How One Man Found Himself At the Heart of the Highway 20 Mystery

NEW EPISODE on @CrimeJunkie covering the infamous disappearances and murders along Oregon's Highway 20. You will be SHOCKED.

Infamously referred to as the "Ghosts of Highway 20," the disappearances along this stretch of highway in Oregon have a chilling connection to John Arthur Ackroyd. Marlene Gabrielsen is believed to be Ackroyd's first victim; after narrowly surviving her encounter with him, she was later interviewed as more women went missing. While Kaye Turner's disappearance didn't initially raise suspicion toward Akroyd, he and Roger Dayle Beck were the last to see her. It wasn’t until Acroyd’s own stepdaughter, Rachanda Pickle, went missing that the case took a troubling turn. As more victims like Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson were discovered, the pattern of disappearances began to add up. Authorities also discovered remains, such as the unidentified "Swamp Mountain Jane Doe," further linking the crimes. Additional disappearances, including those of Rodney Lynn Grissom and Karen Jean Lee, added to the mystery, with their possessions found later along Highway 20. What did all these disappearances have in common, and was it a coincidence or a pattern?