The Vanished Podcast5 Maj 2025

Nicholas Downey

In late February 2023, 37-year-old Nicholas Downey rented a car in Florida to visit his wife in Mississippi. While he made it there safely, the visit was brief, as Nick needed to return to Florida and drop off the rental car. During his drive home, he spoke to his wife one last time. After that call, he vanished without a trace.

Nick's disappearance wasn't immediately noticed until his wife tried to call him again the following morning. Her calls went unanswered. Eventually, someone did pick up, but it wasn't Nick; it was a deputy from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office. The officer explained that Nick's rental car had been found abandoned on a remote property in Liberty County, Florida, and Nick was nowhere to be found. In fact, there wasn't even a footprint left in the sand to follow.

A K-9 tracking team was brought in to search the area but found nothing: no tracks, no personal belongings, and no signs of a struggle. Even more perplexing, the car was discovered far off any logical route Nick would have taken to return the vehicle. These circumstances have left both his loved ones and investigators searching for answers.

The case has become so puzzling that some law enforcement officials have half-jokingly suggested, though with a hint of discomfort, that the only remaining explanation might be something out of this world. The theory of alien abduction has been mentioned, not out of belief, but from sheer desperation to explain the unexplainable.

Over two years later, what happened to Nick Downey remains a haunting and unsolved mystery.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Nicholas Downey, please contact the Liberty County Sheriff's Office at (850) 643-2235.

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

Follow The Vanished on social media at:

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(570)

Wade Hack Part 1: Last Days in Baltimore

In June of 2024, 31-year-old Wade Hack traveled from North Carolina to Baltimore, Maryland, to spend time with a man he had met online. What was supposed to be about a week-long visit stretched into s...

31 Aug 57min

Replay: Aidan Spear - Where the Search Ended

This episode originally aired on December 5, 2022. Since then, there have been significant developments in Aidan Spear’s case. Stay tuned to the end of the episode for an update.On January 24, 2022, 2...

24 Aug 1h 12min

John Kapaun

May 26, 2026, started like any ordinary day for 53-year-old John Kapaun. He got up that morning, packed a lunch for his daughter, Alyssa, spent some time playing guitar, and later played a game with h...

17 Aug 59min

Lillian Payne

On May 13, 2020, 21-year-old Lillian Payne was spending time with her brother and his girlfriend when they encountered a man at a Flying J truck stop in York County, South Carolina. Lilly had met him ...

10 Aug 1h

Replay: Morgan Bauer - The Unthinkable Truth

This episode first aired on November 2, 2017. In February 2016, 19-year-old Morgan Bauer left Aberdeen, South Dakota, with plans to begin a new life in Atlanta. She’d arranged to stay with people she ...

3 Aug 52min

Replay: Amy McHale - The House on Chew Avenue - Where Reality and Fiction Collide

This episode originally aired on January 26, 2026. Since this episode first aired, there have been significant developments in Amy’s case. Stay tuned after the original episode for more information.On...

27 Juli 1h 29min

Junaliza Maturan Oroc Chappell Part 5: The Hit List

In Part 4 of Junaliza Chappell’s story, we focused on Ashley and the weight she has carried since her mother disappeared. As Ashley grew older, memories from her early childhood began to connect with ...

20 Juli 51min

Junaliza Maturan Oroc Chappell Part 4: Intertwined

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been untangling the disappearance of Junaliza Chappell, a young mother who was trying to leave her husband, Timothy Chappell, and start over in California with her 3...

13 Juli 56min