When we think of Stratford, we think of a charming Ontario town with beautiful parks, world renowned theatre productions, and one of the world’s biggest pop stars. But the town that has seen actors like Sir Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, and Christopher Plummer grace its stages, also had a dark side. Like many Canadian towns and cities, it has its share of addiction issues. And in the mid-2000’s, it found itself in the throes of a serious methamphetamine problem. In fact, according to the RCMP, two-thirds of the meth labs that were busted in Ontario in 2005 were in the Stratford area. The drug trafficking scene can attract violent people and sometimes people get seriously hurt, or worse. That’s what happened to Derek Ritz, who has been missing since New Year's Day of 2017. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look into the disappearance of Derek Ritz, or as most knew him, Ritzy, and talk about what needs to be done to bring this case to a close.
55 years ago, marches were held in four U.S. cities – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. These marches were held one year after the Stonewall riots, and in many ways, could be considered the very first Pride parades. The Stonewall riots of 1969 were a watershed moment for the gay rights movement, which later evolved to include members of other persecuted sexual minorities and became the 2SLGBTQ+ community. And now, every June, we mark Pride Month. But 55 years into what we might call the Pride movement, we have to ask the question….are the gains that have been made in those 55 years bring stripped away by renewed levels of homophobia and transphobia? On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we take a look at Pride, how far we’ve come, and how far we still need to go, as we talk to Pride leaders, and victims of homophobic crimes.
Children go missing far more than the average Canadian might think, and finding them can require the help of the surrounding community, province, and beyond. But, in some cases, the searches come to an end and there’s no resolution for families whose loved ones have disappeared. It was 30 years ago this month that Mistie Murray of Goderich disappeared, and she has never been found. While there have been reported sightings of a young woman that some believe was Mistie, police decided that she had been murdered. And that determination led to a trial that devastated a family, and cast suspicion upon her adoptive father, who was later acquitted of murder. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we take a look at the case of Mistie Murray, the legal drama that followed, and where things stand today, 30 years after she vanished. This episode is written and produced by Patrick Magermans, and hosted by Scott Kitching and Adelle Loiselle. To learn more about missing children in Canada, go to www.missingkids.ca
When it comes to elections, there are battles for votes, and there are battles for information. Candidates hope that their messages will resonate with voters more than those of their opponents. And that battle is made all the more difficult for voters when information is mixed with misinformation. Misinformation can come from other countries, but sometimes, misinformation is produced within our own borders by partisan third party groups that use social media to spread lies. On this episode of The 519 Podcast, we take a look at online misinformation, and how voters can separate what’s real from what is not.
In the summer of 1945, Windsor’s post-war optimism was shattered by a series of brutal murders and stabbings. It quickly became clear that a killer was stalking the city, causing widespread panic and fear. As the attacks continued, investigators uncovered a chilling pattern: the killer was targeting homosexual men. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look into the story of the Windsor Slasher and explore this dark chapter of extreme violence and homophobia in the city’s history. This episode was written and produced by Patrick Magermans and is hosted by Scott Kitching.
We’ve all seen the onslaught of advertisements for betting platforms in virtually every part of our life. On our social media feeds, on streaming platforms, during every single sporting event we watch, gambling is everywhere. To no one’s surprise, this has led to a serious increase in the amount of people who do gamble. That has led to a growth in gambling addiction. And while gambling addiction isn’t a new phenomenon in our society, the extreme circumstances of beating the addiction in the digital landscape is. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we take a look at the explosion of online sports betting and gambling, and how it’s impacting us locally. This episode was written and produced by Patrick Magermans and is hosted by Scott Kitching.
We all love our pets, and we would do just about anything to protect them. But sadly, sometimes our furry friends fall victim to contagious diseases. That's what happened in Windsor, where an outbreak of Parvovirus has claimed the lives of at least 18 dogs (as of the end of December) in the city. In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we examine the outbreak with Windsor Essex County Humane Society Executive Director Lynnette Bain and Michelle Macnab, Director of Community Vet Services at the Hamilton Burlington SPCA. This episode was written and produced by Patrick Magermans and is hosted by Scott Kitching.
On July 16th, 1988, 22-year-old Lisa Maas went to a house party in the Owen Sound area. She was separated from her husband of two years and had recently broken up with a boyfriend. The next morning, she and a male companion went to retrieve her car. It was the last time she was ever seen. Despite extensive searches, her remains have never been found. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look at her case through the eyes of Matthew Nopper, co-founder of the group Please Bring Me Home, which works to find missing people.
In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we tell the story of Joseph Spracklin, an anti-alcohol crusader in Windsor during the time of Prohibition, who got away with killing a bar owner. This episode is written and produced by Patrick Magermans and hosted by Scott Kitching.
Sonya Cywink was last seen alive on August 26, 1994, in Old East London. Four days later, her body was found at Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site of Canada in Elgin County. In the 30 years since her murder, no one has been arrested. On this episode of The 519 Podcast, we look into Sonya’s murder and follow the work of her sister, Meggie Cywink, and original investigator Chris Gheysen in their pursuit of solving the case. Hosted by Scott Kitching Written and Produced by Patrick Magermans
Neil McDougall had been married for less than six months when he went missing in October of 1985. 38 years later, his wife Mary Ellen is still looking for answers - even as police have offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. This episode of the 519 Podcast examines his disappearance from Ayton and who may know something about what happened to Neil.
Where were you that day? Were you driving when the lights went out? Trapped inside an elevator? Camping and completely unaware? At 4:11 pm on August 14, 2003, approximately 55 million North Americans found themselves without power. The widespread outage stretched across parts of Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look back at “The Great Northeast Blackout - 20 years later”
The town of Amherstburg has been around for over 200 years. And as we’ve learned in previous episodes, many places with a long and deep history are also entrenched in paranormal activities. Amherstburg is not immune. We’ve explored the ghost stories of Texas Road and the Park House Museum located on Dalhousie Street. But just a few houses down from the Park House Museum is another haunted house. On this episode of The3 519 Podcast, we learn more about the spooky happenings within the Gordon House - home to tourism Amherstburg and potentially a few residential ghosts. This episode is hosted by Hayley Cheng.
It’s always fascinating learning about your family’s history. Did your Grandpa fight in a war? Or did your great-aunt Jess invent the shoe umbrella? The good part is you can easily just ask them, or ask your parents who have heard the stories at every family dinner growing up. But that’s not the case for many people. Around 1,700 children are adopted each year in Canada. Although many still grow up in a loving home with their adoptive parents, they may still question who their birth parents are, why were they given up for adoption, and what their lives would’ve looked like if they had not been adopted. In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we speak with Colleen O’Grady Johnson, an adoption search angel originally from Woodstock who reconnected 825 families over the last 18 years.
More than a million Canadian men and women contributed to the war effort during the 1940s. Most of them were given full recognition for their efforts. But some stories, like the Farmerettes, fell by the wayside. This was also the case for the thousands of men and women who worked on radar technology, which changed the course of the war. What these men and women researched, built, and worked on was classified. They were sworn to secrecy until the early 90s, when their life stories and hard work were slowly and finally brought to light. In this episode of the 519 Podcast, we talk about the development of radar technology in Southwestern Ontario and the impact it had on the Second World War. This is The Secrets of Radar and the Second World War.
In 1879, Dr. Thomas Niell Cream was suspected in the suspicious death of Catharine Gardener in London, Ontario. What officials didn’t know was that Dr. Cream was known as the Lambeth Poisoner, responsible for 10 more deaths across the globe. On this episode of the ‘519 Podcast’, we look at the Victorian serial killer Thomas Niell Cream and discuss his life in Ontario.
It’s not as rare as it once was to take a look inside the mind of a serial killer. But, the media seems to only cover a select few, like the Dahmers and Bundys of the world. But, what about the lesser known killers? What about the ones born in our backyards? On this episode of the ‘519 Podcast’, we listen to the jarring confession tapes of serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer, who killed 8 seniors during her time working in nursing homes.
If you visit a place that people tell you is haunted, you mightbuild the experience up in your mind. But, usually, when you arrive it’s a big letdown. That’s because paranormal happenings are rarely predictable, and the same things never seem to happen twice. You might feel a chill that raises the hair on the back of your neck, or hear the creaking of old floorboards and the grumbling of old pipes. But only now and then, does someone claim to have seen a ghost, and rarely is that ghost ever caught on camera. Ghost sounds being captured are few and far in between, and objects moving on their own are not often seen either. However, these things all happen in the oldest building in Essex County. At the Park House Museum, you can count on it, in fact. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look at the Haunting of the Park House Museum
There are few things we take for granted more than our drinking water. When we want water, we turn on the tap, and there it is. And, by and large, we trust that the water coming out of our tap is clean and safe for us to use. We’re completely dependent on that water as we use it for everything in our lives, from brushing our teeth, to bathing, to cooking with it, and obviously to drink it. But, what happens when something goes wrong? What happens when that water becomes tainted? On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we take a look at how an entire town’s water supply became so dangerous that it led to severe illness and death.
It’s not often that, in a small town, someone disappears out of thin air. So, when Lois Hanna vanished after a dance in the small Bruce County town of Lucknow, it left an impact. So much so that people are still looking for her to this day. On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look at the disappearance of Lois Hanna, and talk about theories as to what could have happened on the night she was last seen. If you know anything about Lois's disappearance, please contact: PleaseBringMeHome.com To listen to more details about Lois's story: Sheddinglight.buzzsprout.com
Sue
The voice over to hide the real names is super annoying.