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Dark Downeast

The Suspicious Death of Barbara Ann Ripley (Maine)

Dark Downeast

audiochuck

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.83.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It was early afternoon of September 29, 1971 and 11-year old Barbara Ann Ripley should’ve been getting off the bus at home in North Yarmouth, Maine like she did every Wednesday. When she didn’t walk through the front door on schedule, her mother went looking for Barbara in what she thought was the most likely of places. But Barbara wasn’t there, and not even an extensive days-long search effort would uncover any trace of the little girl. Over a decade passed before the community and the Ripley family got answers, but it seemed a self-proclaimed psychic had tried to tip investigators off years before she was finally discovered. Despite the status of her case, one critical question still lingers: What really happened to Barbara?

Transcript

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0:00.0

It was the early afternoon of September 29th, 1971, and 11-year-old Barbara Ann Ripley should

0:09.8

have been getting off the bus at home in North Yarmouth, Maine like she did every Wednesday.

0:14.0

When she didn't walk through the front door on schedule, her mother went to look for

0:18.9

Barbara in what she thought was the most likely of places. but Barbara wasn't there and not even an extensive

0:25.9

days-long search effort would uncover any trace of the little girl.

0:30.8

Over a decade passed before the community and the Ripley family got answers, but it seemed a self-proclaimed psychic had tried to tip investigators off years before she was finally discovered.

0:43.0

Despite the status of her case,

0:45.0

one critical question still lingers.

0:48.0

What really happened to Barbara?

0:51.0

I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is the case of Barbara Ann Ripley on

0:55.0

Ripley on Dark Down East. Paul Hodgetts walked into the big old barn on his parents property, swatting at cobwebs as he squinted into the dimly lit space. The barn was practically falling down,

1:16.2

but it was good enough storage for all the stuff that didn't fit anywhere else.

1:20.3

And that's what brought Paul inside on April 22nd, 1981.

1:25.0

If you drive through small farming towns in Maine, you could play a game of

1:30.0

dilapidated barn bingo with all of the half falling down structures dotting the countryside.

1:35.0

They're a common sight, and though the 100-plus year old buildings are caving in on themselves

1:40.0

and the wallboards have gaps big enough for any number of furry woodland creatures to sneak through.

1:44.8

It costs more than it's worth to tear them down.

1:47.8

So they sit, used as storage or a place to stash junk and debris that owners aren't quite sure what to do with.

1:56.1

In the ten years that the Hodgett's family owned the Fairview Farm property, they made use

2:01.0

of portions of the barn, but they weren't farmers themselves.

2:04.4

A few years back, one of the Hodgett's daughters raised sheep as part of the 4-H

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