Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Strange.
Hi Vincent, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In late 2016, my partner Erica and I came across a cold case from February of 1974, the abduction and murder of Carla Walker in Fort Worth. There was essentially no one talking about the case anymore; though a Facebook group for Carla existed, there was little to no activity. As we became further emotionally invested, we started brainstorming ways we could reinvigorate the case – get folks talking again – in hopes renewed interest would lead to new information. We were familiar with, and fans of, the few true crime podcasts that were around at the time, specifically The Vanished, Unresolved, and Already Gone, and a that seemed like the best, most accessible way to get the story of Carla Walker to a larger audience.
We began reaching out to Carla’s family and friends. They took a chance with us and agreed to let us tell the story. Many even agreed to participate. Luckily, too, folks started talking about the case in a big way on social media.
After navigating our way through the learning curves, we released the first episode of ‘gone cold podcast – texas true crime’ on July 17th, 2017. Since word had spread around Carla’s circle of high school friends and family throughout Fort Worth, Erica and I expected a good listenership here. We had no idea, however, that people from all over the United States and around the world would be listening.
Much to our surprise, ‘gone cold’ grew relatively fast. Since there are so many unsolved homicides and missing persons cases in Texas, the scope of which we were not aware of before starting the podcast, we agreed not to stop with Carla Walker’s case. In fact, we both became increasingly passionate about bringing back to light the mysteries that had become seemingly forgot by the press but certainly not forgotten by victims’ loved ones.
A few hiccups and setbacks over the first year, we’ve spent every second of our free time doing just that. We’re about 170 episodes in as I recollect this story, in September of 2021.
After the Carla Walker case was reopened in 2019 by the Fort Worth Police, an arrest came in September of 2020 – 46 years after she was abducted and slain. The feeling Erica and I got when we heard the news is indescribable and has only further fueled or passion for ‘gone cold.’ On the morning of the third day of trial, Carla’s killer changed his plea from not guilty to guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As far as the technical aspect of podcasting, getting to know the editing software and finding the right microphone was a challenge. The latter was particularly difficult since we started on a tight budget and spent most of that on research materials. It took about a year and three mics to find the one that I like. Luckily, it was incredibly affordable!
In 2018, a year after we started, we got in touch with someone about the Carla Walker case who was vital to the story, so we rewrote and rerecorded them all. That was tough.
For me, dealing with my own self-consciousness about being the voice of something has been an incredible struggle. Narration did not come naturally, and I’ve only recently become comfortable behind a mic and loosened up four years after releasing our first episode!
The most important struggle is an ongoing, necessary one – handling each individual case with care, compassion, and respect.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
There is certainly a creative aspect to what Erica and I do but at the end of the day, we consider our work to be advocacy for the families of victims and missing persons. It’s what we’re most passionate about and most proud of concerning ‘gone cold.’
We also both pride ourselves on approaching and presenting the stories we tell with compassion and respect. When working with family members or friends of victims, we listen. If they have ideas on how to guide the story, we do our best to work with them. It’s important to us that it’s their story being told alongside the victim’s.
Erica’s incredible research skills, to me, sets us apart from others. Each of us, too, has an eye for different types of detail, and we complement each other well concerning what we bring to the story.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We are always open to working with the family and/or friends of a victim and invite anyone whose loved one’s case is unsolved in the State of Texas to email us at gonecoldpodcast@gmail.com.
Simply listening to ‘gone cold’ is, of course, our favorite form of support. Besides bringing these cases back to light, part of our goal is to get folks thinking and talking so that they might provide law enforcement with new information. The more listeners we have the better chance there is of realizing that goal.
Having said that, our research and production costs are funded in part by some of our favorite folks in the world – our supporters at our Patreon, which is patreon.com/gonecoldpodast. Since we have begun donating a percentage of or proceeds from Patreon to helping funding unsolved investigations and projects (like those found at DNAsolves.com, for example), our donors are also helping solve cold cases.
Contact Info:
- Email: gonecoldpodcast@gmail.com
- Website: gonecoldpodcast.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gonecoldpodcast
- Facebook: facebook.com/gonecoldpodcast
- Twitter: twitter.com/gonecoldpodcast
Image Credits:
Carley Yonkman (headshots only)
