Imposter Snake Syndrome

"Chelsea talks about some famously known kidnapped kids that get found. But is that really your son? Cristina talks about the Tsuchinoko snake and it's tendency to drink. Also about some famous Snake Festivals!"

Presented by: Chelsea
Category: Missing Person

In 2011, James Pitzen went to pick up his son Timothy from school only to find that his wife Amy, with whom he'd been having marital problems with, had already picked him up, citing an unknown family emergency. When they didn't return home, James called the police. The investigation led them to a hotel room where they found Amy. She had taken her own life. The only clue as to where Timothy was was in a note that said he was with people who would look after him but that they would never find him. No one has seen the true Timothy Pitzen since.

In 2019, a "teenager" in Ohio claimed to be him. He was revealed to be an adult man named Brian Rini. He was sentenced to prison in 2016 for the crime.

Other fake missing persons discussed include Frédéric "the Chameleon" Bourdin, who pretended to be Nicholas Barclay, claiming he'd been sold to a sex trafficking ring. He was sentenced to 6 years for the crime. A man claiming to be the missing Martin Greer was discovered to be lying when the real Martin Greer returned.

Presented by: Cristina
Category: Cryptid

Cristina offered us two snake cryptids.

The Tsuchinoko ("Child of dirt" or "Child of hammer". Connection to Thor is unknown) is a snake native and common to various parts of the Japan that add up to be all of it. Brown with a yellow underbelly, it grows to somewhere between 1 and 3 feet long and is unremarkable in appearance from other snakes except that it is fat and flat in the middle. It can jump up to a meter into the air to bite it's prey. It can also position itself into a wheel like a hoop snake.

The earliest known recording of the Tsuchinoko is in the early 700s. According to description, the Tsuchinoko will speak to passersby asking for alcohol. If they to not able to get it, they will try to lure you away and get you lost.

One was caught in the modern day was examined a determined to be a snake, but it was unknown whether it was a Tsuchinoko. The town of Mikata offered land in exchange for the live capture of a specimen. In 2001, one was caught. They determined to wait until the Tsuchinoko became happy in it's new home until preforming tests. So far, the tests have not been.

The second cryptid is the Python of Peninsula, Ohio. In 1944, a farmer spotted a giant snake. The snake was presumed to be escaped from a circus trailer that had crashed sometime before. More than two weeks later he told people what he'd seen. A posse was formed to look for it. While they found tracks, they could not find the snake and gave up. When the sightings continued the search resumed.

The hunt got out of hand, with people going out with guns to try and shoot it. The police were forced to get involved. While sightings continued until the fall of that year, no one in authority ever saw it. Peninsula, Ohio now holds an annual festival celebrating the event.

Trivia

 * Patreon Skit: An astronaut radios Houston about the patreon.
 * Chelsea sings "Space Oddity". Noted because the author likes David Bowie.