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The Last Ride investigates two missing Florida men

Xavier Roger

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The Last Ride is a true crime podcast about two young men of color who went missing in Naples, Florida nearly two decades ago after they were last seen with the same white sheriff’s deputy. 

Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams vanished three months apart, on the same road in the early 2000s. Their disappearances haunt their families, police and journalists. In both cases, the now-fired deputy Steven Calkins said he gave Santos and Williams rides to Circle K store gas stations, stories that could never be corroborated.

The eight-episode podcast delves into this mystery that reveals painful truths about police accountability and media coverage of missing people.

Episodes include new details about the cases, dramatic polygraph audio with the deputy and exclusive interviews with lead investigators, media mogul Tyler Perry, famous civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the parents of Terrance Williams and advocates for Felipe Santos.

The host, Janine Zeitlin, first covered the story as a new reporter. The award-winning Florida journalist appears to be the last reporter to speak to the deputy. She is from the same rural Illinois hometown as Calkins and traveled back to their hometown and Tennessee, where Terrance Williams was from, in search of answers.

The Last Ride was reported by Zeitlin and other investigative reporters with the Naples Daily News and The Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, distributed by the NPR Network and produced in partnership with WGCU Public Media.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and NPROne.

Marcia Roberts, the mother of Terrance Williams, reacts after an unidentified person comes forward with information about the disappearance of her son, and Felipe Santos during a press conference on Jan. 10, 2013.
Marcia Roberts, the mother of Terrance Williams, reacts after an unidentified person comes forward with information about the disappearance of her son, and Felipe Santos during a press conference on Jan. 10, 2013.

No one’s been arrested or charged for whatever happened Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and filmmaker Tyler Perry join the legal fight for accountability.

Could something finally come to light to solve this tragic mystery?

LISTEN ON:

Felipe Santos in age progressed image and before he disappeared in October 2003.
Felipe Santos in age progressed image and before he disappeared in October 2003.

Felipe Santos, a 23-year-old immigrant from Mexico, disappeared after a minor traffic crash in Naples in the fall of 2003. He was seen in the back of the patrol car of Steven Calkins, the Collier County deputy on the scene.

Felipe was never seen again.

LISTEN ON:

A photo of missing Naples man Terrance Williams around the time of his disappearance (right) beside an age-progressed image of Williams that shows how he might look now.
A photo of missing Naples man Terrance Williams around the time of his disappearance (right) beside an age-progressed image of Williams that shows how he might look now.

Terrance Williams was 27 when he disappeared in January 2004.

He was pulled over by Deputy Steven Calkins near a Naples cemetery.

His mother and stepfather began their own investigation and unlocked key details when the sheriff’s office was not initially responsive in trying to find Terrance.

Anyone with information about the missing persons cases is asked to call the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at 239-252-9300. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 800-780-8477. 

Contact The Last Ride team at thelastride@naplesnews.com.

See public records associated with the investigations.

Sept. 4, 2018: Tyler Perry gives update on case of missing men

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