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Michael Johnson shared his memory of riding with Tim Darrow to Michigan and dumping a barrel, hours after Alvin Darrow, Jr., went missing, with Blade reporter Kaitlin Durbin on Aug. 21, 2020.
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Code 18: Unsolved, Special episode, Michael Johnson steps forward

THE BLADE/KAITLIN DURBIN

Code 18: Unsolved, Special episode, Michael Johnson steps forward

When The Blade started looking into the disappearance of Alvin Darrow, Jr. we attempted to reach out to every witness involved to find out what they remembered about July 27, 2017.

Many of those witnesses were eager and willing to participate. Some declined. And a few could not be found.

That was the case with Michael Johnson. He had told Toledo police back in 2017 that hours after Alvin’s disappearance he went with Alvin’s youngest son, Tim Darrow, up into Michigan to dump a barrel in a field. What was in the barrel, he didn’t know, but the circumstances were suspicious enough to look into. We wanted to ask more questions.

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But when we tried to find Michael to see what he remembered about this trip, we couldn’t. He’s homeless, so we never found a working address or phone number for him. We wrote episode 7, “The Barrel,” based only on what police said he told them.

Tim Darrow speaks about his father during an interview February 3, 2020.
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Then, he found us.

Michael said he had listened to some of the podcast and wanted to know what we were going to say about his involvement in the case. He agreed to meet with us to tell his story of the trip he took with Tim to dump a metal barrel — a trip which Tim denies.

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We wrote this special episode to let him share his story in his own words.

Hear his story today in our bonus episode, “Michael Johnson steps forward.”

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever else you listen. You can also find episodes and additional case information, including photos and videos, at toledoblade.com/code18.

If you have any information about one of the homicides discussed, you can call Toledo Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.

First Published September 3, 2020, 3:00 a.m.

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Michael Johnson shared his memory of riding with Tim Darrow to Michigan and dumping a barrel, hours after Alvin Darrow, Jr., went missing, with Blade reporter Kaitlin Durbin on Aug. 21, 2020.  (THE BLADE/KAITLIN DURBIN)  Buy Image
Code 18: Unsolved, a true crime podcast.  (Artwork by Danielle Gamble / The Blade)  Buy Image
Michael Johnson shared his memory of riding with Tim Darrow to Michigan and dumping a barrel, hours after Alvin Darrow, Jr., went missing, with Blade reporter Kaitlin Durbin on Aug. 21, 2020.  (THE BLADE/KAITLIN DURBIN)  Buy Image
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