Investigative journalist Catherine Townsend works from an office in New York, 1,200 miles from the Ozark Mountains. But Townsend hopes to accomplish what local law enforcement has not been able to do in 15 years–solve an Izard County murder mystery. In a recent development, she says she’s also hoping to solve a 30-year-old Searcy County murder mystery. Both involve the unexplained deaths of young women and on the surface seem similar. But, through her investigative work, Townsend is learning the cases have their own stories.Townsend was a recent guest at the Mountain Home Rotary Club’s weekly meeting, where she spoke about her work to solve the unsolved murder of 22-year-old Rebekah Gould through the podcast Hell and Gone.In a follow-up interview with KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news, Townsend, a native of southern Arkansas, says after her father and sister moved to Mountain View, she began hearing about the Gould case.
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Gould was last seen in September 2004 when she walked into a Melbourne convenience store to pick up some snacks, after dropping off a male friend at work. A week later, her remains were discovered near a steep embankment on State Highway 9, a few miles outside Melbourne.
Townsend’s investigative journalism experience coupled with being a licensed private investigator provided her with the skill set to tackle the unsolved murder. Working with the Investigation Discovery network, Townsend has taken an unique approach to the case, both investigating and telling Gould’s story through a podcast series titled Hell and Gone.
While her work has involved numerous investigations, Townsend says the murder in Izard County spoke to her on a different level.
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The first season of the Hell and Gone podcast contained eight episodes, providing a platform for telling Gould’s story in detail. In the second season set for release in late May or early June, Gould’s story will continue. But, Townsend says a second case with ties to the Ozarks will be introduced.
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In the second installment of our story, we’ll tell you about the second case and Townsend’s thoughts on how she thinks cold cases like these should be handled by the justice system after a significant passage of time.
Click here to listen to the Hell and Gone podcast.
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