Lindsey's Personal Tale

Content & Sensitivity Note: This episode contains discussions surrounding violent crime, cold cases, sexual violence, crimes involving children, and mentions of suicide.

In this landmark episode, True Crime & Hollywood: A Personal Tale hosts its very first law enforcement interview, welcoming retired Tacoma Police Department detective, Senior Investigator, and author Lindsey Wade.

Lindsey brings over two decades of law enforcement experience leading complex violent crime and cold case operations. A national authority on DNA integrity, her career spans co-founding Washington State's first DOJ-certified Child Abduction Response Team, co-authoring Jennifer & Michella’s Law, and advising national cold case working groups with the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Her groundbreaking use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy and Lawfully Owed DNA has closed decades-old cases nationwide, earning her the 2025 DNA Hit of the Year Award.

Sitting down together, Celene Beth and Lindsey connect over growing up in the very Pacific Northwest and Utah communities impacted by Ted Bundy. They bring their distinct perspectives—a veteran detective who spearheaded the milestone effort to get Bundy’s missing profile into CODIS, and a filmmaker returning to her upcoming anti-true-crime documentary K*lling Theodore to interrogate his "all-American serial killer" myth. Together, they discuss the reality of cross-jurisdictional cold case investigations, the unexpected role author Ann Rule played in Lindsey's career, and the power of human-centered advocacy.

The episode also highlights the ongoing victim advocacy Lindsey is leading alongside friend of the podcast Bill Thomas. Today, Lindsey continues her work as an investigator with the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office while lecturing nationwide on sex crimes, DNA tracking, and cold case investigations—plus, we close out the conversation learning about her love for baking sourdough and The Silence of the Lambs!

Connect with Lindsey Wade & Resources:

• ​Website: Learn more about Lindsey’s ongoing investigative work, speaking engagements, and advocacy at www.lindseywade.org
• ​Book: Purchase Lindsey’s award-winning memoir, In My DNA: My Career Investigating Your Worst Nightmares www.oneideapress.com/in-my-dna