The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages and is intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome back everyone. Welcome back everyone. I am your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski. And I am your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. And this is Cold and Missing. Where we focus exclusively on...
Cold cases. And missing person cases. Alright, my love, what do you have for us this week? I have a missing person case this week. Alright, I think we should get into it. Let's do it. Great. So today we are going to be talking about the unresolved missing person case of Regina McCorkle. And this takes place in August of 1981 in East Moline, Illinois. But first a little bit about Regina. Regina also goes by Gina. She was 19 years old in 1981.
She was born October 16, 1961 and she would be 61 years old today. Regina lived at her mother's house on the 1500 block of 11th Avenue in East Moline, Illinois. She and her 18 month old son, CJ, moved in after she divorced her ex-husband, Curtis Campbell. East Moline is located in the Quad Cities, which is a metropolitan area on the border of Illinois and Iowa. It's made up of a lot of cities, but there's four major cities, hence Quad Cities.
Regina is described as a quiet, responsible, and loving mother. She loves playing tennis and watching movies. Regina worked on the custodial staff at the Rock Island Arsenal and she worked night shifts there so that way she could go to college during the day. She had recently saved up her money from her job and bought a 1979 Mustang. So now a timeline of events. On Friday, August 14, 1981, Regina's mother, Jean McCorkle, leaves for work between 830 and 845.
Jean says, quote, I woke her up before I left for work Friday. She was standing in her bedroom doorway when I walked out the door. Things were fine, end quote. When Jean leaves, Regina is wearing her nightgown and she doesn't notice any strange behavior. James Piller, Regina's boyfriend, says that he talked on the phone with her until 930 that morning. James didn't have a car, so Regina had agreed to pick him up and take him to apply for a job, but she'll never show up.
Curtis Campbell, her ex-husband, said he showed up around 10 a.m. to talk to Regina. He knocked on the front door but left when he didn't get an answer. Detective Ernie Manrique, who was working her case, says, quote, we think that she probably left home at about 11 a.m., but it really could have been any time between 930 and when her mother returned home, end quote. Jean returns home between 4 and 430 that afternoon. The first thing Jean notices is Regina's car is parked behind the house.
Since Regina worked night shifts, she should have left already to drop her son off at the babysitter's. Jean then notices that the front door is locked from the inside. The screen door on the front door had been locked, so there was no way that she could unlock it from the outside. Jean knocks on the front door, but there's no response. So then she goes around to the back door and she also finds that it's locked in the same way. It's locked from the inside. At this point, she begins to panic.
So Jean goes to Regina's window, but she hears nothing except for her grandson crying. Now completely panicked, Jean rips out the screen and breaks into her own home. She finds CJ locked in Regina's room. He's upset, but unharmed. Regina is nowhere to be found. There are no signs of a struggle. Regina's bed was unmade, which was unusual for her. The only things missing was the nightgown she was wearing and the top sheet of her bed. Her clothes, shoes, ID, money, and purse were all accounted for.
A basement screen window had been removed, but police are unsure if it was removed from the outside or the inside of the home. It was found laying on the basement floor. Police believe the only way out was through the basement window since all the doors were locked from the inside. Jean calls police, but they advise her to wait 48 hours. The next day, Saturday, August 15th, Jean calls the FBI. She tells local news that they asked her if Regina was white or black.
She asked what difference that made since it was her baby that was missing. Now it's unclear exactly when police get involved, but my guess is that on Monday, August 17th, they're officially involved in the case. That would be over 48 hours that Regina had been missing. And by Tuesday, August 18th, this is four days now she's been missing, police begin to receive tips.
In the morning hours, East Moline police receive an anonymous tip that Regina is being held in an abandoned building in Davenport, Iowa. Since this crosses state lines, the FBI are assisting, but the FBI will never open a full case for Regina. They'll just assist local police. Police search two abandoned buildings and find nothing. That afternoon, another anonymous tip will be called in, this time to Davenport police, saying the same thing, that she's being held in an abandoned building.
Five additional buildings are searched, but again, nothing is found. A third tip comes in that Regina was seen riding a maroon motorcycle around 1pm the day she disappeared, less than a mile from her home. Police are never able to verify this claim. On Wednesday, August 19th, this is five days now, police are pleading with the public for help. They say the smallest clue could break the case wide open. Detective Ernie Manrique says, quote, we are assuming she was kidnapped.
We think she's still alive, probably somewhere in the Quad City area, probably in Davenport, end quote. On Tuesday, August 25th, this is 11 days now Regina has been missing. James, Regina's boyfriend, passes a polygraph test with flying colors, according to police, and is eliminated as a suspect. Curtis, her ex-husband, refuses to answer questions or take a polygraph test based on advice from his lawyer.
But police really want him to, and they talk about it a lot in the newspapers, how much they want him to take a polygraph test. On Wednesday, August 26th, 12 days now Regina has been missing, police continue to receive tips but none of them pan out. Detective Ernie Manrique says, quote, this is really frustrating. We're hoping she's still alive, but we just don't know. We're just hoping something pops up so we can get some evidence against whoever did it, if it really happened, end quote.
Meanwhile, her family is worried sick about her. Her mother Jean says, quote, I'm scared to leave the house in case the phone rings. It might be somebody who knows something about my little girl, end quote. When asked about what she thinks happened, Jean says, quote, I know somebody must have come in here. There's no way she would have just left the baby here alone. And she just bought her little car. She wouldn't have left that just sitting in the driveway, end quote.
On Friday, August 28th, two weeks now Regina has been missing, a concerned citizen named Max Bandi starts a reward fund with $100 in hopes of raising $1,500 and bringing answers to what happened to Regina. In a press release, Max said if she was not found within 24 months, it would be placed in a trust for her son. On Thursday, September 3rd, a candlelight vigil is held at the Community Church of God in Christ, just shy of three weeks of Regina being missing.
The vigil is sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the modest 14-pew church is filled with friends, family, and strangers touched by the news of Regina's disappearance. Jean sat weeping in the front row. It's also around this time that the NAACP has agreed to work with police in talking with neighbors who otherwise might not want to talk to police or be afraid to. In October of 1981, police have no new leads.
They say they receive about one tip a week, but none of them have led to Regina. In November of 1981, this is about three months now Regina has been missing, police are still at square one. Detective Ernie Manrique says, quote, we believe she's still alive. We don't know if foul play is a part of her disappearance. It's possible she just left on her own. It's possible she was abducted, end quote. Police are still running down each tip, but those have started to stop coming in.
Detective Manrique does mention, quote, everybody I've talked to is afraid. I don't know why, end quote. In January of 1982, the new year, tips have almost completely stopped coming in regarding Regina's case. In August of 1982, Regina has been missing for one year. Police are still at a standstill with the case. Her mother Jean believes that part of the issue is the fact that it was raining the day that Regina disappeared.
If it had been a nice day out, a lot of the retired folks in the neighborhood would have been sitting out on their porches. Jean says, quote, I just wish I knew where my daughter was, not knowing is the hardest part, end quote. In October of 1996, so this is 15 years now, Regina's family holds a prayer vigil with other families of missing people. Regina's is officially the oldest unresolved missing person case for E. Smollin.
And over the next few years, throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, police will continue to run down leads in Regina's case as they receive them. But they don't lead to anything and they almost all fizzle out, according to police. But in March of 2022, so this is almost 40 years now that Regina has been missing, there is still no sign of Regina, but her mother Jean keeps her memory alive. She says, quote, I think about my baby every single day. I can't get it wrapped around my head.
How can a body just disappear and nobody find it? End quote. Regina has never legally been declared dead. Her mother says, quote, I have not declared her dead in my heart and I can't bring myself to put a headstone anywhere. End quote. Jean reveals that in 2021, Curtis, Regina's ex-husband, called Jean and she confronted him. She asked him if he had anything to do with it. And Curtis swears he had nothing to do with it and that he loved Regina. But that is all we know about Regina McCorkle.
So if you know anything about what happened to Regina in August of 1981, please call the East Moline Police at 309-752-1555. And the sources for today's podcast come from The Dispatch, Quad City Times, The Rock Island Argus, and those three newspapers covered the story quite heavily. So I read a lot of articles from those three. And then additionally, our QuadCities.com and the CharlieProject.com. So do you have any questions?
I think my question for you is like, do you think that she was failed? Yes. But I say that in I think that any missing person or cold case, I think they all have been failed. Yeah, for sure. If we're sitting here covering it. Did you think the people who were supposed to do their jobs and solving this case or gaining more information about it, do you think that they cared? And do you think that they did their job to the fullest extent? I think that they were late to care.
I basically just mean that, you know, when she when Jean, Regina's mother initially calls police, they tell her to wait 48 hours. And the next day she calls the FBI. And nobody helps her until that 48 hours. But once that 48 hours happens, people do get involved. And I didn't go into every lead that was chased down. There was like a big psychic portion of this case that I left out. They Yeah, police actually ended up working with the psychic for around two weeks.
And the psychic actually ended up quitting because she feared for her life. So there was a lot of leads run down in this case. So I just feel that they were really late, that if they had jumped on it when all of those very suspicious things happened that first day, it could have maybe turned out better. But you put 48 hours in between when you start looking for somebody. That's a lot of time. You know?
Yeah. I would like to clarify who asked the question or said the statement if it even happened. Was that a police officer? Yeah, that was Detective Ernie Manrique, who said that. And it was several weeks after the fact that he said that. And it was really like police were like, we have no idea what happens. Like they discount they start to like, in the beginning, it seems like they were very much this is a kidnapping once they finally get involved with it.
But then they start kind of walking back on that. And they're like, well, we don't really know what happened. So they start kind of being wishy washy on their stance on that. Yeah, I think that's where I started to get the feeling of like, they were saying, we don't really know what happened. And honestly, we don't really care. Like that's kind of what it felt like.
And again, I know I've said this on other episodes, but like if you are doing that job, 100% of the time, your care level needs to be turned up. I think you need a tremendous amount of like discipline with matched empathy to do that kind of job. And it's again, it seemed like both were lacking. And what informed me in thinking that honestly, it was like what I have learned about racism.
I mean, I feel like I can say with my you know, limited experience in it is that it was like a microaggression of carelessness. Yeah, I mean, resources like there could have been more resources pulled for this case. It does seem like there was just this one detective working on it, detective Ernie Manrique, as opposed to like a task force or several people working on it. You know what I mean?
Yeah. And I don't want to like defend the police, you know, but I do want to acknowledge that this one detective did run down every lead that he got. So he did his job, but it was like the bare minimum of the job of running down the leads, you know. You know, I just always feel that more can be done for missing people and for cold cases for homicides. Like, there's always more that I would vouch to say, we could do more.
Yes. I'm not I'm not I'm I'm laughing because I have been socialized to laugh through feeling very uncomfortable. And I'm uncomfortable right now. I'm always uncomfortable listening to how people's lives were just forgotten about, you know. It's also really easy for me to, you know, sit here in an echo chamber and talk about my problems with whatever, you know. But yeah, I think that, again, it's very messy where there was initially a lot of opportunity to comb through the messiness.
And that was looked over. And the mess like set in, you know. Well, yeah, I mean, you have like an 18 month old child locked inside of a bedroom in a house that's been locked from the inside. And I read through a couple of different reports to really understood to really understand what that meant. But it seems like they had a screen door before their front door that you could lock. And this is something that's kind of common in the Midwest.
So that way on nice days, you can have your front door open and get a breeze. But it's not completely unlocked. But those can typically only be locked from the inside. So those were both locked. And then the door was locked. It has the little, just like a little latch. Yeah, there's like a little latch. Sometimes there's a turn. My house had the little latch. Yeah, you know exactly what I'm talking about. So I believe it was that kind of setup.
And so then Jean, when she comes home and finds them both locked, which was out of the ordinary, they did not do that. She has to rip the screen out and kind of break into her own home. And then police to say that the only way they could have really left since the doors relaxed from the inside was through that basement window. It's like that's not somebody who's leaving on their own accord. Like you wouldn't, you're not leaving your own house shoeless in your nightgown through a basement window.
That is very clearly, at least to me, an escape. That is someone who escaped a situation, whether they were, you know, running away or were pulled out or whatever. Like there was like heightened stakes around that situation around someone leaving through a basement window. Yeah, somebody was running out of it or they were forced out of it. Yeah, those are the only things that could have happened.
So there were a lot of reported sightings of Regina throughout the years, but none of them were ever verified. This was her 100%. So again, if you know anything about what happened to Regina or her whereabouts today, please call the East Moline Police at 309-752-1555. Thank you for bringing this case to the forefront of our minds. And I'm sure, you know, just like myself and for a lot of other people, it's the first time we're hearing about it.
And again, it feels like an echo, but like, I just like, how do we not know about these unless you like really go digging for them? And I see you do the work. And some of these cases, I've watched you spend hours to find an article. And it's, I don't know. It's continuously shocking to me, but also I understand how it happens because of systems in place that harm people who need the most help.
Yeah, our society, unfortunately, is not set up to help vulnerable people and people missing no matter what their background is, I would say, are vulnerable people. So our society is not meant to catch them, to hold them, to support them. So we're always playing catch up in these cases, really, unfortunately. I'm looking forward to creating the graphics for this. She like, yes, she was so beautiful. But in the pictures, you can tell that she had like a deep, quiet love for her family.
Absolutely. Yeah. And again, we're going to be posting the graphics that Eli makes on our Instagram. So please follow us there if you're not already. We have a lot of followers on there. So thank you for joining us. Thank you for hopping into the conversation in the comment sections. We really appreciate it. All the kind messages, really wonderful.
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It means the world to us. Every single listens. So thank you so much. Yeah. And it really means the world to know that you're listening because they're listening because they genuinely want to help. And like I didn't, I didn't expect that unlike a grand scale. And it's really cool. It's like giving me hope and humanity again, honestly. Yeah. This community is incredible. So thank you for being a part of it. Yeah. Thanks guys. Sorry I'm always crying. And have a good week and stay safe y'all.
Stay safe y'all.