A Gospel Concert's Dark Connection to a Triple Mystery | Forensic Files

Two women and a little girl have vanish on their way home from a gospel concert.
But no one can disappear without a trace and not leave behind a complicated web.
From family members to law enforcement, we can finally bring you the details that haven't been reported on anywhere
else. This is the story of Sarah and Kimberly Boyd and Linda McCord. For Tiffany Ross, April 5th, 1987
begins, like many other lazy Sundays, hanging out at her grandmother's house in Dorchester, South Carolina. Tiffany's
family is really tight-knit, so people are always in and out of the house. And on this day, it is her uncle Philillip
who stops by. Tiffany's only eight, so she's not part of her uncle and her grandma's conversation, but she can hear
clear as day when Philillip says that his wife, 32-year-old Sarah Boyd, and their 2-year-old daughter Kimberly, are
missing. Philip hasn't seen them since Friday, April 3rd, when they left to go to a gospel concert with Sarah's
32-year-old friend, Linda McCord. Now, it was supposed to be a quick thing. I mean, like to the concert was only like
a 30 minute drive from where they live in Dorchester. And in that moment when she hears this, this sparks a memory for
little Tiffany. Maybe a sign that everybody missed a day earlier that something was wrong. You see, Sarah
stopped by her mom's house every day after work. So Tiffany was standing in that same kitchen on Friday when Sarah
asked her mom if she wanted to come with them to that gospel concert, but she said no. And so mom and daughter agreed
that they would see one another the next day. But they didn't stop by the house the next day like they said they would.
After Sarah and Kimberly got into Linda's 1977 Blue Lincoln and drove off, no one had gotten so much as a phone
call from Sarah. But now that everyone is talking, they are beyond worried. Sarah's not someone who would just go
off somewhere without telling anyone, especially with her daughter. So the family rallies together with the help of
friends and neighbors, and they all start driving around in pickup trucks, looking everywhere they can think of,
just trying to make sense of a situation that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
And this is low country South Carolina. So there are dirt roads, tons of open space, which you might think would make
it easy to see like far and wide. But according to an officer that we spoke to, it's like looking for a needle in a
hay stack because without any information to narrow down a search area, there is just so much remote
ground to cover. Now, as they're looking, right around this same time, there's somebody who's sounding the
alarm about Linda being missing as well. Police get a call from her husband, John
McCord, and he tells them that last he knew, Linda was on her way to a gospel concert with Sarah and Kimberly. Now
granted, Sarah and Kimberly's family, they're still doing their own search. They haven't even told police yet. So,
this is the first police are hearing of it. So, John goes into a little more detail
based on the police report that was filed. He tells the police that he hadn't seen Linda since she left at
around 6:30 p.m. on Friday to pick up Sarah and Kimberly. And oh, by the way, he's extra worried because he'd found
Linda's abandoned car already that morning. John says that a witness spotted Linda's Blue Lincoln at around
900 a.m. It was stalled and abandoned in Orangeberg, which is just one county over from Dorchester. The spot where
it's found is this intersection that like three of the major highways cross, one of them being Highway 15, which is
the road that the trio would have taken to the concert. But problem is the car is found like 20 minutes in the wrong
direction from where Linda was supposed to drop Sarah and Kimberly off on the way back. I mean, it's not even on the
way to Linda's mom's house either where she and John are living. But doesn't even really matter because no matter
where it was, Jon tells the police it's not even there anymore. Then where is it? John said he already
had the car towed to an auto shop. Well, before calling police. Yes, but also no. So, this is where
things get a little messy. So, the police were technically told about the car before it was moved. Like, the
witness who actually found it called the police in Orangeberg County where the car was, granted, and he is now calling
Dorchester County, right, where the Boyds and the McCords live. And that makes sense. Like, why would
the witness call a different county? Like, they don't know, right? They're here in Orangeburg. They're
going to call Orangeburg, right? So, when Orangeburg County police ran the car's registration, John is
listed as the owner. And lucky for John, Lieutenant Martin with Orangeburg County
is his buddy. So, Lieutenant Martin just called John up and like, "Hey, your car's here." And the two of them
basically like drove out and moved it together. So, like, on one hand, what the hell people,
right? Like, let's just hold up a minute and take stock of the situation. On the
other, you have a police lieutenant agreeing to help move the car. Like if you're John, like so John probably
thought it was okay to do. Yeah. And I mean I assume John told Lieutenant Martin that he hasn't seen
his wife since she drove away in that car now that they're finding it abandoned. Right.
I don't know how much Lieutenant Martin knows right off the bat. The officers that we talked to believe that
Lieutenant Martin honestly just thought he was helping a friend move his car and
that he didn't learn about Linda being missing until after they had already moved it. But anyways, they claim that
the reason they took the car to the auto shop is because once they got into it, they discovered that a freeze plug had
popped out of the engine, which can happen when a car is sitting out in the cold for a while and like the water
inside the engine freezes. And if that happens, like a car might run for a little while, but eventually the engine
is going to die. And what month did you say this happened in? This is April of 87 in South Carolina,
so it's like it's not the summer months. I did look it up and while it was cold that night, it was like around 39
degrees. We know water freezes at 32. So like question marks. I don't know. Here we are. And this is
where the investigation really begins. Police go down to the auto shop and they bring the state law enforcement division
or sled to process the car. But it looks pretty unremarkable. I mean, there's nothing broken or torn. There's no
traces of blood or anything to suggest foul play. And even if there was evidence to find that was invisible to
the naked eye, like fingerprints or something, by now there are a few people besides Lieutenant Martin and I'm
assuming John or whatever, who have been in the car, like mechanics, whatever. Right. So, since that's no longer a
viable lead, that's where their work on the car seems to stop. An officer we spoke to said that police never actually
went under the car to see what was wrong with it. He just remembers someone, possibly Lieutenant Martin, telling him
about the freeze plug being the issue. And then another a different officer remembered potentially seeing a photo of
the plug, but never actually checked out the engine either or even talked directly to a mechanic, it seems. So,
with the car being a bit of a bust, police turn back to the area that it was found in. That place where all the
highways came together. This place is called Wells Crossroads, and it's pretty remote. Now, there is a church and a
Department of Transportation office there, but they would have been closed by the time the trio was driving back
from that concert, which would have been at around 10:30 p.m. So, do they know by
this point that the women actually made it to the concert? Like, people saw them.
I don't know if they they know that just yet because they're still like literally
just checking out the area where the car was found, but they do confirm that the
trio made it to the concert pretty early in the investigation. I'll actually come
back to that, I promise. But for now, there is no sign of them in this area anywhere. Like, if they had walked to
get help after their car broke down, you would think there would be something for
them to see. So, police aren't sure what to make of this without knowing what actually brought Linda, Sarah, and
Kimberly to Wells Crossroads. They first want to talk to witnesses, and they start with John. Not just because he
found the car and reported the trio missing, but because this is a small community where everybody knows
everybody, which means everybody knows everybody's business, even police. And according to an officer we spoke to,
police already knew a thing or two about John. The officer we talked to remembers
police being called to Jon and Linda's house for what he described as a domestic dispute on more than one
occasion. And he remembers Linda filing at least one police report against Jon accusing him of domestic violence. And
while the officer doesn't remember exactly what was in that report, and don't worry, I fully offered to look for
them, but our foyer was denied. Wamp wamp. Linda's family filled in some of the blanks for us about her marriage to
John. John and Linda met at a picnic and they hit it off really fast. I mean, like, they got married within a year.
But Linda's family told us that Linda was someone who sought out friendships with who her family describes as the
wrong people. And from the jump, to them, Jon was the wrong people. Like bad vibes right off the bat. he didn't like
being challenged by women and implied that he liked Linda because she was kind of meek. And Linda's family felt like
they saw Linda less and less and less over the about 10 years that the couple was married, at least until recently,
because not long before she went missing, Linda and John actually had to move in with Linda's mom because their
house had burned down in a mysterious fire that I would love to know more about, but like again, could not get a
ton of information on. Okay. Yeah, I have questions, too. So, I don't know if John was on better
behavior while they were living there. Linda's mom has passed away, so we couldn't ask her, but I doubt it because
we heard from one of Linda's cousins that the last time she spoke to Linda on the phone, Linda sounded really scared.
And she confided in her that Jon was abusive and had threatened to kill her multiple times. Linda's cousin also said
that Jon allegedly put a gun to Linda's head once to make her lay her head on her pillow and then he tore her hair
out. Oh my god. Another one of Linda's cousins remembers a time when Linda came over with a black eye. Both cousins told
Linda to leave Jon, but she was afraid of leaving Jon. And on top of everything going on, Jon allegedly would often
follow her when she left the house. And listen, her cousin hadn't even known that Linda ever reported the abuse
because she barely opened up to her own family about it. So, I can't imagine how
bad it must have gotten for her to finally go to police. So, police go into their interview with John knowing all of
that. But he seems willing to talk, at least initially. He talks to them for almost an hour, giving them a rundown of
everything he did the night that Linda went missing. He says that he got home from a job laying concrete at around
7:30 p.m. and then he noticed that Linda wasn't home yet. So then after that he went Wait, how did he know that she left
at 6:30 to pick up Sarah and Kimberly if he wasn't home then? He was still at work at 7:30.
He was based on what I can put together. I think he was going off of what she told him her plan was. I don't think
he's saying that he saw them leave. But anyway, so he got home after work and he sees that she isn't there. So he
says he goes back out to a store, buys some beers, which he drinks in his truck to just kill time and relax, and then he
apparently drove all around at night looking for Linda. Does he go home at any point or does he
drink beers and just know she's missing his wife is missing and goes out drunk driving looking for her?
If he goes home, he does not mention that to police. So he's that worried. But oh, by the
way, doesn't report her missing for another full day. Right. Correct. Okay. Now, an officer remembers him claiming
he didn't call police right away because he thought Linda would come home eventually,
which like doesn't like drive. I I get, but then why are you driving around looking for her immediately?
Yeah. Like both things can't be true. I know. And listen, he's like, listen, she left me before to stay with friends
after we fought, but she always came back. And he's not saying that there was any kind of fight in this instance, but
just that like Linda was known to stay with friends happened before, right? So I just am assuming she's gonna
come home, which again to your point is like wait, which version is true? Yeah. And all of this is verified by
by no one. Cool. Yeah. Because he says he is alone all night. So in his mind, nothing's really wrong
until her car is found abandoned. Well, not even then, cuz he said that the idea
she was at a friend's house was still something that he was considering when he came across the car, which really
doesn't make sense to me because why would she just leave her car at this crossroads? And hi, there is still no
sign of her or the two other people she went missing with. That That's what I was just about to say. Like, I can see
her trying to leave him. Like, that's I understand that. like you got to take any out you can get. But it doesn't make
any sense that Sarah and Kimberly would be missing two. I know. And here's the thing. At the
time there was this rumor going around that maybe both women ran away from their husbands, but like there's not
quite the same history in Sarah's marriage to really give that rumor weight. We actually talked to her family
about her marriage to her husband Philillip and we learned that I mean the two had known each other forever. Their
families were close. I mean, the pair had even grown up basically next door to one another. They were childhood
sweethearts who eventually got married. And Kimberly was Sarah's pride and joy. And from what we heard, Sarah seemed to
be really happy before she and Kimberly went missing. But one of her sisters did
mention feeling like there was some tension in her marriage to Philillip. Not any type of abuse, but like that
maybe something closer to emotional distancing and that Philillip, this person said, could be cold.
Mhm. But Tiffany remembers her uncle Philillip as a firm person, like in his tone of voice, but she said that to her
he had this like huge heart underneath it all. Now, all that being said about their relationship leading up to Sarah's
disappearance, there was something off about the way Philip acted after one of Linda's cousins, who by the way was
actually a distant relative of Phillips. Like I told you, small town, she told us about an incident that stood
out to her in the days after the three went missing. She said that Philip seemed almost dismissive when another
family member was trying to give him advice on how to help the investigation. And he basically just said that well
sometimes women just like go off. And Linda's cousin describes everyone's jaw kind of like being on the floor when he
said that. And he doesn't even talk to law enforcement until 3 or 4 days after Sarah and Kimberly go missing. Though to
be fair, I don't know if they were like beating down his door trying to get to him. Cuz while it does seem like Philip
drags his feet on working with law enforcement, he does look to them for help eventually. I mean, he stops
authorities on the street, in the grocery store, anywhere he can find them, asking for updates on the case.
So, even if he wasn't a super emotional person in general, it does become clear to people like he seems devastated by
this. And in fairness to him, I can see how him saying they'll come back could be
like wishful thinking or denial on his part. Like I don't like he has to believe that or it's just like too much
to carry like losing your wife and your daughter. Like that's your whole family,
right? I don't know how I would process. I can I can see myself being like well sometimes this happens some maybe I
missed something. Maybe they're you want them to be alive and out there, right? Yeah. Okay. So I'm still trying to wrap
my head around this. If Linda's family is distantly related to Philillip, does that mean that Jon and Philip like know
each other? They they do. And actually more than just like through dis this distant
family connection, both of them actually worked at the same cement plant together. And I listen, I know what
you're thinking. I knew where this was going. Like very strangers on a train situation, but like simplified. Two guys
work together. Both possibly having issues in their marriages. Both wives go missing. Both saying they'll probably
turn up. Could they have been in on it together? Well, the investigators we talked to all
told us that they were never as suspicious of Philillip as they were of John. And maybe that's partly because of
the lack of documented physical abuse and maybe because Philip agreed to take a polygraph and passed a polygraph.
Though, interesting tidbit we heard from Sarah's family. They say that he got a passing grade, but he did fail one
question, which was about whether or not he was having an affair. We obviously asked law enforcement about this, but
they wouldn't confirm that with us. So, if there was an affair, they would not talk about it. Maybe no one even talked
about it to him. Maybe there was no affair. I don't know. But police feel like they know Philillip isn't their
guy. And they rule him out entirely early on in the investigation after they search both the cement plant and a dump
site that he works at. And they don't find anything incriminating. And so while Philillip is over there being Mr.
Cooperative, Jon is clamming up and doing himself no favors. Police make it clear to him that he is a suspect and
taking a polygraph would be in his best interest so that they can clear him and move on. But John says, "No way, not
now, not ever, especially not after the last time he took one." John tells police there was another
incident that he got caught up in where he agreed to take a polygraph. Now, he says in this case he was innocent. TBD
what was poly results and what was cold hard facts but he wound up being found guilty and the officer we talked to
remembered that it was related to some kind of vehicle theft or something of that nature in Orangeberg County but we
couldn't get those case files and nothing like that appears in John's court records so I don't know and listen
I know crime junkie life rule number four is never take a polygraph but this is the latest in a long list of reasons
why John's looking really sus to police. If he's not talking and he's not taking
the poly, they're going to need something else on him if they want to try and prove that he's their guy. So,
they spend a lot of time really trying to nail down the trio's last movements the day they went missing. So, Linda's
mom tells police she saw Linda earlier the day that she went missing, actually in the same parking lot of the school
where the gospel concert would be that night. And when she saw her, Linda was talking to somebody in a beat up blue
car and it was a car that she didn't recognize. And then we know that Tiffany confirmed she saw Linda and her car in
the driveway when Linda came to pick Sarah and Kimberly up. So, we know she's okay after talking to whoever that was
in the blue car. But like, sure would be good if police could find whoever was in
that blue car. So, Linda picks up Sarah and Kimberly around 6:30 p.m. and all of
them take off for the gospel concert. Like I told you earlier, we know they made it. Police interview witnesses who
were there at the concert, who saw the trio, but no one seemed to report anything out of the ordinary about them.
But somehow a rumor comes up that maybe one of the missing women possibly had a thing with someone in the gospel choir.
But according to Linda's family, when we talked to them, that might have come from John's own jealousy. I guess he
hated that Linda went to see gospel quartets, which were made up of two men and two women, because that meant she
was around other men, God forbid. And it sounds bananas because that is bananas, you guys. But Linda's family
found out just how deep Jon's jealousy ran when they discovered yearbooks of Linda's. M.
So, I guess in pictures of her with dates to like school dances or whatever, John had fully scratched out the men's
faces. Woof. Like, that is not cool, John. I know. And everyone we talked to was
clear that they don't believe there's any truth to the rumors of like extrammarital romances or whatever. And
like again, this is a John thing. This seems like a John thing. But to go back to the timeline, so after the
concert ended, the three piled into Linda's car to head home. There is a couple who actually sees Linda's car
later on on the highway headed back toward Dorchester County. This couple is a preacher and his wife who knew Linda.
They knew Sarah. They went to the very same concert they were all just at. Well, guess what they notice? They see
Linda's car and they see an old beat up blue car following Linda's car. And it all stands out because the cars weren't
traveling at a normal speed. Both were driving really slowly, which makes sense if Linda's engine was overheating
because of the freeze plug popping out. But here's the kicker. The couple couldn't tell who was actually driving
the car. So, while we see Linda's car, this isn't necessarily the last sighting of the
trio, just the last sighting of the car, the car that they were in, right? There's just one more sighting of
Linda's car after this. This is a sighting of the car sitting empty at the Wells Crossroads the next day. So, this
is now Saturday at 1000 p.m. So, police realize that Linda's car must have been sitting there for at least 10 hours
before it gets found by that witness and then moved by John and the lieutenant. And then now there's this 24-hour window
between them leaving the concert and then the car even being spotted there abandoned where we don't know where they
are or even really where the car was. So, the theories it's like uh help gone wrong. They have car trouble and whoever
was inside this beat up blue car who Linda apparently might kind of maybe know or at least like met before because
her mom saw her talking to someone in the car earlier like is helping them and then something
like takes a turn or their car broke down on the side of the road and the wrong person stumbled upon them.
Right. I mean, to me, those theories make way more sense than them just running off, which is like without car.
Yeah. Yeah. But there might actually be another theory. So, one officer dropped a bomb
on us. And this is the part that has never been reported before. Even the family didn't know this when we
interviewed them. Apparently, there were some additional witnesses from the gospel concert who reported seeing a man
who kind of like walked in and just hung around the back of the room for a few minutes before leaving again. And the
officer remembers that the description of this man matched John McCord. And when I found this out, a story that the
family told us just like clicked into place for me. Like one time, I guess Linda's relatives say that she caught
John in a parking lot under Linda's car tampering with the engine so that he could play hero by like fixing the
problem so she could get back home. I'm sorry, what? I know. My eyes were like popping out of
my head when I heard this. So, when you put that story together with the sighting of someone who looked like John
and then what Linda's family told us about him following Linda places, this potential other theory of like what
could have happened starts to emerge and starts to make sense to me. Yeah, this is like classic stalker
behavior. I know. But without witnesses being able to confirm that John was that guy at the
back of the concert or that he was the guy driving the beat up blue car, there still is no concrete evidence directly
pointing to John or anyone for that matter. What kind of car does John drive? So, police and family that we spoke to
said that it was a green pickup truck that he drove, but I don't know if he had access to other cars. I mean, I know
he worked at a dealership at one point in his life. Also, did he have a friend or like, you know, again, did he have
access? I don't know. And as far as I can tell, police never connect him to a beat up old blue car. Now, by now in the
investigation, it's been almost 3 weeks since Linda, Sarah, and Kimberly have gone missing, and the investigation is
hitting wall after wall. So, Linda's and Sarah's moms meet for the first time to try and share
information. Linda and Sarah had gone to elementary school together, but they lost touch at like before reconnecting
as adults. So like these two moms, while they were again small town, might know who each other are, they don't know each
other super well before this. And so they kind of exchange what they're hearing from police, they try and stay
in contact because all they really have to go on is what they're able to find out themselves.
Especially because Orangeberg County isn't doing much to help with the investigation. Even though Linda's car
was found there, like by that point, the 3 week mark, there hadn't even been an official search of the Wells Crossroads
area. What I know and like looking back, some family members wonder if Sarah, Kimberly, and Linda, who were black,
they wonder if they had been white, would there have been more resources, more news coverage, more pressure to get
something done quicker? Different skin color, different access to resources. These are like real things
that there are very real statistics about. I know. And some of the family are clear
that their criticism is for Orangeberg County even more than Dorchester County. But either way, like things are just not
moving at this point. So, the family and those close to them push even harder, pressuring law enforcement every way
they can. So, that search of Wells Crossroads finally happens on April 26th, three long weeks after they went
missing. But after hours of searching, nothing is found except for a few marijuana fields, which police do look
into. Like maybe they came across these fields when they got lost, then something happened. Like were they in
the wrong place at the wrong time? Came across the wrong person or weed farmer, whatever. But like that doesn't go
anywhere either. And to me, like that boils down to like it doesn't make sense for them to be in that area in the first
place. So once again, the investigation hits a wall. The next thing that moves it is
Dorchester County police get an anonymous phone call that leads to them searching a completely different area.
This anonymous caller urges police to check out a local racetrack where he claims the women and Kimberly were
murdered. Now, what he says exactly, police are keeping under wraps like still to this day. But even then, they
told local media that the caller had information that only someone with close knowledge of the case would have,
whatever that might be. So, the first weekend in May, just a week out from the last search, 75 people, police and
volunteers, scour 50 acres around that said racetrack. But again, they come up empty-handed. Police hold out hope that
maybe this tipster will call again. and like maybe they just didn't have enough information or the right information or
whatever, but as far as we know, that never happens. So, where is this racetrack and are
there any like specific ties to like suspects or other theories? I mean, this racetrack is in Dorchester
County like where like they live and stuff, but if there's any ties to a specific person or suspect or whatever,
like we weren't told about that. Now, after this, smaller searches go on for another month. Police even bring in
an FBI plane with radar capabilities. Like the radar can help find buried bodies in like the woods and swamps and
stuff, but even then nothing. Okay, so this case sounded so familiar to me and I could not put my finger on
it until you mentioned searching for bodies in woods and swamps. Didn't we talk about this case in another episode
where a mom and daughter disappeared in like the same place? This is how I found this case.
Okay. Karina Malinowski and Annette Sagers. that's the case that you're thinking of.
So, like just so people know, the short version of that case is that it's another mother and young daughter who go
missing in the Low Country. This is just a few months after Sarah, Kimberly, and
Linda. They lived about 45 minutes away. And we actually did ask officers about whether
they ever thought these cases were connected. They said they looked into that possibility, but they didn't find
anything to suggest any kind of connection. And if I remember correctly, uh the connection sounds like like awful
husbands show up in both cases, but like that's kind of it. That's kind of it. Yeah. So like there
is a strong suspect in that other case, Crime Junkies. I'll link out to the episode if you want to hear it. The one
that it's in is the episode Missing from a Bus Stop. But back to Sarah, Kimberly,
and Linda. Not connected to that case or any other case. And all roads are dead ends. As the years go on, their families
feel the chances of finding their loved ones alive slowly starts to slip away. But what's even worse is that there are
so many leads they feel have gone uninvestigated by police. Leads that police claim they haven't even heard
about until recently. Like Linda's family told us about something that Linda's mom remembered about the night
Linda went missing. something that she was too scared to share with police before she died in 1989 because she was
too terrified of John. So, if you remember, Linda and John were living with her that Linda's mom after that
mysterious housefire. So, the morning after Linda had gone missing, Linda's mom saw John and a nephew of his come
through her front door at around 6:30 a.m. Both of them were super sweaty with like mud all over their work boots. And
she was like a very like super tidy person, so she noticed it. And I bet she wasn't even happy about it, right? But
she also didn't think much of it at the time because they did work in construction.
But remember, John told police that he was alone all night, right? And so if he had nothing to hide, why
didn't he just tell them that he was with his nephew? Especially because having a witness to
back up your story, an alibi, like that just helps you. I know. Okay. When did they finally hear about
this? So, according to police, it wasn't until Linda's family shared it with a journalist, Mel Orleans. U Mel had done
some reporting on this case for ABC News 4 in 2024. Was everyone else just too scared to say
anything after her mom had passed? Like, that's such a long time. Well, I mean, I
think that they probably had some of the same fears that like Linda's mom did. Like I don't know also how much they
felt like police could even help because like after she was gone, right, everything's hearsay, right? And by the
way, the thing I haven't told you or maybe you've picked up on there might be all the reason in the world not to have
gone right to police with this. You see, at some point down the line when the case really starts to go cold, Linda's
family brings in a PI, this retired sled agent that they know. They're trying to
see if he can like track anything down. M and they told us that the private investigator had reasons to believe that
John was allegedly a police informant. And the PI believed that Jon would allegedly buy alcohol, sell it to
underage kids before they went out to the local clubs and bars, and then he reported their underage drinking so that
those kids would get arrested. Uh, didn't you just describe entrapment? Basically,
it definitely has that air of enttrapment. Yeah. And it's like it's messed up any way you
slice it if it's true. Now, that PI has since died, so beyond what the family told us, like we couldn't verify this.
But both families feel that John seemed to be protected by law enforcement specifically in Orangeberg or like he
just seemed untouchable there, which by the way, we started this episode being like his friend, Lieutenant Martin at
Orangeberg, who called him up was like, "Your car is here." So, while it feels to them like Jon is being protected,
Sarah's family told us that they continued to have their own strange encounters with Jon in the years after
the disappearances. One of Sarah's sisters says that she saw Jon following her home in his car one
day. Another day, she claimed that he walked through her backyard. And they feel like his behavior, it felt
threatening, like his way of intimidating them into not looking any deeper. Oh, and want one more reason
Sarah's family never came forward. So, get this. The day Sarah's mom went back to work as a seamstress after Sarah and
Kimberly disappeared, this woman in the sewing room all of a sudden like burst into tears when she saw her, telling her
that she knew something that she couldn't tell her or quote unquote they'd kill her. What? Now, Sarah's mom
like pleaded with this woman to tell her something, anything that would lead her
to her daughter or her granddaughter, but the woman would not say anything. And the wildest part of this story is
that Sarah's mom says that John was the one who picked this lady up from work that day and then she never saw this
woman again. Okay, I was going to ask who they are, but I think we just answered that
question. What? I know. For real. Is this like another missing woman? Do we know who she is?
I don't know that because Sarah's living family doesn't remember her name. Police
didn't know anything about this until the ABC 4 story came out either in 2024. I know. And the problem is Sarah's mom
has passed away. She died in 2016. So, I don't know. I'm still trying to dig and
look and like ask questions. Like again, for a small community, you would think that we should have a name of this, but
like I don't know if anyone out there listening knows. Would love to hear from you like if this is real.
Yeah. But all in all, I mean, you can see it seems like everyone in this community was just so scared of Jon that
they were terrified to cross him. So for Sarah's family, like this is another lead that like seems promising, but they
don't feel like it went anywhere. Although again, I don't know that police knew to look at it
right now. Things went kind of silent for a while. There's like a very small blip in
the case in 1990. A weird one though because in 1990 police get alerted that Sarah's credit
card had been used at a local mall. But when they pull the signature from the receipt, it's like indecipherable. So
they can't use it to find the person who actually swiped the card. Okay. But like it's the '9s. Security
cameras existed in stores. I know they did. And they actually had some. But like back then I mean they're
they were garbage. You know what I mean? They're barely not garbage now. I know.
So, when they did look at him, they tried to pull it. They at least did their due diligence. But Sarah's sister
says that police could tell that the person who used the card was a woman and she used the card to buy luggage. But
like that's that's it. And listen, Sarah's family can't help but I don't know, wonder or hope that the woman
might actually have been Sarah, right? And it to me it's kind of weird that it would be like 1990 like 3 years
of nothing and then this card just pops up and and gets used for like the first time in that long
for it to be her. I know like well her or not her like I was surprised it was even still active.
I was actually going to mention that or like not expired. I I think that they probably kept it
active just in case someone did use it, right? Like I like that I don't know if I told you this, but their purses and
stuff were missing from the car. So I kind of wondered if it wasn't her, maybe the purses wound up somewhere, you know,
maybe they were found, maybe they were donated, discarded, whatever, and then someone comes across it. So say it gets
donated years later someone buys it. They're like, "Oh my god, a credit card inside." Like
what would happen if I used it? The fact that it's a local mall, too, though makes me Would she really just be like
buying luggage now if she was running away 3 years later? Like for her for it to be her just seems kind of
unimaginable, right? And I I guess it depends on the reason she's gone. If she if if she
quote unquote left, but listen like whoever it was that used the card, that person never comes forward to clear this
up. I don't know if police went to the public with this lead. Like it wasn't in any of the reporting that we saw before
like around 2023. So listen, I don't know. It might be worth a call out now. I'm no legal expert, but the statute of
limitations on credit card fraud has to be up. So, if you are out there watching
and you used Sarah Boyd's car to buy luggage in 1990 at a South Carolina mall, like I don't know, you might have
the missing piece to this puzzle. It might seem insignificant to you, but like where you got the card could be
incredibly meaningful. Come forward to police. I'll have the contact information at the end of the show. But
until she comes forward, if she ever does, like Maul Woman is kind of a bust and it would be another decade before
Sarah's family gets another rush of hope. This is in like 2001 or 2002. And this is another like really weird blip.
A man claiming to be an FBI agent knocks on Sarah's mom's door, telling her that
he's gone undercover to investigate Jon, and he is going to help them find out what happened to Sarah and Kimberly once
and for all. Then 2 weeks later, this man comes back to Sarah's mom's house, this time with a woman he says is his
wife. And during that visit, he drops a bombshell. According to Tiffany, the man tells Sarah's mom
that one night he sat around a fire with John and a few other people. Everyone was drinking and John made a confession
that he quote killed two birds with one stone. Now, we don't know what that vague statement means, but this guy goes
on to say that John said he killed Sarah first and then he tortured Linda for a long time before finally killing her.
But the thing is, he never said anything about killing Kimberly. So, he drops this bomb on her, on Sarah's mom,
telling her that her daughter and possibly her granddaughter are gone. And then the man's like, "Okay, listen.
We're going to come back to you as soon as we make an arrest." Like, basically, it almost feels like a heads up.
Mhm. So, they leave her a business card and they take off. But here's the thing.
Tiffany told us that when she called the number on the card a week later because
she hadn't heard anything, it was just like a busy tone on the other end. And when the family checked with Doorchester
and Orangeberg PD, neither had any idea who those people were that showed up. I mean, okay, okay,
my head is spinning. Like, who were these people? What did they look like? Did they look official? Like and also
like obviously this feels super hoaxy, right? But like but yeah, like but what's the point? What's the end goal of
of doing this? And to go there twice and then come back with an additional person and leave a card. Like
I wish it was this was stuff that they had like kept. I mean, not that we could even do anything with it now,
but like but it's like so much work has to go into like making that feel official and coming back multiple times
and like again years later. Yeah, I don't get it. But obviously the arrest that the family had been waiting for and
that they were promised that never comes, right? Police indicated to us that to this day they think Jon likely had
something to do with the trio's disappearance, but there just was never enough evidence to charge him. Though in
the years since the disappearances, John has faced other charges. In 1988, he was
charged with pointing firearms at a person. And in 1993, he was charged with assault and battery. But the chance of
getting real answers in regards to John's possible involvement becomes slimmer because in 2018, he died.
That doesn't mean the end of the line, though. If anything, I feel like people should finally feel safer coming forward
with information. Yeah, they might because in June 2020, police actually get a tip. A caller tells them that
Sarah, Kimberly, and Linda's bodies might be buried in concrete, specifically concrete that John laid for
a house in Santi, which is about 8 miles from Wells Crossroads. And this isn't the first time that police have followed
a tip about concrete. I mean, they had searched one of Linda's cousins house early on in the investigation because
Jon laid concrete there, but they originally found nothing. And then this tip leads them to search a house that
once belonged to one of Jon's family members, but it's not clear exactly who that person was. When the new owners
decide to renovate, police get permission to demolish the place, tear apart the concrete that John laid. But 3
days of hard work passes, and sadly, once again, nothing is found. Have police tried getting to that nephew who
came in all muddy with John? Allegedly. allegedly. I know. So, here's the thing.
So, the family has a theory about which nephew this could be, but they're not 100% sure. And remember, this
information came out not until 2024. And Linda's mom was already gone by the time
it came out, and she's the one who who had the encounter. And Orangeberg County Sheriff's Office
didn't respond to our multiple requests for an interview. So, I couldn't even ask them. And the officers we did speak
to all formally with Doorchester. They're long retired now. But even though he retired earlier this year,
former Dorchester County Sheriff Elsie Knight told us that he still investigates this case on his own time
because to him, it is far from cold. But over the years, these disappearances have gone from a community tragedy to a
literal small town ghost story. Sarah's nephew told us these days locals speed through Wells Crossroads at night
because they've heard about sightings of a person standing in the road who disappears as you drive closer. A person
locals believe is Sarah or Linda. But for these two families, this case is more than a ghost story. I mean, it is
very real and it does haunt them day in and day out. Linda's family believes it's unlikely that an arrest will be
made in this case now. It's been too long. But they also believe that someone out there knows what happened that night
in 1987. And they want whoever that is to know that Linda, Sarah, and Kimberly were human beings with family who loved
them. Families who have never stopped looking for them. According to Tiffany, Philillip has stayed close to Sarah's
family over the years, making sure that they knew he never forgot them or Sarah or especially Kimberly, the daughter
that he never got to see grow up. Tiffany is grown up now and she's had to live almost four decades without her
aunt and her cousin and she finds herself thinking about how their lives would have turned out. Tiffany said she
is sure someone out there can give them closure and she told us that person needs to put themselves in her family's
shoes. How would you feel if this was your loved one? She knows that John terrified a lot of people, but he's gone
now. He can't hurt anyone anymore. But Sarah, Kimberly, and Linda's families have not been able to lay them to rest.
So, if someone out there knows something or has any information about Sarah or Kimberly or Linda's case, you can
contact the Doorchester County Sheriff's Office at 843832300. You can find all the source material for
this episode on our website, crimejunkpodcast.com. And you can follow us on Instagram,
CrimeJunk podcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. [Music]

After months of in-depth research and diligent investigation, our team brings new insights and original reporting to the dark mystery of the “Gospel Trio” disappearance. On April 3, 1987, Sarah W. Boyd, her 2-year-old daughter Kimberly Janis Boyd, and their friend Linda McCord vanished after a gospel concert in Walterboro, South Carolina. Last seen driving John McCord’s blue Lincoln Continental on Route 15 in Dorchester County, their car was found abandoned on April 5 at Wells Crossroad by John McCord and Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Lieutenant William T. Martin. Despite searches led by the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and Sheriff Leroy Ravenell’s later reflections, no trace of the trio was found. Family members like Tiffany Ross, Kathy, and Gwendolyn suspect foul play. Join us as we offer previously undiscovered details to this perplexing mystery to help bring a resolution to Sarah, Kimberly, and Linda’s story.

For even more stories like this one, join the Crime Junkie Fan Club today: https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/fanclub?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=episode_description&utm_campaign=signupfanclub

Follow Crime Junkie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrimeJunkiePod Crime Junkie is created and hosted by Ashley Flowers.

About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

Follow Ashley: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ASHLEYFLOWERS/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ash_flowers TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyflowerscrimejunkie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyflowers.af/

Check out these other great crime channels: @CrimeJunkieJury Crime Junkie Jury Reaches a SHOCKING Verdict! | The Trial of Karen Read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvdHXF7ApHk @rottenmangopod Why People Think Diddy’s Team Is “Winning” & How He Might Get A Mistrial! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3NOSLZWPoQ @CoffeehouseCrime Tikoker Assassinated Live - The Disturbing Increase in Livestream Murders... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKrjq5L0OGw @KendallRae Ivy League Genius Kevin Jiang Targeted By Fiance’s Obsessed Stalker? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDRDnJ5qWEs

Brief Summary

The episode covers the 1987 disappearance of Sarah Boyd, Kimberly Boyd, and Linda McCord after a gospel concert, exploring family dynamics and police investigations.

Key points

The Mysterious Disappearance. Two women and a child vanish after a gospel concert, leaving families and police searching for answers.
John's Alibi Raises Questions. John claims he was looking for Linda but didn't report her missing for a full day.
The Mysterious Blue Car. Witnesses saw Linda talking to someone in a blue car before she went missing.
Jealousy and Control. Linda's family reveals John's extreme jealousy and controlling behavior over her social life.
The Investigation Hits Walls. Three weeks into the investigation, police have found little to no leads.
Anonymous Tip Leads to Search. An anonymous caller leads police to search a racetrack for the missing women.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What the hell people, right?

4:44WatchJun 12, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from Crime Junkie

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.