The Trail Went Cold

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...

May 2, 1981. Hope, British Columbia. After spending the night at a friend’s house, 16-year old Verna Bjerky leaves on a trip to visit her boyfriend, but even though she plans on hitchhiking to her destination, she never arrives. Five months later, some of Verna’s personal belongings are discovered in a remote area, but there is no trace of her body. During this time period, a serial killer named C...

July 8, 1997. Carson City, Nevada. While visiting her father on a trip from California, 16-year old Natasha Jennings is found dead inside a bedroom at his apartment. An electric fan is lying over Natasha’s body, her hair is damp, and even though traces of cocaine and methamphetamine are inside Natasha’s nostrils, no drugs can be found in her system. There are a few theories involving foul play, in...

November 15, 1971. Galveston, Texas. 15-year old Debbie Ackerman and 15-year old Maria Johnson are seen climbing into a white van outside an ice cream shop, but they never return home. Days later, the girls’ bodies are found in a bayou and they are bound, nude from the waist down and have been shot to death. After several decades, a convicted murderer named Edward Harold Bell sends out letters in...

August 4, 1971. Galveston, Texas. After spending the day at the beach, 14-year old Rhonda Renee Johnson and 13-year old Sharon Shaw fail to return home and their skeletal remains are found in a bayou months later. A suspect named Michael Lloyd Self is eventually taken into custody and confesses to the murders, but even though he maintains his confession was coerced and that he is innocent, Self is...

December 15, 1995. Bristolville, Ohio. The children of 36-year old John Markley and his 32-year old wife, Shelly Markley, return home from school and discover that their parents are gone, though there is evidence to suggest that an intruder was in the house. The couple’s pick-up truck is also missing and it is soon found abandoned in a nearby town. It turns out that on the same morning they disapp...

…12 dates … …14 love gone wrong stories… …Will YOU be my Valentine? This Valentine’s Day, prepare for a unique podcast experience! Shane Waters will introduce 14 true crime podcast hosts, including Robin Warder of “The Trail Went Cold”. Each host brings a new “love gone wrong” true story to the mix. It’s an extra-special Valentine event which runs over two hours long. Podcasts are listed here in o...

October 13, 1982. Morro Bay, California. The decomposed body of 43-year old Dian Harlin is discovered in a stand of trees next to a beach and she has been strangled to death with a leash belonging to one of her dogs. It turns out that Dian’s eccentric 47-year old husband, Hugh Harlin, had failed to report her missing for eleven days and since the couple was known for having a turbulent relationshi...

February 2, 2008. Saanich, British Columbia. 24-year old real estate agent Lindsay Buziak arrives for an appointment to show an expensive suburban house to an unidentified man and woman. When Lindsay’s boyfriend goes inside the residence to check on her, he discovers that she has been stabbed over 40 times and the mysterious couple have fled the scene. Over the years, there are a number of unconfi...

February 28, 1983. St. Louis, Missouri. The body of an African-American girl is found in the basement of an abandoned apartment building. She is believed to be between eight-to-eleven years old and has her hands tied behind her back and it turns out she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death before she was beheaded. Since the victim’s head is never recovered and she cannot be identified, sh...

February 6, 1997. Bristol, Rhode Island. Bryan Nisenfeld, an 18-year old freshman at Roger Williams University, vanishes after leaving an afternoon class and most of his possessions are found in his dorm room. Nearly seven months later, a severed foot and a shinbone are found washed up on a beach located a few miles from campus and while they are positively identified as belonging to Bryan, the re...

October 6, 1983. British Columbia, Canada. 27-year old Bernd Goericke and his 22-year old fiancée, Andrea Scherpf, are found shot to death next to a remote road. The couple hailed from West Germany and had been hitchhiking through Canada and an unidentified man driving a pick-up truck is seen using Andrea’s travellers’ cheques in the days following her death. Nearly six years later, a suspect name...

Since “The Trail Went Cold” originally launched in February 2016, we have featured nearly 400 cold cases and unsolved mysteries on the podcast. Since a number of these cases have wound up being solved or experiencing major developments, we have been able to release three special “update” episodes over the past three years. On this particular episode, we’ll be discussing a number of recent trials,...

Over the past four years, “The Trail Went Cold” has released two special Q&A episodes in which Robin Warder answered a number of questions from listeners. We have decided to put together another episode like this and a received number of interesting new questions from listeners. How has producing a successful true crime podcast changed your life? Do you have any pet peeves in podcasting? Have...

December 19, 1949. Juneau County, Wisconsin. A fire breaks out at the residence of four-year old Ricky Jean “Jeannie” Bryant, which burns her family’s farmhouse to the ground. While Jeannie’s remains cannot be found in the rubble, the authorities conclude that she died in the fire. As the years go by and Jeannie’s surviving siblings discuss what happened, they become troubled by a number of suspic...