Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClane Smith, where for the weeks in between episodes, we look at stories and ideas that, for one reason or other, didn't make it into the previous show. In last week's episode, The Dark Ascending, we took a trip to Chanctonbury Ring in Sussex, England to shine a light on the many peculiar happenings that are said to have occurred there and in the
surrounding countryside over the years. The episode focused largely on Charles Walker from the town of Worthing, who, after looking into a number of these strange events, became convinced that a local occult group known as the Friends of hecate were operating in the area. It was Walker's belief that this group may even have committed murder as part of a series of rituals they were conducted, as many people
have noted. However, despite Walker's claims, very little has been uncovered to prove that the Friends of Hecateae even exist, let alone were responsible for ritual murder of humans or
indeed dogs, which they have also been linked with. As one listener of the show kindly wrote in to explain though historically ancient worshippers of Hecateae did sacrifice animals in the hope of gaining favors from the Goddess, the Great, many Hecatea and practitioners of magic that exist today are fervently opposed to violence and cruelty and are unlikely to
do such a thing. Certainly, there is no evidence that such practitioners have ever made a human sacrifice to the goddess, who is also considered to be the guardian of dogs, all of which makes this Hecatea connection or the more fanciful attempts to associate the group with Satanism, a theme that was later picked up and expanded on in a book by Toy Newton, author of the nineteen eighty one magazine piece about the Peculiar String of Events, are also problematic.
Without wanting to go into too much detail since it will likely feature on a future show, supposed Satanism has long been demonized pun intended as a practice of heinous and wicked acts, as opposed to merely being an outlet for nonconformist and unorthodox ideas. That said, it's hard to deny that this small pocket of southern England for whatever reason,
has certainly had its fair share of weirdness. In fact, only last year, yet another peculiar story emerged from out of the shadows of the Sussex Downs, as compelling as any other that had previously come to light. In nineteen forty six, nine year old Anthea Ring was playing outside her home in Surrey with her best friend when the pair of them got into an argument. Upset, Anthea turned to run back inside, but was stopped in her tracks
when Peter called after her. I don't care if you tell on me to your mother, he said, she isn't your real mother anyway. Shocked and confused, Anthea ran crying to her parents and demanded to know what Peter was talking about. That night, her parents, Margaret and Douglas, revealed the truth that when she was a newborn, Anthea had been abandoned on the doorstep of Worthing Hospital in Sussex. Thankfully, the surprise revelation didn't appear to upset Anthea too much,
who loved her kind and caring parents. Regardless, she had even been a little excited at having such a unique story to share with all her friends. At fifteen, Anthea went to work at a department store in London before moving to to train as a nurse. It was there that she met and fell in love with Francis, with whom she would have two children, Jonathan and later Christine.
One afternoon in nineteen sixty one, Anthea was showing pictures of her baby Christine to her parents when her father Douglas went quiet for a moment, then turned to look at her mother, Margaret. Is it time to show her? He asked. Anthea looked on, confused as Margaret went upstairs, returning moments later with an old newspaper clipping, complete with the photo of a small baby. Anthea took the article
and began to read. It told the story of a Margaret and Arthur DoD who'd been out for a walk with their children on the Sussex Downs one bright summer's afternoon in August nineteen thirty seven. The family had been walking along the side of cisp Berry Ring, an iron age hill fort barely two and a half miles south of Chanctonbury Ring, when Margaret heard something peculiar. Stopping suddenly, wiping the sweat from her brow, she told the others to be quiet and listen whatever for her husband had
asked that said, Margaret, can't you hear it? It sounds like a baby crying. Within seconds, the family was staggering about the hill trying to locate the source of the sound, when finally, hidden deep inside a BlackBerry bush, they found it, a tiny baby in a pink dress, covered in scratches
and mosquito bites, with its hands bound tightly together. Margaret immediately gathered up the baby, and together the family went in search of the nearest house to use a phone, eventually ending up at a farm house in the nearby village of Something. From there, the police were called and a baby promptly taken to Worthing Hospital. After careful examination, Mercifully, despite a few minor injuries, the baby was found to
be in good health. However, despite a national appeal for information, the police were unable to ascertain who her parents were or how she came to end up abandoned in a bramble bush on the Sussex Downs. It wasn't long after that, having read about it in the newspaper, Douglas and Margaret contacted the hospital and offered to adopt her. Are you always taking care of your family? Do you often take care of others and not yourself. Now it's time to take care of yourself, to make time for you. You
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slash Unexplained Podcast. Having learned the full story behind her adoption, Anthea was understandably devastated, but after discussing it with her husband, decided not to share the news with her children, but instead do her best to forget it and move on. But as the years wore on, the gnawing urged to
find out more only grew more intense. In nineteen ninety four, Anthea made attempts to gather more information, contacting Worthy police for any records they might have regarding the original investigation, but sadly, nothing significant came to light. It wouldn't be until two thousand and twelve, when, after taking a DNA test, that the by then seventy five year old Anthea really
started to get somewhere. After first matching with a woman in North Carolina in the United States, Anthea was eventually able to trace both sides of her family to County Mayo and County Gorway in Ireland. After teaming up with Julia Bell, an expert in genetic genealogy, the pair were able to narrow things down even further, until finally they hit upon the name of Lena O'Donnell from County Mayo.
O'Donnell was Anthea's birth mother. A birth certificate was quickly discovered that revealed Anthea had officially been born on twentieth of November nineteen thirty six and given the name Mary Veronica. Incredibly, the identity of Anthea's father would also be discovered soon after, thanks to DNA evidence taken from a stamp that he once used to send a letter to a cousin of hers. His name was Patrick Coyne, who traveled to London from County Gorway to work as a laborer in nineteen thirty six.
As Bell investigated further, it appeared that Lena and Patrick were not in a relationship when Anthea was conceived, and it's not known whether Patrick even knew that Lena was pregnant. In any case, Shortly after giving birth, Lena O'Donnell moved with her baby to a Roman Catholic care home in Chiswick, West London called Devonnook. That, however, was the last recorded address of Anthea's birth mother until two years later, when she appears again on an electoral role, but with no
mention of her baby. At the time and even today, there were many who considered an unmarried woman with a baby to be a moral degenerate. For years, the Catholic Church encouraged women with so called illegitimate children to give them up for adoption, with many being sold to wealthy families. In America, the Devonnook Care Home was different, however, in that it often encouraged mothers to keep their babies if
they could. Though it isn't known for sure how Anthea ended up separated from her birth mother, Julia Bell has raised the tragic possible ability that she may have been stolen and sold on by a foster mother that had been trusted to look after her when Lena was out working. For what reasons the baby's hands were tied, and how it ended up left for dead in a thicket of
brambles remains just another mystery of the Sussex Strange. As for Anthea herself, speaking to the BBC about her story in two thousand and eighteen, she is now said to be at peace with the mystery. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never before been covered on the show, is now available to buy worldwide, who can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores.
All elements of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and feel to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward Slash
Unexplained Podcast. Now, it's time to take care of yourself. To make time for you. Teledoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download the app or visit telldoc dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast Today to get started. That's t
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