The Trail Went Cold

March 18, 2000. Whatcom County, Washington. A damaged Jeep belonging to 23-year old Leah Roberts is found at the bottom of an embankment next to a remote highway. Nine days earlier, Leah had left her home in North Carolina to take a cross-country road trip, but even though all of her personal possessions are left […]

May 31, 1995. Goderich, Ontario. After leaving her school, 16-year old Mistie Murray fails to return home and is subsequently reported missing. Even though there are several eyewitness sightings placing Mistie at numerous locations in the weeks following her disappearance, police focus their attention on her adoptive father, Steve Murray. Over three months later, Steve […]

August 12, 1992. Panama City Beach, Florida. After leaving her home in Georgia on a vacation with her two children, 36-year old Pamela June Ray arrives at a beachfront motel during the early morning hours and parks in front of the office. Pamela’s children are sleeping in the back seat, but when they wake up […]

September 4, 1964. Great Falls, Montana. 43-year old Jim Arrotta and his 35-year old wife, Lois Arrotta, are found stabbed to death inside a grocery store where Jim works as the manager. Since the couple’s children last saw them at their home when they went to bed the previous night, investigators theorize that Jim and […]

April 13, 1976. Jessup, Maryland. Ralph Sigler, a 47-year old Chief Warrant Officer with the United States Army, is found dead inside a motel room after an apparent suicide in which he electrocuted himself. For the past decade, Ralph had been working as a counterintelligence agent who provided classified information to spies from the Soviet […]

September 10, 2001. New York City. 31-year old Sneha Philip leaves her Lower Manhattan apartment and is last seen purchasing items at a nearby department store alongside an unidentified woman. Sneha does not return home that night and after the September 11 attacks take place the following morning, she is never heard from again. Since […]

January 31, 1976. Bastrop County, Texas. After 73-year old John Whatley and his 68-year old wife, Faye Whatley, fail to show up at the wedding for Faye’s granddaughter, the police are asked to perform a wellness check at their ranch. John and Faye are discovered to be missing, but there is a bullet hole in […]

May 1, 2002. San Francisco, California. After finishing a phone call with one of her sisters, 24-year old Evelyn Hernandez and her five-year old son, Alex Hernandez, vanish without explanation. At the time, Evelyn was only six days away from giving birth to her second child, but when she fails to resurface by her due […]

October 4, 1978. Lyon County, Iowa. The decomposed body of a murdered young woman is discovered in a ditch next to a rural road, but since she carries no identification, she remains a Jane Doe for the next 27 years. The victim is eventually identified as 23-year old Wilma June Nissen, who originally hailed from […]

June 1, 1983. Louisville, Kentucky. 12-year old Ann Gotlib leaves her friend’s residence in order to ride her bicycle back to her family’s apartment, but she never arrives. When Ann’s mother goes searching for her, she discovers Ann’s abandoned bicycle outside a department store, but no trace of her can be found. 25 years later, […]

August 23, 1987. Saline County Arkansas. 16-year old Don Henry and 17-year old Kevin Ives head into the woods to do some late-night hunting, but never return. Hours later, the two boys are seen lying on some railroad tracks before they are run over by a cargo train and the medical examiner concludes they had […]

August 23, 1987. Saline County Arkansas. 16-year old Don Henry and 17-year old Kevin Ives head into the woods to do some late-night hunting, but never return. Hours later, the two boys are seen lying on some railroad tracks before they are run over by a cargo train and the medical examiner concludes they had […]

July 22, 1983. Redwood City, California. After spending the month travelling through the state, a pair of Swedish nationals – 23-year old Marie Lilienberg and 25-year old Maria Wahlen – leave their friend’s residence in order to hitchhike to Los Angeles. When they fail to make their scheduled flight and do not return home to […]

July 25, 1995. Lincoln, Nebraska. 18-year old university student Tina McMenamin fails to show up for her shift at work and her body is found inside her apartment bedroom later that night. Tina has been sexually assaulted and stabbed seven times and the apartment is ransacked. Nearly one year later, DNA testing links a suspect […]

August 4, 1984. Fort Myers, Florida. 20-year old Carol Woolsoncroft fails to show up for her shift at her workplace and is never heard from again. Three days later, Carol’s parents return home from vacation and discover her car parked outside their residence, as well as a note from Carol’s boyfriend, Eugene LaFaye Jr., who […]

April 10, 1967. Hometown, Illinois. Ralph Probst, a 30-year old officer with the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, spends the night at home watching television with his wife before he heads into the kitchen. Moments later, Ralph is fatally shot in back of the head after an unknown assailant fires a bullet through the kitchen […]

December 15, 1996. Willingboro Township, New Jersey. After saying goodnight to her family, 12-year old Celina Mays heads for her bedroom, but is discovered to be missing the following morning. At the time, Celina was living with her father and a number of other relatives, who were all members of Gospel of Christ Ministries Inc., […]

October 16, 1987. Indiana, Pennsylvania. Jack Davis Jr., a 20-year old sophomore at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, spends the night partying and drinking with members of his fraternity, but he never returns to his apartment. Five days later, Jack’s body is found at the bottom of an exterior stairwell on the university’s campus and the […]

In 2018, “The Trail Went Cold” released a special Q&A episode in which Robin Warder answered a number of questions from listeners. This year, we decided to do a follow-up episode and received some more interesting questions. Of all the cases you’ve covered, which ones have the best chance of being solved in the near-future? […]

Christmas Day 1929. Stradbally, Ireland. After completing his holiday route, 49-year old postman Larry Griffin fails to return home and his bicycle is found on a road outside the village the following morning. Once a missing persons investigation is launched, rumours start circulating that Larry was killed after an incident at a local pub and […]