Trace Evidence

Twenty-one year old Denise Porch was enjoying life. She'd just celebrated her first wedding anniversary, got a promotion at work and picked up tickets to see a concert. Then one hot, summer day, she mysteriously vanished from right outside her own apartment. There were witnesses, though they didn't see what happened, just Denise speaking with an unidentified man. Police searched, but never found a...

During the pre-dawn hours of Friday, October 27th, 2006, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell initiated a traffic stop on a white van with no plates. Over the course of the next seven minutes a violent struggle would begin. Deputy Mitchell was shot and killed, he was just thirty-eight years old. Investigators scoured the area in search of the white van but when they discovered it, i...

Thirty-five year old Kathryn Adam had made a decision: she was taking her sixteen year old daughter, leaving her husband and starting a new life. It wouldn't be easy, but she was determined to make it work. Then, just when things seemed to be falling into place the unimaginable happened. On April 29th, 1993, Kathryn left for work in the early morning hours. She never returned, vanishing along with...

Twenty-seven year old Paul Featherman and twenty year old Nancy Baugh were living their dream on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Just before summer, on June 2nd, unknown perpetrators entered their rented home near Hanalei Bay. Paul was killed instantly, but Nancy's fate was unknown. Police would ultimately determine after witnessing her boyfriend's murder, she had been abducted by the killers. For t...

In this short update episode we will discuss the news that the Sumter County Does have finally been identified. James Paul Freund, thirty years old, was known as "Jock Doe" for forty-five years. Pamela Mae Buckley, twenty-five, was known as "Jane Doe." James and Pamela were found, brutally murdered, on Locklair Road in Sumter County, South Carolina, on August 9th, 1976. Now that their identities h...

Sixty-four year old Nita Mayo loved going on long drives, exploring the countryside and finding new sites to see. Throughout her life she had an adventurous spirit and a zest for life but during one trip in August of 2005 she would mysteriously vanish. Two days passed before investigators discovered Nita's vehicle, left behind at Donnell's vista, a beautiful but dangerous overlook situated on Cali...

Thirty-three year old Julie Bell Davis was making strides. Married to the love of her life, mother of two beautiful children and now breaking her own sales records at work. Everything was looking up until it was all destroyed in a moment of madness. On the evening of August 28th, 1997, Julie was working out of her Des Moines office. She'd recently gotten approval to move locations to a high rise b...

In the early morning hours of Monday, January 20th, 1997, twenty-eight year old Robin Trivisonno was looking for a ride. Asking around to friends in the bar she previously worked at, no one was able to help. Then a mysterious man approached and the two walked out together. Neither has ever been seen again. Investigators faced a tough case; few clues, no major leads and their main person of interes...

Eighteen year old Jennifer Pentilla was driven to help others. Fresh out of high school she traveled to Mexico on a mission trip to paint churches and assist the local community. When an opportunity arose to go back, she leapt at it. What was supposed to be a group bike trip from San Diego, down into Mexico, fell through but Jennifer was undeterred and even if she had to go alone, she was set on m...

Twelve year old Heather Kullorn was looking forward to spending a week with family friends but what she imagined to be a fun week would instead become a nightmare. During the early morning hours of July 15th, 1999, Heather mysteriously vanished. What police had imagined to be a straight forward search for a child quickly became a chaotic situation filled with inconsistencies, lies and evidence tha...

Twenty-two year old Jenna Nielsen had picked up a job delivering newspapers in the early morning hours. The mother of two wanted to help support the family she'd started with her husband, Tim. Eight months pregnant with their third child, a boy to be named Ethen, Jenna would soon be taking time off to be with her new baby. Tragically, what should have been a time of celebration would become a peri...

Thirty-eight year old Sandra Sollie was finally going to become a mother. In the Spring of 1994 she was seven months pregnant and eagerly anticipating the arrival of her son, whom she'd named Brandon Michael. While her family was planning for the excitement of a baby shower they instead would face the pain of loss and unknowing. On May 23rd, Sandra mysteriously vanished leaving behind few clues. S...

Over the course of one week in New York City in 1985, a violent and brutal killer wielding an axe took the lives of two women: 85 year old Janet Scott and 58 year old Ruth Potdevin. Both women were killed in hotels within days of each other, less than a half mile apart. While the crimes themselves were grisly enough, the killer went further by leaving a gruesome puzzle behind at each scene. While...

Eighty-six year old Patrick Carnes was making the two thousand mile drive from Toledo, Ohio to Reno, Nevada. Joined by his beloved dog, Lucky, he was set to return home by Thursday, April 14th, 2011. Unfortunately, while he was making good time, Patrick would never get home. After being stopped by a trooper at 9pm on the 13th, Patrick mysteriously vanished. He had planned to stop off in Elko that...

In late January, 2002, twenty-three year old Bobby Zajac, twenty-six year old Erin Golla and twenty-nine year old James Springer Jr were preparing to leave the AMF Broadway Bowling Lanes in Littleton, Colorado, when they were seized upon by an armed individual. After robbing the safe, the thief turned into a cold blooded killer, executing all three with a handgun. Moments later he casually walked...

Eighteen year old Anita Knutson had just completed her freshman semester at Minot State University in North Dakota. Living in an apartment with a roommate, Anita was working two jobs and excited about summer break. However, over the first weekend in June of 2007, Anita's family couldn't get in touch with her which was extremely out of character. After several attempts, Anita's father Gordon made t...

Twenty-seven year old Susan Taraskiewicz had been working for Northwest Airlines out of Logan Airport, in Boston, for five years. After suffering through a harsh assortment of sexual harassment and threats of physical violence she managed to do something no woman had before her; she was promoted to the position of Equipment Service Crew Chief. Unfortunately while she was excited by her new positio...

In October of 1984, nine year old Christine Jessop vanished from the streets of Queensville, Ontario, Canada. Months later, her remains were recovered more than fifty kilometers from her home. Police searched for her killer and eventually narrowed their suspects down to one man. However, that man, was later cleared of any involvement through the use of DNA despite having been taken to court twice,...

Forty-one year old Leah Rowlands was starting a new life. She moved to the small town of Cozad, Nebraska where her boyfriend lived. She had been married previously, from which she had two sons, but had fled from what she described as a very abusive relationship. Now in Cozad, she was putting the pieces back together. She had just been promoted to manager at the Amoco station where she worked. Howe...

Fifty-five year old Donald Smith was set to embark on a cross-country road trip. Along the way he planned to visit several family members, but just a day into the trip he was joined by a mysterious companion. Don showed up in Springfield, Idaho, tracking down his daughter, Brenda. When Don arrived, he was drunk and behaving erratically. Frustrated, Brenda told her father to sober up and contact he...

Seventy-six year old Al Sicherer was finally living his life out in the open. After the passing of his beloved wife of forty years, Al confessed his secret: he was gay. Having his own health problems, Al decided it was now or never and he wanted to live his life honestly and by following his heart. Al maintained a quiet life, most of the neighbors at his condo knew him only as the quiet gentleman...

Twenty-eight year old Kristine Kupka was following her dreams. A firm supporter of women's rights, Kristine was just months from graduating with a degree in philosophy from which she planned to move into law school. Then she got a life changing surprise -- she was pregnant. Excited by the opportunity to be a mother, Kristine immediately began planning for the future. While she wasn't sure how the...

Ten year old Bianca Lebron arrived at her school in Bridgeport, Connecticut on the morning of Wednesday, November 7th, 2001. However, unlike her classmates, Bianca wasn't planning on attending classes that day. Instead, she explained to her teacher and friends that her uncle would be picking her up for a day of shopping at the mall. Right around 8:30am, a two-tone brown van showed up driven by an...

Eleven year old Mikelle Biggs was waiting for the ice cream truck to come by with her younger sister, Kimber. Losing her patience and growing cold, Kimber went home. Immediately upon arriving, her mother sent her back out to tell Mikelle to come home too. In total she was gone less than ninety seconds, but in that short window of time, Mikelle had been abducted. All that was left behind was the bi...

In March of 2007 a land surveyor was examining a ten acre lot in Fort Myers, Florida. Not far in from the dirt road which leads to the area, the surveyor discovered a human skull jutting out from the earth. After police arrived on the scene more bodies were found and, ultimately, the skeletons of eight men were unearthed. Over the years, law enforcement has worked hard not only to discover who may...