The Disappearance of Lonene Rogers
Crime Salad
03/21/26
•50m
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This episode contains content related to domestic violence, child neglect, and homicide. Listener discretion is advised.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, help is available around the clock through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. You are not alone.
On the night of January 6th, 1981, Lonene Rogers finished her work shift, picked up her two young children from the babysitter, and came home to an argument with her estranged husband. By morning, she was gone. No footprints in the snow. No activity on her Social Security number. Her hearing aids, glasses, purse, and car were all still there.
Lonene was a profoundly deaf woman from northwestern Pennsylvania who refused to let her disability define her. She was strong-willed and warm, a devoted mother, and by early 1981 she was finally ready to leave a troubled marriage and build a new life. Instead, she vanished in the middle of a blizzard and was never seen again.
For 44 years, her disappearance went unsolved. Her parents died without answers. Her children grew up without her. And her husband, Clinton "Bud" Rogers, maintained the same story: he woke up and she was simply gone.
In this episode, we trace Lonene's life from her childhood in Youngstown, Ohio, through the marriage that her own family saw warning signs in from the start to the night she disappeared and the search that turned up nothing. We also follow her daughter Alison, who spent decades trying to distance herself from the tragedy before deciding, in 2021, to dedicate herself to finding the truth. Alison's fight took her through court battles, advocacy for a proposed new law called Lonnie's Law, and years of pressure on investigators and the public alike.
In November 2025, that fight finally produced a result. After more than four decades of silence, Bud Rogers confessed.
This is Lonene's story, and it is also the story of a daughter who refused to let her mother be forgotten.
Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of domestic violence, child neglect, and a murder confession.
If you are in the northwestern Pennsylvania area, Lonene's family invites you to join a peaceful gathering outside the Crawford County Courthouse at 903 Diamond Park Square in Meadville, PA on Monday, March 30, 2026, from 9 to 11 am. A hearing in her case will be taking place inside the courthouse that morning, and the community is gathering outside in her memory and in solidarity with victims of domestic violence and the missing and murdered.
She will never stand alone again. 💜
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Text START to 88788.
You are not alone.
Justice for Lonene Rogers Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/285829136570490/
Sign the petition for Lonnie’s Law: https://c.org/mMwHNqtRGC
Alison's book, "A Daughter's Journey and Story of Resilience," is available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0gWrklLE
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Previous Episode
On August 16, 2015, Sara Easton, a 31-year-old mother of three from Yuba City, California, died from a gunshot wound in her bedroom. Investigators quickly moved toward a suicide ruling. Her family never accepted it.
Sara's husband was Aaron Easton, then-Chief of the Marysville Police Department. And the more forensic details emerged, including the autopsy findings, the toxicology results, the witness accounts, and the history of alleged domestic abuse, the more questions piled up around a case that many believe was never properly investigated.
Was this a suicide? A homicide? And did Aaron Easton's position in law enforcement shape the way this case was handled?
In this episode, Ashley and Ricky break down the full timeline of Sara's death, examine the forensic and autopsy evidence, explore the conflicts of interest that shadowed the investigation, and look at the later allegations against Aaron Easton that have kept this case under scrutiny for nearly a decade.
Sara's family is still pushing for answers. This is their story and hers.
This episode covers suspicious death investigation · forensic evidence · suicide vs. homicide · domestic violence allegations · law enforcement conflicts of interest · unsolved cases · police accountability
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Next Episode
In the summer of 2021, in the quiet river city of Auburn, Maine, 27-year-old Celeste Doghmi was at a turning point. After years of struggle and addiction, Celeste had completely turned her life around. She was a devoted new mother, had purchased her first-semester nursing textbooks, and was sharing her pride and love for her infant son on social media every day.
But following a harrowing final video call with a close friend, one that captured a violent domestic dispute, Celeste's digital and physical footprint vanished.
In this episode of Crime Salad, Ashley and Ricky dive into one of the most unsettling missing persons cases in recent Maine history. We explore the legal reality of being classified as a "voluntary missing adult," the dark mechanics of coercive control and isolation, and the systemic failures that allowed a young mother to go unreported for nearly two years before authorities were even alerted.
Was it a voluntary exit, or was the home life described by investigators as a "war zone" a precursor to something far more sinister? We examine her partner's criminal history, the ongoing investigation by the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit, and the tireless fight by Celeste's mother, Stephanie, to find justice for her daughter and her grandson.
Celeste Doghmi, domestic violence, missing person, Auburn Maine, cold case, coercive control, Maine State Police, unsolved, true crime, parental custody, Crime Salad podcast
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Celeste Doghmi, please contact the Maine State Police tip line or the Auburn Police Department at 207-333-6653
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 Text START to 88788. You are not alone. https://www.thehotline.org/
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