Episodes

  • Trailer: What happened to Jaliek?

    Trailer: What happened to Jaliek?
    Oct 25 2022
    On the night of Nov. 1, 2007, Jaliek Rainwalker and his adoptive father ate dinner at a Red Robin in upstate New York. The next day, the 12-year-old boy was reported missing. 15 years later, no trace of Jaliek has been discovered, and no one has faced charges related to his disappearance. In this true crime podcast, Times Union journalists examine Jaliek's short — but difficult  — life, investigate what is known about the night he disappeared from the small rural village of Greenwich, New York, and join those who are continuing the effort to find the lost boy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    3 mins
  • 1. Red Robin

    1. Red Robin
    Jan 17 2023
    More than 15 years ago, Katie Bonesteel was a waitress at a Red Robin Restaurant in upstate New York. She was in her first weeks on the job, and she wasn’t yet sure of herself. On the evening of Nov. 1, 2007, she messed up an order. It was the order for Jaliek Rainwalker and his adoptive father Stephen Kerr. Days later, Katie was called in to talk to New York State Police, only to discover that she was one of the last people to see Jaliek before he vanished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • 2. It's Green-WITCH, not Gren-ITCH

    2. It's Green-WITCH, not Gren-ITCH
    Jan 24 2023
    The upstate New York village of Greenwich is tight-knit and proud. But it’s also haunted. People on the streets of the sleepy town on the Battenkill River remember the disappearance of Jaliek Rainwalker in 2007, and the story doesn’t sit well with them. A group of Greenwich residents and others formed during the pandemic to keep interest in the case alive, and they’re determined to find out what happened to the 12-year-old boy who went missing from their hometown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • 3. A Boy's Life

    3. A Boy's Life
    Jan 31 2023
    Jaliek Rainwalker’s life was not an easy one. Born to a drug- and alcohol-addicted mother, he was placed in foster care immediately. He would live with 5 foster families before he landed with Jocelyn McDonald and Stephen Kerr, the Washington County couple that adopted him in 2003. He was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder, a behavioral condition that makes it hard for children to form attachments to caregivers. It can result in violent outbursts and erratic behavior, something that his last two foster families said was too much to handle.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    33 mins
  • 4. The Yellow Fleece

    4. The Yellow Fleece
    Feb 7 2023
    It was winter in upstate New York, and the child on the school playground wasn’t wearing a coat. A concerned teacher sent him to the nurse’s office, where they found him a yellow fleece jacket to wear. That piece of outerwear would play a crucial role in the search for the boy after he went missing. On this episode, recollections of Jaliek Rainwalker’s life with Jocelyn McDonald and Stephen Kerr from family and friends paint a conflicting picture of the quality of the boy’s final years before he vanished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    33 mins
  • 5. Black and Missing

    5. Black and Missing
    Feb 14 2023
    About 38 percent of missing children in America are Black, yet their cases receive disproportionately less media coverage and law enforcement attention than missing white children, according to the Black and Missing Foundation. The initial days of the investigation into Jaliek Rainwalker’s disappearance saw his case treated as a runaway by both law enforcement and his parents. But after 48 hours, Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell began to doubt he was dealing with a runaway.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • 6. Marker 30

    6. Marker 30
    Feb 21 2023
    Four months after his disappearance, a bizarre note sent to local media says Jaliek is alive. But there’s no proof to accompany it. The investigation takes several twists and turns, stretching out over 15 years. The case is classified as a probable homicide, but no suspects have been named and no body has been found. Yet law enforcement agencies insist it’s still a very active case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • 7. Colfax Mountain

    7. Colfax Mountain
    Feb 28 2023
    The search continues for Jaliek Rainwalker 15 years after he disappeared. Students from the College of Saint Rose Cold Case Analysis Center recently explored a property in Washington County they believe could provide clues about what happened to Jaliek.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 mins