Meeting Wanda

When I was in 5th grade, I had the joy of meeting the local weatherman, Dave Salesky. I thought it was the most memorable meeting I would ever have.

Since then, I have met famous singers, congressmen, mayors, senators, and more. But of all the people I have, and have yet to meet, I truly believe that at the end of my life I will look back and think of Wanda as one of the most noteworthy people I have ever met.

She lives in a simple house, in a simple town, and  has a simple mind. And yet meeting her is one of the most memorable encounters I've ever had.

Wanda is a woman in her mid 50's, with the i.q. of a 4 year old, who for nearly 30 years has been the prime suspect in the mind baffling abduction of her roommate's 7 month old baby.
For years people have wondered what on earth Wanda could have done with the baby.
For years people have wondered what kind of person Wanda must be.
For years, no one in the public ever heard from Wanda herself.

When I first learned of the story in 2012, there was hardly any information on the case, but there was just enough to get me very intrigued. In 25 years there had only been 3-4 news reports on the abduction. Hardly anyone had ever heard of the baby Melissa McGuinn.

 
Soon I found my self so badly wanting to know more, that I ended up driving to Arkansas to meet Baby Melissa's mother.

I learned more from her than I could ever imagine. The story was even more crazy, and intriguing, than I had imagined.
Previously there had only been one photo of Melissa released to the public. With her mother's help, I got nearly a dozen of Melissa's pictures on the internet.

I created a facebook page about the Mystery of Melissa McGuinn and soon over 7,000 people were following my journey across the nation, to find the truth.

I met with family, friends, detectives, and neighbors and published it all on the internet. Soon major names like ABC's 20/20 and Dr. Phil were voicing interest in the case.

I was interviewed via skype by a major east coast news station


After meeting everyone, there was still one burning question in my head, what ever happened to the suspect, Wanda Reed.
I wanted to see her, to understand her, to try to imagine what she was like.


Soon, through the power of social media, I met the TINY woman.

Wanda is very simple and very sweet. She has an adorable smile, and liked giving me hugs. When I met her, it was hard to believe this woman was at the center of such a giant mystery.

Meeting with her, I was the first person to EVER publish anything public from Wanda. Meeting with her, hearing her feelings on being arrested, and how she has missed her own son that she lost custody of, made the whole case that much more interesting to the rest of the world.

Here is parts of my interview with Wanda