Iron Kingdom Bonus 3: Missing

Missing Persons Report, Aspen Colorado Police Department

Subject is Tanya Richardson, only daughter of Frederick and Melissa Richardson. Subject was reported missing by her parents approximately twenty-five days ago, when she failed to return from a day trip with her friends. There have been no signs of her whereabouts since that time.

The subject was a graduate student of Aspen University, with a graduate degree in art history. She had no financial trouble due to the continued support of her parents. There is no evidence of secondary accounts or rumors about gambling debt.

Her father is a well-established member of Red Warning Entertainment Media’s executive board. He founded the company several years prior, and the family has been recognized in several publications as being very influential in certain areas of video game development. Frederick acknowledges that he receives occasional threatening letters from individuals who are less than happy with his work, but states that none have ever mentioned his daughter, and that the family has not received any ransom demands. Their mail is currently being monitored for interference, and they have consented to wiretaps on their phones.

The subject’s mother has her own business as a literary agent and advice columnist. She has also been occasionally threatened, but most of the letters took place before the marriage. Her main focus now is in travel videos, often displaying a certain amount of wealth. Her reaction to the subject’s disappearance has been to post several online videos pleading for her daughter’s return. Several times, she has mentioned the lack of support from our department. Do not interact with her directly; consult with public relations officials before providing updates.

Up until the time of her disappearance, the subject’s movements showed no signs of distress. Her roommate, Melanie Sikowitz, reported that she was in fine spirits, despite a recent breakup with one Tyler Cunningham, a local football player at Aspen University. Her attitude was more one of anger than sadness at the end of the relationship. In order to distract the subject, Ms. Sikowitz planned an outing to a local ski resort, with the explicit intention to find a new possible partner for the subject.

The two women met up with more of the subject’s friends, including Stephanie Nelson, Kimberly Daniels, and Michelle Butler. They drove up to the resort together, making a single stop in order to refill their car with gas. None of the women mention being followed or noticing anyone taking interest in them. They reached the resort around ten in the morning, checking into a large hotel room for a sizable sum of money before going to the local shopping center. They spent the majority of the day there before moving to a local club called the Roost.

Once they arrived, the women began mingling with the crowd, a mix of tourists and regulars. The night appeared to go well until Kimberly noticed Tyler, the subject’s recent ex, also in the crowd. When she brought Tyler to the subject’s attention, the subject grew agitated and went to confront Tyler. Her friends didn’t accompany her, and say that the music was too loud for them to overhear the conversation despite the subject’s continued agitation.

When the subject returned from speaking with Tyler, she stated that she was going to leave. Her friends protested, wanting to stay at the Roost, and the subject proceeded to lose her temper with them as well, accusing them of several things before storming off. Her last statement, according to both Stephanie and Melanie, was that she intended to ‘find somewhere else to be’. They assumed that she meant to return to the hotel and wait for them to return.

Several hours later, when they returned to the hotel, the subject’s friends found her belongings still there, and realized that the subject did not have a hotel key. They then assumed that she had hired a car ride back to her home. Calls to her cell phone went unanswered, and, believing that she was still mad at them, they decided that she was giving them the ‘silent treatment’. None of them suspected otherwise until they returned home, and were contacted by the subject’s parents. The subject was reported missing almost immediately afterwards.

The initial person of interest was Tyler Cunningham. He was interviewed at length about the altercation at the Roost, but his testimony has remained consistent. Tyler did not know that the subject would be at the Roost that night; in fact, he had been there for the previous three nights, and returned the following two as part of a family trip. When informed the subject was missing, he seemed uncomfortable, but dismissive, believing it to be some trick on her part rather than cause for alarm.

When questioned about their argument, Tyler insists that it was simply a rehash of the disagreements that ended their relationship, including several ‘entitled demands’ ranging from requests for him to leave, or to light himself on fire. Both eyewitness testimony and cameras inside the club confirm that he had no physical contact with the subject, and remained at the Roost long after she had left.

Later interviews with the subject’s friend, Michelle Butler, revealed that Michelle had known about Tyler’s trip, and had encouraged the group to go to the resort and to the Roost specifically in an attempt to provoke a confrontation between the subject and Mr. Cunningham. Her motivations appear to have been a mixture of boredom and mild competitive hostility towards the subject. Michelle was also confirmed to have stayed in the Roost; she was seen chatting with Tyler later on that same night.

A search of the area around the Roost turned up no traces of the subject. The club was located near a handful of vacant buildings close to the edge of the resort, but when dogs were brought in to attempt to follow her trail, they directly to a nearby alleyway and nowhere else. No body was found, and there was no sign of her possessions anywhere in the vicinity.

Only one supposed eyewitness to her disappearance came forward. A local homeless person testified that he saw a ‘cloaked man’ grab the subject and drag her into an alley. He stated that he attempted to run to help her, only to be blinded by a flash of light. When he could see again, the subject and her attacker were gone.

Originally, this testimony was ignored due to the mental state of the witness. The only corresponding bit of evidence is that the alleyway he indicated was the same one where the search dogs tracked the subject to. It may be possible that the witness misidentified a taser being used, and that there was some kind of vehicle waiting, but the alleyway ends in a brick wall, and the doors that face the alley were both locked and secured by alarms at the time. Both businesses allowed a thorough search of their premises and surrendered their security camera film, but no sign of the subject was found.

The current investigation into the subject’s disappearance is currently ongoing.

Note: Do not, under any circumstances, discuss the case with any podcasts, especially not the one who calls herself Wendy Groves.

Updated Case Notes: A copy of this summary, as well as all official records on this case, has been sent to Agent Mark Fuller of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.