Chapter 102: Vanished in the Redwoods-The Disappearance of Theresa Bier

0:00 Every story has a beginning, but not everyone has an ending. In the shadows of headlines and buried police reports lay the voices of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten, waiting to be heard and have their stories told. This is the Book of the Dead, a true crime podcast where we remember forgotten victims of heinous crimes, reopen cold cases, ree visit haunting disappearances, and uncover the truths buried beneath the years of silence. I'm your host, Courtney Liso, and every week we turn to another chapter, one victim, one mystery, one step closer to justice. Brought to you by Dark Cast Network indie Podcasts with a twist. Hello, Hello, Welcome to the next chapter in the Book of the Dead.

1:15 The case I have for you today doesn't have many answers. In nineteen eighty seven, a sixteen year old girl headed into the Sierra foothills of California with a man twice her age on an expedition to find proof of the legendary Bigfoot. Days later, the man returns from the mountains without his companion, and what would follow would be a decade's long mystery that has yet to be solved. This is the disappearance of Teresa Bear. Now, before we get into this case, I do want to stress that there is not a lot of information on it, So regarding any background information, there's nothing conclusive that was stated as fact in any publications. Some things can be inferred as most likely being true due to specific characteristics being released on websites like the Dough Network, but there is the possibility that events that took place during Teresa's childhood that have become part of her story may not be entirely accurate.

2:28 Teresa Beer was born on April sixteenth, nineteen seventy one, in Fresnoe, California, to Shirley and David Beer. Teresa was the youngest of two girls, and her mother reportedly was quite young herself when she gave birth to her daughters. Unfortunately, whether because of Shirley's young age or for a plethora of other reasons that could have contributed to Shirley's resentment of her children, she subjected her girls to a lot of really horrific abuse. When Teresa was three years old, Shirley twisted her daughter's leg through the bars of the crib so violently that she broke it, leading to surgery to repair the damage. Teresa was left with a terrible scar because of this. Shirley would also beat her daughter, breaking multiple ribs, which resulted in a visit from social Services.

3:26 The girls were removed from the home, staying in foster care for a time before a family friend from church took them in. According to Strange outdoors dot Com, Shirley and David would go on to divorce after their daughters were removed from their care, and David would later marry a woman named Margie Richmond, who had briefly been married to Shirley's half brother, John. Margie had custody of her and John's two girls, and after she and David married, they regained custody of Teresa and her sister as well. What should have been a turning point for Teresa and her sisters starting a new, happy life with their father and stepmom was not the case. Margie subjected all of the children to abuse, putting a lock on the refrigerator and taunting the girls who were starving, forcing them to watch as she enjoyed a full meal. Because of this trauma and neglect and abuse that she had been subjected to, as well as bouncing from place to place from the age of four. Theresa, as she grew into a teenager, was described as a slow learner and quite immature for her age. According to the Fresno b it's very well documented in medical journals that emotional and physical neglect or abuse can cause several challenges for children as they grow and develop, and it can even follow them into adulthood.

4:57 A journal article from the National Library of Medicine and explains that prolonged mistreatment and neglect of a child can and will lead to difficulty predicting the consequences of their actions. They may have difficulty understanding various things, be at risk of displaying delayed social behavior, issues with regulating their emotions or being able to understand the emotions of others, and problems interacting in social settings. It's also possible that children of abuse and neglects are more trusting of those that show them any sort of kindness. Now, based on this and the severity of her abuse and the lack of stability in her home life, it could have resulted in Theresa being very immature as a teenager, and she likely had difficulty understanding things in school or possibly following directions while I can't state that as fact, it's more than possible that this was the case. Now. It's unknown how long she lived with her father and Margie, but by the time she was sixteen years old, Teresa had moved back to Fresno from where her father was living and into her great grandmother's house before her uncle would be granted custody of Teresa. Her uncle's name was John Richardson or Blind Johnny, and if that name is familiar, it's because he is Margie's ex husband. John had allegedly lost

6:31 his eyesight during a game of Russian Roulette, hence the nickname, but some believed he still had some semblance of his eyesight left after that incident. In addition to the two daughters that Margie and David had custody of, John also had two boys from another relationship, as well as a seventeen year old girlfriend who lived in the home named Tamara. John's home was not the haven it should have been when he gained custody of Teresa. Though allegedly Teresa missed a lot of school while living with John due to being forced to stay home and babysit, and although unsubstantiated by any news outlets. There were allegations of Teresa being sexually assaulted by her uncle and his friends. At every turn from toddlerhood, Teresa was failed by every single person who was supposed to protect her and have her best interests at heart. Her parents, her guardians, and cps all failed to do the very basics of making sure she was in a stable and loving home. There was no protection for Teresa at any point. On June first, nineteen eighty seven, Teresa is getting ready for school when her uncle is visited by an acquaintance, Russell skiped Welch. According to the Camarilla Star, John was only loosely acquainted with Russell.

7:58 Some reports suggest he was just the name, but John said yes when Russell offered to drive Teresa to school. Russell was forty three years old, had a substance abuse disorder, specifically methamphetamine, and was also a quote students of Bigfoot. Most of you listening are probably familiar, at least in the general sense of Bigfoot or sasquatch, But if you're not familiar with this particular cryptid, the legend or idea of Bigfoot ran rampant close to seventy years ago. In northern California when the Humboldt Times reported that a construction crew had stumbled upon some sixteen inch long footprints. While the legend of these ape like creatures has been around for centuries in the legends of Pacific Northwest indigenous tribes, this particular headline made waves throughout America and there have been numerous alleged sightings ever since. Acording to the Smithsonian Magazine, and if you're curious, the FBI vault has a section on Bigfoot, which I've added to the source notes for your viewing pleasure. There are countless believers of Bigfoot all over the country, and there are frequent excursions that these believers go on in order to try and find evidence of Bigfoot, who can allegedly be found in more rural areas with an abundance of protein sources like deer. So

9:31 Russell is one of these believers, and when he offers to take Teresa to school, he talks her into coming with him to go camping in the Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yosemite and Madera to look for proof of Bigfoot. According to The Camarilla Star, detective Doug Stokes said that Teresa had told at least two of her friends that she and Russell were going camping, and she was apparently very excited to do so. They were spotted at multiple locations that day, but Teresa never made it to class. Before this camping trip was to begin, John was notified of Teresa's absence from school that day, but even though he was concerned enough to go around asking Teresa's friends if they had seen her, he wasn't concerned enough to tell the school that she was to be dropped off by Russell. Allegedly, he claimed that she had stayed home because she wasn't feeling well. When Teresa failed to return home that evening, John called the police and reported her missing, informing the police that he had last seen Teresa with Russell Welch. Over the next few days, the Fresno police learned about the camping trip and that this particular area they were going to was very familiar to Welch. They contacted, according to The Camarilla Star, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Department, the US Forest Service rangers, and the Madera County Sheriff's Office,

11:04 urging them to be on the lookout for Welch and Teresa and his car, a tan over brown nineteen seventy seven two door Monte Carlo. During that search, police, according to medium dot com, spoke to Welch's daughter, who told police that she had warned Teresa not to go with her father because he was known to lure girls to the mountains, supplying them with drugs to entice them into having sex with him. According to Strange outdoors dot com, police located one of the girls that Welch had brought to the mountain side, seventeen year old Michelle Ryan, who claimed that Chandra had also warned her not to go to the mountains with Welch. Michelle said that she and two male friends had gone with Welch, and while she believed she had been drugged, had made it back from the mountain trip. Four days after Teresa was reported missing.

11:55 On June fifth, Madera Sheriff's deputies spotted the Monte Carlo near North Fork, but there was no one around when they approached. For some unfathomable reason, they left and returned to the area a few hours later, but by that point the car was already gone. Now Allegedly, a woman who lived in the area. Named Dorothy Davis told police that she was friends with Welch and he had visited her that day, telling her that he was very upset that the girl that was with him had been abducted by Satanists. Additionally, there was an allegation that John Richardson was contacted by an unknown woman who told him that Welch had a pistol and was demanding that John stopped making trouble for him. If he didn't, Welch would go after John's children. Now, since I couldn't find any reports of this threat being made, this may be exclusive to the quote unquote legend of Teresa's disappearance, but it's worth mentioning it would be another five days before police would be able to track down Welch. They found him at his mother's home in Sunnyside, where he was promptly arrested on charges of failing to appear in court for a drunk driving violation on June tenth. Now, Welch did cooperate with police, explaining that he would show them where he and Teresa had gone camping. He brought them to a campsite near shut Eye Peak and Clean This was the

13:28 spot where he had seen Teresa for the last time, Detective Stokes said, quote. He said this is where he and Teresa had set up camp before she disappeared. He claimed they made several sightings a bigfoot and that he wanted to return to the camp, but she refused and the two became separated. Police searched the area and found a purse belonging to Teresa, as well as several articles of her clothing. They also allegedly found a few photographs, one of Russell playing the guitar the campsite, one of Teresa, a couple of them together, but nothing nefarious in the photos. Over the next two days, due to the heavily rugged terrain, police brought in a mounted posse and bloodhounds to help try and locate Teresa, but they were unsuccessful in that search.

14:21 According to the Fresno b Welch was adamant that there were two possible explanations for what happened to Teresa. Detective Stokes said quote. He indicated he thought bigfoot had something to do with her disappearance, or that she might have left the area with another camper. According to the Lumpoc Record, Welch claimed that he sincerely believed Bigfoot was responsible because he had been in constant contact with a troop of Bigfoot. Welch also claimed that he had spent two days looking for Teresa, but he ultimately gave up and returned to Fresno, although he failed to report Theresa disint himself. Now police charged Welch with felony child stealing, believing that he had lured Teresa to the mountains for a purpose other than this Bigfoot expedition. Welch did claim, allegedly unprompted, that if they did manage to find Teresa, there would be no evidence of sexual assault because even though she was more than willing to participate in having sex with him, Welch didn't engage in such behavior. Considering this information was allegedly volunteered without reason, I'm inclined to believe that if this was said, he was lying, but that is purely my own speculation. Now. Welch pleaded not guilty to the child stealing charge and was originally released on his own recognizance

15:55 before being transported back to jail two days later when it was realized that a different judge had ordered bond set at thirty thousand dollars in October, days before he was to head to trial, the child stealing charges were dropped by the Fresno County District Attorney el Voice Hooper out of concern that should Therese's body be found, Welch would not be able to be tried for murder due to the risk of double jeopardy. Welch had been previously offered a plea bargain where if he pled guilty to child stealing, he would only receive a one year sentence at the county jail. According to the Fresno b the stipulation was that Welch needed to sign an agreement waiving his right to claim double jeopardy in the event that murder charges were filed against him. Welch and his lawyer obviously said no, so the DA made the decision to drop the charges in the hopes of being able to get him on different charges at a later date. Unfortunately, though this is where Teresa's story ends. There have been no updates in the investigation since nineteen eighty seven, which was scaled back considerably after a two week search, and if Teresa or her remains were to be found, if Welch is responsible, it would be too late to do anything.

17:23 Russell Welch died in nineteen ninety eight at fifty four years old. The most common theory, though, is that Russell lord Theresa to the campsite with the promise of looking for proof of bigfoot in order to assault her, and she was very possibly killed in the process, whether by accident or intentionally, and he disposed of her body. Considering it took five days per police to track him down, it's very possible that this is a likely scenario, as he had such a big head start before police were able to search the area. However, it would be ignorant of me to suggest that there aren't other possibilities. Although police do confirm that foul play is involved in her disappearance, there could have been an accident, that terrain was rough with multiple drop offs, or Teresa, if she went off on her own, could have encountered someone else who had bad intentions. At the time of her disappearance, Teresa Beer was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, and Lisa sandals. She was sixteen years old, five foot five and around one hundred and ten pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a surgical scar on her lower right leg and her front teeth protruded. She also went by the nickname Sam, but that might have been a nickname exclusively used by Russell Watch. If anyone has

18:55 any information regarding the disappearance of Teresa Beer, you were urged to call the Fresno Police Department at five five nine four nine eight one two six' five and, again as, oways that number will be in the source notes. Below thank you so much for listening to this chapter of The book of The. Dead as, always if you enjoyed, it leave us a review and, share and if you have any, information please call the. Number it's been a long, time but there's always a possibility that someone heard something from. Someone as, OWAYS i hope you have a wonderful week AND i will see you in the next chapter of The book of The. Dead, bye, Guys another page, Closed but the story isn't over for the families left. Behind the pain doesn't end when the headline's. Fade and for the, victims we owe them more than silence for our on solved.

19:55 Cases if you have any, information please reach out to local authorities or visit our show notes for links and. Resources someone out there knows something maybe it's. You thank you for listening to The book of The. Dead if this story moved or spoke to you in some, way talk about, it share, it keep their names. Alive until next. Time I'm Courtney. Liso stay, safe stay, curious and stay, vigilant and remember the dead may be, gone but their stories will not be. Forgotten