The Trail Went Cold

December 26, 1996. Chelmsley Wood, England. 13-year old David Spencer and 11-year old Patrick Warren tell their families that they are planning to spend the night with Patrick’s brother, but they never arrive and are subsequently reported missing. It turns out that the last confirmed sighting of the boys took place at a petrol station and Patrick’s abandoned bicycle is found there next to some rub...

December 13, 2009. Henderson, Nevada. A security camera captures 30-year old Steven Koecher arriving in a residential neighbourhood, where he parks his car and is seen walking down the sidewalk before he vanishes without a trace. Earlier that day, Steven had made a 135-mile trip to Henderson from his residence in St. George, Utah, but never told anyone why, and in the days prior to his disappearan...

March 13, 1977. Dunedin, Florida. The body of 54-year old Robert Dirscherl is found on the floor of his bedroom with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. A shotgun is resting on the bed and since investigators believe that Robert used his big toe to pull the trigger and shoot himself, they rule his death to be a suicide. Sixteen years later, one of Robert’s sons receives an anonymous letter from so...

June 23, 1996. Boston, Massachusetts. The dismembered upper body of 20-year old Karina Holmer is found inside a plastic trash bag in a dumpster. She was strangled to death before being sliced directly in half and the lower portion of her body is never recovered. Karina hails from Sweden and has spent the past three months working as an au pair for a married couple and she was last seen partying at...

July 27, 2009. Placentia, California. 81-year old Bob Harrod is discovered to be missing from his home and he has left his car and his eyeglasses behind. One month earlier, Bob had gotten married to Fontelle Heeter, a former spouse whom he had not seen in six decades, and she was scheduled to move in with him two days after he disappeared. Since Bob has a substantial net worth, the division of his...

September 29, 1984. Chicago, Illinois. 23-month old Deborah Sanders is taken from her mother, Norell Sanders, who claims she was violently attacked by the child’s estranged father, Odell Sheppard, before Deborah was abducted. Nearly one year later, Odell is tracked down and arrested, but he no longer has Deborah with him and maintains that he returned her to Norell. After serving a prison sentence...

December 11, 1995. Washington, D.C.. The fire department is summoned to a townhouse and discovers the burning body of 38-year old Lynn Amos on her bed. Lynn is still alive at the time and taken to a hospital with burns on the majority of her body, but she passes away ten days later. While investigators initially believe that Lynn’s death was an accident, traces of accelerants are found on the bed...

…1 campfire… …1 dark forest… …31 bone-chilling stories… …Will YOU survive the night? This Halloween season, enter the woods for a unique and truly epic podcast experience! Around the campfire Shane Waters will introduce 31 crime podcast hosts, including Robin Warder of “The Trail Went Cold”. Each host brings a new, nerve-wracking true story to the circle. It’s an extra special, two part, five-hour...

…1 campfire… …1 dark forest… …31 bone-chilling stories… …Will YOU survive the night? This Halloween season, enter the woods for a unique and truly epic podcast experience! Around the campfire Shane Waters will introduce 31 crime podcast hosts, including Robin Warder of “The Trail Went Cold”. Each host brings a new, nerve-wracking true story to the circle. It’s an extra special, two part, five-hour...

November 12, 1945. Bennington County, Vermont. While on a hunting trip on Glastenbury Mountain, 74-year old Middie Rivers splits off from his son-in-law, but he is never heard from again and an extensive search effort fails to find him. Over the next five years, four other individuals – 18-year old Paula Jean Welden, 68-year old James Tedford, eight-year old Paul Jepson and 53-year old Frieda Lang...

April 18, 1943. Hagley, England. A group of teenage boys discover an unidentified female skeleton inside a hollow wych elm tree near Wychbury Hill. It is determined that the victim was killed at least 18 months before she was found and her likely cause of death was suffocation. Over the next several decades, mysterious graffiti messages pop in numerous locations which are variations of the phrase:...

March 22, 1975. Clermont, Florida. After climbing out of the shower, 32-year old John Harden looks out the window and notices that his pick-up truck is on fire. When John runs outside to extinguish the flames, he is ambushed by a fatal shotgun blast to the chest and an extensive investigation fails to turn up any strong suspects or a motive for the crime. Over the next several years, multiple peop...

May 10, 1996. Brown County, Texas. A burning car belonging to 30-year old Leon Laureles is found next to a remote road. Leon’s body is lying near the vehicle and he has been shot though the back of the head, execution-style. One hour earlier, Leon had left his residence to drive to work for his shift at a supermarket, but even though his co-workers recalled seeing his car in the parking lot, Leon...

June 9, 1995. Alma, Arkansas. While attending a Little League baseball game with her mother, six-year old Morgan Nick goes off to play with some other kids before she vanishes without a trace. Morgan’s friends claim that she was spoken to by an unidentified man standing next to a red pick-up truck, so it is suspected that this man might have abducted her. Over two decades later, a deceased sex off...

May 26, 1986. Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories. After returning home from a trip, the sister of 15-year old Mary Ann Birmingham enters their residence and discovers that Mary Ann has been stabbed to death. Months later, a local resident named Jopey Atsiqtaq pops up on the radar as a potential suspect after he is charged with the similar stabbing deaths of two other victims. Even though Atsiqta...

February 10, 1981. Cedaredge, Colorado. After showing up at Cedaredge High School, 17-year old senior Roger Ellison places his books inside his locker, but he never attends any of his classes that day and vanishes without a trace. Months later, one of Roger’s teachers comes under suspicion when he allegedly makes some bizarre statements to Roger’s mother, but no evidence links him to Roger’s disap...

June 6, 1992. Rosarito, Mexico. While vacationing at a beachfront condo, 29-year old Los Angeles resident Mario Amado is arrested by the local police after an alleged altercation with his girlfriend. Shortly thereafter, Mario is found dead inside his jail cell and the police rule that his death was a suicide after he hanged himself with his own sweater. When Mario’s brother pushes for a new invest...

June 3, 1995. Oslo, Norway. The body of a young woman is found inside Room 2805 of the Oslo Plaza hotel and since a pistol is in her hand, she appears to be the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Three days earlier, she had checked into the hotel under the name, “Jennifer Fairgate”, but the name turns out to be fake and since she has no identification in her possession, the woman remains a...

December 5, 2001. Dallas, Texas. After boarding a flight from Indianapolis to Los Angeles, 70-year old Marjorie “Margie” Dabney and her husband stop for a layover at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Before they can make their connecting flight, Margie winds up disappearing and since she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, there is fear that she might have become confused and wandered outside...

November 25, 2012. Sackville, New Brunswick. While attending a house party, 20-year old Mount Allison University student Chris Metallic becomes intoxicated and starts walking back to his residence, but he never arrives. Nearly four hours later, an eyewitness spots Chris walking down a rural road located 15 kilometres away before he disappears into the woods. A search of the area turns up some foot...

June 12, 1993. Santa Clara, California. 21-year old U.S. Army Private Justin Burgwinkel leaves his girlfriend’s apartment and never returns. One week earlier, Justin had gone AWOL from Fort Lewis, the post where he was stationed in Washington state, and kept hinting to his girlfriend that he was working on some sort of secret mission. Three months later, Justin’s abandoned car is found at a motel...

October 18, 1949. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dorothy Forstein, the 40-year old wife of a local magistrate, is discovered to be missing from her home. Even though there are no signs of forced entry, Dorothy’s nine-year old stepdaughter, Marcy, claims that an unidentified man entered Dorothy’s bedroom and carried her unconscious body out of the residence. There is speculation that Dorothy’s disappe...

August 10, 1991. Martinsburg, West Virginia. The nude body of 44-year old freelance investigative journalist Danny Casolaro is discovered inside the bathtub of his hotel room. Each of his wrists have been slashed multiple times, but since a suicide note is found and there is no evidence of foul play, the authorities conclude that Danny took his own life. In the year prior to his death, Danny claim...

January 29, 1976. Auckland, New Zealand. 13-year old Tracey Ann Patient leaves her friend’s house to walk home, but never arrives. The following day, Tracey’s body is discovered in some bushes located sixteen kilometres from where she was last seen. She has been strangled to death with a pair of pantyhose which were tightened around her neck with a stick. Nearly two years later, police receive an...

December 14, 1981. St. John’s, Newfoundland. 14-year old Dana Bradley leaves her friend’s residence to head back home, but she never arrives and eyewitnesses report seeing her hitchhiking and climbing into a vehicle driven by an unidentified man. Four days later, Dana’s body is found in a remote wooded area and she has been killed by multiple blows to the skull with a blunt instrument. Over the ne...