She Was Walking Alone on Halloween Then Her Texts Stopped | Taylor Van Diest

October 6, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

She Was Walking Alone on Halloween Then Her Texts Stopped | Taylor Van Diest

On Halloween night 2011, 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest left her home in Armstrong, British Columbia—a quiet rural town of about 5,000 people where parents felt safe letting their children walk freely—to meet friends for trick-or-treating. She was excited about her zombie costume, complete with fake blood and white face makeup. Around 6:01 PM, she texted her boyfriend Colton: "being c-r-r-e-p-e-d." The misspelling was unlike Taylor, an excellent speller. A minute later, she composed a draft that began "Holly"—likely the start of "holy shit" or "holy crap"—but never sent it. Then her texts stopped. She never arrived at her friend's house. By 8:45 PM, her boyfriend found her lying face-down in a ditch beside the railroad tracks, eight blocks from home.

A Life Cut Short

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What you'll learn

1 (00:02) **Setting the Scene: Armstrong, BC** - The host establishes the small, safe town of Armstrong, British Columbia, where the story begins and ends.
2 (03:41) **Taylor Van Diest: A Life Full of Music and Friends** - The host introduces Taylor, a talented and vibrant 18-year-old twin, detailing her personality, passions, and close relationships.
3 (13:21) **Halloween Night 2011: The Plan** - The episode details Taylor’s final preparations and the plan to meet friends for trick-or-treating.
4 (17:52) **The First Signs of Trouble: "Being Creeped"** - The host explains how Taylor’s friends realized something was wrong after she failed to arrive and sent a cryptic final text.
5 (20:48) **The Discovery of the Cell Phone and the Search** - The host describes how Taylor’s cell phone was found by a stranger, escalating the search.
6 (23:40) **Finding Taylor: A Brutal Attack** - The host recounts the moment Taylor was found in a ditch, severely injured, and the immediate aftermath.
7 (27:18) **The Investigation Begins: A Murder Mystery** - The host explains the transition from a missing person case to a murder investigation, detailing the initial evidence and community fear.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

My Halloween Series has begun! The names of these series are chosen by the community every year & I reveal a special intro for each one. This one I the Festival of Fears!

Our second case is The Taylor Van Diest case out of Canada. On Halloween night in 2011, 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest left her home in the small, close-knit town of Armstrong, British Columbia, dressed as a zombie and buzzing with excitement, and she was meeting up with friends for one last Halloween before they all grew up. It was a short, familiar walk she'd made countless times. She never arrived.

As Taylor made her way through the dark, her phone lit up with texts between her and a friend; they were ordinary, happy messages about the night ahead. And then, one message changed everything. Taylor wrote that she thought she was "being creeped" - meaning that someone was following her in the dark. It would be the last anyone ever heard from her.

In this episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, we trace the full Taylor Van Diest case: the vibrant young woman she was, the chilling final messages she sent, and the relentless investigation that refused to let her killer stay hidden.

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👩🏻‍🎓 ABOUT ME: I'm Kimbyrleigha; thanks in advance for reading this. I think it's important to know someone's background and education because it helps explain how they view situations and why they may hold a particular point of view. I hold a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology.

I graduated from law school in 2010 and have a Juris Doctor (law degree). I'm also currently in school studying Medicolegal Investigation.

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