Matthew Anfeldt: Into the Woods // 589

0:00support for Unwell comes from Uber Eats. You already know Uber Eats delivers your late-night cravings and fave restaurants, but now they're delivering something just as exciting. Sephora, which means beauty is basically on speed dial. That's right, your beauty essentials can now show up at your door in as little as 25 minutes and no drama. Everything is the same price as in store. Order Sephora on Uber Eats today and get your glam delivered straight to your door. Check app for availability delivery fees may apply. Instagram teen accounts default teens into automatic protections for who can contact them and the content they can see. Explore teen accounts and all of our ongoing work to protect teens online at instagram.com slash teen accounts. Let's go! From Nintendo and Illumination. The Super Mario Brothers can take care of the kingdom. Comes a super powered adventure. On April 1st. Pack our things. The galaxy gets even bigger.

1:07He knows that's my bike, right? The Super Mario Galaxy movie Hoodie PG only theaters April 1st get to get's now. What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host teeth. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going Wats. Hello everybody hope you're doing well. Big big shout out to Brittany and Katie for recommending today's case. This is yet another very strange missing young man's case that Keith and I are always very invested in. But this one I didn't really dive into at all. I heard about it briefly but thanks to Brittany and Katie we really dove in and it is just so weird. Yeah I remember kind of hearing a little bit about this case. I think it happened around the time that Daphne and I actually first got together. Yeah and we were living in the Pacific

2:09Northwest. But I didn't really know all the details and now diving into it like you said. I mean it's just incredibly strange. Yeah cannot wait to hear your guys thoughts on this one. So don't forget to share it. Follow us on socials. That's where of course you can see photos of every case that we cover. It's where you can see photos for this one. Also actually just a little reminder we have Going West merch officially out. It's all so high quality and comfortable. And I think very stylish. Yes it is. Yeah we love it. I mean honestly like I wear the brown sweatshirt all the time because it's so frickin comfy. Yeah he did. I always it sporting our own merch but it's just because it's really high quality and amazing. That's true. We're a couple of weirdos. So check it out. It's at shop. So the website is shop.com. And then just click on our show going west and you'll see all the selections. One last other thing before we dive into today's case. I want to remind you guys that we have ad free full length bonus episodes over on patreon.com

3:11or you can subscribe on Apple. We have over 150 episodes that you're not going to hear on Going West. So go over and check those out. Subscribe. It really helps out the show. Yeah and it's just like going west. So if you want more episodes from us that is how you get them because there's so many inside and outside of the US by the way. Well with that let's get into today's case. This is episode 589 of Going West. So let's get into it. In February of 2019 a 20 year old man vanished after last being seen fleeing from a store near his

4:25small Washington town. His disappearance came just two months after a disturbing incident in which he told loved ones that three people had attacked him and carved the word kill into his chest. After telling multiple people that he was concerned that his family was in danger he vanished into the night. This is the strange disappearance of Matthew and Felt. Matthew and Felt was born on January 27th 1999 to parent Sarah and James. He grew up in a large

5:29blended family and was the middle of five children between an older sister and older brother as well as a younger sister and younger brother. His parents did eventually divorce and sadly his dad didn't have much of a presence in his life. Actually his dad unfortunately struggled with both addiction and his mental health so Matthew spent several of his childhood years in Alaska but then settled back in his native Washington when he was 10 with his mom and his family. They resided in Tynino which is a small historic mining town located about 25 minutes south of the capital of Olympia and about an hour and a half south of Seattle. This is so weird to me we're going to talk about this more later but this town has less than 2,000 people in it and there's weirdly a few true crime cases connected to it that we have covered including the strange disappearance of Logan Schindelman. We covered that back in episode 196 of going west. I think

6:29that was like three years before Matthew's case and that I will say that was in the neighboring town of Tomwater but still it's the same area and then also the murder of Nancy Moyer which happened in Tynino in March of 2009 and we covered that back in episode 71 of going west but that one hasn't been available for a long time. I'll you know Heath and I say sometimes oh we're redoing this episode or whatever our first 100 episodes of going west were deleted a long time ago. So I think that's one that we should definitely redo it's just very very strange. Yeah it's it's incredibly weird that in this very small kind of rural area there's a few different cases that are connected to it. It's like you wouldn't imagine that that would happen in one small area especially like mysterious cases that have enough information and enough intrigue to cover like disappearances. Yeah because I mean like most towns have like oh a murder or there was a shooting or like I don't know how to explain it like a true crime case that isn't

7:32very true crimey I guess. Yeah which is I totally get where your where your heads go in there. It's yeah it's weird that there's disappear like mysterious disappearances within this very small area. Exactly well anyway so Matthew is remembered as a sweet and loving child who grew into a funny and happy go lucky teen. He was naturally athletic and was on the wrestling team throughout high school which was a sport that he got involved in at just six years old. And actually when you look up Matthew's name there will be some newspaper articles about how he was like a like a district champion for wrestling. I've seen pictures of him holding its metals and stuff. Yeah he was really good at it actually that's why he was interviewed for the local paper during his junior year about his time on the Tom water high school wrestling team. So when I was just talking about Logan Shindelman I said he was in Tom water that's how close these cases are again we're going to dive into that later. In fact they actually went to the same high school. Yes but above all else

8:34Matthew felt that his life's calling was to pursue making his own music and he aspired to be a rapper and singer. He had written dozens of songs and released them on his soundcloud and Facebook and he also enjoyed freestyling like he would post a lot of videos of himself doing this frequently under the stage name M. T. Hayes. His mom Sarah said proudly quote he hoped to be successful at some point in his life with music. But as a teenager Sarah did admit that he fell in with the wrong crowd and his family was shocked to see this because he was always such an honest kind and forthright person who seemed to have a strong moral compass. But it seems like Matthew had also seen the damage that drugs had done to his dad's life and kind of wanted to make different choices but yet found himself struggling under the weight of addiction anyway. He also got into trouble with the law numerous times throughout his young life and he went to

9:34rehab multiple times but actually his efforts finally seemed to stick in the months leading up to his disappearance and his family and especially his mother Sarah were extremely proud of him for maintaining his sobriety. However I will say in December of 2018 just two months before he disappeared he suffered a setback that may have laid the groundwork for his eventual disappearance. Now at the time Matthew was living with his aunt so Sarah's sister in Lacey Washington which is about 30 minutes north of Tanayno and he had been working part time for a temp agency just kind of looking for a position that was more permanent. On the evening of December 22nd 2018 Matthew spent some time with a co-worker in Lacey and wound up not too far from his aunt's house. But with no ride home and a dead cell phone he decided that he would walk and venture down Slater Kenny Road. But as he continued on his way

10:37he noticed three people in hooded sweatshirts eyeing him from across the street and they began following him. So getting scared Matthew ducked into the ride aid situated on the intersection of Slater Kenny Road South East and 7th Avenue South East. Now he killed time inside of this store for about an hour just hoping that these people would leave. But when Matthew eventually left that store he saw this trio still lurking outside waiting for him. He continued to hurry on his route home but the group was following him and when he tripped and fell they seized the opportunity to descend on him when he was most vulnerable. At this point Matthew described being jumped and dipping in and out of consciousness as they beat him cut him and most disturbingly carved the word kill into his chest with the tip of a knife. The three then fled and Matthew

11:38managed to stumble home after this attack. Now in a days he then posted a video of himself crying on social media with visible bruises on his face and like bloody scratches on his chest and arms. Obviously his older brother Anthony was so concerned upon seeing this video so by the time Matthew woke up the entire family had been alerted. But maybe a little uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving you know how how much this video was kind of spreading around. He actually deleted the post when he woke up the next morning so we can't watch this video anymore. His aunt then brought him over to his mom's house where Sarah encouraged him to have his wounds tended to at the hospital. You know she's worried about him like he literally has a word carved into his chest and also of course to file a police report against these dangerous men. Yeah because she's very concerned that you know maybe these maybe these guys will come back after him

12:40so I mean why not file a police report see if you can get this resolved. Yeah and what an aggressive thing to happen as well like what do you mean you got jumped and someone is a group of guys carved a word into your chest like these they need to be put away. Yeah but Matthew declined to offer a description of his three attackers and told his mom that he didn't want to be evaluated at the hospital or file a police report claiming that he was afraid of retaliation and that his family would be in jeopardy if he lodged a formal complaint. He did however inform his family that he didn't know these guys and that he didn't own anybody any money. You know this this truly felt like a random situation but still he told multiple people in the aftermath of the attack that he believed that people were out to get him. Some have posited that this may have been an attempt to maybe settle up a drug debt but Matthew didn't confirm or deny this theory. Two months later Thursday February 28th 2019 was the last day

13:48that Sarah ever saw her son. That morning he was concerned about the slow work season he'd been in like he said he was tempering at the time and he was just really worried about making ends meet. His mom Sarah recalled quote I told him to focus on finding a job he was stressed about bills and I walked out the door he said I love you mom. No most of the day was otherwise normal it wasn't until that evening that everything went wrong but before that Matthew went bowling with a sister and her boyfriend and they reported that he seemed to be acting like his normal self and that he was a good spirit you know he was having a good time and the only thing out of the ordinary was that he confided in his sister that he hadn't slept much if at all in the last three days and still in the last video that was captured of him he can be seen smiling and laughing at the bowling alley just having a great time. Now between four and four thirty pm that day the three of them returned

14:51to the house and they decided to watch a movie. Between five oh five and five ten pm he left his sister's room to go grab his phone which was in the main house separated from his sister's room by the dissection of the garage so it was kind of like a like a split house going on here and the next thing his family knew Matthew had vanished in a panic. Sarah explained on the news from that point we know that he went to the neighbors yelling about his family and crying he then ran out into the roadway stopping traffic and saying that his family had been murdered then at five seventeen pm just minutes after Matthew went to the house to get his phone a neighbor called 911 to report witnessing Matthew suffering a mental breakdown. According to the police report about this case their neighbor who also happened to be a former teacher of Matthews reported that he was frantic telling her that his family was dead

15:52and that quote they were after him. I mean he seemed like genuinely terrified at this point as she called to get help for him he panicked and then he fled just before sunset with the neighbor watching in horror as he ran from her home hopped off fence and then darted across a highway around five thirty pm police reported to the infelts house just to kind of figure out what the hell was happening here his sister who answered the door was completely confused because she hadn't heard or seen any of this I mean the last thing that she knew was that her brother had just left to go grab his phone and it was especially confusing since she noted that Matthew seemed in a very clear headed state of mind you know while they were bullying and also watching that movie so it didn't appear that anything happened to be wrong with him during those particular activities it felt like it just happened all the sudden like he snapped yeah and it's

16:54definitely possible that during that little gap in time when he went to get his phone that he used drugs obviously despite how small that window would have been and Matthews valiant and successful effort to remain sober in the months and weeks leading up to his disappearance but this of course is speculated on yeah I mean it's tough because we do know that at some point he was using different types of drugs so but it's hard because this is a very convoluted case well I will add that his mom Sarah was later informed by someone who claimed to have intel into her son's final moments that week that her son had in fact relapsed the week that he went missing and that he and a friend had bought drugs on Monday so five days prior there was a possibility that he had taken meth ecstasy or adivan which for those who don't know it's a benzo used to treat panic attacks seizures and even withdrawal from alcohol so Sarah didn't

17:57know this at the time because this was actually a stipulation if if he wanted to live in her home he had to remain clean so this was really hard for her to hear especially alongside word of his panic and his disappearance because then she really doesn't have like any clarity or answers as to okay well did he take drugs that day was he acting weird because of drugs or is that separate yeah is him missing you know a part of this drug situation or was it something else well in addition to the possibility of Matthew having taken drugs it's also possible that he suffered a mental health episode that maybe skewed his perception of reality either due to a mental health crisis or sparked by the fact that remember he hadn't slept in like 72 hours but the possibility also remained that he had actually seen something that truly led him to believe that he and his family were in real danger or worse that they were really dead though we know

19:01that they weren't yeah and this is an interesting point in this case the fact that he's telling people in this panic state that his family has been murdered and we obviously know that that wasn't true so did he think that because of mental health or drugs or because he really was told that by somebody who was after him yeah I mean that's so many possibilities that's the the big question there well despite the fact that it was a cold February day and you know early evening I should say he left without his phone without a coat or even shoes so remember that as we unravel the rest of the story and the rest of this evening for him as he doesn't even have shoes on he was only wearing a sweatshirt sweatpants and socks as he vanished into the night

20:01support for unwell comes from uber eats you already know uber eats delivers your late night cravings and fave restaurants but now they're delivering something just as exciting Sephora which means beauty is basically on speed dial that's right your beauty essentials can now show up at your door in as little as 25 minutes and no drama everything is the same price as in store order Sephora on uber eats today and get your glam delivered straight to your door check app for availability delivery fees may apply this episode is brought to you by pocket hose the world's number one expandable hose old fashioned hoses get kinks and creases at the spigot but the copperheads pocket pivot swivels 360 degrees for full water flow and freedom to water with ease all around your home yeah and when you're all done this rust proof anti burst hose shrinks back down to pocket size for effortless handling and tidy storage it's one of the things that I love about this hose well also your super

21:04light and ultra durable pocket hose copperhead is backed with a 10 year warranty honestly I use my pocket hose daily it doesn't take up a bunch of space you know it's very very durable it's lightweight it really is the perfect hose for your house we were truly so excited when this came in the mail and it is been the best hose we have ever used so for a limited time our listeners can get a free pocket pivot and their 10 pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size copperhead hose just text west to 64000 that's west to 64000 for your two free gifts with purchase west to 64000 message and data rates may apply see terms for details these days it's all about choosing quality over quantity especially when it comes to a wardrobe if a piece isn't well made in versatile is it truly worth having that's why so many people love quince their fabrics feel elevated the cuts are thoughtful

22:07and the pricing actually makes sense quince works directly with safe ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen you're not paying for brand mark up or fancy retail stores just quality clothing I just got the cutest pair of red like ballet heels on quince they're so comfortable that's something that I love all of their clothes are so high quality but also so stylish and so affordable I love shopping at quince they have amazing pieces for men and women's clothing I mean you can get every staple piece you need right now go to quince.com slash going west for free shipping and 365 day returns that's a full year to wear it and love it and you will now available in Canada to don't keep settling for clothes that don't last go to qi nc e dot com slash going west for free shipping and 365 day returns quince dot com slash going west this show is sponsored by better help women deserve to be celebrated but we should also recognize

23:15that many women carry emotional weight at work and relationships and families and in the roles that they play for others whatever you're navigating career expectations parenting care giving or more therapy with better help can help you check in with yourself unpack what's feeling heavy and build healthier pathways forward better help is the world's largest online therapy platform and handles the initial therapist matching for you just take a short questionnaire to share your needs and preferences and thanks to better helps industry leading match fulfillment rate they usually get your match right on the first try you can also feel confident knowing better help therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the US your emotional well-being matters find support and feel lighter in therapy sign up and get 10% off at better help dot com slash going west that's better hlp dot com slash going west with work routine starting back up in long winter evenings having home chef deliver fresh

24:20pre portion meals can really help take a huge weight off your plate and people really love it home chef is rated number one by users of other meal kids for quality convenience value taste and recipes i mean they've worked with great chefs like Gordon Ramsay and now they're partnering with geoladilla rentis bringing restaurant quality recipes straight to your kitchen what i love is they offer meal kits express oven ready fresh and fast heat and eat calorie conscious carb conscious vegetarian they have something for everybody in their food is so good they've got turkey swarma and couscous bowl with chimichurri cream and feta teriyaki salmon with broccoli and umami rice balsamic glazed pork chop with goat cheese and mashed potatoes got you a pepe tortellini with truffle cream and lemony arugula and so many more for limited time home chef is offering our listeners 50% off and free shipping for your first box plus free dessert for life

25:21go to home chef calm slash going west that's home chef calm slash going west for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life home chef calm slash going west must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert picture this you're doing some online shopping when all the sudden you see it that one product that you've been looking for you add to cart and as you're filling in your address you realize that you don't have your card anywhere near you that's when you see it that purple pay button that has all of your information saved making checking out as simple as a tap of your screen shop if I shop pay button is used by millions of businesses around the world and it's why shop if I has the best converting checkout on the planet it also helps boost conversions meaning less carts going abandoned and more sales for you shop if I is such a user friendly platform if you're not using it for your business yet what the heck are you doing see less carts go abandoned and more sales with Shopify and their shop pay buttons sign up for your $1 per month

26:26trial today at shopify.com slash going west go to shopify.com slash going west that's shopify.com slash going west so after fleeing from that neighbor's house as she called police Matthew ran out into the street that backed up to their house which was a highway with a speed limit of 55 miles per hour or 88 kilometers per hour and began disrupting traffic as concerned motorists slowed and stopped to avoid hitting him so obviously this is a very dangerous situation as well well get this according to multiple drivers on the road that night Matthew had blood on his mouth and he was running up to the windows of cars to tell them that his family had been killed no one knew how or why that blood wound up on his face but at one point he

27:32also jumped onto the hood of a car like this is how freaked out he was and how much he wanted help around 5.30 pm Matthew hopped in the bed of a utility truck traveling west on old highway 99 bound for grand mound Washington which is only about 12 minutes from his home in to 9.0 now this truck took the grand mound exit pulling into the parking lot of a speedway grocery convenience store and gas station at which point Matthew jumped out of the truck bed and then tried to get into this vehicle but instead this driver just sped off yeah because he's probably like what the hell probably didn't even know Matthew was in the fucking back of that truck right what the hell is going on here well there was at least one person in the car and he may have he may have possibly spoken with Matthew but neither that driver of the truck nor the vehicle have ever been located and therefore no one can be sure what Matthew was saying or what they may have discussed

28:34which unfortunately is basically like a critical lost piece of information here because we'd really like to know who that driver is and what Matthew was possibly saying to them was he saying the same stuff my family has been killed somebody's after me did he give more information yeah it's definitely possible well he was last seen inside that speedway grocery store in grand mound having burst into the store screaming that his family had been killed and that again they were after him then he briefly hid behind the checkout counter spending only about 30 seconds inside the store while an employee tried to get him help still in a state of panic Matthew then escaped through the side door of the store and then he was never seen alive again according to the employee who reported this interaction he was panicked and sweating and seemed genuinely afraid now this area is pretty rural with lots of woodland surrounding it you know it is the Pacific

29:37Northwest but this didn't stop him from again fleeing into the dense cold of that dark February night thirst in county sheriff's detective Mickey Hamilton explained quote he was barefoot scared and had blood around his mouth he was again crying and yelling apparently wanting to hide while the clerk was on the phone with 911 he took off out the door and that is the last time that we've seen him we've done multiple search and rescue searches with the dogs and ground searches and aerial searches with unmanned aerial vehicles hours passed and his family couldn't find him still he never came back home so finally the next morning Sarah officially reported her 20-year-old son missing police in the area implored property owners to search their surroundings for any sign that Matthew had been there and they were especially interested in speaking to anybody who had seen him or spoken to him as he was fleeing from his home you know especially anybody who

30:41was on the highway i.e the driver is the truck driver that we talked about yeah the car that he was climbing onto the the hood of the car but no other witnesses reported having spoken with him or seen him after he left that speedway grocery store i mean it seemed so odd that multiple 911 calls came in from that neighbor also from motorists and then from inside the store as well and then suddenly nobody reported seeing him again after that like he truly had just vanished after he left speedway yeah it felt like all these things were happening at once you know like boom boom boom boom boom then he leaves the grocery store and nothing like poof into thin air while according to detective Hamilton quotes we've had no activity on any of his bank accounts social media accounts or his phone so as far as we know he has no means of supporting himself Sarah led the search efforts for her son just trying to get the word out asking questions posting

31:46flyers terribly worried about his safety and again having no clarity about his state of mind or what he was experiencing you know especially because she was the one about two months earlier who was like you were jumped please report it to police please go to the hospital and he said no so she's like what is happening to my son and a lot of times when we see these disappearances of young men we don't have as many witness sightings before the disappearance like usually it's just like oh they left the home this day and then they were never seen again but we have all these different incidents that occurred before he disappeared and then just nothing well and it's frustrating because there were a lot of tips and sightings pouring in in general but still they couldn't substantiate any of them or locate him with any of this information so Sarah wondered if maybe the presence of an unrecognized car had anything to do with her son's disappearance as there had been a car reportedly seen near Sarah's house as well as near the store

32:52at which Matthew was last seen and this car was a white mid-1990s edition Toyota Corolla and according to other eyewitness accounts this car was also reported to have nearly hit multiple people in to nine oh that evening so it was driving erratically which feels very sus I mean yeah you've got this weird Toyota Corolla rolling around the streets of to nine oh almost hitting people on the same night that a young man goes missing right so then you're like did it did they have something to do with it was Matthew in their car and they're like trying to speed away from the scene yeah are these the guys that jumped him was Matthew abducted by that Toyota Corolla right sadly from the beginning of Sarah's search there have been many roadblocks placed in her way one of which is the fact that the manager of the speedway store refused to let police perform a search inside despite their insistence that nobody was in trouble

33:53and that they were merely wanting answers about the last credible sighting of a missing person so it's like you hiding something yeah what the fuck are you hiding speedway grocery store so I'm with you seems very sus well Sarah has received alarming tips about what her son was involved in before his disappearance and whether it was fabricated or true it was pretty shocking to say the least because she was tipped off multiple times with the name of a known dealer in that area who was believed to have been Matthews and who was apparently bragging about having killed him however in other instances this man told police that Matthew had taken meth and you know was this was just a part of a psychotic break so we don't know if he was you know maybe bragging for attention or if there was validity to his claims but apparently multiple people have come forward to Sarah to share that there have been rumors about the involvement of this individual or individuals

34:58Sarah is being very careful about not you know publicly naming these people but she has shared some info like this is what she shared on Facebook a few years ago quote earlier this year I received some pretty alarming information I was told that my son was in fact murdered and that it is connected to the attack on my son that occurred in December of 2018 just three months prior to his disappearance now I take a lot of information I've received with a grain of salt but the details I was provided just fit with what we knew about both incidents I won't go into detail in an effort to protect his case and those that have done the right thing but I will say that from day one I felt I would never see my son again well months passed without any word from Matthew and without a single indication as to where he had gone then almost a year exactly after Matthew's disappearance Sarah decided to report the attack that occurred outside of that ride aid and

36:00hopes of revitalizing the search efforts detective Hamilton reported quote he had mentioned right before he went missing to a couple of his friends about some people were after him but we haven't been able to develop who those people were he didn't specifically mention names of who was after him or why they would be after him so we need information that the public could provide if anybody out there knows if these incidents are related or any more information about that December 2018 incident we could try to see if they're connected but because nobody has claimed to witness that attack and there's no real evidence some wonder if it really even happened at all on the one year anniversary Sarah organized a candlelight vigil to memorialize her missing son and hopes of spreading awareness in his case in the years after her son's disappearance she did move south to Florida for a fresh start but she never gave up the fight for answers then in 2023

37:04she finally received an answer to the question she sought about her son's disappearance yeah because everybody's at least wondering is he alive is he dead well actually emailed the sheriff's office basically with that same question and they got back to me the same day because on October 28th 2023 a hunter reported finding remains in the grand mound Rochester area about 15 minutes southwest of to 9-0 the following day October 29th 2023 detectives from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office as well as sent dogs and a search and rescue team were brought to the area in hopes of finding more remains and I'll tell you right now these were Matthews but the police hoped to find the entirety of his remains because this was only partial Sarah claimed the feeling was overwhelming to know that he was deceased and found and in some ways a relief but that quote it felt like almost five years of emotion every emotion I felt the

38:09last five years just sort of running through me at one time I couldn't really cry I just remember my body starting to shake I had been told over and over again despite how much information we have we need a body so now we have that opportunity how did he end up there how did no one see him when all these 911 calls were coming in between our house in the store and suddenly nothing November 2nd 2023 is when the remains were confirmed to belong to Matthew and Felt a press release was issued with the announcement the following day but unfortunately though the discovery of his remains was a major break in Matthews case a cause of death could not be confirmed due to the fact that the remains were incomplete possibly because of animal activity but of course some speculate that he was killed and maybe dismembered and this is why his remains aren't all there but yeah the sheriff's office did confirm that they couldn't perform an autopsy

39:15because of how little remains were found and they also couldn't verify which bones of his were discovered to be able to identify him but they could have made the positive identification through bone marrow teeth or even preserved tissue which honestly I kind of doubt there was any tissue because this is a like a four and a half year time gap yeah there probably wasn't much it mostly I mean like there wasn't I can probably just congregate and say that probably just bone fragments so when Sarah said you know how did he end up there we also don't know the exact location that he was found at just that it was in a wooded area that had not been searched previously and was several miles away from the grocery store so if he walked there and died without any nefarious causes like that's what she's confused about how that would be possible because actually heath is gonna explain in a minute how strange this location really was yes because it was incredibly strange well on the facebook group that she manages from

40:19Matthew's case Sarah wrote candidly quote you have to be completely transparent with these cases doing anything else only hinders the ability to find the truth every scenario must be looked out with a microscope I have not shunned away from this no matter what happened that day he was in a crisis and likely it was drug related on some level whether he did them or somebody from that world did something to him I think what is important to understand and remember for those speaking their opinions is this is an extremely emotional situation for so many people it's very easy to take offense to people's comments there's no way to get away from this and I won't fault anybody for their reactions because I've felt these same reactions in intense hurt it's just part of what we deal with and let me say I've had to deal with some awful people and assumptions throughout the last six years it wears on you and sometimes we have our moments

41:19where we just can't take anymore and finally say something this is a daily hell to live through I always say just because my son died does not mean I will ever stop being his mom Sarah also remains skeptical about what really happened on the night that her son vanished as well as the attack that occurred in December two months prior according to Sarah though names of a person of interest have never been announced publicly she has her suspicions remember this community is very small and multiple tips have drawn her to the same conclusion as well as the same group she divulged on Matthew's Facebook group quote we do have names of potential suspects one of which has been named since day one and probably 95 percent of tips I have received this individual was also named in 2021 as murdering my son as far as where he was found Matthew was found about five to six miles or about eight or nine

42:21kilometers from where he was last seen if he was to go through ten to twelve feet of ice cold moving water through thick brush up a steep hillside fairly deep in the woods remember he had no shoes or light if he was to go the path of least resistance he would have had to walk or run ten to twelve miles this is an estimate as I have not clocked this distance to get back to the road that led directly to where he was found in those woods so yeah is that impossible no but it's weird you know again mentioning that he's not wearing shoes he doesn't have a light it's pitch black he's in a full panic sure maybe under duress his actions are making sense to us were like why would you run into the woods instead of to other people that can help you you know into town um so it's just it's it's really really strange ten to twelve miles into the woods is a long distance

43:23especially without shoes again it is possible but it's weird so this led her to the conclusion that Matthew most likely could not have gotten himself to the area in which his remains were found and that someone had to have done this to him or at the very least driven him there in which case either way she thinks somebody knows something that they have not shared Sarah remains her son's most outspoken and steadfast advocate and feels that his history of addiction got his case overlooked by the local police force saying quote this very mindset has hindered the entire investigation and as far as I'm concerned is the number one reason why our family doesn't have answers now of course Matthew's case has drawn comparison to that of the disappearance of Logan Schindelman which again we covered back in episode 196 because just 15 minutes up the road from Tanayno Washington is Tom water the setting of this other well known

44:29and very confounding missing person's case the case of 19 year old Logan Schindelman occurred under eerily similar circumstances and like Heath mentioned earlier they even went to the same high school so Logan was last seen in the kitchen of his grandmother's house where he was living at the time on the morning of May 19th 2016 and I want to add that the time that he disappeared he was kind of going through this identity crisis he didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life who he really was and was having kind of strange conversation sorry with his family and his friends which is kind of similar to Matthew actually the next day his car was found abandoned on the side of the road with his wallet inside multiple people reported seeing the car drifting across the highway and having seen two people along with Logan in the vicinity of the car on the side of the highway so not only was there like strange behavior from both of them before they

45:31went missing but there was a few other people there too and they're both like going missing off a highway kind of in the same exact area there was also a man reported to be walking around naked on the side of the highway near where the car was abandoned but it was not confirmed if this could have been Logan or somebody else well after Logan didn't return home his grandmother Ginny reported him missing and nearly 10 years later there are still no answers in the case of Logan's disappearance either so his great aunt Mary where who has been one of the leading forces of the search for Logan since the very beginning has actually joined forces with Sarah to share information about the boys on each other's respective platforms and the two have been very supportive friends Sarah and the rest of Matthew's family are still eager and hopeful for answers even seven years later Sarah explained quote I want to be able to lay him to rest I want to be able to have

46:31him home with us and if that's all I get I'll take that but I do if somebody did do something I do want them to pay that ultimate consequence Sarah still has an active go fund me in order to help offset the cost of having to travel between Washington and Florida of course for searches and to speak with detectives as well as the private investigator that she hired in 2019 Sarah has remained her son's greatest advocate via local newspaper she shared the message that she wished to pass along to Matthew saying quote not one day has gone by that I've not thought of you missed you shed tears or prayed for you if you somehow see this we need you to know how deeply you are loved and missed we just want you home please remember you have and always will be my number one champion we will never give up on you and we love you if you have any information

47:32about the disappearance or death of Matthew and felt please contact the Thurston County Sheriff's Department at 360-786-5500 thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West yes thank you guys so much for listening to this episode if you want to see photos of Matthew head on over to our socials we're on Instagram at Going West podcast we're on TikTok we're on Facebook I honestly just really just thinking about Logan's case and Matthew's case in the fact that they're they both took place within this very small rural area you said like 2000 people it's just very alarming yeah and I I like as well that you know because drugs were involved in this case in one way or another I appreciate that his mom acknowledges that and she's you know

48:32she's not saying no none of that's true she's acknowledging that but saying choose things can be true here yeah he could have taken drugs and he could have been killed either way she wants to know what happened to her son whether something nefarious occurred or not and just I think the fact that this December incident you know a lot of people speculate whether or not this was true if he was taking drugs and he did this to himself you know that we don't have clarity on that because he didn't report it but it also very much could have happened so it's like were was that real were people really after him yeah and you know some of these areas especially in the Pacific Northwest do see a lot of traffic within like like the drug world within like math and things like that so all of this is very possible yeah it's it's very possible that there were some bad people around him absolutely because we already know that he had fallen into the wrong crowd as a teenager so he wasn't surrounded by a ton of you know do good as I guess and that muddies things up a bit but

49:40he deserves justice so thank you guys for listening don't forget to share this story and we will see you on Friday all right guys so for everybody out there in the world don't be a stranger bringing your business dreams to life takes heart and about a thousand decisions a day that's why Atlantic Union Bank's knowledgeable bankers are here for you with the right guidance and customize solutions to help you reach your business goals so whether you're planning your next move upgrading your space or scaling to meet demand we make sure your business is ready for what's ahead because

50:44we're big enough to support you yet small enough to know you Atlantic Union Bank anyway you bank there's a difference between liking a house and actually getting it redfinn is built to close that gap redfinn agents close twice as many deals as other agents so when you find a home you love you're not a step behind when it's time to make an offer that means less watching great homes disappear and more is zeroing in on the one you'll actually end up calling home redfinn helps turn saved listings into real addresses get started at redfinn.com um the dream wherever your family is headed every mile should feel like part of the adventure with room for seven the 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee is built for your whole crew quick morning drop-offs weekend tournaments and those unplanned sunset chases that bring everyone together four by four capability keeps you confident through surprises detours and let's see where this goes moments because the laughter the stories and the everyone talking at once rides are the ones that become family legends the 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee made for

51:49family adventures that matter Jeep and a Jeep Ruler registered trademark to the SEA US LLC the sun is out the birds are chirping and the open road is calling bring on the spring at the Honda spring event and take that road trip you've been dreaming of now is the time to check out the Honda Civic and HRV from Honda the 2025 Kelly Blue Books KVB.com Best Value Brand based on 2025 Consumer Choice Awards from Kelly Blue Book visit KVB.com for more information