The Trail Went Cold

September 1, 1974. Jackson County, Oregon. 28-year old Richard Cowden, his 22-year old wife Belinda Cowden, and their two children, five-year old David and five-month old Melissa, are in the midst of a camping trip when they inexplicably vanish from their campsite near Carberry Creek, leaving all their possessions behind. Seven months later, the entire family’s remains are found at a remote locati...

June 7, 1992. Springfield, Missouri. After an evening of partying following their high school graduation, 19-year old Suzie Streeter and her 18-year old friend, Stacy McCall, decide to spend the night at Suzie’s house alongside Suzie’s 47-year old mother, Sherrill Levitt. They are last seen shortly after 2:00 AM, but later that day, Suzie, Stacy, and Sherrill, a.k.a. “The Springfield Three”, are a...

March 15, 1989. Frederick, Maryland. 17-year old Tracey Kirkpatrick spends the evening working alone at a shopping center clothing store. Nearly two hours after the store was supposed to have been closed, a security guard discovers Tracey’s body in the rear storage room and she has been stabbed seven times. Three months later, a man calling himself “Don” phones a national confession hotline and cl...

October 12, 2000. Houston, Texas. After leaving her home, 48-year old Mary Henderson Morris does not show up for work and her body is discovered inside her burned-out car on a remote road later that afternoon. Four days later, another Houston woman, 39-year old Mary McGinnis Morris, is discovered shot to death inside her car under eerily similar circumstances, but other than their name, there does...

July 16, 1952. Salisbury, Connecticut. While spending the summer at Camp Sloane, ten-year old Connie Smith skips breakfast and leaves the campground. Numerous witnesses see Connie walking down the road and attempting to hitchhike, but before she reaches the nearest town, she vanishes without a trace. Since Connie’s grandfather is the former Governor of Wyoming, there is a massive search effort and...

July 11, 1988. Walnut Creek, California. Lester Garnier, a 30-year old vice officer with the San Francisco Police Department, is found shot to death inside his car in a shopping center parking lot. Eyewitnesses recall seeing at least two unidentified blonde women in the parking lot the previous night and speculation mounts that Lester’s murder might be connected to his involvement in the recent hi...

May 4, 1996. Sitka, Alaska. While walking home from her sister’s place after celebrating her 17th birthday, Jessica Baggen is attacked on a bicycle path. Her body is soon found in a wooded area, where she has been sexually assaulted and asphyxiated to death. Eleven days later, a suspect named Richard Bingham turns himself in to the police and after making a videotaped confession, he is charged wit...

April 12, 1994. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 23-year old Karen Denise Wells has left on a cross-county road trip from her hometown in Oklahoma in order to visit her friend, Melissa Shepard, in New Jersey. After checking into a motel, Denise phones Melissa and asks her to come meet her there, but when Melissa arrives, Denise has vanished. Later that morning, Denise’s abandoned rental car is discovered 3...

September 14, 1965. Coral Gables, Florida. After leaving work, 22-year old Judith Hyams vanishes without a trace and her rental car is found abandoned in Atlanta. It turns out that Judith had become pregnant and was seeking an illegal abortion from a shady doctor, but after he is arrested, he jumps bail and disappears. 24 years later, the case is suddenly re-opened after a police captain receives...

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...