Episode 126: Jeff Rinek – Yosemite Murders, In the Name of the Children (Part 1)

Retired agent Jeff Rinek served in the FBI for 30 years, two years as a support employee and 28 as a Special Agent. During his career, he primarily investigated cases of missing and murdered children. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Jeff Rinek reviews how he obtained a confession from serial killer Cary Stayner, responsible for the Yosemite Park Murders, the brutal slayings of two women and two teenage girls. He also discusses the mental toll working child predator and murder cases had on him, and how his family helped him cope with case related  PTSD and attempted suicide. While assigned to the Sacramento office of the FBI, Jeff Rinek assisted police and sheriffs departments’ throughout Northern California in active and cold-case investigations involving missing children, child kidnappings, and the abuse, exploitation, and murder of children. He also served as a certified profiler for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. In 2003, he was named Investigator of the Year by the California Sexual Assault Investigators Association, and in 2006, received an Award for Excellence from the International Homicide Investigators Association. He was also a member of the SWAT team and, and a co-pilot in the Sacramento Office’s aviation squad. He has been featured on numerous TV documentary crime shows, including A&E’s American Justice, TruTV’s Crime Stories, and Investigation Discovery’s Real Detective. Jeff Rinek is the author of In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agent’s Relentless Pursuit of the Nation’s Worst Predators, his personal account of child predator and murder investigations. Each chapter is dedicated to the victims of the cases he worked, including a chapter for his wife and sons.

Special Agent (Retired)

Jeff Rinek

1/12/1976 – 5/31/2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following are links to newspaper articles regarding the results of Jeff Rinek’s investigation of the Yosemite Park murders of Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso, and Joie Ruth Armstrong:

CBS News – Photo Gallery of Victims and Family from Yosemite Park Murders

New York Times – 7/28/1999:  Suspect at Yosemite had Fantasy of Killing Women

Deseret News – 12/13/2000:  Details of Yosemite killing given

FBI missing persons flyer for the Yosemite tourists Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-arrest photo of Cary Stayner taken just before he confessed to Jeff Rinek regarding the murders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The true crime book by Jeff Rinek – In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agent’s Relentless Pursuit of the Nation’s Worst Predators – can be purchased here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerri Williams

View posts by Jerri Williams
Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, jokes that she writes about the FBI to relive her glory days. After 26 years with the Bureau specializing in major economic fraud and corruption investigations, she calls on her professional encounters with scams and schemers to write police procedurals inspired by true crime FBI cases in her Philadelphia FBI Corruption Squad crime fiction series featuring flawed female FBI agent Kari Wheeler. Jerri’s FBI for Armchair Detectives nonfiction series enables readers to discover who the FBI is and what the FBI does by debunking misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies. Her books are available as ebooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks wherever books are sold. She’s also the host of FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime podcast with more than 300 episodes available on all popular podcast apps and YouTube.

2 Comments

  1. […] here. During the case review, Jim mentioned the case review I did with retired agent Jeff Rinek. Episode 126: Jeff Rinek – Yosemite Murders, In the Name of the Children (Part 1) and Episode 127: Jeff Rinek – Yosemite Park Murders, Child Predators, PTSD (Part […]

    Reply
  2. Lisa GunnoeMay 9, 2020

    I listened to this today after listening to Best Case Worst Case with Jim Clemente and Francey Hakes about the murder of Ahmeud Arbery. I’m glad I was out on the run, so many tears! What broken hearts and hurt families! These episodes with Jeff Rinek showcase who much the family serves with the LEO. The fallout is heartbreaking. I’m glad Mr. Rinek made his way back from the edge and has the courage to talk about it! God bless you all!

    Reply

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