Four Times Idaho Was On “Unsolved Mysteries”

Netflix recently revived one of my childhood favorite shows, Unsolved Mysteries. Back in the day, the show used to creep me out with the ominous music and the scary voice of Robert Stack. The new version is unhosted, but it still has the same music that will keep you awake, worrying about every little noise you hear in your house.

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There are only eight new episodes this time around, and none of them are in the state of Idaho, but it made me want to go back and find old episodes that hit close to home. Physically close to home, that is.

Kristle Merzlock
Air Date: February 22, 1989
Pocatello, Idaho
Kristle was 7 years old in 1982. While attending a birthday party, she was accidentally pushed into a pool, where she nearly drowned. She was rescued from the pool, but after almost no brain activity, she was pronounced dead. She was revived twenty minutes later and spent three days in a coma. Three weeks later, she told her parents and doctors about the things she experienced during that time. She could recall conversations that doctors had while she was in a coma with no one else around. She said that she watched everything from above the room. Her story was not only featured on Unsolved Mysteries, but she was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1990.

Larry Monroe
Air Date: March 1, 1989
Twin Falls, Idaho
This was a bizarre story of a California man, Don Smith, who was on his way to visit his daughter here in Idaho. Somewhere along the way, he picked up a hitchhiker, who has been given the name "Larry Monroe." It is believed that Monroe eventually killed Smith and left with his vehicle. This case involves several states and has never been solved.

Bobby Page
Air Date: April 18, 1997
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Bobbi Page had an unplanned pregnancy as a teenager. She gave the baby up for adoption. Later in her life, she developed a rare disease that would eventually take her life. She wanted to find out what happened to her son before she died. On the night that the show aired, the adoptive mother called in and got the two connected.

William Toomey
Air Date: March 21, 1990
Boise, Idaho
In early December of 1982, a man walked into Sacred Hearts Church, wanting to confess something. The confessional was occupied. As people entered the church for the evening service, he laid down near a pew and died. A note was found on his person that included a $1900. The letter said that the money was to pay for his funeral costs. It was signed by William A. Toomey. No one in the church knew him, but it is believed that he may have had something to do with the murder of two priests in the southwest in the 1980s. This case remains unsolved.