164. Backwoods Horror: The Mysterious Disappearances of Amy Bechtel & Polly Melton

Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries

History, Fiction, True Crime, Drama

4.8 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Go to https://kachava.com and use code HSP for 15% off your first order. One summer, a 24-year-old runner parked her car on a remote Wyoming road, left behind a to-do list with one uncrossed item "run" and was never seen again. Across the country, another woman was walking with friends on a well-traveled trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, went off ahead of her friends, and vanished without a trace. Today, we're diving into two backwoods disappearances, where the search parties found almost nothing, and the questions still go unanswered. These are the cases of Amy Wroe Bechtel and Polly Melton. Both of the cases in today’s episode are open and unsolved. If you have any information please contact the below: Amy Wroe Bechtel: Please Contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-442-8477. or the Fremont County Sheriff at 307-332-5611 Pauline Melton: Please Contact Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 615-744-4000 or the National Parks Service https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/cold-cases.html Show Notes: https://www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/amybechtel Subscribe on⁠ Patreon⁠ to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society and enjoy ad-free listening, monthly bonus content, merch discounts and more. Members of our High Council on Patreon also have access to our weekly after-show, Footnotes, where I share my case file with our producer, Matt. You can also enjoy many of these same perks, including ad-free listening and bonus content when you subscribe on Apple Podcasts . Follow on⁠ Tik Tok⁠ and⁠ Instagram⁠ for a daily dose of horror. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Prime Video brings the best in entertainment.
0:03.0	The end of the world continues with season two of the global phenomenon, Fallout, included with Prime.
0:09.0	I defer to you about what to do in this situation.
0:12.0	Bring home the epic conclusion to the untold story of the Witches of Oz.
0:16.0	Buy or rent, Wicked for Good Now.
0:18.0	I'm taking you to see the wizard.
0:20.0	There's no going back. Whatever you're into, it's right here. I'm taking you to see the wizard. There's no going back.
0:21.6	Whatever you're into, it's right here.
0:24.0	Prime Video.
0:25.0	Click or tap the banner to find out more.
0:27.0	Welcome back to another episode of Heart Starts Pounding.
0:33.6	As always, I'm your morbid guide into our dark curiosity, Kayla Moore.
0:38.6	I've asked this question before on this show, but what could cause someone to vanish into thin air?
0:45.7	Sometimes I hear from our community when I pose that question, your theories and your thoughts on the episode, and the answers I get range from the logical all the way to the
0:54.5	supernatural. People fall into crevices all the time. People run away to start new lives more than you
0:59.8	would think. Bigfoot is real and he's taking people into the fourth dimension. I do get that
1:05.3	explanation more than you guys would think. But what I have for you today has really left me
1:10.3	scratching my head. And I really am curious to hear what you all think. The first story I have for you today has really left me scratching my head, and I really am
1:12.0	curious to hear what you all think. The first story I have for you is of a woman who goes missing
1:17.2	and a note is found in her car, in her own handwriting that reads, run. And in the second story,
1:24.5	a woman was out on a light walk with friends, turned a corner ahead of them,
1:29.3	and was never seen again. Two disappearances, two totally different circumstances, and one central
	...

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