Detective Perspective

On September 11, 2000, at approximately 4:47 am, 8-year-old Zachary Bernhardt was reported missing from his apartment in Clearwater, Florida. Within hours, hundreds of investigators and volunteers were searching for him. But they found no trace of Zach, and as the investigation unfolded, they began questioning whether they had ever been told the full story about what happened that night. More than...

 On July 24, 1997, 24-year-old Amy Wroe Bechtel spent the day running errands in Lander, Wyoming, before heading out to scout a route for an upcoming 10k race she was organizing in the Wind River Mountains. But, she never returned home, prompting her husband to report her missing. An extensive search of the mountains failed to uncover a single trace of her, aside from her vehicle. And as the inves...

On March 2, 1998, 19-year-old Suzanne “Suzy” Lyall finished her shift at a software store in Albany, New York, and boarded a bus back to her dorm at SUNY Albany. A friend later reported seeing her get off at her usual stop on campus. But Suzy never made it back to her room. The following day, her bank card was used at an ATM miles away from campus. Yet despite decades of investigation, no one has...

On the night of January 9, 1999, 25-year-old Wil Hendrick left his home in Moscow, Idaho, to attend a party with friends. He had recently celebrated his birthday, was preparing to start his final semester of college, and was looking forward to auditioning for a play just two days later. But Wil never came home. More than 27 years later, his case remains unsolved, leaving everyone with the same que...

On the morning of December 15, 1995, 36-year-old John Markley and his 32-year-old wife, Shelly, went to the bank to cash a check. But by later that afternoon, the couple had seemingly disappeared without a trace. Their five children came home from school to an unlocked house and several things out of place. More than 30 years later, John and Shelly are still missing, and one question continues to...

On March 15, 2000, 27-year-old Tina McQuaig went to work at a Jacksonville hospital like it was any other Wednesday. Before getting off work, she called home to say she was running a little late and planned to stop at the grocery store before heading home to her husband and four-year-old son. But Tina never made it home. More than 26 years later, Tina’s case remains unsolved, leaving everyone with...

In the early morning hours of August 13, 2005, 13-year-old Alex Anaya vanished from her home in Hammond, Indiana, just outside of Chicago. For weeks, her family was left wondering where she was and whether she was okay. They searched for answers, hoping Alex would come home. Then, on September 7, they got the news no family ever wants to hear. Alex had been found. She had been the victim of a horr...

On September 13, 1991, 36-year-old Tom Roche dropped his longtime girlfriend off at work in Burbank, California. He told her he was heading home to work on his motorcycle, and the two made plans to meet for lunch later that day. But Tom never showed up. Editor: Shannon Keirce Research/Writing: Haley Gray SUBMIT A CASE HERE: Cases@DetectivePerspectivePod.com SOCIAL Instagram: https://www.instagram....

On October 12, 2002, 25-year-old Paula Wade and her 3-year-old son, Brandon, were last seen in Valdosta, Georgia, just days before they were supposed to move to Florida for a fresh start. Paula had been packing up their apartment and was looking forward to being closer to family, but they never made that move. When Paula missed a scheduled call with her parents on the 13th and failed to show up fo...

On February 8, 2005, 43-year-old Dr. Geetha Angara went to work at a water treatment facility in Totowa, New Jersey, where she worked as a senior chemist. She was last seen heading to the plant’s basement to complete a routine task. But Geetha was never seen again, and hours after her shift ended, her car was still in the employee lot and her coat was at her desk. No one could explain where she ha...

On June 27, 2004, 30 year old April Pitzer was last seen in Newberry Springs, California, after telling loved ones she was preparing to come back home to Arkansas. She had been terrified for her life and was desperate to return, but she never made it back. In the months that followed, investigators received a series of strange and unsettling tips, including one involving a message written on a tru...

On April 10, 2001, an explosion tore through a Scottsdale, Arizona home, sending flames into the air and shaking the surrounding neighborhood. Inside, investigators discovered a devastating scene. 38-year-old Mary Fisher and her two children, Brittney and Bobby, had been killed in their own beds, and the evidence showed they were murdered before the fire ever began. The scene had been carefully st...

On May 24, 2004, co-workers of 53 year old Oakey Albert Kite Jr., who went by Al, drove to his house to check on him after he failed to show up to work - something he had never done before. Inside his Aurora, Colorado townhome, officers discovered a horrific scene. Al had been bound, tortured for hours, and killed in his own basement. The killer cleaned up, removed key evidence, and disappeared -...

On the evening of June 7, 1997, 26-year-old Lori Bova had dinner with her husband and sister at the Red Lobster in Lakewood, New York.  Around 12 hours later, her husband reported her missing, claiming she left their apartment in the middle of the night to go for a walk and smoke a cigarette. She was never seen or heard from again. Nearly 30 years later, Lori’s disappearance remains unsolved, and...

On the morning of August 27, 2009, a man walking his dog made a devastating discovery at Caldwell Fields, a campground in the Jefferson National Forest near Blacksburg, Virginia. In a parking area, two Virginia Tech students - 18-year-old Heidi Childs and 19-year-old David Metzler - had been shot and killed. Just 12 hours earlier, the couple had gone to the campground to talk and spend time togeth...

In the early morning hours of February 10, 2009, Ron Cummings returned to his home in Satsuma, Florida after work and learned that his five-year-old daughter, HaLeigh, was missing. The side door was propped open with a dirty cinder block he had never seen before, and the babysitter told him she had no idea what happened. A massive search for HaLeigh began, but there was no sign of her anywhere.  M...

On May 16, 2003, a silent alarm was triggered inside Blue Ridge Savings Bank in Greer, South Carolina. When officers arrived just minutes later, they found the bank empty and the cash drawer cleared out. In a small utility room at the back of the building, they made a devastating discovery. Head teller Sylvia Holtzclaw, along with customers Dr. Eb Barnes and his wife Maggie Barnes, had all been sh...

On Valentine’s Day 2015, 27-year-old Erica Alonso went out with her ex-boyfriend in Orange County, California. She told her sister she would be home later that night. But Erica never came home. Weeks later, she was found deceased in a remote area of Orange County. Her body had been wrapped in plastic bags and secured with duct tape. Despite those circumstances, detectives said they did not believe...

On July 22, 1990, 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield was last seen in Killeen, Texas. In the early morning hours, she left her grandmother’s house to visit her twin sister and was later seen getting into a dark sedan with two older teenage boys. She was never seen or heard from again. More than three decades later, Deanna’s disappearance remains unsolved. Her family is still searching for answers and w...

In the early morning hours of January 6, 2023, 36-year-old Jason Marous was found unresponsive inside his vehicle parked in the lot of his Fort Lauderdale, Florida condo.  The driver’s door was slightly open. Jason was slumped over, covered in blood. He had been shot one time. Detectives later located surveillance footage showing a masked man walking in the area around the time of the murder, but...

On June 25, 2023, 39-year-old Amber Arnett was last seen in Lansing, Michigan. Surveillance footage captured her shopping with a friend, before she was dropped off at the gated property where she had been staying. After that, Amber was never seen or heard from again. More than two and a half years later, her disappearance remains an open case. Amber has not been found, and her family and community...

On the morning of August 12, 2005, a boater on Lake Huron came across a cabin cruiser drifting alone in the water, struggling against the wind and waves. When the Coast Guard arrived, they found the boat in neutral, with the radio still playing, and no one on board.  The boat belonged to attorneys Lana Stempien and Chuck Rutherford, who had set out days earlier on a planned trip to Mackinac Island...

On October 27, 1989, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic vanished after school from a shopping center in Bay Village, Ohio. Detectives would later learn she had been lured there by a man pretending to know her family. For months, Amy’s parents, investigators, and an entire community searched for answers, hoping she would be found alive. Then, in February 1990, Amy’s body was discovered in a remote field in...

On March 24, 1998, 23-year-old Stacey Colbert was reported missing from her apartment in Columbus, Ohio. Inside, detectives found signs that she had been abducted. For more than six years, Stacey’s family searched for answers, with no idea what had happened to her or where she might be. Then, in November 2004, her remains were discovered in a remote area of Delaware County, Ohio. Her death was rul...

At around 11:35 p.m. on July 30, 2011, neighbors near a home in Norwalk, Iowa, stepped outside after smelling smoke and saw flames rising high above the trees. Within minutes, firefighters arrived to find the house fully engulfed. Once the fire was extinguished, a body was discovered inside the burned remains of the home. That victim was later identified as Bill Wood. An autopsy revealed he had be...