Found Deceased TX - Carolyn Riggins, 69, missing after winning bingo jackpot, Watauga, 11 Jul 2020

[everybodhi]

The Vanished Podcast's most recent case is on Carolyn. It's worth a listen.

Yes, I agree, they are about to release an update but that first podcast they made in Nov 2020 is really good, the family interviews give so many more details about Carolyn and the investigation.
Her large family of women are really smart and loved her so much.
She had only been living alone for 2 weeks before she went missing, in an apartment 5 minutes from a lot of her family and the bingo hall.
She didn't drive over 25mph but everything was so close they thought she was safe, she wanted her independence.

 

[neesaki]

New photos show where Carolyn Riggins' body, car found in Cooke County

I call BS. No way she ended up out there on her own. And why the cause of death is “undetermined” is bizarre as well. Something doesn’t smell right. At all.

 

[neesaki]

The Vanished Podcast's most recent case is on Carolyn. It's worth a listen.

Do you have a link? Interested. TIA

 

[everybodhi]

Do you have a link? Interested. TIA

Here's the first one, part two update coming soon.
EPISODE 255: Carolyn Riggins — The Vanished Podcast

 

[everybodhi]

Here's the first one, part two update coming soon.
EPISODE 255: Carolyn Riggins — The Vanished Podcast

Off my own post, I recommend using an app, like apple or google postcasts and increasing the speed to 1.2-1.5, the host speaks very slow so you can cut down on your time listening this way.
I fly through the commercials at 3.0, that sounds like a chipmunk on speed.

 

[mpnola]

Off my own post, I recommend using an app, like apple or google postcasts and increasing the speed to 1.2-1.5, the host speaks very slow so you can cut down on your time listening this way.
I fly through the commercials at 3.0, that sounds like a chipmunk on speed.

Hahah that's the same thing I do on youtube for almost every true crime video!! Best tip ever.

 

[Bethan]

This is so sad for her family…my condolences.

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but do we know whether the money she won at Bingo was found with her remains?

TIA

 

[bombardier]

This is so sad for her family…my condolences.

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but do we know whether the money she won at Bingo was found with her remains?

TIA

this article says 'some cash' was found in the car, suggesting she was not a victim of robbery. This is secondhand information given to Carolyn's sister from LE. This article changes the wording a bit, saying 'some of the cash was still in the car', with the wording implying that another portion of said cash was missing. I'm more inclined to believe the first article's wording, and the 'some cash' LE referred to casually was all of her bingo winnings, and that's why LE seemingly told the family that robbery was unlikely. hard to know as LE has never publicly and irrefutably released that info.

 

[bombardier]

question; this is from an article that was linked in the thread prior.
"Holleman said the sleeping pills her mother takes daily make her doubt Riggins was driving. “It’s like, did my mom really leave this bingo hall?" Kendra Holleman, Riggins' daughter, told WFAA in August. “Was someone else really driving her car?”"
Forgive me if I missed it, but how did Carolyn get to the bingo hall in her car if she wasn't supposed to be driving? Would Carolyn have really taken her sleeping meds while she was still at the bingo hall? Or are they so strong that, even the next day, her driving would be impaired?

 

[Bethan]

this article says 'some cash' was found in the car, suggesting she was not a victim of robbery. This is secondhand information given to Carolyn's sister from LE. This article changes the wording a bit, saying 'some of the cash was still in the car', with the wording implying that another portion of said cash was missing. I'm more inclined to believe the first article's wording, and the 'some cash' LE referred to casually was all of her bingo winnings, and that's why LE seemingly told the family that robbery was unlikely. hard to know as LE has never publicly and irrefutably released that info.

Thank you.

I’m tending to think Carolyn simply got lost & disorientated, as had happened to her before.

She had only been living independently for a few weeks prior to her disappearance I understand.

It’s very sad but Carolyn had expressed a wish to live independently & her family were supporting her, as much as she allowed.

These decisions are incredibly difficult for families, when a loved one’s cognitive function is failing. I have every sympathy for them.

 

[StarEyes]

Marissa released part 2 on Carolyn on Monday. I haven’t listened yet but am getting ready to. Here’s a link:

Case Update: Carolyn Riggins Part 2

 

[kelsie]

Marissa released part 2 on Carolyn on Monday. I haven’t listened yet but am getting ready to. Here’s a link:

Case Update: Carolyn Riggins Part 2

cook county seriously dropped the ball on this one.
they told the family her car was destroyed without being searched. the vanished contacted the texas dmv, and they said there had been zero record of the car being destroyed and they hold a record of such a thing...

 

[kelsie]

according to the vanished:

• sgt philips told kim the car was destroyed
• carolyn's friends/family/advocates found the car.
• police took credit for finding the car
• fort worth pd called kim to tell her they processed the vehicle, did a digital scan, got some dna samples, tried to pull fingerprints. the issue here was that the PD had agreed to bring along a knowledgable family advocate so that they could trust this was done the way the PD said it was, and they did it sans advocate
• assistant chief sparrow called kim the same day the car was processed, monday, aug 30, 2021. under texas law, carolyn's car had become the legal property of the tow truck driver when nobody came to claim it after a certain amount of time passed. chief sparrow said the tow truck driver said they wouldn't do anything with the vehicle for about 30 days
• asst. chief sparrow said carolyn's family was welcome to contact the owners in order to make arrangements to have the vehicle searched independently & make arrangements to get it from the tow yard
• carolyn's family contacted their advocate leah who called
• if they attempt to call the place carolyn's car was impounded, they are greeted by a rough, rude man telling them to STOP calling (no please included) and he "had that thing crushed to stop the drama".
• the vanished calls on dr. philip taft to consult on the case: he has a lot of great things to say that i'll detail in another post unless someone else
• carolyn's sister kim has been investigating and doing everything she can to keep the case open, the case not cold, bridges not burned. regardless of what she does

 

[Lulu777]

This is another case from the same area that sounds eerily like Carolyn’s to me. Both were found in their cars in the woods near Fort Worth.
Car of missing Texas woman found with human remains inside, deputies say

Any thoughts?

 

[evilwise]

This is another case from the same area that sounds eerily like Carolyn’s to me. Both were found in their cars in the woods near Fort Worth.
Car of missing Texas woman found with human remains inside, deputies say

Any thoughts?

Regarding the case you linked, my initial thoughts are that people often choose to commit suicide in their car especially gun suicides in addition to the obvious carbon monoxide and car crash deaths which I also have thoughts regarding the frequency they are determined to be accidental being too low in the former and too high in the latter but I also think that doesn't really apply in this thread's case.

In this case, I think a person known to be struggling with some level of cognitive difficulty became disoriented, lost and died. It usually happens with water but bitter cold and July Texas heat can also be deadly. I would guess sadly that Carolyn got too excited about her bingo win and became overwhelmed.

Officials can be less than diligent, especially people like impound lot operators who aren't even aware they are acting in any kind of official capacity (because actual officials probably fail to make them aware of it). Family of the deceased can be very eager to find someone to blame for the loss of their loved ones and internet personalities like Podcasters can seize upon these normal occurrences to create the kind of outrage that gets them clicks.

The kind of people who would kill an old lady for her bingo money are certainly not going to leave any of it behind if they went to all the trouble of hiding her car which I also doubt they would do.

The time to protect your loved ones is not after they're gone, out of guilt. It is now. Put a location program on their phone if they can be relied upon to carry it and keep it charged. Put an Airtag on their shoes. Be proactive, not reactive. You owe it to them.