Q&A with James Baysinger

Our inaugural CrimeCon: CrowdSolve event is a response to the instinct in all true crime fans to pursue justice -- and also a response to the hundreds of you who asked for a weekend-long event to come together with fellow citizen detectives and make a real difference in a real case.

We initially planned to introduce only one case at CrowdSolve. However, with the recent developments in that case - the 2009 disappearance of Nancy Moyer - we’re unsure what will happen by mid-October as it relates to the testing of new items and other aspects of the investigation. So while we will be introducing a new featured case for attendees to work through during the weekend, we want to honor our commitment to Nancy’s family by spending some time focused on her case, as well. We aren’t sure exactly what that will look like yet, but we’re working with Hide & Seek podcast host James Baysinger and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department to determine how we can best help.

Baysinger dedicated the first season of Hide & Seek to Nancy’s case and will join us onsite in Seattle. He sat down with us to answer a few questions about Nancy Moyer and what he hopes a dedicated group of citizen detectives can accomplish at CrowdSolve.

CCI: How are you adjusting to the increased attention since the arrest of Eric Roberts?
JB: I haven’t really adjusted that much as far as how I’ve handled my podcast. I’ve continued to focus in on Eric and looking over the information I knew about him. I sat down with him and interviewed him. The increased attention is a good thing, but with him recanting, it puts us in a pickle because we have to wait to see whether or not we’ll get to go to court from a DNA perspective. I’ve tried to stay true to myself as a podcaster.

CCI: Why were you drawn to Nancy’s case?
JB: Proximity was one of the key things. When I was picking a case I wanted to investigate, I wanted it to be relatively close so that I could go to the places and meet with individuals and persons of interest and talk to people that were involved. So once I narrowed my search down to Washington State, Nancy’s case was one that was very intriguing because it was very bizarre how she went missing. I looked over lots of cases, but with Nancy’s what really stuck out to me was that she had two daughters that were nine and eleven years old when she went missing. Just thinking that these two girls have grown up without their mom now for over half their lives -- not only that, but having no idea what happened to their mom. I have a child myself, so that struck a chord with me. It hit me right at the heart thinking ‘what if my son had to grow up without his mom or myself?’ That’s why I took the case.

CCI: Her family will be at CrowdSolve, correct?
JB: Her ex-husband Bill and her daughter Sam will be at CrowdSolve. Nancy’s other daughter, Amanda (Mandy), has chosen to process this whole experience with her mom disappearing in a different way. Early on during the podcast, in trying to put this all together, Sam - at first - was willing to have a conversation. When she asked “What’s the name of your podcast?” and I told her I didn’t have one yet, she kind of said, “Okay, well, I’m going to hold off on this interview” just because I don’t think she knew exactly how far I was willing to take it and we hadn’t established trust yet. But once momentum started to pick up, she reached back out. Just like any kind of relationship, it took time to build that trust. It has grown organically. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been difficult conversations at difficult times, but they know my reasons and motives for doing this. They almost feel like extended family now.

CCI: How did you build that trust in this kind of tragically unique environment?
JB: I’m an insurance agent by trade, so I have experience working with people and managing relationships. But I also didn’t go in day one with a microphone. I really wanted to get to know them as individuals, what’s happened since Nancy’s disappearance, and how they feel about the project. Yes, I do often have to talk to them about sensitive subjects, but my promise to them has always been that if I have information that has nothing to do with Nancy’s disappearance, I’m not going to put it on my podcast. I know that they’ll have to live with what I put out there forever. I always check in if there’s sensitive information that I have.

CCI: What do you hope to see happen at CrowdSolve?
JB: The whole purpose of this event kind of lines up with why I started: to get lots of people and eyes looking at and bringing more attention to the case. I want to get all of these people in a room combing through details. It only takes one person to catch something. My perception of information is colored by my life experience, but someone else will look at it from a different perspective. There’s a lot of information to go over and digest, so even if we don’t walk out of CrowdSolve with a new POI, I hope we walk away with a lot more information than we have when we walk in.

CCI: What’s the most important thing for a CrowdSolve attendee to know?
JB: Remember that these are real people who have had to deal with a very real heartbreak. These girls didn’t have their mom at their first homecoming dance, their first date, their graduation. We have a tendency to become desensitized. I would urge all attendees to be respectful of the family and investigators. Be courteous, offer opinions, but be sensitive.

CCI: What do you think happened to Nancy?
JB: I’ve never answered that question because I want to be mindful about getting tunnel vision. I try to stay away from zoning in on someone because you can miss important information that maybe doesn’t support that conclusion. I believe Nancy and Roberts had some kind of relationship. I believe he hasn’t been completely honest about what he did, if he’s responsible. I think her house is a big issue; his confession doesn’t explain why her house was left in the condition that it was. I’m going to let Thurston County do their job as far as testing the evidence.

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YOU can make a difference in Nancy's case at CrimeCon: CrowdSolve. Tickets for the event are limited and hotel rooms are filling up quickly as the date approaches! Click here to register.