Trace Evidence

On a cold winter morning in March of 1970, Rock Creek, Ohio Police Chief Robert Hamrick radioed in that he was involved in a high speed pursuit. He never called in again. Hours later a deputy moving through the area came upon the scene of a hideous accident. Chief Hamrick was found lying across the front seat of his cruisers whose lights and engine were off. He had sustained massive head and chest...

This week I'm crisscrossing the country, making my way to CrimeCon in Last Vegas. Taking a break from our usually scheduled episode releases, Trace Evidence brings to you an episode driven by you, the listener. Host Steven Pacheco answers questions submitted by listeners and also addresses the progress being made on Episode 195, set to release next week! Trace Evidence Facebook Instagram Twitter O...

On a cool October afternoon in 2007, forty-seven year old Irina Malezhik walked out of her Brighton Beach apartment and mysteriously vanished. Nearly two years later, the FBI finally identified the prime suspect: Dmitriy Yakovlev. However, what they believed was an investigation into identity theft would quickly become something much more hideous. While the FBI dug into Dmitriy they quickly uncove...

Forty-seven year old Irina Malezhik mysteriously disappeared from Brooklyn after leaving her Brighton Beach apartment in October of 2007. Employed at the time as a Russian translator for the Federal Court system, tackling cases involving the Russian mafia, many were concerned that Irina had been targeted by someone from the mob. However, as the FBI began digging into the case they quickly discover...

Sandra Prince was well known throughout Florida's Bay Avenue for her dedication to the community, her craft real estate acquisitions and for being one of the nicest and kindest friends and neighbors you could ever want. For much of Sandra's life, things had gone just the way she'd wanted them to until the night she vanished. For months investigators struggled to gain a foothold on Sandra's life. N...

In late December of 2005, fifty-nine year old Sandra Prince went missing from Temple Terrace, Florida. For several days, friends and neighbors assumed she had gone out of town to celebrate the New Year but when January rolled around and Sandra didn't appear, they grew concerned. Detectives working the case noted that they hadn't found any signs of a struggle, nor indications of forced entry at her...

Seventy-six year old Walter Page was a pillar of the community in Manchester, New Hampshire. A resident for nearly fifty years, he and his wife Fae had built their home, raised a family and were now slowing down to enjoy a little more of their golden years. Just over a week before Christmas, in December of 1995 however, a series of threatening phone calls and a fiery attack would forever change th...

Eighteen year old Lynn Burdick mysteriously vanished from her evening shift at the Barefoot Peddlar, a small convenience store in her hometown of Florida, Massachusetts. After weeks of grueling searches headed up by law enforcement and Lynn's family, no trace of the high school senior could be found. By the beginning of summer, the senior prom Lynn hoped to attend had come and gone and, at what sh...

Eighteen year old Lynn Burdick was born and raised in the small Massachusetts town of Florida. Throughout her life she worked hard in school earning high marks, dedicated her free time to volunteering for different fundraisers and charitable organizations and helped look after her mother. She was always there, reliable and trustworthy until the night she vanished. Scheduled to work the closing shi...

On a warm Sunday afternoon in April of 1981, thirty-two year old Naomi Wilson walked out of her Cedar Rapids home, climbed in to her Ford Fairmont and drove off never to return. Two days later, her car was found abandoned at a local K-mart just a few miles away. There was no sign of foul play, no evidence of a crime and no trace of Naomi. Despite large searches through the area and a media barrage...

In this Special Update Episode we will revisit four cases previously covered on Trace Evidence which have had major breakthroughs in the past few months. In September of 2021, Chapel Hill police announced they had arrested and charged a suspect in the 2012 murder of UNC Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth. Just last month, in December, investigators with the Miami-Dade Police officially closed the...

On the first day of Fall in 1972, thirteen year old Gail Joiner rushed home from school to her parents house in Thonotosassa, Florida. An hour later, the teen attached a leash to her beloved pet racoon's collar and strode out of the house to take him on his daily walk. She never returned. Despite exhaustive searches involving more than 200 people, not a trace of Gail was ever found. Within a month...

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On August 7th, 1962, nine year old Paula Ream passed away following complications from Cerebral Palsy. Her mother, father and three sisters were devasted by her death and struggled to make it through their grief and pain. On a quiet afternoon, the child was laid to rest beneath a simple stone in Riverside Burial Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There she remained for forty-eight years. Then the un...

Twenty year old Chad Langford had been working as a Military Police officer at the Redstone Arsenal, just outside Huntsville, Alabama. A bright, driven and accomplished soldier, Chad was planning to re-enlist when his term of service ended but he'd never get that chance. On Thursday, March 12th, 1992, Chad radioed that he was investigating a stalled vehicle at the base. Several minutes later, when...

Thirty-nine year old Star Boomer was turning over a new leaf. In the midst of a divorce, she was studying to obtain her GED to put herself on the path to fulfilling her dream of opening her own business. She wanted, more than anything, to be able to provide a good and happy life for her young son, but a casual stop at a local bar would turn deadly. On the afternoon of February 23rd, 1999, Star wal...

Twenty-one year old Bruce Falconer had finally gotten his life on track. Enlisting in the Marine Corps at the age of sixteen, Bruce returned home to his native North Dakota on leave. Assigned to a new post in Arizona, Bruce was excited for his military future when suddenly he and his childhood best friend, Timothy Jewell, mysteriously vanished on a cold, February night in 1981. In addition to Bruc...

Teresa Marie Gilcrease walked out of an Alexandria, LA bar with an unknown man and was never seen alive again. Five hours later her body was found off a rural road southwest of town; she had been stabbed and run over. Early on, investigators received a deluge of tips but by year's end, the calls were drying up. At the same time, a task force operating in Baton Rouge was back on the hunt for a seri...

June, 2002 - At the tail end of a month long trip to visit family in Louisiana, forty-four year old Teresa Marie Gilcrease went missing. She had driven a friend of her daughter's home that night, but never made it back to her parents home in the town of Boyce. The next morning, as her family began trying to track down their missing daughter, sister and mother, investigators with the Rapides Parish...

On Monday, October 14th, 1996, forty-two year old Ylva Hagner was working late at her Belmont, California office. Waving goodbye to her boss at 9:30 this would be the last time anyone saw the Swedish National alive. Before sunrise the next day, she would mysteriously vanish. Thirty-six hours later, Ylva was reported missing. Two days after that, police found her abandoned car less than a mile sout...

While children from coast to coast donned masks of ghosts and monsters for a night of trick or treating, a real life monster was walking the streets of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Arriving at the home of sixty-nine year old Marvin Brandland, the man pulled a pillow case over his head and tucked a gun into his waistband. Believing the man was a friend pranking them for the holiday, Marvin and his wife Ethel...

While most people were celebrating Valentine's day with the one they love, forty-one year old Maureen Fields was scared for her life. Throughout her day at work, she told multiple co-workers and customers that she was afraid something bad would happen, and if it did, her husband, Paul, would be responsible. Less than twenty-four hours later Maureen mysteriously vanished. Her car was found abandone...

In a short break, this week we examine updates surrounding four episodes previously covered on Trace Evidence. First we'll examine how a woman seeking more information about her family revealed a connection to one of the United States' most infamous and brutal killers. Then, we'll examine how a new investigation might shed light a forty year old abduction where neither the victim nor her abductor...

Twenty-five year old single mother Darla Harper mysteriously vanished from her apartment one winter night. After months of searching and years of investigation, police were no closer to locating the missing woman. Then, during a court hearing regarding custody of the couple's daughter, accusations about Darla having been killed by her estranged husband were raised. Confronted about claims that Dar...

One month before her divorce was set to be finalized, twenty-five year old Darla Harper mysteriously vanished. After leaving her husband, Darla had moved into a nearby apartment with the couples' two year old daughter. On a quiet, Tuesday night, Darla said goodbye to a friend and was never seen again. The next morning police found a smear of blood on her apartment door and inside was her daughter,...