Darvin Moon is a name that will resonate amongst poker discussion for years to come. The unassuming Maryland logger took the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event by storm, eventually succumbing to Joe Cada heads-up, walking away with $5,182,601 for his efforts and becoming poker’s newest Cinderella story. It’s a story with a far more happy ending than one he was originally part of.
In what has become just another missing persons report in the annals of unsolved crimes, Moon was dating the victim of a mysterious disappearance and featured on Unsolved Mysteries more than two decades ago.
From the Unsolved Mysteries transcript:
“Gorman, Maryland, population 200. It was a typical workday for 19-year-old Cathy Ford. She was a waitress at her family’s restaurant, The Old Mill. Around 2 o’clock [p.m.] Cathy received a mysterious phone call and she left work early. She never returned. Paul Ferrell, a former deputy sheriff, was convicted of her kidnapping and murder.
The next day Cathy’s family and her boyfriend, Darvin Moon, organized search parties and put up posters offering a reward. During the search, Darvin Moon talked to Paul Ferrell outside the Old Mill restaurant. There was a story going around. Cathy had been seen the day before near Paul’s trailer. Darvin also told Ferrell that smoke from some unexplained source had been seen near his trailer. To Paul Ferrell, it felt like an accusation. So he decided to look around for himself. According to Ferrell, he found Cathy’s burnt out car less than 200 yards from his trailer. At that point he made a critical decision. He wouldn’t tell anyone about the car. Ferrell says that it was simply a matter of fear…
Darvin Moon is building a name in the poker world that rivals his surname’s prominence in the night sky.
