalls on, get outside, and get your hands in the dirt.
You can get the Stuff You Should Know Think Spring playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's go. Our iHeartRadio Music Awards are coming back Thursday, March 26th, live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music that you loved listening to all year long on your favorite iHeartRadio station and the iHeartRadio app.
Hosted by Ludacris. Icon Award recipient, John Mellencamp. Innovator Award recipient, Miley Cyrus. With performances by Alex Warren, Kehlani, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris, Ray, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue. Plus, Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year. Also, gold medal Olympian Alyssa Liu, Neo, Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glaser, Sombra, Weezer, and more.
Watch live on Fox Thursday, March 26th at 8, 7 central. And listen on iHeartRadio stations across America and the free iHeart app. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins, but the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct? I doctored the test once.
It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mangini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.
Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband, Mike, was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately, the mask came off. You're supposed to be safe. That's your home.
That's your husband. Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
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