Valley of Secrets

Send us Fan Mail She was supposed to be safe at work. But in the middle of a normal Friday afternoon, Melanie Carpenter vanished from a Surrey tanning salon — leaving behind her car, her belongings, and a community searching for answers. This week on Valley of Secrets , we revisit the case that shook B.C. and became known as the story of Canada’s daughter. https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/febru...

Send us Fan Mail Nicci Ruth dives into the 1977 Rosedale murders, a chilling Fraser Valley case involving four young victims, one survivor, a stolen truck, and a bizarre kidnapping plot that was only uncovered after police followed the evidence from Ferry Island to Vancouver. Source List Sep 07, 1977, page 26 - The Chilliwack Progress at The Chilliwack Progress Oct 23, 1985, page 23 - The Chilliwa...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Valley of Secrets, Nicci Ruth delves into one of British Columbia's most perplexing unsolved disappearances. When Vancouver couple Nick and Lisa Masee vanished in August 1994 after plans to meet a mysterious businessman offering a $10 million investment, they left behind more questions than answers—and a mystery that remains unsolved more than thirty years...

Send us Fan Mail On a warm September afternoon in North Delta, 15-year-old Laura Szendrei walked through Mackie Park to meet friends — and never came home. In this episode of Valley of Secrets, we uncover the disturbing investigation, escalating attacks leading up to Laura’s murder, and the undercover operation that finally exposed her killer. curious! https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/september...

Send us Fan Mail In 1965, a police officer, his wife, and their six children are found dead inside their suburban British Columbia home. Authorities quickly declare it a murder-suicide and name Leonard Hogue as the killer. But as secrets tied to corrupt cops, stolen money, and a possible cover-up begin to surface, one terrifying question remains: Was Leonard Hogue a family annihilator… or a scapeg...

Send us Fan Mail In 1985, two children are taken from their beds in the middle of the night and murdered. One man is convicted for one of the crimes… But did he commit both—or is another killer still hiding in the shadows? Sources https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-12-1992-page-4-190/docview/2380920089/se-2 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-12-1992-page-5-190/docview/2380920084/...

Send us Fan Mail In January 2021, 48 year old Trina Hunt vanished from her quiet Port Moody neighbourhood. Two months later, her remains are discovered near Hope, BC. For years, her family and community pushed for justice, but answers never came, Now, four years later, a charge has finally been laid-but it’s not the charge anyone expected.  MissingTrinaHunt Husband charged with ‘indignity to human...

Send us Fan Mail In this final episode, Nicci Ruth dives into what led to the arrest and conviction of Robert Pickton—and what happened in the years that followed, including the chilling details that suggest the full truth may never be known. Court documents 2006 BCSC 995 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 2009 BCCA 299 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 2009 BCCA 300 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanL...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, disturbing witness accounts and overlooked tips begin to paint a darker picture of what may have been happening at the Pickton farm. Piece by piece, the investigation edges closer to a horrifying reality. Court documents 2006 BCSC 995 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 2009 BCCA 299 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 2009 BCCA 300 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 2...

Send us Fan Mail Part 3 of the Robert “Willie” Pickton case dives deeper into the growing number of women disappearing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in the late 1990s. We focus on the lives of the victims, the mounting forensic evidence found on the farm, and the warning signs that were missed as the danger escalated. 2006 BCSC 995 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 2009 BCCA 299 (CanLII) | R....

Send us Fan Mail In Part Two, we continue the story of Robert “Willie” Pickton and the women who vanished from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. We revisit the night in March 1997 when one woman survived — a turning point that would help expose a predator. This episode honors the missing and murdered women, both named and unnamed, and examines the warning signs that were ignored for years. Sources 20...

Send us Fan Mail In Part one, Nicci Ruth explores the early 1980s on the Pickton farm, where disturbing behavior, criminal activity, and unchecked violence became normalized. It’s a look at the warning signs that were present long before anyone realized how dangerous things had become. Sources   On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing Women – Steve Cameron h...

Send us Fan Mail In January 2019, Kristofer Couture’s car was found abandoned at the Elk–Thurston trailhead, sitting there for months before an investigation into his disappearance began. What happened in that time raises questions that still linger today. Sources Direct communication with Eva Couture https://pleasebringmehome.com/canada/kristofer-couture/ https://www.canihelpfindyourmissinglovedo...

Send us Fan Mail In 1965, Esther Castellani dies from a mysterious illness that leaves even Vancouver’s top doctors confused — until a shocking revelation changes everything. Her husband, Rene Castellani, a local radio personality, quickly becomes the prime suspect in a case that is truly stranger than fiction. https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/february-18-2000-page-75-166/docview/3212742464/se-...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Nicci Ruth explores the disappearance and murder of Heather Lynn Thomas , a 10-year-old girl who vanished from Cloverdale, B.C. The search for Heather would eventually lead investigators to Golden Ears Park and uncover a disturbing chain of events that shook the Lower Mainland. Sources https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/october-3-2000-page-7-87/docview/3212505212...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show 🔔 Subscribe to Valley of Secrets for new bi-weekly true crime cases. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1lk8QNGhBUQFQgRaJeLQnW?utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1835568930?app=podcast&at=1000lHKX&ct=linktree_http&itscg=30200&itsct=lt_p&ls=1&mt=2 📲 Jo...

Send us Fan Mail Part One of this two-part series examines the early life of Clifford Olson Jr. and the beginning of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers. Through the stories of his first victims, we explore how warning signs were missed, assumptions were made, and how Olson continued killing while under supposed supervision. Sources https://globalnews.ca/news/3347601/timeline-the-life-an...

Send us Fan Mail On a bright spring afternoon in 2009, 53-year-old Wendy Ladner-Beaudry went for a run in Pacific Spirit Park — a route she’d taken for decades — and never came home. What happened in those silent minutes beneath the trees remains one of Vancouver’s most haunting unsolved murders. 🔗 Source List  Vancouver Magazine – “A Pacific Spirit Murder” (long-form profile) https://www.vanmag....

Send us Fan Mail A quiet Chilliwack neighborhood. A forged cheque. A fire meant to erase everything. In this episode, we dive deep into the 1987 Kowbel family attack—one of the Fraser Valley’s most disturbing cases. You’ll hear how three young men executed a carefully planned ambush, how two victims survived against impossible odds, and how one daughter turned unimaginable trauma into faith and fo...

Send us Fan Mail When 22-year-old Chelsey Gauthier doesn’t come home after spending the day on a rural property in Mission, the people who love her know something is wrong. Days pass with no word… until search teams make a discovery in the woods that changes everything. Sign The Petition: https://www.change.org/p/demand-maximum-sentence-for-gary-donald-losch?source_location=psf_petitions List of R...

Send us Fan Mail Before Cindy James was found dead under impossible circumstances, she spent seven years living in terror—cut phone lines, threatening letters, fires, and attacks that no one could explain. Was she being hunted, or was something else happening behind closed doors? In Part Two, Nicci Ruth dives deep into the evidence, the disbelief, and the psychological toll that defined Cindy’s li...

Send us Fan Mail In May 1989, forty-four-year-old nurse Cindy James vanished from Richmond, British Columbia after years of reporting that someone was stalking her. When her car was found parked outside a local bank—groceries and purse still inside—friends knew something was terribly wrong. In this first part of a two-part investigation, host Nicci Ruth retraces Cindy’s final day and the mystery t...

Send us Fan Mail August 1989. Three-year-old Casey Bohun disappears from her bed in North Delta. Her mother wakes to an open door, an empty blanket — and a nightmare that would follow her for the rest of her life. Accusations, rumors, and shifting stories haunt the case to this day. And while everyone thought they knew how it ended… the real tragedy was still to come. 🕯 Sources & References Ov...

Send us Fan Mail It’s a cold, rainy night in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Ten-year-old Jo-Anne “Jo-Jo” Pedersen walks alone through the storm, a pink jacket pulled tight around her shoulders, heading to a corner store to call her mom. But when her mother arrives twenty minutes later, the phone booth stands empty — the receiver swaying in the rain. Forty years later, her disappearance remains one...

Send us Fan Mail Two seventeen-year-olds. Two quiet Fraser Valley communities. Both left home one day and never came back. In this special Mental Health Awareness Month episode, Nicci Ruth shares the stories of Brittany Stalman and Jeff Surtel — two lives forever changed by silence, loss, and unanswered questions. Sources http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3559dfbc.html https://dnasolves.com/articles...