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About this Episode
In March 2000 a free-spirited young woman made the impulsive decision to go on a cross-country road trip alone. She left behind a cryptic note, causing her friends and family to become concerned. She wished to make her way to a region featured in a book by her favorite writer but that journey would soon come to a mysterious end. Days later her vehicle was discovered wrecked with no signs of injury inside and no footprints leading away. Her belongings were scattered through the trees, yet valuables remained untouched. Despite searches, witness tips, and later forensic developments, no trace of the woman was ever found, and her disappearance remains unsolved.
Hosts & Guests
Transcript
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In March 2000, a free spirited young woman made the impulsive decision to go on a cross-country
road trip alone.
She left behind a cryptic note, causing her friends and family to come concerned.
She wished to make her way to a region featured in a book by her favorite writer, but that journey
would soon come to a mysterious end.
Days later, her view was discovered wrecked, with no signs of injury inside and no footprints
leading away.
Her belongings were scattered throughout the trees, yet valuables remained untouched.
Despite searches, witness tips, and later forensic developments, no trace of the woman was
ever found, and her disappearance remains unsolved.
Welcome to Without a Trace.
I'm your host, Jillyn.
Every file holds a mystery, every story deserves to be heard.
This is Leah's story.
Leah Roberts was born on July 23, 1976, and Durham, North Carolina.
She was the youngest of three children, tenancy and stanzel Roberts.
She was raised in Durham alongside her sister, Cara, and brother Heath.
Leah had a relatively normal childhood, but things took a turn when she was 17, and her
father was diagnosed with a life-threatening respiratory disease.
Leah enrolled in college at North Carolina State University in 1995.
While attending college, Leah played soccer and did a semester in Spain.
During her sophomore year, her mother died suddenly from heart disease on February 5, 1997.
Leah took a brief hiatus from her studies and returned home to be with her family.
Soon after returning to college, in the fall of 1998, Leah was involved in a near fatal
car accident when a truck turned onto the road in front of her.
She suffered a punctured lung and a shattered femur.
Leah had implanted a metal rod next to her femur to help it heal.
Leah's survival was a life-changing moment for the young woman who viewed it as her
second chance, later telling her sister she felt born again after her recovery.
Leah had signed up for a field study program in Costa Rica when, once again, devastation
struck.
In the spring of 1999, after years of dealing with his condition, Leah's father passed
away.
Losing both her parents at such a young age and in a relatively short period of time,
deeply affected her.
Her friends noted she appeared to be not fully processing the loss of her father and
raised concerns about her emotional state.
Her siblings described her as lost.
While upset, Lisa decided to continue with her trip.
Since she was leaving the country and no longer had living parents, Leah granted her sister
Cara power of attorney over her bank accounts.
Leah's trip to Costa Rica was an experience that completely changed her world view.
She became interested in life's adventure and wanted to see the world.
Just six months before she was slated to graduate with degrees in Spanish and anthropology,
she became dissatisfied with societal expectations and had lost her faith in her education.
Shortly after, against the wishes of her older siblings, Leah ultimately decided to leave
school.
Upon leaving school, Leah, who was already a private person, drew away from her core
friend group.
She went through a significant transformation, viewing herself as reborn, leading to a
shift in her outlook on life.
Leah explored new hobbies, delved into reading, and formed new connections.
She learned to play the guitar, practice photography, and adopted a pet kin she named
B.
Leah later spent most of her time in the local coffee house, Cup of Joe, where she passed
time by writing poetry about the meaning of life.
It was here she developed a close friendship with Janine Quiller.
With Janine and her roommate, Nicole Bennett, Leah discussed the idea of emulating novelist
Jack Kerawak and going on a cross-country road trip to explore all that life had to offer.
On March 9, 2000, Leah received a phone call from her sister, asking how she was doing.
Leah spoke with her sister about her uncertain future plans, and the conversation ended with
the understanding that the two sisters would see each other soon.
Later that morning, Leah confirmed plans with her roommate for a babysitting job the
following day.
When Nicole returned home from work that evening, she saw that Leah's jeep was missing from
the parking lot.
This wasn't particularly notable at the time, since Leah didn't have a consistent schedule
anymore, and would often come and go.
However, the next day she failed to show up to babysit with Nicole.
Her friends and family tried to contact her repeatedly over the next few days without
success.
Several days passed without any sign of Leah, and Nicole grew increasingly worried.
Nicole reached out to Kerawak, inquiring if she had heard from Leah.
But no, Kerawak hadn't heard from her sister since March 9.
In fact, no one had seen Leah since that day.
Leah's friends and family immediately jumped into action.
Her friends met Kerawak and Nicole at their residence.
Kerawak searched her sister's room and determined that she'd left voluntarily, given the
items that were missing included her kitten and many of her clothes.
Despite this assumption, she still reported Leah missing to the police, given her sister's
mental and emotional state.
Kerawak returned to the home the following day on March 14 to double check that she hadn't
overlooked anything in Leah's room.
It was during this second search that she came across a note Leah had left for Nicole.
The note, while largely cryptic, had a happy tone.
The note addressed to Nicole read as follows.
Nicole, this is to cover bills for while I am gone.
Remember, everyone is together in thoughts and prayers and time passes quickly.
Have faith in me, yourself, everyone.
Help Shep with Easter at a lot of house for fun for the children.
If Peter my laptop, give everyone my love.
See you soon.
Tell Kerawak don't worry, even though she will.
PS, cookies in the freezer.
Tell Nikki I meant to come, but I had no choice.
She'll understand.
Tell Melissa she should come stay in my room if she wants to come to Rayleigh.
Signed, Leah.
Circled off to the side of the letter read April 23 on the road.
No, I'm not suicidal.
I am the opposite.
The note mentioned Jack Kerawak and included a drawing of the Cheshire cat grin.
Leah was a fan of Alice in Wonderland, but her sister wondered if the presence of the
cat's mischievous grin had a deeper significance.
Keraw said, I kind of wondered if it wasn't the cat that always disappears and reappears
out of nowhere.
I feel like it might have meant to her, here's my grin, it's here, it's gone, it'll
be back.
Along with the note, Leah left behind a bundle of cash for Nicole, enough money to cover
her portion of the month's bills.
Leah's family and friends were unsure of what to make of this.
All attempts to contact Leah continued to fail.
Her cell phone records would later reveal that she hadn't used her phone since leaving
North Carolina and it's unclear whether she brought it with her.
Keraw, holding power of attorney over Leah's bank account, began tracking her sister's transactions.
Leah had withdrawn a substantial amount of cash, approximately $3,000 on the evening
of March 9th.
She also utilized her debit card to pay for a motel room near Memphis, Tennessee.
Later transactions were purchases of gas or food, their locations suggesting that Leah traveled
west along Interstate 40 before traveling North on Interstate 5.
After she reached Interstate 40's western end in California.
The last activity on Leah's bank account was a gas purchase shortly after midnight on
the morning of March 13th in Brooks, Oregon.
Police later recovered security camera footage from the gas station, which showed Leah alone
and seemingly in good condition.
Although several times she peered out into the parking lot while waiting for her transaction
to be completed.
The trail went cold after the gas station purchase, as there were no subsequent transactions.
While Keraw was examining Leah's financial records, Leah's friends began canvassing the
area.
They came across Janine who revealed that Leah had been discussing her desire to visit
Desolation Peak in the Northern Cascade Mountains of Washington.
The exact location mentioned in Jack Kerawaks 1958 novel The Dharma Bums.
Early on the morning of March 18th, five days after the last activity on Leah's bank
account, a couple jogging along Canyon Creek Road, a side route of the Mount Baker Highway.
Notice articles occluding at the side of the road next to a slight curve at the top
of a slope.
Some pieces of clothing had been tied to trees and branches at the roadside.
In the woods below, at the bottom of a steep embankment, was Leah's severely damaged
jeep.
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Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird.
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Him to a bird.
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On March 18th, Kara received a word from the police informing her that Leah's 1993
white jeep Cherokee had been found on the side of a highway near Bellingham, Washington.
Based on the path that the car had taken through the trees and the extent of the damage to
the vehicle, investigators determined that the jeep had been traveling nearly 40 miles
an hour when it went off the road and down the slope.
The contents of the vehicle were tossed around inside, consistent with the rollover.
There was found no blood or other signs of injury to an occupant inside the vehicle,
such as the stretching of a sea belt, nor were there any footprints leaving the scene
so they concluded that no one had been inside the jeep when it crashed, suggesting the
accident may have been staged.
The windows were broken and blankets and pillows were hung inside the windows of the jeep,
suggesting it had been used as a shelter after being wrecked.
Leah's passport, checkbook, driver's license, closed guitar, CDs, and other belongings
were found scattered in the surrounding woods.
Bits of cat food and a small cat carrier were found in the vehicle, though Bee was never
found.
Valuable such as $2,500 in cash and jewelry were also left behind, suggesting that robbery
had not been the reason for the accident.
On March 21st, Kara and Heath flew to Bellingham to assist investigators.
Upon being brought to the area where Leah's jeep was found, they began to wonder if maybe
she hit her head and wandered away, but no hospitals in the area had records of treating
an injured or disoriented woman.
Among her belongs, her siblings found a box of mementos from the trip that established
a more clear timeline of when she had arrived in Bellingham.
In the box was a movie ticket stub for the March 13th afternoon showing of American
Beauty at the Bellas Fair Mall.
With the help of the Sheriff's Office, Leah's siblings created a fire that they posted
around the city.
They wanted to local businesses to ask if business owners or customers had seen Leah.
They headed to the mall where the theater was located, hoping someone might recall
seeing her.
Near the theater was the mall's only sit-down restaurant, where Heath and Kara believed
Leah might have gone for a meal.
There, two customers claimed they had met Leah in the restaurant on March 13th, where
they had sat on each side of her at the restaurant's counter.
The men recalled talking with Leah about her planned road trip inspired by her favorite
author.
One of the men claimed that Leah left with a third man whom Heath heard her call, Barry.
However, neither the other man nor any other customer who had been in the restaurant at
the time could cooperate the third man's existence.
Back at the crash site, searches for any sign of Leah began.
An area was mapped out based on how far an injured person could travel on foot, after
which dogs, ground personnel, and helicopters were brought in.
Metal detectors that could find the metal rod and Leah's leg were also utilized, but
despite their efforts, no new evidence was discovered.
While the search was occurring, officers contacted the gas station in Brooks, Oregon, that
Leah had last visited before she went missing.
Surveillance footage was collected and showed her by herself, however, she kept peering
out to the door while waiting for the clerk to ring in her purchase.
Unfortunately, there are no cameras pointed outside, meaning no one knows who or what
Leah was looking at.
Doctors continued to examine Leah's jeep, joined by the FBI, who had become involved
because the vehicle had been found on federal land.
They found her mother's engagement ring, which Leah wore constantly, under a floor mat
inside the vehicle.
Leah's friends and siblings said that she treasured the ring for the connection it offered
to her late mother, and that she would have never taken it off voluntarily.
Nicole explained, quote, that was a very, very sacred item for her.
I don't care what kind of emotional state she was in, unless she had some kind of serious
mental disorder, she would have never left that ring, never.
After this discovery, the investigation stalled.
When the search for Leah hit a dead end, her family returned to North Carolina, feeling
helpless.
A few days after the jeep was discovered, a man called the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
to report a siding.
He claimed that his wife had seen Leah wandering around a gas station in Everett.
She was reportedly disoriented and unable to get her name when asked.
After disclosing the information, he seemed to panic and hung up before police could
get more information from him.
Nevertheless, police considered the tip credible, though it led them no quite close to defying
Leah.
In 2006, Mark Joseph of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, the detective who had originally
investigated the case, passed his files on to two younger detectives.
A breakthrough in the case occurred when the new detectives revisited the case and
noticed that the car and its contents had not been fully processed for evidence when
it was originally brought in.
The hood of the jeep had never been open, raising the possibility that it might hold some
answers.
Upon investigation, they discovered that a wire had been cut, allowing the car to accelerate
without anyone pressing on the gas pedal, explaining how the car could crash without Leah inside.
A fingerprint was found under the hood, and male DNA was detected on some of her belongings
inside the car.
These new leads led investigators back to the man who had claimed Leah left the restaurant
with the third man she called Barry.
As no one could cooperate this witness's statement, police fingerprinted and DNA tested
him to rule out his involvement in her disappearance.
The witness's fingerprint did not match the one discovered under the hood of the jeep,
but the results of the DNA sample have not been disclosed.
The police then focused on Barry, whom the witness had provided a composite sketch of,
and located him.
Barry, a former mechanic and army veteran, had moved to Canada.
The authorities collaborated with Canadian government to obtain Barry's fingerprints,
which did not match the ones found at the scene.
In 2014, a mummified body was found in the same region that Leah's rective vehicle
had once occupied.
The remains showed striking similarities to Leah, such as height as well as the presence
of a metal rod in the right femur, the same location as Leah's.
A trace of the lot number showed that the rod had been shipped in a batch in the fall
of 1998, when Leah had her own metal rod implanted.
Initially, these similarities seemed far too remarkable to be a coincidence.
However, experts determined that the body likely belonged to a male, age 33 to 55.
The John Doe's profile has since been removed from the missing, an unidentified person
system, indicating that this individual was probably quietly identified.
No further information on the remains have been released to the public.
There are several theories as to what have happened to Leah.
Investigators believe she may have headed towards Mount Baker Highway after her accident,
and was possibly picked up by a passing motorist.
Some people have speculated that an unknown individual was driving Leah's vehicle at the
time of the accident, and that foul play may have been involved in her disappearance.
Though there is little evidence to explore any theory regarding her whereabouts.
Leah's case is still open and active.
Leah's sister Cara stated in past media interviews, Leah was a young woman who was lost.
You know, by the time Leah was 22, she had lost both of her parents, and here she is
on the verge of graduating from college, and I think she just really felt lost and didn't
have a lot of direction.
I feel like she took this trip as a soul searching trip.
I think she just needed to go and get away to clear her mind.
Leah's friends and family still hope that one day they'll have definitive answers.
Until then, the circumstances surrounding Leah's accident and what happened to her remain
unknown.
Thank you for listening to Without a Trace.
I hope we enjoyed our deep dive into Leah's disappearance.
If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe and follow Without a Trace on social media.
Enjoy me next week as I dive into another case.
And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance
with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.
Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird.
What is this your first date?
Oh no, we help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together.
We're married.
Ah!
Me too a human, him too a bird.
The bird looks out of your league anyways.
Only pay for what you need at Liberty Mutual.com.
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
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