MISSING: Marilyn “Niqui” McCown
Marilyn “Niqui” McCown was the first missing person’s case covered on Crime Junkie. Now, nearly 25 years after she vanished, fresh reporting uncovers never-before-heard details from police files that challenge everything we thought we knew. What if Niqui’s story never truly ended — and the answers are still closer than anyone realized?
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Marilyn “Niqui” McCown
Courtesy: Michelle McCown-Luster
Marilyn “Niqui” McCown
Courtesy: Payton Johnston
Marilyn “Niqui” McCown
Courtesy: Michelle McCown-Luster
Niqui and her fiancé, Bobby Webster
Courtesy: Michelle McCown-Luster
Niqui and her fiancé, Bobby Webster
Courtesy: Payton Johnston
From left to right: Payton Johnston, Niqui McCown, and Steven Johnston
Credit: Payton Johnston
From left to right: Niqui McCown, Steven Johnston, and Payton Johnston
Credit: Payton Johnston
Kelly Dee Wilson’s cold case playing card
Credit: Greater Cincinnati Crime Stoppers
The Meadows of Catalpa Apartments
Credit: Audiochuck Staff
A childhood photo of Payton with her mother, Niqui
Credit: Payton Johnston
Timeline:
Morning
Marilyn “Niqui” McCown attends church with her fiancé, Bobby Webster, at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Richmond, Indiana.
Early afternoon
Niqui changes clothes at her apartment, loads laundry into Bobby’s GMC Jimmy, and drives to Richmond Coin Laundry.
Just before 2 p.m.
A witness sees Niqui inside the laundromat.
2:15 p.m.
Surveillance footage shows Niqui at a nearby Village Pantry.
About 3 p.m.
A witness reports seeing Niqui back at the laundromat.
Around 3:30 to 6 p.m.
Niqui calls her coworker Darlene Williams.
Morning
Niqui’s family files a missing person report with Richmond police.
Niqui’s coworkers Tommy Swint and Darlene Williams both call off work.
Niqui’s family organizes volunteer searches around Richmond.
Bobby Webster returns Niqui’s engagement ring, cancels their wedding venue, and asks about a tuition refund.
Police locate the GMC Jimmy that Niqui was driving at the Meadows of Catalpa apartments in Dayton, Ohio. The vehicle shows signs of tampering, and folded laundry remains inside.
Police receive an anonymous letter alleging a workplace relationship involving Niqui.
Police investigate anonymous tips about possible dump sites in Ohio. Searches produce no evidence.
2007: Police alert Trotwood officials that Tommy Swint is a person of interest in Niqui’s case. Swint resigns and files a lawsuit.
A grand jury indicts Tommy Swint for the 1991 murder of Tina Marie Ivery.
Swint dies by suicide in Alabama before his arrest.
Investigators search Darlene Williams’ property and nearby wooded areas using cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar. No remains are found.
Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church
Where Niqui attended church with her fiancé on the morning she disappeared.
Village Pantry
Where Niqui appears on surveillance footage.
Meadows of Catalpa Apartments
Where the GMC Jimmy that Niqui was driving was found and the complex where Kelly Dee Wilson was found murdered a year prior.
Montgomery Education and Pre-Release Center
The former location of where Niqui, Tommy and Darlene worked.
Richmond Coin Laundry
The former location of the laundromat where Niqui was last seen.
Please contact the authorities If you have any information about the following cases:
Richmond Police Department
If you know anything about the disappearance of Marilyn “Niqui” McCown, please contact the Richmond Police Department at (765) 983-7247.
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
If you or anyone you know is thinking about suicide, please be aware that emotional support can be reached by calling or texting the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
Bobby Webster’s full interview
Click HERE to listen to Bobby Webster’s full interview with police
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
- Original Reporting by Lorelai Sykes and Madison Cavalchire
- Richmond Police Department Case Reports
- Police interviews obtained by Dayton 24/7 Now / WKEF (Dayton, OH)
- Bobby Webster: https://youtu.be/ZIaYo9UToC4?si=ikZOx6HBiPH2hmIS
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- Tommy Swint: https://youtu.be/4Dx9I3Ju6Ko?si=WFVHyDPIHMRv3h1p
- Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): A 28-year-old woman who works in the Montgomery Education and Pre-Release Center in Dayton is missing. Published July 25, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410603879 - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): Missing student’s vehicle found at apartments by Lisa Perry. Published November 4, 2001. Accessed February 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410587957 - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): Richmond woman missing since July believed dead by Lisa Perry. Published December 20, 2001. Accessed February 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410101276 - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): Resignation was linked to missing woman case by Tom Beyerlein. Published October 13, 2007. Accessed February 17, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/411497263 - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): Swint and McCown ‘very close friends’ by Tom Beyerlein. Published October 13, 2007. Accessed February 17, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/411497387 - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): Detectives’ cold case questions go unanswered by Lou Grieco. Published February 5, 2010. Accessed February 17, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/430345977 - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH): Overlooked evidence leads to ex-Trotwood officer by Lou Grieco. Published February 21, 2010. Accessed February 17, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/430363174 - Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN): Car of Indiana woman missing since July is found in Ohio by Rob Schneider. Published November 7, 2001. Accessed February 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/107957596 - Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN): Disappearance of bride-to-be frustrates police and loved ones by Rob Schneider. Published August 5, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/107635178
https://www.newspapers.com/image/107635226/ - NBC News (New York, NY): Family still fighting for answers 23 years after Indiana woman Niqui McCown disappeared just weeks before her wedding by Kyani Reid. Published July 28, 2024. Accessed February 17, 2025.
https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/missing-in-america/family-still-fighting-answers-23-years-indiana-woman-niqui-mccown-disa-rcna163973 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Family keeps searching, hoping by Don Fasnacht. Published August 5, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252862157
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252862180 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Family misses mom, daughter by Don Fasnacht. Published August 5, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252862180 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): McCown family receives glimmer of hope, relief by Don Fasnacht. Published November 5, 2001. Accessed February 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252864161
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252864192 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): McCown family holds onto hope by Don Fasnacht. Published May 26, 2002. Accessed February 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252775201
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252775259 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): McCown searchers plan hunt for vehicle by Don Fasnacht. Published August 17, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252877754
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252877796 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Police intensify efforts to find missing woman by Don Fasnacht. Published July 30, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252839030
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252839048 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Police locate McCown car by Don Fasnacht. Published November 4, 2001. Accessed February 14, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252860462
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252860477 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Police want to talk to potential witnesses by Don Fasnacht. Published August 5, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252862180 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Reward offer lifts spirits by Don Fasnacht. Published November 4, 2006. Accessed February 17, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252585996
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252586042 - Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN): Volunteers search for clues by Amanda D. Isaacs. Published August 19, 2001. Accessed February 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252878497
https://www.newspapers.com/image/252878525 - Springfield News-Sun (Springfield, OH): Ex-Trotwood officer indicted for murder found dead in Alabama by Doug Page. Published February 4, 2010. Accessed February 17, 2025.
https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/crime–law/trotwood-officer-indicted-for-murder-found-dead-alabama/tA4OyoM8sqjxzqBWXEAfnM/
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