The Trail Went Cold

Listeners of “The Trail Went Cold” have always had a number of questions about the podcast and its host, Robin Warder. What unsolved cold case have you covered which you’d most like an answer to? What is the biggest challenge of producing a weekly podcast? Have you ever been contacted by any of the people involved in the cases you have covered? Are there are any cold cases you would not cover? Wha...

Christmas Eve 1975. The Isle of Mull, Scotland. 54-year old Peter Gibbs, a former Royal Air Field pilot and World War II veteran, has dinner with his girlfriend at the Glenforsa Hotel, but decides to go for an evening flight. After taking off from an adjacent airfield in a Cessna, Gibbs never returns. Four months later, Gibbs’ body is discovered on a hill one mile away from the hotel and his cause...

Christmas Day 1996. La Vernia, Texas. Patty Vaughan, a 32-year old mother of three, vanishes without a trace and her van is found abandoned by the side of the road the following day. According to her estranged husband, J.R. Vaughan, Patty had stormed out of their house following a heated argument. Traces of Patty’s blood are found inside the house and her van and seem to indicate she was a victim...

December 26, 1985. Fayetteville, North Carolina. 28-year old nurse Debbie Wolfe leaves at the end of her shift at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, but does not show up for work the following morning. When Debbie’s mother checks her cabin, she discovers that Debbie is missing. Six days later, one of Debbie’s friends finds her at the bottom of a nearby pond, but even though he claims her...

October 8, 1976. Knoxville, Tennessee. 16-year old Trenny Gibson leaves on a high school field trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park alongside nearly 40 classmates. The students spend the day hiking through the park, but after Trenny is last seen turning off the trail at around 3:00 PM, she vanishes without explanation. During a search of the park, dogs would track Trenny’s scent to a sp...

May 31, 1975. Hamilton, New Zealand. 18-year old Mona Blades leaves to hitchhike hundreds of kilometres in order to attend her nephew’s birthday in Hastings, but never arrives. After Mona is reported missing, witnesses would recall seeing her inside an orange Datsun station wagon with an unidentified man. Over the years, investigators examine a number of different suspects, including a man who com...

August 28, 2008. Laurel, Maryland. While returning to her apartment after running errands, 28-year old Army veteran and government employee Kanika Powell is shot to death inside the building’s hallway. In the preceding days, Kanika claimed that separate men impersonating an FBI agent and a deliveryman had knocked on her apartment door, but she refused to let them inside. Two-and-half-months later,...

August 14, 1986. Myrtle Point, Oregon. 14-year old Jeremy Bright attends a county fair with his younger sister, but after promising to meet her at a scheduled time, he does not show up and is never heard from again. After Jeremy is reported missing, it isn’t long before rumours start circulating throughout the community and many of them involve a group of local troublemakers causing Jeremy’s death...

April 12, 1981. Keddie, California. 36-year old Sue Sharp, her 15-year old son John Sharp, and John’s 17-year old friend, Dana Wingate, are found brutally murdered inside Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort. Sue’s 12-year old daughter, Tina Sharp, is missing and her skeletal remains would be discovered in a remote area three years later. Sue’s two youngest sons, along with a 12-year old family friend na...

Five years ago, Molly Weaver, Bryan Anderson, and Nathan Howell started a podcast focused on the local legend of a monster called The Blackwood Bugman. Quickly, the investigation grows out of their control, as they discover that, not only are the legends seemingly true, many people in Blackwood have turned up dead or disappeared without a trace. Worse, there may be a reason why no one has ever unc...

October 31, 2002. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 21-year old university student Chris Jenkins celebrates Halloween by going to a local bar with friends. After he is ejected from the establishment, Chris vanishes without a trace and his body is found in the Mississippi River four months later. While police initially believe that Chris’ death was an accidental drowning, his family uncovers disturbing discr...

October 24, 1953. La Crosse, Wisconsin. The father of 15-year old Evelyn Hartley attempts to phone her while she is babysitting an infant child, but there is no answer at the house. After travelling there to check on her, he discovers that Evelyn has disappeared and the evidence suggests she was the victim of a violent abduction by an intruder. Days later, pieces of blood-stained clothing are foun...

October 31, 1979. Williamson County, Texas. The nude body of a young woman is discovered in a concrete culvert next to Interstate 35. She has been strangled to death and is only clad in a pair of orange socks, but since she cannot be identified, “Orange Socks” becomes her nickname. Notorious serial killer Henry Lee Lucas eventually confesses to her murder and is sentenced to death, but there is st...

The courtroom can be a battlefield over money, people’s rights, and even their lives. For some cases, the consequences can affect us long after the verdict is read. Based on extensive interviews and court transcripts, Wondery’s new podcast LEGAL WARS puts you inside the jury box of some of the most famous court cases in American history, including Hulk Hogan’s courtroom wrestling match with Gawker...

November 1, 2001. State College, Pennsylvania. After spending Halloween night partying at a club with friends, 21-year old Penn State student Cindy Song is dropped off at her apartment complex at 4:00 AM. She is never heard from again, but some of her personal items and a piece of her Halloween costume are found inside her apartment. Years later, an informant tells police that Cindy was abducted a...

June 14, 2000. Jonesboro, Arkansas. 20-year old Amanda Tusing leaves her fiancee’s apartment to drive home to her parents’ house, but never arrives. Her abandoned car is soon discovered by the side of the highway, but there is no sign of Amanda. Days later, her body is found in a waterlogged ditch over 12 miles away, but there are no signs of sexual assault and the exact cause of death cannot be d...

April 16, 1987. Union City, Tennessee. Four-year old Marlena Childress vanishes from her front yard after her mother, Pamela Bailey, claims she saw a red car driving away from their house. Two months later, Pam confesses that she accidentally killed Marlena and tossed her body into the Obion River. Pam soon recants her confession and claims it was coerced and since Marlena’s body cannot be found a...

August 16, 1983. Idaho Springs, Colorado. 14-year old Beth Miller leaves her home to go jogging, but never returns. The investigation uncovers some promising leads, including eyewitness accounts of a man in a red pick-up truck who was seen flirting with Beth in the days prior to her disappearance. Ten years later, the former girlfriend of a deceased suspect leads the authorities towards an alleged...

October 12, 1982. Los Angeles, California. 35-year old Sol Salomon, his 39-year old wife Elaine, his 15-year old stepdaughter Michelle, and their 9-year old son Mitchell all vanish without explanation from their home. Evidence suggests they were victims of foul play and pieces of their identification are found scattered alongside a freeway. The investigation leads to Harvey Rader, a business acqua...

November 6, 1976. Rome, New York. 59-year old Stanley Gryziec and his wife, Esther, are attacked in their home by two masked intruders, who tie up Esther, ransack the place, and murder Stanley. Even though the original autopsy report states that Stanley was stabbed to death, his son finds a shell casing inside the house which was overlooked by police, and an exhumation of Stanley’s body reveals th...

March 24, 1991. Victoria, British Columbia. Four-year old Michael Dunahee accompanies his family to a football game at a local elementary school and after they park their car, Michael asks if he can go to a nearby playground. Within minutes, Michael’s parents notice that he is not at the playground and has vanished without a trace, leading to speculation that he was abducted during a very narrow t...

August 18, 1949. Los Angeles, California. After finishing a phone call with a friend, 48-year old widowed socialite Mimi Boomhower is not heard from for days. When police eventually check Mimi’s house, they discover that her lights are still on, an uneaten salad is sitting on the table, and her car is still parked in the garage. Mimi herself has vanished without explanation and her purse is soon f...

November 24, 1956. LaPlace, Louisiana. 46-year old married family man Thomas Hotard and 31-year old single mother Audrey Moate meet up to continue their secret affair, which they have been carrying on for years. The following day, Thomas’ body is discovered inside his vehicle at a remote swamp area with a shotgun blast to the back of his head. Even though most of Audrey’s clothing has been left be...

May 6, 1988. Burbank, California. Crystal Spencer, a 28-year old aspiring actress working as a topless dancer, phones her sister and mentions that she is feeling ill. This is the last time anyone ever hears from Crystal and one week later, her decomposing body is discovered in a corner of her apartment. She is nude from the waist down and entangled in her telephone cord, but the coroner is unable...

December 3, 2003. Baltimore, Maryland. While working on a plea agreement, 38-year old prosecutor Jonathan Luna leaves his office at the Federal District Court Building shortly before midnight. The following morning, Luna’s vehicle is discovered over 90 miles away in a rural creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and his body is lying in the water. He has been stabbed 36 times with his own penknif...