Page 9 of Dead Man's Hollow
“Thanks. Now, I need the names and as much information as you can give me about all of Heather’s friends, anybody who was at the bonfire that night, neighbors, families she babysat for. Anything and everything.” She lifts the pen and eyes them expectantly.
Jordana’s recording this meeting, and they know that. But Maisy wants them to forget about the video and audio recorder picking up every change of inflection, every hesitation, every shift in the seat or bite of the lip. By giving them something else to focus on, she hopes to lull them into an open, relaxed state.
Diana straightens her shoulders and glances at her sisters. “I’ll go first.”
ChapterFive
Transcript of“Introducing The Farley Files Podcast Season Two: Dead Man’s Hollow—The Disappearance of Heather Ryan”
As its name suggests, Dead Man’s Hollow’s history is one of confirmed and unconfirmed deaths and tragedies dating back more than one hundred and fifty years. In the years between 1880 and 1905, the hollow was the scene of at least one fatal shooting, a deadly quarry explosion, a drowning, and a tragic elevator accident. Today, Dead Man’s Hollow is a 450-acre conservation area in McKeesport, PA, located fewer than twenty miles from Downtown Pittsburgh. Owned and maintained by the Allegheny Land Trust, Dead Man’s Hollow offers eight miles of hiking and biking trails and interpretive nature and history programs.
But in 1994, one year before plans to preserve the area were announced, Dead Man’s Hollow was a neglected dumping ground, choked with weeds and trash, and a favorite party spot for underaged teens. The kids were drawn to the remote location by the spooky legend of its spine-tingling past and because it was off the radar of their parents and other adults in the community.
And it was in 1994 that Dead Man’s Hollow claimed its most recent victim. On Friday, May 27th, at the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, a group of teenagers gathered around a small bonfire deep in the woods to drink and celebrate the fast-approaching end of the school year. One of those present was sixteen-year-old Heather Ryan.
Heather disappeared that night and has never been seen or heard from again. No body was ever found. No suspects were ever identified, at least not publicly. The girl seemingly vanished without a trace. For three decades, her case has remained an open missing person’s case. Ice cold, and without a single apparent lead.
AMY: Mom and Dad could have gone to court to have her presumed dead seven years after she disappeared. They never did, though, because they always held out hope that we’d get her back.
This is Amy Ryan Marino, one of Heather’s three sisters. Amy, just eighteen months older than Heather, was at the bonfire that night, too. She says Heather was in high spirits, singing and dancing with her friends. And then she was gone.
Now, as the thirtieth anniversary of Heather’s disappearance approaches, her sisters have reached out to the Farley Files. Youngest sister Kristy explains they need to know what happened to Heather that night in the woods and where she ended up.
KRISTY: [I]t’s been thirty years. Nothing we learn will change how we feel about our sister. … It’s been hell wondering what happened to her. We need to know.
I’m investigative journalist Maisy Farley. This season on the Farley Files, I’ll help Diana, Amy, and Kristy in their quest for answers. I’ll interview witnesses, review old evidence, and run down tips in an effort to bring closure to the Ryan family.
Join me next Tuesday for episode one of “Dead Man’s Hollow—The Disappearance of Heather Ryan.” Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
ChapterSix
Maisy Farley’shoneyed voice floats through the Marino family’s kitchen from the smart speaker near the stove. Amy listens to the familiar voice tell an all-too-familiar tale that makes her gut twist and her throat clench.
Then her own disembodied voice emanates from the small rectangle.“Mom and Dad could have gone to court …”
Owen, no doubt on his way to the pantry for a pre-dinner snack, stops in his tracks. “Is thatyou?”
She holds up one finger—wait a minute—and listens to the rest of the trailer play before turning to him. The question is moot because Maisy identified Amy as the speaker, but she answers it anyway.
“Yes.”
Her middle son stares at her unblinkingly. “Why?”
“Why what?”
He opens the pantry, removes an entire sleeve of cookies from the package, and slams the door shut. “Why would you go on that podcast and tell the whole world about Aunt Heather?” His voice shakes.
“One, put at least half of those cookies back. Dinner’s in less than an hour.”
She uses the time it takes him to remove a handful of cookies from the plastic and return the rest to the package—still too many, but a more reasonable number—to formulate her answer. She silences the speaker as he mows through the cookies, eyeing her while he chomps and chews.
“Two, your aunts and I need to know what happened to Heather. The Farley Files is one of the most popular true-crime podcasts in the country, Owen. Maybe someone who knows something will hear it and come forward.” Because someone out theredoesknow something. She’s sure of it.
She looks at her son. In a few months, he’ll be the same age Heather was when she disappeared. She remembers being fifteen. Everything her parents did was embarrassing—no, mortifying. She can empathize. Tomorrow, in school, he won’t be the kid in the robotics club who also loves fencing and comics. He’ll be the kid whose aunt vanished ages ago and whose mom’s going public, dredging up the past. Diana, Kristy, and she have put their own families in the spotlight.
She rests a hand on Owen’s arm. “We talked about this, honey.”
“I know,” he mumbles through a mouthful of cookies. “I just … it’s different hearing your voice in the podcast talking about it. Everybody’s hearing that, Mom.Everyonelistens to The Farley Files.”
