Coffee and Cases Podcast

Brandon Swanson

On May 14, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson disappeared near Porter, Minnesota, after calling his parents for help in the middle of the night. What should have been a simple drive home after celebrating the end of the college semester became one of the most haunting missing persons cases in Minnesota history. Brandon was on the phone with his father when something happened. Then the call went silent. Nearly two decades later, his family is still waiting for answers. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

FROM THE VAULT: Ann Gotlib

June 1st, 1983 began as an exciting day for 12-year-old Ann Gotlib since it was the first day of summer vacation. She spent the day with various friends before making a short bike ride home. But it was a ride during which Ann disappeared. Sadly, law enforcement were not short on potential suspects— even though it is a case that remains open to this day. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Jill Rosenthal Part 3

Over the past two episodes, we followed a story that almost refuses to be believed: a newborn taken from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, a toddler found abandoned outside a department store in Newark, and a man raised as Paul Fronczak who later learned through DNA that he was not the baby everyone believed had been returned. After decades of questions, genetic genealogy finally gave him the name he had been born with: Jack Thomas Rosenthal. But that answer opened another mystery, because Jack had not been born alone. Fourteen minutes before him, a baby girl entered the world too. Her name was Jill Lynne Rosenthal. And unlike Jack, Jill was not found abandoned in Newark. She was not placed into foster care under another name. She did not grow up inside someone else’s story. She simply disappeared—without headlines, without a public search, without a childhood photograph, and without the world even knowing it should be looking for her. Today, in the final episode of our coverage, we turn fully toward Jill: a little girl who was born, a little girl who had a name, and a little girl whose disappearance was hidden so thoroughly that silence nearly became the final word. This is the final episode in our three-part coverage of the case of Jill Rosenthal. I want to again thank Paul Fronczak and Tracy Hastings again for trusting us with this story and for taking the time to speak with me. Please listen to their podcast, The Fronczak Files, because they are telling this story from the inside—not just as a mystery, but as a lived experience involving identity, family, loss, silence, and the ongoing search for answers. You can find their work at https://www.thefronczakfiles.com/ [https://www.thefronczakfiles.com/]. And if you are caught up on our regular Coffee and Cases episodes and want more content, join us on Patreon, where we cover a solved case each month as part of our state-by-state spotlight: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

FROM THE VAULT: Bill and Peggy Stephenson (2021)

Everyone has a special place in their hearts for Bill and Peggy Stephenson, the 74-year-old couple who would bring cookies, fish with them, visit with them, or minister to them. So, when Bill and Peggy were found brutally murdered on May 29th, 2011, everyone was in shock. Who would be capable of committing such a heinous crime? And, what’s more, who could be callous enough to remain in the home for hours afterward staging items in each room of their home? And if you’re caught up on regular Coffee and Cases episodes and still want more, join us on Patreon for solved cases and bonus content each month: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Jill Rosenthal Part 2

What happens when the truth you spent your whole life chasing opens the door to an even deeper mystery? In Part 2 of our coverage of Jill Rosenthal, we continue the unbelievable story of Paul Fronczak—the man who grew up believing he was the baby kidnapped from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, only to learn decades later that the truth was far more complicated. This episode follows Paul through DNA results, impossible discoveries, family secrets, and the kind of revelation that changes not only what you know about your past, but what you understand about your entire life. And just when it seems like one mystery may finally be solved, another name emerges. Another child. Another disappearance. Another question that refuses to stay buried. Listen to Part 2 now, and then follow Paul and Tracy’s work on The Fronczak Files podcast here: https://www.thefronczakfiles.com/ [https://www.thefronczakfiles.com/]. And if you’re caught up on regular Coffee and Cases episodes and still want more, join us on Patreon for solved cases and bonus content each month: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]