Episode description

March 18, 1991. Azalea, Oregon. Two-year old Tommy Gibson goes missing from the front yard of his rural home. Tommy’s father, Larry Gibson, who happens to be a deputy with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, claims that his son vanished while he was out jogging and later tells the authorities that his daughter witnessed Tommy get abducted by an unidentified couple driving a pick-up truck. However, investigators notice a number of suspicious discrepancies which make them believe that Larry caused Tommy’s death and covered up what he did by disposing of his son’s body. Larry is eventually charged with the crime and convicted of second-degree manslaughter and serves nearly three years in prison, but he continually maintains his innocence and no trace of Tommy is ever found. Was Larry Gibson actually responsible for the disappearance of his son? Or was the boy the victim of a stranger abduction? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a very frustrating missing children’s case which still has a number of unanswered questions. Special thanks to listener Sam Payant for narrating the opening of this episode.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 440-4450.

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Thomas_Gibson

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Tommy_Gibson

https://www.deseret.com/1995/1/19/19154476/oregon-town-still-divided-over-boy-s-disappearance/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal/19792315/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/198517497/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/338055000/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/573597925/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/350877751/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/394199591/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/442570299/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/202334607/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/202354511/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/388680042/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/232888668/

https://law.justia.com/cases/oregon/court-of-appeals/1996/144-or-app-523.html

https://charleyproject.org/case/thomas-dean-gibson

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“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon” in Nashville on May 31-June 2, 2024 and “Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Denver Marriott Westminster in Colorado on July 12-14, 2024. To get a 15 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.