42. The Disappearance of Leah Peebles

10/14/22 • 18 min

15 Listeners

Leah Peebles was 23-years-old and had just moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when she disappeared in May 2006. Leah had spent much of her adult life struggling with addiction; moving from Fort Worth, Texas all the way to Albuquerque was supposed to have been a fresh start for her. Leah's father, John Peebles, launched his own investigation after his daughter's disappearance, canvassing the city and questioning witnesses about his daughter's whereabouts. What he discovered about Leah's life in Albuquerque was that it had not been a fresh start, but rather a spiral into the dark underbelly of the city's drug trafficking and sex work scenes. In 2009, the discovery of the West Mesa Murders prompted investigators to attempt to match one of the eleven sets of remains to Leah Peebles... but none were a match. It has now been more than sixteen years since Leah disappeared.
Albuquerque Police Department: (505) 768-2020
RAINN: 1-800-656-4673
SAMHSA: 1-800-662-4357
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Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi
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Sources:
• "A Father's Quest." Disappeared. Season 4, Episode 3.
• Leah Peebles | Disappeared Blog
• Leah Peebles | NAMUS
• Leah Rachelle Peebles | The Charley Project
• West Mesa Murders | Albuquerque Journal

Previous Episode

41. MMIW: Jermain Charlo

7 Recommendations

Jermain Charlo was a 23-year-old Indigenous mother of two boys who disappeared from Missoula, Montana in June 2018. There is little information known to the public about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. What we do know is that the last person to see Jermain on the night she disappeared was her ex-boyfriend and the father of her two sons. He had a history of abusing Jermain and was previously convicted for domestic violence against her.
Jermain was an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Flathead Nation. Her disappearance has become well-known within the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement.
The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women | An organization dedicated to spreading awareness about violence against Indigenous women and advocating for solutions to solve the systemic and inter-generational issues that perpetuate cycles of violence against Indigenous women.
Listen to the Stolen: The Search for Jermain podcast. There are pieces of information in this episode that derived from Connie Walker's reporting on Jermain Charlo's case.
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Patreon
Request a Case
YouTube Channel
Goodpods: Leave a review!
Podchaser: Leave a review!
Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi
_________________________
Sources:
• "The Unsolved Casefile: Where is Jermain Charlo?" Court TV. 2021 September 1.
• "How Jermain Charlo's Disappearance in Montana Has Become a Flashpoint for Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women." Oxygen. Dolak, Kevin. 2021 April 27.
• "The search continues for Jermain Charlo, two years after her disappearance." KRTV. Miller, Katie. 2020 June 17.
• "Family continues fight for justice in Jermain Charlo case." NBC Montana. Brewster, Brady. 2021 March 19.
• "Jermain Charlo still missing after a year." NBC Montana. Garcia, Nicholas. 2019 June 16.
• "Judge vacates trial for Michael Defrance." KPAX. 2021 September 17.
• "Ex-boyfriend of Jermain Charlo appears in court." Great Falls Tribune. Nerbovig, Ashley. 2021 August 5.
• "Trial date vacated in Michael Defrance case, Jermain Charlo's loved ones keep searching." The Missoulian. Buchli, Zoe. 2022 August 19.
• "Jermain Charlo's ex-boyfriend arrested on firearms charge." The Missoulian. Buchli, Zoe. 2021 August 2.