INFAMOUS: The Indiana Dunes Disappearances
In the summer of 1966, three young women head to the beaches of Lake Michigan and are never seen again, setting off a mystery that remains unsolved to this day.
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Indiana Dunes State Park today.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
The coastline at Indiana Dunes State Park, today.
Photo taken by audiochuck staff.
Richard Speck.
Photo found here.
Episode Info:
“Maternity Homes”
To read about the “maternity homes” we discuss in this episode, please refer to this Scary Mommy article.
Police Contacts
If you have any information about the disappearances of Patricia Blough, Ann Miller, and Renee Bruhl, please contact the Indiana State Police tip line at 317-232-8248, or the Westchester Police Department at 708-345-0060.
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Without a Trace, by Chicago Tribune. Published June 21, 1987. Updated August 9, 2021. Accessed November 12, 2024. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/06/21/without-a-trace-3/
- Rushville Republican (Rushville, IN): 3 Girls at lake missing, by Associated Press. Published July 5, 1966. Accessed November 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/84353017
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): 3 Women vanish at Dunes Beach. Published July 6, 1966. Accessed November 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/376483581
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Review clews on missing girls, by David Halvorsen. Published July 10, 1966. Accessed November 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/371984046
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Found near where girls disappeared. Published July 7, 1966. Accessed November 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/371951286
- The Terre Haute Star (Terre Haute, IN): Search for 3 Illinois Women moves to Lake Michigan, by UPI. Published July 8, 1966. Accessed November 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/13051803
- New York Daily News (New York. NY): Three young women took a boat ride on Lake Michigan in 1966 … and were never seen again, by David J. Krajicek. Published December 9, 2012. Accessed November 18, 2024 via Internet Archive. https://web.archive.org/web/20210421100619/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/3-girls-beach-found-article-1.1216303
- The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis, IN): Dunes search or 3 women is widened, by UPI. Published July 6, 1966. Accessed November 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/311993032
- The Times (Streator, IL): Resume Air, Land, Lake search for three women, by Associated Press. Published July 7, 1966. Accessed November 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/543536462
- The Terre Haute Star (Terre Haute, IN): Search for 3 Illinois Women moves to Lake Michigan, by UPI. Published July 8, 1966. Accessed November 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/13051803
- The Terre Haute Tribune (Terre Haute, IN): Search called off for three missing women, by Associated Press. Published July 10, 1966. Accessed November 14, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/87887399
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Police now think missing trio ran off. Published July 9, 1966. Accessed November 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/371964283
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Hunt for 3 women extended to California. Published July 12, 1966. Accessed November 14, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/372018188/
- The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis, IN): 3 missing girls alive, police believe, by UPI. Published August 27, 1966. Accessed November 14, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/312025380
- NBC News/Dateline (National): What happened to three young sunbathers who disappeared at Indiana Dunes State Park 57 years ago?, by Kyani Reid. Published February 5, 2023. Updated February 7, 2023. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight/happened-three-young-sunbathers-disappeared-indiana-dunes-state-park-5-rcna69110
- Scary Mommy: ‘Maternity Homes’ Still Exist – Then vs. Now, by Amber Leventry. Published March 5, 2021. Accessed December 15, 2024. https://www.scarymommy.com/pregnancy/maternity-homes
- NBC News: How Richard Speck’s Rampage 50 Years Ago and Changed a Nation, by Cory Siemaszko. Published July 13, 2016. Accessed December 15, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/how-richard-speck-s-rampage-50-years-ago-changed-nation-n606211
- Chicago History Museum: Richard Speck in Chicago, by JoJo Galvan. Published July 13, 2023. Accessed December 15, 2024. https://www.chicagohistory.org/first-mass-murderer-richard-speck/
- Palladium-Item (Rishmond, IN): To contact Chicago on Speck case, by Associated Press. Published July 21, 1966. Accessed November 14, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/246998548
- The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis, IN): Indiana plans to quiz Speck in case of missing women, by Associated Press. Published July 21, 1966. Accessed November 14, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/312011257
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Followup, by John O’Brien. Published August 7, 1978. Accessed November 18, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/386237222
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL): Vengeance & Violence, by Edward Baumann and John O’Brien. Published January 3, 1988. Accessed November 18, 2024 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/388387037
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois): Indictments tie fires to 4 in horse industry, by Patricia Callahan and John O’Brien. Published July 13, 1995. Accessed January 20, 2025 via newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/167597282/
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois): Jayne’s legacy of violence still focus of investigators, by John O’Brien. Published December 25, 1997. Accessed January 20, 2025 via newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/168828796/
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INFAMOUS: The Jeff Davis 8
Between 2005 and 2008, eight women are killed in and around the small town of Jennings, Louisiana. Rumors of a serial killer on the loose are met with apathy by local law enforcement, possibly due to the corruption that’s broken the trust between the public and the forces meant to protect them.
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