The Vault

In the midst of the Northern pines and quaint Scandinavian communities of the early 1930s, a sinister underbelly of organized crime was brewing in Minnesota. While St. Paul was considered a crook's haven for mobsters to lay low, the infamous Al Capone was known to wander up North for rest and respite. Some point to St. Paul law enforcement as the key instigators in making Minnesota mob-friendly.

Some people claim the devil himself visited the tiny town of Villisca, Iowa, that summer night in 1912, when 8 people were killed by an ax murderer. Others say he already lived among them. After more than a century of idle gossip and speculation, some amateur sleuths might have just figured it out.

Under the bold headline "Murdered for Money," a Bemidji Daily Pioneer story from June 8, 1904, broke the news that a father and daughter had gone missing from the tiny town of Quiring, Minnesota. Written by: Madelyn Haasken Narrated by: Trisha Taurinskas

In this final episode, reporter Trisha Taurinskas explores who Sandra and John Jacobson were, through the eyes of their family members.  Sandra and John Jacobson went missing in November 1996 from Bismarck, North Dakota. John was just 5 years old at the time. Neither of them have been seen or heard from since.   

On an otherwise pleasant Sunday evening in 1893, a seven-year-old boy from Sioux Falls wandered into the home of a neighbor. Apparently shell-shocked, he managed to get out a few words about the horrific incident he had just witnessed.   "They're all dead, sir." The young man was Sumner Lacey, the son of Harry and Clara Lacey. He had been at his grandmother's home earlier in the evening when his f...

In 1972, kidnappers took his mother away and demanded his father deliver the $1 million dollar ransom. Virginia Piper's son remembers the traumatic day 50 years ago that changed his family forever.

Evidence indicates 39-year-old Christina Lynn Melvin was struck and killed between 4:45 and 4:59 a.m. on April 7, 2019, in Grand Forks. It was later determined that Melvin, a resident of Bedford, Pennsylvania, had been passing through Grand Forks on the Amtrak train.

With just 16 days before the statute of limitations ran out on the kidnapping of a wealthy Orono, Minn., woman in 1972, the FBI indicted two men in the crime. But the case was far from over. In fact, the roller coaster ride was just beginning. Here is Part 3 of "The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper — 50 years later."

In this episode, reporter Trisha Taurinskas dives into Sgt. William Connor's quest to find Sandra's journal, which he believed could have shed light on what happened to her and John. Also in this episode, learn why an address in rural North Carolina kept popping up in this case.   

Following the 1972 kidnapping of Virginia "Ginny" Piper of Orono, Minnesota, the FBI interviewed an estimated 1,000 people. One of the suspects at the top of the list was a man on the verge of committing a mass murder. The kidnapping of Virginia Piper is considered one of the most successful kidnappings in U.S. history. Now 50 years after the Twin Cities socialite was grabbed from her garden, Foru...

In episode 2, examination of the police file related to the missing persons case of Sandra and John Jacobson continues. In this episode, reporter Trisha Taurinskas clarifies an important aspect of the case with retired detective, Tim Turnbull. We also hear from Sgt. William Connor, who took over the case in 2004. Connor reveals the key piece of evidence that could have shed light on what happened...

The kidnapping of Virginia Piper is considered one of the most successful kidnappings in U.S. history. Now 50 years after the Twin Cities socialite was grabbed from her garden, Forum Communications takes a fresh look at the case with updated reports and new podcasts and videos, plus exclusive interviews with those involved.

The police file from this 1996 case, recently obtained by Forum News Service, reveals what Bismarck Police Department found when it reinvestigated the case of Sandra and John Jacobson: an initial missing persons investigation that left key questions unanswered, vital evidence unaccounted for and potential suspects cut loose. Reporter Trisha Taurinskas unpacks the North Dakota mystery in this multi...

During the early morning hours of March 29, 1938, a gang of robbers stole over $2,000 from the Miltona State Bank in Miltona, Minnesota. That's almost $40,000 by today's standards. It was a late winter morning when a cashier's son was returning a borrowed typewriter to the Miltona State Bank and discovered a tampered vault door and an empty safe. Cans of cream, filled with water next to the safe,...

The disappearance of Eric plagued Dickinson for three years. What began as a missing persons investigation, soured by allegations of police indifference and ineptitude levied by Eric's mother Maryellen Suchan, evolved slowly from hopes of a triumphant return to considerations of declaring her missing son dead. The case began turning cold, with sparse information and only a handful of leads to guid...

As investigators dug deeper into the disappearance of Pamela Dunn, the evidence of foul play began to pile up. While ex-boyfriend Dave Asmussen had already provided investigators with inconsistent stories related to the vehicles he had driven the day of — and day after — Dunn's disappearance, they knew the deeper they dug, the more they'd discover. And, they were right.

Robert Marsh says when his father was murdered in 1981, a responding officer told him that 90% of cases similar to that of his father's are solved. To date, the identity of Clifton Wendell Marsh's killer remains a mystery.

When a person goes missing, law enforcement is often stuck in a problematic position. Without a body, it can be difficult to prove a crime existed. That means justice, however obvious it may seem, is often not achieved. For the 2001 missing persons case of Pamela Dunn, that's not exactly the story. While Dunn has not been located, her ex-boyfriend, Dave Asmussen, is serving a life sentence for a 2...

When a gunman killed a police officer in Hope, North Dakota, in 1933, the county sheriff wasn't about to take it lying down. He persisted to track the suspect for two years over seven states and thousands of miles -- one of the most highly publicized manhunts in U.S. history.

In August 1978, Deputy Richard Magnuson had been at the Roseau (Minnesota) County Sheriff's Office for about 2 ½ months. On Aug. 2, 1978, his life was cut short at the age of 20 when he was the final victim of a series of killings by Gregory McMaster. Full story: https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/young-minnesota-sheriffs-deputy-killed-by-cross-border-spree-killer-in-1978-to-be-memorialized

The Minot Police Department has arrested a woman who investigators believe killed her roommate 15 years ago. Nichole Rice, 34, was arrested Wednesday, March 16, in connection to the death of  18-year-old Anita Knutson,  who was found stabbed to death June 4, 2007, in her northwest Minot apartment, Minot Police Chief John Klug said in a news release. Knutson was a Minot State University student. Ri...

K.G. Hagen was gunned down in a saloon in Walcott, N.D.for trying to help a family in need. Meantime, his death left his own family to fend for itself. And his wife Lena Hagen proved up for the task, becoming a homesteader and raising prominent children, one of them a future Lt. Gov.  https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/norwegian-immigrant-victim-of-dastardly-murder-but-his-son-and-grandson-bec...

Was it a bungled investigation or just a really tough case? No matter what happened to Pearl Osten on October 2, 1927, her family is still looking for answers. Reporter: Tracy Briggs https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/the-mysterious-murder-of-pelican-rapids-lonely-star-pearl-osten

In this episode co-producer Jeremy Fugleberg interviews the creator and host of Dakota Spotlight James Wolner Jeremy talks to James about Dakota Spotlight, true-crime, storytelling, a bit about his life and his favorite music and more. Dakota Spotlight is available on all podcast streaming platforms. https://www.inforum.com/podcasts/dakota-spotlight-podcast  

It's become the stuff of legend - a tale of three men, taking on a seemingly insurmountable task. Breaking out of the unbreakable, chiseling, climbing, swimming and just surviving their way into folk history. And now, North Dakota has become part of the narrative.