The Trail Went Cold

December 6, 1991. Austin, Texas. After responding to a fire at a local yogurt shop, the authorities discover the burned nude bodies of four victims who have all been shot in the head: 17-year old employees Eliza Thomas and Jennifer Harbison; Jennifer’s 15-year old sister, Sarah Harbison; and Sarah’s 13-year old friend, Amy Ayers. Nearly eight years later, investigators arrest four suspects for the...

January 28, 1981. Bossier Parish, Louisiana. The decomposed body of a young woman is discovered in the woods next to a remote logging road. The victim has been stabbed nine times, but since she cannot be identified, she becomes known as “Bossier Doe”. 34 years later, Bossier Doe is finally identified as 17-year old Carol Ann Cole, a Michigan resident who had run away from Texas a few months before...

May 10, 1967. Hannibal, Missouri. 13-year old Joey Hoag, his 11-year old brother Billy Hoag, and their 14-year old friend Craig Dowell leave their homes to explore some caves, but never return. Even though a massive search effort is conducted of all the caves in the area, they fail to turn up any trace of the boys or evidence of what happened to them. Over the years, there is speculation that a co...

May 26, 1989. Kelowna, British Columbia. While taking a lengthy backpacking trip through Canada, 20-year old British national Charles Horvath cashes a cheque at a bank, but soon vanishes without a trace. After not hearing from him for several months, Charles’ mother, Denise Allan, travels to Kelowna to perform a search and learns that Charles was staying at a local campground until he abruptly dis...

May 15, 1981. East Chicago, Indiana. Jay Given, a 51-year old attorney and political operative, attends a political fundraiser at the local Elks Club, but is fatally shot through the back of the head while exiting through the building’s front doors. While a shell casing and a slug are collected from the crime scene and placed in an evidence drawer at the police station, it is later discovered that...

February 14, 1982. Coconino County, Arizona. The decomposing body of a young woman is found in a remote area alongside Interstate 40 and while her exact cause of death cannot be determined, she is believed to be the victim of a homicide. Since all attempts to identify her are unsuccessful, she becomes a Jane Doe and earns the nickname “Valentine Sally”. 39 years later, Valentine Sally is identifie...

May 30, 2009. Miami, Florida. While spending the evening partying at a nightclub, 21-year old Omar Laparra becomes very intoxicated and after leaving the club at closing time, he never returns home. Three days later, Omar’s dismembered remains are found in multiple garbage bags on the shores of Biscayne Bay. Investigators look into a number of different leads, including an individual who used Omar...

November 6, 1980. Baltimore, Maryland. Nancy Snow, a 44-year old congressional fundraiser with the Republican National Committee, is picked up from a hotel by Paul Collins, the house-sitter at her apartment in Annapolis. Nancy soon vanishes without a trace, but Collins claims that she left on an impromptu trip to Florida with a man named “Captain Jay”, so she could spend several weeks crewing his...

March 12, 1992. Huntsville, Alabama. SPC Chad Langford, an Army military policeman stationed at the Redstone Arsenal, performs a patrol of the base and sends in a radio call that he is investigating an abandoned vehicle. Shortly thereafter, Chad is found lying in the middle of the road with a gunshot wound to the head and since the Army believes that Chad was shot with his own weapon, they conclud...

April 3, 2004. La Cygne, Kansas. 23-year old Alonzo Brooks vanishes while attending a party at a farmhouse and his body is discovered on the banks of a nearby creek nearly one month later. While a forensic pathologist is unable to determine Alonzo’s exact cause of death, rumours start circulating that he was the victim of a hate crime before his body was placed at that location. In 2021, after Alo...

June 7, 1989. Beverly Hills, California. 23-year old Adam Hecht, the son of a famous Hollywood film producer, is seen driving away from his apartment in a rental car, but he never returns and the vehicle is found abandoned weeks later. In the months prior to his disappearance, Adam had befriended a homeless man named “Tony” and seemed to develop a fascination with the homeless population while bec...

March 25, 1993. London, England. After getting off a train at the Acton Town tube station, 47-year old Jean Bradley heads towards her parked car, but is attacked and murdered by a man who stabs her eight times. A witness chases after the assailant for several blocks before losing him, but manages to provide a detailed description to the police. Five months later, a suspect named Frank Marnell is c...

June 20, 2016. Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families order the Penn Hills Police Department to remove multiple children from the home of a woman named Patricia Fowler. The authorities soon realize that two of Patricia’s children, 17-year old twins Ivon and Inisha Fowler, are no longer in her custody and an investigation reveals that they have not bee...

February 23, 1946. Grandview Heights, Ohio. 24-year old Lola Celli leaves her parents’ residence in order to walk to the bus stop, but she soon vanishes without a trace. An eyewitness later reports seeing a woman struggling with a man inside a moving vehicle before a red shoe is thrown out the window. Since Lola was wearing shoes like that when she went missing, it is suspected that she was the vi...

November 6, 2001. Florence, Montana. A customer enters a salon called the Hair Gallery and discovers the bodies of three murdered women: the salon’s 62-year old owner, Dorothy Harris, a 44-year old employee named Brenda Patch, and a 71-year old customer named Cynthia Paulus. The victims have each had their throats cut and the customer reports that an oddly dressed individual wearing a wide-brimmed...

This Mother’s Day, join Shane Waters on a chilling adventure featuring 14 podcasters (including Robin Warder from “The Trail Went Cold”) as they share sinister stories of motherhood. Mother’s Day is typically a time to honor the love and sacrifices of mothers, but today we’ll be exploring the twisted tales that lurk behind the shadows. It’s an extra-special, more-than-two-hour, Mother’s Day event....

August 15, 1982. Boston, Massachusetts. The body of 16-year old Lucia Kai Roberts is found in Franklin Park and her cause of death is ruled to be strangulation. Over one year later, allegations emerge about a black girl who was sexually assaulted by multiple police officers at a private club and since this incident supposedly took place six weeks before Lucia was killed, there is speculation that...

December 2, 1993. Memphis, Tennessee. John Cheek, the 28-year old financial officer of a real estate firm, spends the evening having a dinner at a restaurant and is last seen heading towards his parked car. John’s abandoned vehicle is soon discovered near the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge and there is fear that he took his own life by jumping into the Mississippi River. Months later, a drifter mat...

February 7, 1999. Westminster, Colorado. 38-year old Paul Skiba, his nine-year old daughter Sarah Skiba, and 36-year old Lorenzo Chivers spend the day performing moving jobs for a company Paul owns before they all vanish without a trace. When the company’s parking lot is searched, Paul’s moving truck is found, but there is ample physical evidence, including blood and bullet holes, to indicate that...

January 24, 1987. Martinez, California. Nine-year old Eric Coy leaves his home on his bicycle in order to visit his aunt’s residence. Fifteen minutes later, Eric’s body and bicycle are discovered in a nearby wooded area and he has been stabbed several times. Four weeks after Eric is killed, six-year old Jeremy Stoner goes missing from nearby Vallejo before he is also found murdered and even though...

September 8, 1999. Horry County, South Carolina. 22-year old Lisa Myers Neugent phones her mother to let her know that she is staying at a resort with her estranged spouse, Frank Isley, but is planning to end the relationship and return home to North Carolina. After not hearing from her for nearly two weeks, Lisa’s parents travel to her residence and discover that it has been ransacked and Lisa an...

This Easter, join Shane Waters on a whimsical adventure featuring 13 podcasters (including Robin Warder of “The Trail Went Cold”) as they share true stories of con artists and fake deaths. Delve into the magical world of the Enchanted Easterlands, where you’ll encounter peculiar characters and captivating true crime tales. Discover the history and origins of Easter, and experience a journey like n...

August 15, 1958. Boulder County, Colorado. While attending Camp St. Malo, a Catholic boys’ summer camp, a ten-year old hearing-impaired boy named Bobby Bizup vanishes without a trace. Nearly one year later, some of Bobby’s skeletal remains are discovered on a mountainside three miles from the camp and it is initially believed that he got lost and died of exposure. However, an investigation into ch...

September 20, 1987. Bellingham, Washington. A worker at the Georgia-Pacific pulp mill discovers some skeletal remains inside a chimney on one of the boilers at the mill’s steam plant. The victim is determined to be male, but since he has been burned so badly by the extreme heat and cannot be identified, he becomes known as the Bellingham John Doe. Over the years, investigators explore a number of...

For personal reasons, the latest episode of The Trail Went Cold has been delayed until March 29, 2023. In its place this week, please enjoy one of our exclusive bonus Patreon episodes from our archives, and we look forward to profiling a new case for you next week. Thanks for your patience. May 11, 1982. Duluth, Minnesota. 33-year old married couple Larry and Debbie Race celebrate their 14th weddi...