{"podcast":{"title":"The Dark Oak","slug":"the-dark-oak-6475930","podcast_index_feed_id":6475930,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/thedarkoakpodcast/feed.xml","website_url":"https://thedarkoakpodcast.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16604225/Tree_6ms6ri.jpg","author":"Just Us Gals Productions","episode_count":100,"summary":"Attention all shiver-seekers! The Dark Oak is a weekly thrill and chill inducing mystery podcast. Every Wednesday, Stefanie and Cynthia will present to you a true tale of the supernatural, the macabre, historical crimes, cryptids, the unexplained and the downright spooky. To help ease your fears, we also include The Branch of Hope Foundation, which connects you to the human side of our cases by giving back to non-profit organizations related to the first episode of the month. If you enjoy guilt free listening and your interest falls somewhere between Bigfoot and Jack the Ripper, The Dark Oak has you covered. Throw in some real time reactions including gasps and laughs and you’ve got the perfect podcast. So grab your coffee, sweet tea or tall glass of wine and settle in for your shadowy adventure. The Dark Oak is waiting!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-09T00:18:57.004781+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 153: Mike Mansholt - The Final Solo Ride","slug":"episode-153-mike-mansholt-the-final-solo-ride","published_at":"2026-05-13T12:55:04+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930/episode-153-mike-mansholt-the-final-solo-ride","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930","url":"https://thedarkoakpodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-153-mike-mansholt-the-final-solo-ride/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/h3xh28gqaymnm6qi/Mike-Manshold.mp3","summary":"Seventeen-year-old German adventurer Mike Mansholt arrived in Malta in July 2016 for his first solo trip. After a week with his girlfriend, he stayed on alone, rented a mountain bike in Sliema on 18 July, sent a cheerful voice message home, and pedalled off to explore. He was never seen alive again. Days later searchers found his body lying peacefully in a small, sheltered rock hollow thirty metres below the Dingli Cliffs, with his bike and shoes nearby but his backpack, phone, and GoPro missing. When the sealed zinc coffin reached Germany, the remains weighed only sixteen kilograms and showed no signs of embalming. A second autopsy revealed nearly all internal organs were gone. Maltese officials called it an accidental fall with the organs lost to animals and heat; German investigators found the explanation implausible, ruled out a high-impact fall, and could not exclude third-party involvement. Ten years on, the backpack, GoPro, and organs have never been recovered, and the case remains open with conflicting accounts between the two countries. Branch of Hope: Caroline’s Rainbow Foundation is a UK-registered charity founded in 2002 by the family of Caroline Ann Stuttle, a young British traveler who tragically lost her life while on a gap year in Australia. For more than twenty years, the organization has focused on promoting safer independent travel for young people and backpackers. It offers free educational resources, safety workshops, school presentations, and practical guides that help gap-year students and first-time adventurers prepare responsibly and stay safe on the road. While the foundation now serves primarily as a lasting information archive, its materials remain freely available and continue to support thousands of young travelers each year. Sources: Myst…","meta_description":"Seventeen-year-old German adventurer Mike Mansholt arrived in Malta in July 2016 for his first solo trip. After a week with his girlfriend, he stayed on a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4368,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-dark-oak-6475930/episodes/episode-153-mike-mansholt-the-final-solo-ride/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dark-oak-6475930/episode-153-mike-mansholt-the-final-solo-ride.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}