Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Rob D’Amico
Camp Rising Sun Celebrates a 95-Year Legacy of Enduring Impact
Camp Rising Sun Celebrates a 95-Year Legacy of Enduring Impact Young people from around the world unite at Camp Rising Sun Campers at CRS in the 1950s, along with founder, Freddie Jonas (front center).
One Radical Idea to Improve Care Delivery: Give Money Directly to Nurses
One Radical Idea to Improve Care Delivery: Give Money Directly to Nurses 2025 Off The Chart recipient Clarissa Cabil in the NICU at UCLA Health In the face of mounting challenges, the 2025 Off the Chart campaign honors nurses leading the way to better healthcare with unconditional gifts of $10,000 By lifting up the stories of the nurses we're recognizing, we aim to support their expertise and bring visibility to the critical services they provide” — Victoria Mann Simms, president of the...
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 7: “The Cold Case”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. Learn more about the case with original videos, archival photos, and documents from our reporting in our episode guide. “You want to love your kid forever.
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 6: “The Edge of Town”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. Learn more about the case with original videos, archival photos, and documents from our reporting in our episode guide. “I want this case solved for their family. . . . And these other girls deserve it too. They deserve justice.
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 6: “The Edge of Town”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below.Learn more about the case with original videos, archival photos, and documents from our reporting in our episode guide.“I want this case solved for their family. . . . And these other girls deserve it too. They deserve justice.
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 5: “The Man on the Moon”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. Learn more about the case with original videos, archival photos, and documents from our reporting in our episode guide. “If I could get enough to get a warrant on him, I could extradite him. That’s one of those things, you know?
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 4: “The Devil and the Lost Boy”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. Learn more about the case with original videos, archival photos, and documents from our reporting in our episode guide. “This is the devil’s playground down here, and you have to be very careful.” —Steve Schafer’s aunt In this episode, we take a closer look at two of the people investigators have suspected: Steve Schafer and John Gilbreath.
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 3: “An Open Investigation”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. Learn more about the case with original videos, archival photos, and documents from our reporting in our episode guide. “For thirty or sixty days, a lot of things were left undone. . . .
‘Shane and Sally’: Podcast Episode Guide
Our team has been reporting on the murders of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly since 2018, and along the way, we’ve amassed a wealth of archival documents, photos, and recordings—much more material than we could include in the podcast. For each episode of the show, we’ll post some of that material here, along with original videos to bring you deeper into the case. If you’d like to share any thoughts about the podcast, or about the murders of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly, let us know here.
Share Your Thoughts on ‘Shane and Sally’
Contact the hosts and producers of Shane and Sally with any comments you’d like to share about the story or the case:
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 2: “Lost Horizons”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. “They were leaving the state because they were afraid of these people. And she said, ‘If you don’t hear from us in a couple of months, then we’re dead.’ ” Valerie Castillo In the fall of 1987, Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly met through mutual friends and began dating. Shane was tall and confident. Sally loved to be the center of attention, and moved easily between groups of friends.
‘Shane and Sally,’ Episode 1: “A Long, Hot Summer”
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript below. They said, “Well, it’s not going to be pretty.” I said, “It hadn’t been pretty since they disappeared, but I told my son I’d find him.” Marshall Stewart On July 4, 1988, sixteen-year-old Shane Stewart and eighteen-year-old Sally McNelly went out for the night in their West Texas hometown of San Angelo. They watched the fireworks, stopped for burgers, and drove out to the lake outside of town.
A Victim's Father in an Infamous Cold Case Yearns to Know-Who Killed My Son?
The video begins with a wide shot of family and friends eating and laughing, all of them gathered around a group of musicians with fiddles and guitars playing folk tunes. The camera gradually zooms in on a teenage boy standing in the back of the room. He’s smiling and swaying beside his mom, a middle-aged woman with short brown hair.
A Marfa Art Fair Has Landed in a Financial Hole. Will a New Sculpture Be Enough of a Distraction?
Michael Phelan is beaming like a kid playing with a gargantuan erector set. The far West Texas sun is starting its drop into the Western sky, illuminating the face of the controversial Marfa art maven as he stands under a construction crane that holds an eight-thousand-pound shipping container. The crane operator lifts one end and positions it at an angle atop another container.
Traditionalists Protest What Some Consider a “Woke” Takeover of the Texas State Historical Association
The annual business meeting of the Texas State Historical Association is usually a staid affair. Members and leaders of the association—a mix of professional historians, custodians of museums and historical sites, and amateur history buffs—come to discuss routine financial matters and listen to presentations on the organization’s ongoing work.
Defense Denied
This story was cross-posted from the Texas Observer, an investigative news organization that covers Texas communities whose stories are often ignored. Public defender Donnie Yandell walked into a West Texas courtroom for the arraignment of defendants facing misdemeanor charges one day and witnessed some odd negotiations that deeply disturbed him. “I was flabbergasted,” said Yandell, an attorney with the Caprock Region Public Defender’s Office in West Texas.
The Fed’s Own Economists Challenge Interest Rate Folly
Minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting show that all members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee agreed to keep strangling the economy with still more quarter-point rate hikes later this year, and some even wanted half-point hikes. Maybe they should read this study by the Fed’s own staff economists, which found that the Fed’s inflation target of 2 percent is impossible to reach without a deep recession.
A Celebrated West Texas Archaeologist Has Been Fired—and No One Will Say Why
Whether perched against a mountain with the chill of the high desert wind blowing across his brows or steeped in the summer heat on the Texas-Mexico border to unravel stories from the past, David Keller is most comfortable in the outdoors. During 21 years at the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross State University, in the far West Texas town of Alpine, Keller has played a principal role in documenting the region’s nearly 12,000-year history.
No, unions are not ‘illegal’ in Texas And yes, we’re a union
Invariably, someone responds to one of my Facebook posts — where I oft use the word “union” to describe Texas AFT — with a vehement objection. “There are no unions in Texas!” or “Unions are illegal in Texas!” Or they often have the qualifier of “teacher,” as in “Teacher unions aren’t allowed in Texas.” Some of these objections are just based on not understanding the laws of Texas.
Austin Trails: Violet Crown Trail
This is one to keep your eyes on for a future “long haul.” The Violet Crown is still in development and encompasses existing trails including the Barton Creek Greenbelt. When completed, it will span 30 miles and head south from Zilker Park through Sunset Valley into northern Hays County, ending in water quality conservation areas currently not open to the public. The trail also will pass through the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Veloway.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Rob
Contact Rob, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack