Leah Roberts

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2:00have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:16Today, I'm discussing the case of Leah Roberts. In the year 2000, 23-year-old Leah Roberts packed up some of her belongings along with her new kitten into her Jeep and headed west for Washington. She left behind a note telling her loved ones not to worry and that she'd be back. But nearly 25 years later, Leah is still missing. This is the case of Leah Roberts. On March 19, 2000, Kara Roberts had just one wish on her birthday, that her sister, who'd been missing for 10 days, would call her. Karen last spoke with her sister Leah on the phone on the morning of March 9th, and they ended that call by saying that they'd see each other soon.

3:04That afternoon, Leah made plans with her roommate and good friend Nicole to make a little extra cash babysitting the next day. But Leah never showed. Her Jeep and her new kitten bee were also missing. Now, it wasn't totally abnormal for Leah to have these spur-of-the-moment trips. After losing both of her parents within just a few years of each other, and surviving a nearly fatal car crash, Leah became more interested in soul-searching than school or keeping a regular schedule. She actually dropped out of her classes at North Carolina State University just a few months before she was set to graduate, with degrees in both anthropology and Spanish.

3:44But while she didn't plan on giving up her goal to graduate altogether, she did decide to go on this soul-searching journey. She began writing poetry, learning guitar, and photography, and she adopted her kitten bee. She openly discussed her fascination with the author Jack Kerouac, and traveling west from her home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Leah was a dreamer. She specifically told her friend from college, Renee Bolton, that she might want to travel to Washington someday. But again, she also had plans. She had aspirations, and she had loved ones that she cared about dearly. So when Leah didn't come back or contact anyone after not showing up for her babysitting gig, they knew something had to be wrong.

4:29And her sister Kara reported her missing on March 13th. On the 14th, Kara and Nicole decided to search Leah's room. And here, they find cash for Leah's part of the rent, and a note dated for March 9, 2000. According to reporting by Carrie Therene Shaw for the Bellingham Herald, that note read, quote, Nicole, this is to cover the bills while I'm gone. Remember, everyone is together in thoughts and prayers and time passes quickly. Have faith in me, yourself. Help Shep with Easter at Lotta House for fun for the children. Give Peter my laptop. Give everyone my love. See you soon. Tell Kara don't worry, even though she will.

5:13Leah. Cookies in the freezer. Then circled and in large letters reads, April 23rd, on the road. No, I'm not suicidal. I'm the opposite. Remember Jack Kerouac? Then boxed in small letters, it says, tell Nikki I meant to come, but I had no choice. She'll understand. Then again, boxed in small letters, it says, tell Melissa she should come stay in my room if she wants to come to Raleigh. And that's the end of the note. None of us know what was going on in Leah's head while she wrote this, but there are indicators that she plans to come back. This is for Bill's when I'm gone. See you soon. Tell Cara not to worry.

6:02I'm not suicidal. I'm the opposite. Of course, like Leah said, Cara was still worried. But she had a plan. Leah went on a trip to Costa Rica not long before this, and had given Cara power of attorney over her bank accounts just in case. She never revoked it when she got back to the States, so Cara uses her power of attorney to gain access to Leah's bank accounts. And according to Leah's episode of Disappeared, this is what her bank account reveals. On March 9th, Leah went to her bank and withdrew$3 ,000. Her debit card was then used to pay for a motel room in Tennessee. After this, there's a string of transactions for things like food and gas until Leah reaches the West Coast.

6:48The last transaction was for gas in Oregon around midnight on March 13th, the same day Leah was reported missing. So while of course it's concerning, it does seem like at this point that it's very likely Leah was just on a soul-searching journey out west, probably heading to Washington like she told her friend Renee she might want to do someday. Now, I do think it's important to kind of dig into what Leah was reading at this time. Before she went missing, she was greatly inspired by two books written by Jack Kerouac. One is called On the Road. It was first published in 1957, and it's a semi-autobiographical account of Jack's travels across America in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

7:34The story follows a guy named Sal. He's a young writer and his friend Dean, a likable drifter. They basically embark on a road trip across the U.S. searching for adventure and meaning in their own lives. The second was called Dharma Bums. It's another semi-autobiographical novel following Jack in the late 1950s as he explores Buddhism, spirituality, and the pursuit of enlightenment. Leah's friend Jeannie remembers this last conversation she had with Leah where they spoke about Jack Kerouac. Leah said that she was inspired to go to Desolation Peak in Washington, the same mountain that Jack Kerouac stood at, contemplating leaving behind the materials of life.

8:17Leah explained that she wanted to take a similar journey by herself to figure out who she wanted to be. She added that she felt lost and didn't know who she was anymore. All signs were pointing to Washington. Leah's conversations, her bank records, it all seemed to fall in place. So by March 19th, Kara's birthday, she's expecting to get a call from her sister. Leah was a free spirit and maybe a little lost, but she loved her friends and family. There was no way she wouldn't call for her sister's birthday. But when the phone finally rang, it wasn't Leah. It was the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office in Washington.

8:58They tell her that Leah's white 1993 Jeep Cherokee had been found off an abandoned logging road near Glacier. And Leah, unfortunately, wasn't in it. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Money is this invisible thread that ties us all together. It's something everyone has to deal with. That's why teaching kids about money isn't just smart, it's essential. Greenlight is a debit card and money app for families. It's a safe way to teach kids and teens about money. With Greenlight, parents can send money quickly, get spending notifications, and even assign chores. Greenlight turns responsibility into real-world learning.

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11:21On the morning of March 18th, a couple was jogging their normal route when they spotted a bunch of clothes hanging from a tree. When they get closer to take a look, they see it. Leah's jeep had crashed in a ditch. It was found upright, but it was apparent that it had rolled over at least once. Leah's belongings, including her passport, her checkbook, guitar, and CDs were all around the jeep. There was no blood, signs of a struggle, or any indication that anyone had been injured. But obviously something was very wrong here, so they called the police to report what they found. When investigators get to the scene and take a look around, they quickly rule out robbery, but not foul play Now, reports about the amount do vary in the media, but they find a considerable amount of cash in her Jeep along with her mother's engagement ring which, according to her loved ones, was likely the most valuable item in the vehicle It was also something that Leah wore every single day The carrier for Leah's cat was also still in the jeep But Bea wasn't in it They also find blankets kind of draped across the broken windows As if maybe someone used the jeep for temporary shelter And we know that Leah had a cell phone But it's unclear if she took it with her on this trip And it was not found in her jeep After gathering all the information they can from the scene and Leah's jeep investigators conclude that the vehicle was likely going at least 30 miles per hour when it crashed.

12:59And that's despite it going uphill at the time. The seatbelt never engaged or extended. So either no one was in the Jeep or they weren't wearing their seatbelt. But again, there were no signs of any struggle, blood, or injury. There are also no tracks leading away from the Jeep. For what appeared to be a pretty nasty crash, They couldn't confirm that anyone was in the vehicle upon impact. Kara and Leah's brother Heath immediately get on a plane to go to Washington to meet with investigators. When they get there, they are taken to Leah's jeep, and they meet with the press, pleading with the papers and news broadcasts for anyone who might know anything to please come forward.

13:45Investigators also launch a huge land and air search in the dense forest where her jeep was found. They also specifically used metal detectors. After Leah's near-fatal car crash, she had a metal rod placed in one of her legs. So, as morbid as it sounds, if Leah was met with foul play and discarded or buried somewhere, metal detectors would obviously help immensely during the search. But there was no trace of Leah or her cat. They also checked with local hospitals and care clinics, but she wasn't there either. Now, inside the Jeep, they also found a movie ticket. It appears that Leah had gone to see the movie American Beauty in Bellingham, Washington on March 13th.

14:30So, her siblings go and hand out flyers near the theater. They also go to Seattle and stop at every record store they come across. They search everywhere they can for their sister. Authorities conducted another aerial search on March 24th. They thought maybe if Leah had possibly become disoriented and lost in the woods, she was just wandering somewhere. But that search also came up empty. During the investigation, they were able to confirm a lot of what I told you about Leah's trail leading to Washington. On March 10th, Leah spent the night in a motel near Memphis, Tennessee. And by March 12th, she had already made it to Oregon.

15:11On the 13th, the same day she was reported missing in North Carolina, Leah was watching American Beauty. Kara told investigators and reporters that her sister wouldn't voluntarily worry her family and friends, and she believes that her sister always had a plan to return home from her trip. She said that she was pretty confident that Leah had a plan and knew what she was doing and where she was going up until the 13th. Pretty quickly, Whatcom County investigators teamed up with the FBI to expand their search, but that brought very few leads. And as much as I'm sure Kara and Heath would have loved to stay in Washington.

15:51There really wasn't much else they could do. And on the 26th, they flew back to North Carolina, really without any answers as to what happened to Leah.

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16:58As far as I know, her phone has never been recovered. There was a camera with undeveloped film found in the Jeep wreckage, and investigators were hoping that that would bring some answers. They developed the film, they asked Heath and Kara to come take a look, But the photos appeared to be from the previous winter, not this trip. It was another dead end. Unsolved Mysteries featured Leah's case about a year after she vanished. Of course, at the end of the episode, they go over the possible scenarios leading to Leah's disappearance. One of those scenarios is that Leah was just inspired by Jack Kerouac.

17:37She voluntarily abandoned her life to find herself, leaving behind all her worldly possessions and relationships with friends and family. But Leah's sister, in response to this, said, quote, I can understand Leah's needing to get away and find some peace with herself, but considering the loss that our family experienced, it's difficult for me to think that she would leave us open for another loss like this, end quote. Heath addressed the same topic, saying, quote, It's difficult to imagine her wanting to distance herself from her family for as long as she has. But of course, you don't want to imagine the negative things that could have happened.

18:18End quote. I would say, just my opinion here, that the letter she left in her apartment correlates with her sibling's sentiments. I think it would take an incredibly cruel person to leave a letter stating multiple times that they'd be back not long after these siblings lost both their parents, and just leave them with this open-ended mystery, leave them with another massive loss in their lives. I mean, in true crime, anything's possible, but it does feel unlikely given what we know about Leah and the case. Now, Unsolved Mysteries would also report that a week after Leah's jeep was discovered, an anonymous tip came in from a man reporting that his wife had seen Leah at a gas station 30 miles from Seattle and that she seemed disoriented and confused.

19:10But as they tried to get more information from this caller, he got nervous and hung up. As far as I know, this tip didn't lead anywhere. But by April, detectives told reporters that investigators had spoken to a witness who talked to Leah at a restaurant before she went to see American Beauty. This story is admittedly a little fuzzy, and has been told in a few different ways across different media sources. But it appears that Leah went into this restaurant alone. Then she began speaking with two different men. One of the men says, yes, I remember her, we spoke about Jack Kerouac. But she ended up leaving with a man named Barry.

19:52While the other man never even mentions a man named Barry. Investigators do commission a sketch of this man, but in the end, they state publicly that they believe the story about the man named Barry was most likely fabricated And eventually, the witness who mentioned Barry stops speaking with them On April 11, 2000, a$5 ,000 reward was offered for any information about Leah's disappearance Investigators at this point were also waiting for forensic testing of her jeep to come back While the official investigation was happening, her friends and family were working in the background Kara, Heath, Nicole, and Leah's friend Susie teamed up in that first year of Leah's disappearance To do whatever they could as a group and individually to find her Kara and Heath said that since their parents were no longer here they felt like it was their responsibility to find their sister.

20:51Nicole said that she spent the first year of Leah's disappearance pulling out atlases and trying to guess where Leah may have gone. She carried around a thick black notebook jotting down anything she thought might help investigators. Managers at a local coffee shop in Raleigh, Cup of Joe, said that Leah had been riding there for several hours a day over the past six months before she went missing. And it turns out that one of the customers at the coffee shop quickly became friends with Leah. John Christie reports that he was worried about her being on the road. He said that she was just so trusting, and all he could hope was that nothing bad would happen to her.

21:30He also mentioned that in their conversations, Leah had never talked about knowing anyone in Washington. Many of Leah's friends really dissected that note in the reference to Jack Kerouac as maybe holding clues to where she might have gone, but nothing led them to Leah. About a year into the investigation, Leah's loved ones wanted to do anything they could to help her, but didn't really know where to start. That's when they partnered with the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons. They gave them ideas like trying to host a candlelight vigil, holding a march, or maybe even a concert to help bring awareness to Leah's case.

22:10Nicole and Susie hit the ground running. They got to work and began planning a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for Leah's investigation. And it was a huge success. Almost everything was donated by local businesses. And bands came out and played for free. So many people showed up that they were able to raise$2 ,000. But despite all these efforts, the harsh reality of Leah being missing was undeniable. Leah's siblings have talked about how her disappearance has been worse than a death. They said that if they knew that she was dead, they would at least be able to mourn, while also acknowledging that on the flip side, not having these answers and not knowing means that she could still be out there.

22:53She could still maybe reappear in their lives. Nicole also talked about the guilt she had about her missing friend. She said, quote, I think about her, and then I realized I haven't thought about her in a while, and I feel so guilty. It's this perpetual battle in your mind. End quote. Of course, over time, there were more leads and sightings of Leah. In 2002, Kara and Heath even drove to Delaware to follow up on a report that two women who resembled Leah were wandering in the area, but neither woman turned out to be Leah. In 2004, they continued working with the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons.

23:36They actually ended up putting together this tour event that they would do every year, with each event dedicating a cross-country trek to a different missing person. And while Leah's family was working hard to raise awareness in hopes of generating tips in her case, the sheriff's office wasn't giving up either. In 2006, Leah's file was given to two new detectives. And like we see in so many cases with fresh eyes, they found something they felt was overlooked. Well, was overlooked. Leah's Jeep hadn't fully been processed. Now, remember, Leah's Jeep was driving pretty fast uphill when it crashed.

24:17And they found that her jeep had been tampered with in such a way to allow for the engine to engage without having to step on the gas pedal. Someone with advanced mechanical knowledge tampered with her jeep. They also find a single fingerprint under the hood, and it turns out that one of the men, one of the witnesses who talked about her leaving with a man named Barry, was a skilled mechanic. But in the end, that fingerprint has not been a match to any person of interest or witness in this case. Now, they do also have unknown male DNA from a piece of Leah's clothing, but investigators have not released the results of that testing.

25:02And that is pretty much where Leah's case is today. Unfortunately, it seems like there's a lot more lore than evidence in Leah's case. But as far as I could find, most of Leah's loved ones and the investigators lean more towards foul play than her up and leaving her entire life behind. Not to mention somehow managing to stay hidden for nearly 25 years now. Which brings me right to our call to action. Please share Leah's case, especially if you're in the Washington area. I really do hope that Leah is recovered alive and well. but if she was met with foul play, I think that metal rod from her leg will be the easiest thing to identify.

25:46There is also still DNA in this case that does not appear to have been tested for at least a few years. A little extra media push could be exactly what her case needs to get some extra funds for testing. As mysterious as her case might appear to be, we all know that these things done in the dark eventually do come to light.

26:13As a reminder, Leah was 23 years old when she went missing in Washington in March 2000. She is white, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 5 '6", and at the time of her disappearance weighed 130 pounds. She has a surgical scar on her right hip, a metal rod inside the entire length of her femur, a beauty mark on the upper corner of her right lip, Her ears are pierced and she has dimples. Anyone with information is asked to call the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office at 360-778-6600. But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time. Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice Media original.

27:06This episode contains writing and research assistance by Erin Reed. If you love what we do here, please don't forget to follow, rate, and review the show in your podcast player. It's an easy and free way to help us and help more people find these cases in need of justice.