253 - The Disappearance of Sandra & John Jacobson
Trace Evidence
Steven Pacheco
4.7 • 4.3K Ratings
🗓️ 18 January 2026
⏱️ 106 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The following morning her car was found abandoned in a parking lot adjacent to the Missouri River, which was nearly frozen over. The initial investigation found claims that Sandy might have been suffering from a mental health crisis and may have jumped into the river with her child.
However, it was soon learned that Sandy had called the Bismarck Police Department hours before her disappearance. She informed them that there was a satanic cult operating on a farm not far from her home and she felt her son was in danger from them. She hung up shortly thereafter and her claims were never investigated.
A new investigator, nearly a decade later, would break the case open, wondering if perhaps Sandy's disappearance might have something to do with her estranged husband and several inaccurate statements he'd previously made to detectives.
Was Sandy the victim of foul play or did a loving mother, in the midst of a mental health crisis, commit an unthinkable act?
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Music Courtesy of:
"Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Echoes of Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Galactic Rap" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is dedicated to the memory of Adam the Wu. |
| 0:04.5 | In a dark world, he was a brilliant light of warmth and comfort. |
| 0:18.2 | Thin gray seams peeked out from within the clumping mask of thick clouds hanging heavy in the darkened skies above North Dakota. |
| 0:26.9 | Small flakes of alabaster snow fell loose from the gathered clouds, growing thicker and larger with each passing minute, |
| 0:34.2 | as they slowly made their descent towards the frozen earth below. |
| 0:38.3 | The moon appeared as a brilliant silver smirk hung there in the darkness, |
| 0:43.3 | casting her pale beams down upon the frigid waters of the Missouri River, |
| 0:47.3 | as it surged south from Garrison Dam, |
| 0:50.3 | slicing straight through the state and acting as a natural divide between the cities of |
| 0:55.1 | Bismarck to the east and Mondin to the west. There, in the shadow of Interstate 94, |
| 1:02.2 | resides a small park butted up against the eastern shore of the river. During the warmer months, |
| 1:08.4 | locals and visitors alike travel to the park to fish, swim, and boat the Missouri. |
| 1:14.8 | But when the cold breath of winter comes to freeze over the river, it brings with it a quiet emptiness that permeates the shoreline, park, and beyond. |
| 1:25.1 | The evening of Saturday, November 16, 1996 1996 was one such bitterly cold night, |
| 1:31.7 | which saw the powerful Missouri moving rapidly through the area, but as temperatures continued dropping, |
| 1:37.8 | the waters had begun freezing over. The moonlight played upon thick white chunks of ice |
| 1:43.5 | floating along the water's surface as the |
| 1:46.0 | river moved past what was then known as Centennial Beach, a small area with river access just south |
| 1:52.6 | of the interstate Passover and north of the spanning bridge of the Northern Pacific Railway. |
| 1:58.5 | The sound of rushing water, combined with the howl of glacial winds sweeping |
| 2:02.9 | in from the north, created a grumbling din. Moving away from the shore and traveling east towards |
| 2:09.2 | Centennial Beach, the cacophony of nature's late-night activities grew quieter and quieter. Most nights |
... |
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