The Disappearance of Jimmy Farenthold Part 1: Oil, Power, and Secrets

Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

Vincent Strange

True Crime

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Texas dynasties are remembered for oil, ranching, and politics. Their names are carved into courthouses and campuses—but behind the polished legacy of the Farenthold family lies a darker story. In this first part of our multi-episode series, we trace the family’s rise from European aristocracy and South Texas oil wealth into political power, before unraveling the tragedies that shadowed their name.

From the sudden death of a child to the brutal gangland-style murder of 32-year-old Randy Farenthold, this episode examines the intersections of privilege, politics, and violence. As Frances “Sissy” Farenthold’s political star rose on reform and civil rights, her family life was shattered by a killing that sent shockwaves through Corpus Christi society.

But Randy’s murder was only the beginning. Another son, Jimmy, would one day vanish—without obituary, without a police report, without answers. Just silence.

This is Part One of Three of The Disappearance of Jimmy Farenthold: Oil, Power, and Secrets.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Jimmy Farenthold, please contact the San Antonio Police Department at (210) 207-8939.

Sources: The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, The Port Aransas South Jetty, The Houston Chronicle, The San Antonio Express-News, Texas Monthly, Texas Observer, texashistory.unt.edu, The Los Angeles Times,

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You've got two choices in life.
0:04.0	Blend in or wear something that makes strangers wonder if you're part of a secret society.
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0:44.4	Dot dashry.com.
0:46.5	That's longhornarmadillo.
0:47.9	dot D-A-S-H-E-R-Y.com.
1:01.7	Thank you. E-R-Y.com Gone Cold Podcasts may contain violent or graphic subject matter.
1:03.7	Listener discretion is advised.
1:14.2	Texas remembers its dynasties, oil barons, ranching empires, political legacies. Their names are etched into libraries, on courthouses, campaign signs, and gravestones. Some built cities and some
1:22.3	bought them. But behind the elegance of a South Texas name like Farinthold was something else.
1:30.9	They are a family with oil money, European titles, and political clout stretching from South Texas to the U.S. Capitol.
1:40.3	A family that made speeches, built libraries, changed laws, and buried its darkest chapters in silence.
1:49.3	It's a dynasty stitched together by war, ambition, and tragedy.
1:55.2	Behind the prestige was a brutal murder, a child's sudden death, and a disappearance no one reported.
2:03.6	No police report, no obituary, no press coverage, just silence.
	...

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