29 SEP. 2026 · The Upright Shoe: How a Single Step Hid a Killer for 31 Years
A single tan leather flat, size seven, stood upright on a frozen roadside with a clean sole and no footprints within a hundred yards - and its owner was found in the drainage ditch a mile and a half away on March 9, 1991. How did that shoe get there without disturbing the ice, and who placed it like a puzzle piece meant to point the way?
In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from March 8-9, 1991 and the decades-long trail of evidence that waited in boxes and freezers until a DNA swab in 2022 reopened the case. What the back door, a diabetic rabbit’s missed insulin, and a duct-cleaning visit reveal drives the question at the heart of the story: who used a locked-looking door that Emily never used?
Person: Emily Hensley
Date: March 9, 1991
Location: County Road 7 outside Palliser, Minnesota
Event: One tan leather flat found upright on frozen roadside; owner found in drainage ditch
Date: March 8, 1991 (last seen leaving clinic at 4:50 PM)
- One tan leather flat, size seven, sole clean, toe pointing toward the road, found upright on March 9, 1991.
- No footprints, no tire tracks, and no disturbance in the ice within a hundred yards of the shoe.
- Emily was last seen leaving the Renwick County clinic at 4:50 PM on March 8, 1991 and did not receive Stewart’s 7:00 PM insulin injection.
- The apartment entry mat contained Emily’s right shoe and her purse was on the kitchen table; her gray Nissan remained in the driveway with the engine cold.
- A duct-cleaning technician, Glenn Bennett, had been in the utility porch and the building manager logged that the back door’s exterior latch was replaced in September 1990, making it appear latched when it was not. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
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