Unsolved Mysteries is once again an American obsession following Netflix's release of a reboot in early July. With its arrival came six bite-sized mysteries with not a lot of answers, so of course viewers were going to jump all over that and search for answers.
I can't say I had many answers when I finished watching, but I do have quite a few questions. Unsolved Mysteries gives us a lot to work with in regards to these unbelievable and sometimes horrific stories, but what about all the things we aren't told? Here are six questions after the six episodes so far.
Why Did Porter Stansberry Not Talk To Police About Rey Rivera?
Unsolved Mysteries does a lot to establish Frank Porter Stansberry and Rey Rivera as great friends, which makes the events that happened after Rivera's death all the more baffling. Stansberry refused to talk to police after his friend's disappearance and even went so far as to place a gag order on employees to prevent them from doing any talking as well.
This is incredibly relevant to the case considering the call Rey Rivera got the last time he was seen alive came from the place he and Porter Stansberry worked. As Unsolved Mysteries explained, the call could only be traced to the switchboard so it was impossible to say where the call came from. Stansberry's company had gotten in trouble with the SEC years prior and received heavy fines for defrauding public investors, so it could be possible he just didn't want investigators sniffing around his business.
How Has Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès Evaded Capture For So Long?
Whether you believe he killed his family or not, it's astonishing that Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès has managed to avoid capture for so long. Police had a good chance of capturing him in the immediate days following the murder of his family and dogs, but the trail has largely gone cold since. Because Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès has allegedly sent evidence, he's still around to press, and that's a pretty astonishing feat.
Unless he's dead, and that the photo sent to press was some sort of cruel stunt organized by someone close to the family, that is. It seems more plausible to me that someone could obtain a family photo and send it to a reporter than the idea that Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès could evade capture in the internet era. Especially one of his former social standing, unless he used that prestige to contact some friends who have helped him disappear. Perhaps with Netflix putting his name back out in the world, Xavier Dupont De Ligonnès will still be found and brought in for questioning.
Does Additional Footage Hurt The Popular Theory Of Lena Chapin's Disappearance?
For anyone unaware, Netflix has dropped a healthy amount of additional footage online for Unsolved Mysteries viewers wanting to sift through more interviews and get deeper into the mystery of Lena Chapin. From that footage, fans have uncovered an interview with an investigator interviewed in "Missing Witness," Brian Martin.
In an unaired interview, Brian Martin expressed his suspicion that Lena Chapin's testimony regarding Gary McCullough's death was potentially false. If true, does this hurt the motive for Sandy Klemp having a hand in her daughter's disappearance? It's an interesting added bit of information, and while we can only speculate on why Chapin would give potentially false testimony in court, it seems that testimony may not have been as effective had she not disappeared ahead of it. I'm not saying fans should shift their theories just yet, but it just goes to show that episodes don't always give the full story.
Why Did The Funeral Director Let Rob Endres Hang Out With His Wife's Remains?
Grief is a powerful thing, and I completely understand how it can impact the actions of people when they lose a loved one. Still, I can't help but find it a little odd that Rob Endres requested that the funeral director re-assemble the body of his wife Patrice Endres after her remains were found, and that he was given time alone to walk around with the skull and kiss it before cremation.
That seems like it should be against some sort of protocol in the usual funeral experience. Also, that's quite a story to tell to Unsolved Mysteries and one that I'm surprised Rob Endres would share. As he said in the episode, it's always protocol to check out the husband first in these cases, and with no clear killer to the crime, there is something a bit off about that story. This is especially true when paired with all the stories about his thoughts on Patrice's son Pistol, who Endres cut out of his life as soon as Patrice went missing.
Why Does So Much Of Alonzo Brooks' Case Seem Like Bad Police Work?
I know the argument has been made online that several Unsolved Mysteries episodes only seem to be unsolved due to bad police work, but that truly feels like the case with Alonzo Brooks. There's something certainly odd about the fact that the family ended up finding his body before investigators, and that it was not far from the party that he had disappeared from a month prior. Plus, there were a hundred people at that party, and investigators couldn't turn up anyone who knew anything?
I think it's no coincidence that not long after the series aired, at least three credible tips were sent in that the FBI is currently investigating. It feels like the investigators could've done a better job gathering facts in the first place, and getting to the bottom of what led to Alonzo Brooks' death. We can only wait and see if the truth of what happened the night he left the party will ever be uncovered.
Why Did Unsolved Mysteries Choose The Berkshires UFO Case?
In an era when the Pentagon has released actual documented evidence of UFOs, it strikes me as weird that Unsolved Mysteries would highlight a case that isn't nearly as rock-solid. The Berkshires UFO sightings are certainly interesting and in no way am I trying to discount the stories told, but in terms of truly unexplained UFO sightings that have happened over time, there are far more with irrefutable evidence.
It just seems like for a reboot that specifically stated it wouldn't go into the paranormal world as much as past incarnations, the show would search for a stronger UFO case than this one. It was still an entertaining story, which may be all that matters for some, but in the future, I'd like to see UFO stories that have more than the primarily anecdotal evidence we saw in "Berkshires UFO."
Unsolved Mysteries' first six episodes are available to stream on Netflix. Drop any questions you have about the series in the comments, and be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest news happening in television and movies.
