The Missing Persons Report

This transcript from The Fifth Estate examines a surge of violent crime and disappearances in the small town of Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The community is currently grappling with a deadly drug turf war that has resulted in eleven people being murdered or reported missing over a three-year span. Through emotional interviews, families of victims like Daryn Supernant, Renee Didier, and Cole Ho...

This episode details the mysterious 2020 disappearance of Mattias Borg, a well-behaved and athletic 17-year-old from Ljungby, Sweden. After abruptly leaving a party without his shoes, jacket, or phone, Mattias exhibited erratic behavior by running through residential gardens and knocking on doors in near-freezing temperatures. Despite an unprecedented search effort involving the National Guard and...

This transcript examines the unsolved disappearance of Ben Needham, a British toddler who vanished from the Greek island of Kos in 1991. The narrative details the initial investigation's failures and the family's decades-long search, which has been complicated by hundreds of false leads and sightings. A major turning point occurred in 2016 when British police theorized that Ben died in a construct...

The episode chronicles the homicide investigation into the disappearance and death of Jordan Elaine Wishon, a 30-year-old North Carolina woman. After being reported missing in June 2026, her remains were discovered buried on a residential property in Rutherfordton, leading to the identification of Jaydakis Kashaune Hamilton as the primary suspect. Hamilton, who was already in custody for unrelated...

This episode recounts the tragic 1998 disappearance of twelve-year-old Rui Pedro Teixeira Mendonça in Lousada, Portugal. The narrative details the investigative failures of local authorities, who initially dismissed the case as a runaway incident despite witnesses seeing the boy with an older family friend, Afonso Dias. The sources explore disturbing leads involving international child pornography...

The episode details the 47-year investigation into the abduction and murder of Carla Walker, a high school student from Fort Worth, Texas. For decades, the case remained cold as detectives followed dead-end leads and ruled out various suspects, including Carla’s boyfriend, who was assaulted during the kidnapping. The mystery was finally solved through advanced forensic genetic genealogy, which ide...

This source details the harrowing investigation into the disappearance and murder of Melody Lopez and her fiancé Shawn Barrett, two young travelers who vanished in the Canadian wilderness. When police authorities initially dismissed the case because the victims were adults, Melody’s father, David Lopez, launched a relentless private search to find his daughter. His independent detective work succe...

This episode details the tragic 1982 unsolved abduction and murder of Barbara Nelson in rural Wisconsin. While working an unscheduled gas station shift, Nelson was kidnapped by two men in a distinctive pickup truck who robbed the store before holding her for approximately twenty-four hours. Witnesses reported seeing a struggle near a cornfield shortly before her body was discovered with gunshot wo...

On June 24, 2026, northern Venezuela was devastated by a rare "doublet" earthquake consisting of a magnitude 7.2 foreshock followed immediately by a 7.5 mainshock. These powerful tremors centered near San Felipe caused catastrophic damage to cities like Caracas and La Guaira, resulting in hundreds of confirmed deaths and leaving tens of thousands of people missing. The disaster triggered the colla...

In 2026, a decade-long cold case reached a breakthrough when authorities arrested the stepmother and two stepbrothers of Sara Nicole Graham, a young Lumbee woman who vanished in 2015. Although her body remains missing, investigators recently reclassified the matter as a homicide and charged her relatives with murder, conspiracy, and tampering with evidence. The case is particularly complex because...

The provided transcript details the multi-decade investigation into serial killer William Reese, who targeted young women along Interstate 45 during the late 1990s. The narrative focuses on the tragic disappearances of Laura Smither, Kelly Cox, Tiffany Johnston, and Jessica Cain, highlighting the long-suffering families who refused to abandon their search for justice. Although Reese was initially...

Authorities in the United States and Australia are currently conducting an urgent search for Sally Grace Contarino, a 26-year-old traveler who disappeared in late June 2026. After failing to board her return flight from Las Vegas, the Melbourne native was reported missing, with her last known location traced to the rugged Mount Charleston area. The investigation highlights the specific safety risk...

This source details the unsolved 1987 disappearance of Carla Beth Anderson, a young woman with a mild intellectual disability who vanished from her Wadena, Minnesota, home. Although she had just been honored as employee of the month, she disappeared shortly after being dropped off at her apartment, leaving behind her belongings and a locked door. The episode highlights a renewed investigative push...

The episode explores the life and mysterious 1925 disappearance of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer whose search for an ancient Amazonian civilization inspired icons like Indiana Jones. Alongside his son and a friend, Fawcett vanished while hunting for a legendary site he called “Z”, sparking over a century of rescue attempts and cultural fascination. While his contemporaries often dismissed his...

This episode explores several extraordinary cases of individuals who vanished for years, only to be reinvigorated or discovered under bizarre circumstances. The accounts range from a stolen infant raised by her kidnapper to a man who faked his own death to escape financial ruin and collect insurance money. Other narratives describe people who abruptly fled abusive environments or experienced myste...

These accounts detail several unsolved disappearances and mysterious deaths that were often preceded by unusual behavior or captured on surveillance footage. Cases like those of Marilyn Bergeron and Jennifer Kessie involve young women who vanished suddenly, leaving behind perplexing clues and families desperate for closure. Other stories, such as the vanishing of Brian Shaefer and Lars Mittank, hi...

The provided transcript explores the mysterious 1995 disappearance of Ruth Wilson, a sixteen-year-old who vanished after being dropped off at Box Hill in Surrey. While the official narrative originally presented her as a happy teenager from a stable home, a journalist and a retired police officer uncover a more troubled reality through interviews with her former friends. These sources reveal that...

The provided transcript details the life, tragic abduction, and murder of Reagan Tokes, a compassionate Ohio State University student killed just before her graduation. Through interviews with her family, law enforcement, and journalists, the source recounts the discovery of her body and the subsequent investigation that linked Brian Golsby to the crime via DNA evidence and GPS tracking. The narra...

This transcript documents the unsolved 2001 disappearance of 19-year-old Jason Jolkowski, who vanished while walking to a high school in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite being seen by his brother and a neighbor just blocks from his destination, the young man seemingly evaporated in broad daylight, leaving behind no physical evidence or clues. The narrative details the initial police delays in treating the...

These sources recount several harrowing investigations into the disappearances and murders of young women, focusing on the pursuit of justice against predatory killers. The first segment details the decades-long mystery of William Reese, a serial offender linked to the deaths of four victims across Texas and Oklahoma through forensic evidence and eventual confessions. Another narrative examines th...

The episode examines the prevalent crisis of missing persons in Michigan, highlighting the thousands of families enduring the agony of unresolved disappearances. It details the geographic and systemic challenges that complicate searches, particularly within the rugged terrain of the Upper Peninsula and the state's vast waterways. By profiling specific cold cases and recent disappearances, the sour...

The high-profile disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in Arizona has served as a catalyst for a broader examination of the state’s missing persons crisis. While the investigation into Guthrie’s abduction remains unsolved despite significant resources and ransom demands, her story highlights the thousands of other active cases across the region. The episode explores the systemic challenges and resource d...

The episode details the unexplained 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann from a Portuguese holiday resort. It examines how the case transitioned from a local search into a global media phenomenon, highlighting the intense scrutiny faced by her parents and the various law enforcement efforts involved. The narrative outlines several competing theories, ranging from stranger abductio...

This episode examines the mysterious 1975 disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, a prominent labor leader whose fate remains one of America’s most enduring cold cases. It details his rise to power within the Teamsters union, his contentious relationship with the federal government, and his alleged ties to organized crime. The source explores various theories regarding his murder, including famous rumors ab...

Between 2010 and 2013, five young men known as the "California Five" mysteriously vanished in San Francisco, leaving behind no digital or physical traces. These sources provide a detailed account of the individual disappearances of Jackson Miller, Cameron Remmer, Shawn Dickerson, Crishtian Hughes, and Sean Sidi, highlighting the unique circumstances of each case. The families of these men have for...