Sep 8, 2026 · 24 min · 10 segments
Discover all Quince has to offer. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to [quince.com/unseen](quince.com/unseen). Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available…
In the early 1990s, Maria Jones and her husband George buy a home in Parkdale, a quiet family neighborhood near Toronto's waterfront.
Together, they raise Maria's three children, before welcoming their first daughter together, Holly.
By 2003, Holly is 11 years old.
and is beginning to seek more independence.
Over the past year, Maria has allowed her to walk to and from school alone, a 20-minute walk, almost in a straight line.
Holly has made it countless times without incident.
Then, on May 12, 2003, a Monday like any other, Holly returns from school with her friend Claudia.
The two spend the afternoon playing make-believe, When it comes time for Claudia to go home, Holly tells her mom she promised to walk her there, but Maria refuses.
She has never allowed Holly outside alone after school hours, but the 11-year-old insists she has made the same walk many times before, and Claudia lives halfway to school on the same route.
She argues she'll be gone for no more than 10 minutes, and eventually, her mother relents.
For the first time, she allows her young daughter to leave the house alone outside of her usual walk to school.
But 10 minutes pass, and Holly does not return.
Then 20.
After half an hour, Maria cannot explain why but she has a terrible feeling.
Officers begin scouring the neighborhood, searching the streets, and questioning anyone who might have seen Holly.
By 9pm, the 11-year-old is declared missing, and Ontario's first ever Amber Alert is set in motion.
There are two basic reasons children are abducted, and you hope that it's the first one, which was some kind of a family involvement.
From history, you have a better chance of getting the child back successfully.
On the other hand, if you get a stranger on stranger child abduction, we have minutes to hours to get them back alive.
In the early 1990s, Maria Jones and her husband George buy a home in Parkdale, a quiet family neighborhood near Toronto's waterfront.
Together, they raise Maria's three children, before welcoming their first daughter together, Holly.
By 2003, Holly is 11 years old.
and is beginning to seek more independence.
Over the past year, Maria has allowed her to walk to and from school alone, a 20-minute walk, almost in a straight line.
Holly has made it countless times without incident.
Then, on May 12, 2003, a Monday like any other, Holly returns from school with her friend Claudia.
The two spend the afternoon playing make-believe, When it comes time for Claudia to go home, Holly tells her mom she promised to walk her there, but Maria refuses.
She has never allowed Holly outside alone after school hours, but the 11-year-old insists she has made the same walk many times before, and Claudia lives halfway to school on the same route.
She argues she'll be gone for no more than 10 minutes, and eventually, her mother relents.
For the first time, she allows her young daughter to leave the house alone outside of her usual walk to school.
But 10 minutes pass, and Holly does not return.
Then 20.
After half an hour, Maria cannot explain why but she has a terrible feeling.
Officers begin scouring the neighborhood, searching the streets, and questioning anyone who might have seen Holly.
By 9pm, the 11-year-old is declared missing, and Ontario's first ever Amber Alert is set in motion.
There are two basic reasons children are abducted, and you hope that it's the first one, which was some kind of a family involvement.
From history, you have a better chance of getting the child back successfully.
On the other hand, if you get a stranger on stranger child abduction, we have minutes to hours to get them back alive.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.