Southern Mysteries Podcast

Episode 187 The Pascagoula Incident

On a quiet night in October 1973, two men fishing along the Pascagoula River in Mississippi walked into the sheriff’s office with a story that would follow them for the rest of their lives. Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were taken aboard a strange craft and examined by beings they could not explain. This episode of Southern Mysteries, explores the Pascagoula Incident, the fear and fallout that shaped both men’s lives, and why this Mississippi case still raises questions more than 50 years later. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries [https://www.patreon.com/southernmysteries] 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com [https://www.southernmysteries.com] for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/groups/176458052934813] Instagram: @southernmysteries [https://www.instagram.com/southernmysteries]Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com [southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com]  Episode Sources * Reuters. “Mississippi man who said he was abducted by aliens dies.” Sept. 13, 2011. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/mississippi-man-who-said-he-was-abducted-by-aliens-dies-idUSTRE78C66R/ * WLOX. “Calvin Parker, who claimed he was abducted by aliens in Pascagoula in 1973, has died.” Sept. 2, 2023. https://www.wlox.com/2023/09/02/calvin-parker-who-claimed-he-was-abducted-by-aliens-pascagoula-1973-has-died/ * WLOX. “Coast Life: Alleged Pascagoula River Alien Abduction 50-years later.” Oct. 16, 2023. https://www.wlox.com/2023/10/17/coast-life-alleged-pascagoula-river-alien-abduction-50-years-later/ * Country Roads Magazine. Alexandra Kennon Shahin, “The Pascagoula Abduction.” Sept.21, 2021 https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/people-places/the-pascagoula-abduction/ * Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Jan. 12, 2023. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2023/3667-2022-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena * Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “ODNI Releases Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Jan. 12, 2023. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2023/3668-odni-releases-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena * Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (PDF). https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Unclassified-2022-Annual-Report-UAP.pdf * U.S. Department of Defense. “Department of Defense Releases the Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.” Nov. 14, 2024. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/3964824/department-of-defense-releases-the-annual-report-on-unidentified-anomalous-phen/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Episode 186 The Marcia Trimble Murder

In February 1975, nine-year-old Marcia Trimble vanished while delivering Girl Scout cookies in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood, shattering the sense of safety surrounding one of the city’s most affluent communities. Her disappearance and murder became one of Tennessee’s most haunting cold cases, marked by suspicion, unanswered questions, and a mystery that lingered for decades. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries [https://www.patreon.com/southernmysteries] 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com [https://www.southernmysteries.com] for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/groups/176458052934813]TikTok @southernmysteries [https://www.tiktok.com/@southernmysteries] Instagram: @southernmysteries [https://www.instagram.com/southernmysteries]Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com [southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com]  Episode Sources * The Tennessean archival reporting on the disappearance, search, and investigation of Marcia Trimble (1975–2009): https://www.tennessean.com/ * Nashville Banner historical coverage via Nashville Public Library Digital Collections: https://digital.library.nashville.org/ (digital.library.nashville.org in Bing) * Metro Nashville Police Department public statements and case summaries related to the Trimble investigation: https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police (nashville.gov in Bing) * Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals opinion in State of Tennessee v. Jerome Sydney Barrett (2009): https://www.tncourts.gov/ * Davidson County Criminal Court filings and docket information for Barrett’s prosecution: https://sci.ccc.nashville.gov/ (sci.ccc.nashville.gov in Bing) * Vanderbilt University archives documenting the murder of Sarah Des Prez and Barrett’s connection: https://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/ * Belmont University reporting and campus safety archives referencing the February 1975 assault linked to Barrett: https://www.belmont.edu/ * A&E Cold Case Files episode “The Girl Scout Murder” (Marcia Trimble case): https://www.aetv.com/shows/cold-case-files (aetv.com in Bing) * Nashville Scene long‑form reporting on the Trimble case and the Womack investigation: https://www.nashvillescene.com/ * Interviews with Jeffrey Womack published across multiple decades, including retrospective reporting by The Tennessean: https://www.tennessean.com/ * Nashville Public Library Metro Archives: Belle Meade and Green Hills neighborhood development history, maps, and planning documents: https://library.nashville.org/research/metro-archives (library.nashville.org in Bing) * U.S. Census Bureau demographic data for Nashville and Davidson County (1960–1980): * Historical accounts of Belle Meade’s origins and incorporation as an independent city: https://www.citybellemeade.org/ * Reporting on the 1979 grand jury indictment of Jeffrey Womack via The Tennessean archives: https://www.tennessean.com/ * Coverage of the 2008–2009 DNA breakthroughs and Barrett’s prosecution from The Tennessean and AP News: https://apnews.com/ * Academic research on investigative tunnel vision and wrongful suspicion in 1970s policing (National Criminal Justice Reference Service): https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs * Oral histories and interviews with Nashville residents who participated in the 1975 search efforts (Nashville Public Library Oral History Collections): https://library.nashville.org/research/oral-history (library.nashville.org in Bing) * Contemporary reporting on changes in Tennessee missing‑child protocols influenced by the Trimble case (TBI & state legislative archives): https://www.tn.gov/tbi Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Episode 185 Spies of the Civil War - Rose Greenhow

A storm‑tossed blockade‑runner, a satchel of Confederate gold, and a woman whose secrets shaped the early days of the Civil War—this episode uncovers the life of famed spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow. From Washington parlors to prison cells to the dark waters off Fort Fisher, her story reveals the hidden world of Southern espionage and the final choice that bound her to the cause she refused to abandon. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries [https://www.patreon.com/southernmysteries] 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com [https://www.southernmysteries.com] for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/groups/176458052934813]TikTok @southernmysteries [https://www.tiktok.com/@southernmysteries] Instagram: @southernmysteries [https://www.instagram.com/southernmysteries]Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com [southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com]  Episode Sources * Greenhow, Rose O’Neal. My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington. London: Richard Bentley, 1863. * Pinkerton, Allan. The Spy of the Rebellion: Being a True History of the Spy System of the United States Army During the Late Rebellion. New York: G.W. Carleton & Co., 1883. * Boyd, Belle. Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1865. * Van Lew, Elizabeth. Papers and correspondence, 1860–1870. Library of Virginia, Richmond. * Davis, Jefferson. The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. * U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. * National Archives and Records Administration. “Old Capitol Prison Records,” Record Group 393. * Blanton, DeAnne. “Women Soldiers, Spies, and Patriots of the Civil War.” National Archives, 1993. * Leonard, Elizabeth D. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. * Wheeler, Richard. Voices of 1861. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1961. * Clinton, Catherine. Southern Women in the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. * McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. * Browning, Robert M. From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993. * Fonvielle, Chris E. The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1997. * “Wilmington Daily Journal,” October 1864. Coverage of the wreck of the Condor and the death of Rose O’Neal Greenhow. * “Richmond Enquirer,” 1861–1862. Reports on the arrest and imprisonment of Rose O’Neal Greenhow. * “The New York Times,” August–September 1861. Coverage of Greenhow’s arrest and Pinkerton’s investigation. * Library of Congress. “Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints,” Prints and Photographs Division. * National Park Service. “First Battle of Manassas: Intelligence and Espionage,” Manassas National Battlefield Park. * Sutherland, Daniel E. A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. * Fishel, Edwin C. The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. * Bakeless, John. Spies of the Confederacy. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1970. * Horan, James D. Confederate Agent: A True Story of the Civil War. New York: Crown Publishers, 1954. * Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series I, Vol. 10. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1900. * North Carolina Office of Archives and History. “Fort Fisher and the Blockade Runners,” Raleigh, NC. Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Episode 184 Sheriff Without A Gun The Legacy of Thomas Gilmore

In 1970, Thomas Gilmore became the first Black sheriff in rural Greene County, Alabama. He refused to carry a gun. How did a man of peace earn the trust to enforce the law in a place shaped by deep racial divides? And why does his story remain largely unknown? Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries [https://www.patreon.com/southernmysteries] 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com [https://www.southernmysteries.com] for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/groups/176458052934813]TikTok @southernmysteries [https://www.tiktok.com/@southernmysteries] Instagram: @southernmysteries [https://www.instagram.com/southernmysteries]Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com [southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com]  Episode Sources * Richard Bailey — Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1572687 * Eric Foner — Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction . https://uncpress.org/book/9780807858863/freedoms-lawmakers/ * Alabama Department of Archives & History — Reconstruction‑era election record. https://archives.alabama.gov * Greene County Historical Society. https://www.greenecountyhistoricalsociety.org * University of Alabama — Black Belt Heritage Collections. https://guides.lib.ua.edu/blackbelt * Birmingham Civil Rights Institute — Oral Histories. https://www.bcri.org/oral-history-project * U.S. Department of Justice — Voting Rights Act historical materials. https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-rights-act-1965 * Frye Gaillard — Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America . https://ugapress.org/book/9780820324722/cradle-of-freedom * Marshall Frady — The Southerner . https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1358422 * Southern Christian Leadership Conference Archives. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/southern-christian-leadership-conference-sclc * Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Digital Gateway. https://snccdigital.org * Birmingham News (historical archives). https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-birmingham-news/268/ * Tuscaloosa News (historical archives). https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-tuscaloosa-news/2681/ * Equal Justice Initiative — Historical reports on policing in Alabama. https://eji.org/reports/ * Douglas A. Blackmon — Slavery by Another Name. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/18327/slavery-by-another-name-by-douglas-a-blackmon/ * Isabel Wilkerson — The Warmth of Other Suns. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/19076/the-warmth-of-other-suns-by-isabel-wilkerson/ * This Man Stands Alone (film about Thomas Gilmore). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250463/ Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

Episode 183 The Vanishing of Virginia Carpenter

In June 1948, 21-year-old Mary Virginia Carpenter left Texarkana for college in Denton, Texas. She was last seen after a taxi dropped her near Brackenridge Hall at Texas State College for Women. The letter she promised her mother never came, and neither did Virginia. More than 70 years later, her disappearance remains one of Denton’s quiet, enduring mysteries. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries [https://www.patreon.com/southernmysteries] 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com [https://www.southernmysteries.com] for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/groups/176458052934813]TikTok @southernmysteries [https://www.tiktok.com/@southernmysteries] Instagram: @southernmysteries [https://www.instagram.com/southernmysteries]Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com [southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com]  Episode Sources * Denton Record‑Chronicle. Coverage of the disappearance of Virginia Carpenter. https://dentonrc.com * Texarkana Gazette. Reporting on the Carpenter case and related community response. https://www.texarkanagazette.com * Texas Woman’s University Libraries, Special Collections. Historical information on TSCW campus life and 1940s dorm policies. https://twu.edu/library/special-collections/ (twu.edu in Bing) * Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum. Background on Ranger Lewis C. Rigler and investigative practices. https://www.texasranger.org * The Charley Project. “Mary Virginia Carpenter.” https://charleyproject.org/case/mary-virginia-carpenter (charleyproject.org) * The Doe Network. Case File 1198DFTX. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1198dftx.html (doenetwork.org in Bing) * Unsolved Mysteries Wiki. “Virginia Carpenter.” https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Virginia_Carpenter  * Texas Monthly. “The Phantom Killer.” https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-phantom-killer/  * FBI Vault. Archival documents related to mid‑20th‑century missing persons investigations. https://vault.fbi.gov * Newspapers.com. Digitized historical newspapers used for timeline verification. https://www.newspapers.com * Ancestry.com. U.S. Census and public records consulted for background verification. https://www.ancestry.com Episode Music Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.