Just The Tip-sters

Over the course of these first three-and-a-half seasons of this podcast, Melissa has been presented with a wide array of missing persons cases from Tip-Sters from around the world.  Melissa has followed up, done her research, and presented many of them as episodes.  The inspiration for “Just The Tip-Sters” itself was inspired by Melissa’s deep devotion to solving the 2017 disappearance of Will Cierzan – an ongoing mission that could be culminating soon with the trial of Will’s nephew Daniel.  But hovering over every such case are questions – about the nature of the case itself – and how to actually help when help is needed.  What makes one missing persons case more compelling or worthy of attention than another?  How can one tell if a reported vanishing is evidence of wrongdoing or someone walking away from their life or a hoax?  And if one is motivated to help the family and friends of a missing person, how does one do so without getting in the way or actually hindering the investigation?  And what, in fact,