Hide and Seek

On November 30th, 2018, Brittany Wallace Shank said she was almost to her grandma’s. She never made it. She was 23. A mother of four. Sturgis, Michigan.

For years, her case sat still. Then, in 2023, people started sitting down in the other chairs.

A lot of you have asked what happened after we brought what we found to law enforcement. Here’s the answer: we gave them everything we saved. All of it. In Part 1, you heard what they did with it — Ashley’s interview, and the questions that never got asked.

Part 2 is the rest of the chairs. The husband — Eric, across the table from Detective Auton, answering the questions this case has been circling since day one. The drug dealer — the man who says he met Brittany exactly once, and the message thread that says more than he does. The boyfriend. And the third man in the apartment. Plus a phone call I recorded in 2022, a year before detectives caught up — so you can hear one man’s story twice, a year apart, and decide for yourself what changed.

You’ll hear Brittany’s own voice in this episode. You’ll hear the minute her day stops. And you’ll hear me say the thing that should make everyone in St. Joseph County uncomfortable:

Eight polygraphs, by the county’s own count. Seven years. No one has ever been charged.

Somebody forwarded a video. Somebody knows the rest.

Play the tape. Read the paper. Compare.

Listener discretion advised. This episode contains descriptions of a missing person case and recorded law-enforcement interviews.

Part 1 — “The Other Chairs, Part 1: The Fake Cry” — is available now. Start there.

— — —

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

If you were in Sturgis in November 2018 — if you knew this circle, or heard something that winter you’ve been carrying — the line is open.

Reach the show: hideandseekpod@yahoo.com · (509) 866-6985

Prefer to go straight to law enforcement? St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, Centreville, Michigan: (269) 467-9045. Non-emergency dispatch: (269) 467-4195.
https://stjosephcountymi.gov/government/courts-law-enforcement/sheriff-s-department/

You don’t have to be certain. You don’t have to accuse anybody. You just have to remember.

— — —

CREDITS & ATTRIBUTION

Crime Junkie. Portions of this episode quote, with attribution, from Crime Junkie: “MISSING: Brittany Wallace Shank” (audiochuck) — hosted by Ashley Flowers with Brit Prawat, original reporting by Madison Cavalchire, released June 22, 2026. Hear the full episode: https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/missing-brittany-wallace-shank/

Records. Interview excerpts and documents referenced in this episode come from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office case file (CFS #18-053859), obtained by this show through records requests at our own expense.

Interviews. The March 2022 phone interview with Justin Gayheart was recorded by this show as part of our original reporting on this case.

Re-creations and recordings. Brittany’s written messages are read by a voice actor — her words, verbatim, not her voice. You will also hear Brittany’s actual voice once in this episode, from a recorded call. We will tell you which is which.

Hide and Seek is written, reported, and hosted by James Baysinger. A Sasquatch Productions podcast.

The people who were physically closest to Brittany in her last week sat in interview rooms across five years. We have the tapes. We have the paper the detectives filed afterward. This episode runs on one process: play the tape, read the paper, compare.

Part one is the best friend — Ashley. Two chairs, four and a half years apart, and the night nobody ever really asked her about.

Brittany Wallace Shank has been missing since November 30, 2018 — Sturgis, Michigan. Nobody heard in this episode has ever been charged with anything connected to her disappearance.

Part two — “The Other Chairs, Part 2: You Forwarded a Video” — is out now: the husband’s week of texts, and the interview that never asked about any of it.

— — —

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

If you were in Sturgis in November 2018 — if you knew this circle, or heard something that winter you’ve been carrying — the line is open.

Reach the show: hideandseekpod@yahoo.com · (509) 866-6985

Prefer to go straight to law enforcement? St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, Centreville, Michigan: (269) 467-9045. Non-emergency dispatch: (269) 467-4195.
https://stjosephcountymi.gov/government/courts-law-enforcement/sheriff-s-department/

You don’t have to be certain. You don’t have to accuse anybody. You just have to remember.

— — —

CREDITS & ATTRIBUTION

Crime Junkie. Portions of this episode quote, with attribution, from Crime Junkie: “MISSING: Brittany Wallace Shank” (audiochuck) — hosted by Ashley Flowers with Brit Prawat, original reporting by Madison Cavalchire, released June 22, 2026. Hear the full episode: https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/missing-brittany-wallace-shank/

Records. Interview excerpts and documents referenced in this episode come from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office case file (CFS #18-053859), obtained by this show through records requests at our own expense.

Re-creations. Brittany’s written messages are read by a voice actor. Her words, verbatim — not her voice.

Hide and Seek is written, reported, and hosted by James Baysinger. A Sasquatch Productions podcast.

For seven years, the world has known one phone call from Brittany Wallace Shank's last day. There were more.

On the afternoon of November 30, 2018 — hours before she vanished outside Sturgis, Michigan — Brittany spoke three times with a man calling from a Michigan prison. Those calls were recorded. Today, for the first time, you'll hear them: three calls, in order, on the clock, ending with the last conversation of her known life.

And then you'll hear the other side of it. In a brand-new 2026 interview, the man on the other end of that line — Zachary — sits down with James, seven years later, to talk about what's on that tape: the message she said she couldn't say over the phone, the people she named, what he heard in her voice, and something he saw eight months after she disappeared that he's never been able to shake.

New audio. A new interview. A newly released case file with details never discussed publicly. The Bonus Series starts now.

⚠️ This episode contains explicit language and mature subject matter. The views and opinions expressed by individuals heard in this episode are solely their own and do not reflect those of Hide and Seek. All individuals discussed are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

💛 SUPPORT HIDE AND SEEK
Our investigation into Brittany's case is powered entirely by listeners. Join the Patreon community for early access, live Zoom events, and exclusive content — and help us keep fighting for the missing:
▶ https://patreon.com/hideandseekpodcast
FOLLOW HIDE AND SEEK
🌐 Website: https://www.hideandseekpodcast.com
📸 Instagram: @hideandseekpodcast
👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hideandseekpodcast
▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@hideandseekpodcast

FOLLOW JAMES BAYSINGER
📸 Instagram: @james_baysinger_podcast
👥 Facebook: James Baysinger Podcast

If you have information about the disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank, you can also contact the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department or submit a tip anonymously.

Brittany went to do her laundry. She never came home. She deserves to be found — and we're not done fighting for her.

#HideAndSeek #BrittanyShank #TheThreeCalls #TrueCrime #MissingPerson

For the first time, you'll hear Brittany Wallace Shank's own voice from the day she disappeared — and what the people closest to her said when they didn't think anyone was listening.
This summer, Hide and Seek returns to Brittany's case with a bonus series built on what we never had the first time: newly obtained interviews — audio and video — and a case file that runs right up to today. Her final 911 call. What her husband answered, and what he wouldn't. A man who told police one story, and the truth another. What we were told. What we found out. The lies we uncovered.
New here? Start with Season 3. It's the full story of Brittany's disappearance from Sturgis, Michigan — and it'll make everything coming this summer land, with no catching up required.
And to everyone waiting on Season 5: it's still a full go. I'm actively working that case right now. The plan is Brittany's bonus series this summer, with Season 5 tentatively eyeing a late-2026 start. No firm date yet — but I'm not stepping away from it. If you want to put a little toward making it happen, there's a Season 5 production fund on Ko-fi.
Want to go deeper? Patreon is home base — behind-the-scenes, and the video interviews are coming there too. Come go deeper with us, and help keep the search for Brittany alive.
And if someone's come to mind while you've been listening — someone from back then, someone who knew her, someone who knows something — this is the episode to send them.
Follow so you don't miss the drop:Catch up on Season 3: https://www.hideandseekpodcast.com/seasons/season-3Go deeper on Patreon (video interviews coming): https://www.patreon.com/hideandseekpodcastSupport the Season 5 production fund (Ko-fi): https://ko-fi.com/hideandseekpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hideandseekpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/hideandseekpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hideandseek_podcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hideandseekpodcastFollow James: https://www.instagram.com/james_baysinger_podcast

Seven years after Brittany Wallace Shank vanished in St Joseph County, Michigan, we return to where her story began.
This bonus episode takes you inside Brittany’s seven year memorial. A gathering shaped by love, grief, and a refusal to let her name fade. You will hear from family, community members, and Sheriff Spence as they come together during a winter storm that could not stop people from showing up for Brittany.
This is not a recap of the case.
This is about what Brittany left behind.
The bonds she created.
The community that still stands.
And the quiet hope that refuses to die.
This is Hide and Seek.
And this is Brittany’s legacy.
If this episode means something to you, the conversation continues after it ends.
Subscribe today to our Lifer tier, members join us to listen to listen to the episode together in a private Zoom with James and Sara Jo. Stay for a private conversation after. We'll talk through what you just heard, share context we cannot fit into the episode, and give real updates during the off season.
If you are already a supporter, upgrading to Lifer is how you get into that room.