About This Episode
What is this episode about?
The episode "A Private Matter, Episode 1" from Bear Brook covers the disappearance of Jay Hickey, a Christmas tree farmer with dementia who vanishes from his small town in rural New Hampshire. Jay's wife, Patty, never reports him missing, leaving the circumstances of his disappearance unexplained from the outset. A tipster who comes forward claims that "a lot of strangeness is starting to emerge" around the case — and the episode indicates they are right to say so.
The story unfolds in a quiet corner of New Hampshire, where a missing person case that should have triggered an immediate search instead stayed hidden, raising questions about what Patty knew and why she stayed silent. The episode lays the groundwork for Private Matter as a case study in how a disappearance can go unreported and unnoticed until outside attention forces it into the open.
Hosts and release
Jason Moon hosts Bear Brook, a true crime podcast produced by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) that investigates the Bear Brook murders in New Hampshire through cold case investigation and genetic genealogy. The series runs for one season across six episodes, having first premiered on October 3, 2018, with new episodes released weekly. This episode, number one in the series, runs 26 minutes and is available on NHPR.org, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.
