The Trail Went Cold

February 14, 2000. Shelby, North Carolina. The parents of nine-year old Asha Degree wake up to discover that she has vanished from her bedroom. After she is reported missing, witnesses come forward to report having seen Asha walk down the highway earlier that morning. This seems to indicate that she voluntarily left her home in the middle of the night for unknown reasons. Eighteen months later, Asha’s book bag is found buried 26 miles away, but she is still nowhere to be found. In this week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”, I examine one of the most baffling and unusual missing children’s cases of recent memory. Please check out the Charley Project profile page for Asha Degree, which contains her vital statistics, age-progressed photographs, and contact info for the proper authorities should you happen to have any information: http://charleyproject.org/case/asha-jaquilla-degree Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Asha_Degree About Finding Shelby’s Sweetheart: Asha Jaquilla De

January 4, 1935. The nude body of a young man named Roland T. Owen is discovered inside Room 1046 of the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been tied up, beaten and stabbed and dies after being taken to the hospital. It turns out that “Roland T. Owen” is not the victim’s real name and after a mysterious anonymous benefactor sends money for his funeral, he is buried without anyone uncovering his true identity or the story behind his murder. Nearly two years later, a woman in Alabama recognizes the victim as her missing son, Artemus Ogletree, but then reveals that she was receiving letters from him months after he was murdered! In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, I shall examine the “Mysa January 4, 1935. The nude body of a young man named Roland T. Owen is discovered inside Room 1046 of the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been tied up, beaten and stabbed and dies after being taken to the hospital. It turns out that “Roland T. Owen” is not the victim’s real name and a

September 6, 1970. South Lake Tahoe, California. 25-year old nurse Donna Lass is nearing the end of her shift at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel-Casino when she vanishes without explanation. Her landlord and boss soon receive phone calls from an unidentified man, who claims that Donna will be absent for awhile because of a family emergency. However, this claim turns out to be false and Donna is never seen again. Months later, the San Francisco Chronicle receives a cryptic postcard which is allegedly sent by the infamous Zodiac killer, who implies that Donna Lass was one of his victims. Was the Zodiac responsible for Donna’s disappearance or was the postcard nothing more than a giant red herring? We attempt to answer that question in this week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/donna-ann-lass https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/nov/15/was-tahoe-disappearance-linked-to-zodiac-killer/ http://www.zodiacciphers.com/lake-tahoe-disappearance.html http://www.zodiacciphers.com

June 8, 1989. Richmond, British Columbia. Two weeks after she disappeared, the body of 44-year old Cindy James is found in the yard of an abandoned house. Her hands and feet have been tied behind her back and her cause of death is determined to be an overdose. Cindy’s death brings an end to six-and-a-half-years of terror, where she reported nearly one hundred incidents of being stalked, tormented and attacked by an unknown assailant. However, police believe that Cindy was a mentally ill woman who staged all the attacks against herself before committing suicide. Did Cindy concoct an elaborate hoax before taking her own life or was she murdered by her mysterious tormentor? In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, I analyze one of Canada’s most baffling and hotly debated unsolved mysteries. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/cindy-james http://www.melaniehack.com/ “The Deaths of Cindy James” by Neal Hall “Who Killed Cindy James?” by Ian Mulgrew The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by

May 5, 1968. After not hearing from him for three days, the fiancee of 62-year old character actor Albert Dekker (star of such films as “Dr. Cyclops”, “Kiss Me Deadly” and “The Wild Bunch”) enters his Hollywood apartment. She is horrified to discover him hanging dead inside the bathroom. The bizarre manner in which Dekker is found suggests that he was involved in some sort of sadomasochistic sexual activity when he died. The initial ruling is suicide before it is changed to accidental death via autoerotic asphyxiation, but since a large amount of money and valuables seem to be missing from the apartment, suspicion mounts that Dekker was a victim of foul play. On this week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine one of the strangest unexplained deaths in Hollywood history. Additional Reading: “Tales of Hollywood: The Bizarre” by John Austin “The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals” by Michelle Morgan http://www.lauriejacobson.com/hollywood_heartbreak_ex.php The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by

July 26, 1974. The nude decomposed body of a young woman is discovered at the Race Point Dunes outside of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The woman has been murdered via blunt force trauma to the head, but carries no identification. In spite of an extensive investigation, police are unable to uncover the identity of the victim or her killer, so she simply becomes known as the “Lady of the Dunes”. Over the years, there are a number of intriguing leads in the case, including a potential connection to a notorious mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, and an alleged sighting of the victim in one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of all time. Join me for this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” as I try to figure out the true identity of the “Lady of the Dunes” As a bonus, this episode will also contain a review of the true crime book, “The Blood on My Hands”, an autobiography written by Shannon O’Leary, which is available for purchase at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-My-Hands-Autobiography/dp/151969587X Also

December 10, 1971. Middlebury, Vermont. 18-year old Middlebury College student Lynne Schulze is scheduled to take one of her final exams. While walking to the exam with her friends, Lynne remembers that she has forgotten her pen and returns to her dorm room to retrieve it. Lynne never shows up for the exam and vanishes without a trace. Four decades later, an unlikely connection is made between this case and one of the most sensational crime stories of the modern era. Was Lynne Schulze’s baffling unsolved disappearance somehow connected to notorious millionaire Robert Durst? We shall try to answer that question on our latest minsode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/lynne-kathryn-schulze https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/24/robert-durst-linked-disappearance-lynne-schulze-vermont-student-1971 http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/robert-durst/robert-durst-case-missing-student-lynne-schulze-shopped-his-business-n329551 The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by

Christmas Eve 1975. Winter Garden, Florida. Police respond to call for help at the W.T. Zeigler Furniture Store and find one of the store’s owners, 30-year old Tommy Zeigler, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Inside, they discover that four people have been murdered: Tommy’s wife, Eunice Zeigler; her parents, Perry and Virginia Edwards; and a customer named Charlie Mays. Tommy claims he was attacked and shot by unknown intruders, but authorities believe Tommy committed the murders himself and that his gunshot wound is self-inflicted. Months later, he is put on trial and sentenced to death. In Part 1 of this convoluted story, we chronicled this horrific crime and Tommy Zeigler’s trial. Now, in Part 2, we shall examine the many shocking developments from the past four decades which have cast doubt on the conviction. Did Tommy Zeigler actually commit these murders or has an innocent man spent 40 years on death row? For this episode, we have consulted with Tommy’s full time pro bono private investigat

June 28, 1991. An elderly couple named Gord and Jackie McAllister drive their motor home into an isolated rest stop near Blind River, Ontario, in order to spend the night. They are awakened by an armed man, who robs them before shooting Jackie to death and wounding Gord. When a motorist named Brian Major pulls into the rest stop, the suspect fatally shoots him as well before fleeing the scene. Years later, a former Blind River resident is tied to two unsolved murders from 1970 and becomes a potential suspect in the rest stop killings. This terrifying case was featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” and is our first Canadian story. Join us for the very first minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/gordon-jackie-mcallister http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dna-leads-to-arrest-in-30-year-old-sex-slayings-1.176374 “Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder” by Lee Mellor The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Christmas Eve 1975. Winter Garden, Florida. Police respond to call for help at the W.T. Zeigler Furniture Store and find one of the store’s owners, 30-year old Tommy Zeigler, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Inside, they discover that four people have been murdered: Tommy’s wife, Eunice Zeigler; her parents, Perry and Virginia Edwards; and a customer named Charlie Mays. Tommy claims he was attacked and shot by unknown intruders, but authorities believe Tommy committed the murders himself and that his gunshot wound is self-inflicted. Months later, he is put on trial and sentenced to death. However, the prosecution’s case was shaky at best and over the years, evidence has emerged to cast doubt on the conviction. Tommy Zeigler has remained on death row for over 40 years, but has never stopped maintaining his innocence and his supporters continue to fight to get him released. This is undoubtedly the most convoluted case “The Trail Went Cold” has ever profiled, so we will be making this a two-part epi

January 21, 1962. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Authorities arrive at the burning home of Edward Maps to discover that his wife, Christine, has been bludgeoned to death and their four-month old daughter, Julie Louise, has died of smoke inhalation. Edward Maps himself has disappeared and a warrant is issued for his arrest. Maps is soon placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, but to this day, he has never been found. However, over the years, allegations have surfaced that another suspect might have been the real perpetrator and disposed of Maps’ body to frame him for the crime. Did Edward Maps get away with the murder of his family or was he actually an innocent victim all along? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, I analyze one of the most baffling wanted fugitive cases ever. Additional Reading: http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080121/NEWS/801210331 http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080128/NEWS/801280322 http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080211/NEWS/802110332 http://www.pocon

August 7, 1982. Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Catholic priest named Father Reynaldo Rivera receives a phone call from a man asking him to administer last rites to a dying relative. After leaving to meet this man at a rest stop, Father Rivera disappears and is soon found murdered. Two years later, another Catholic priest named Father John Kerrigan disappears from the community of Ronan, Montana and though his body is never found, the evidence suggests he was also murdered. There are enough similarities between the two crimes that investigators start wondering if they might be connected and committed by a serial killer targeting Catholic priests. However, allegations have surfaced to suggest that one of the priests may have been harboring dark secrets which contributed to his death. I will be analyzing two unsolved cases on this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I attempt to figure out what happened to both Father Rivera and Father Kerrigan. Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/fr-reynaldo-river

March 18, 1990. Augusta, Georgia. Fifteen-year old twin sisters, Jeannette and Dannette Millbrook, are heading back to their family’s apartment when they decide to stop off at a gas station to buy some food. After leaving the store, the twins never return home and vanish without a trace. Over the next two decades, the twins’ family would be trapped in a trapped in bureaucratic nightmare, as law enforcement would inexplicably close the case without informing them. The disappearance would not receive a proper investigation or any media coverage for 23 years! This week’s episode of The Trail Went Cold is our most important one yet, as we were personally contacted by Jeannette and Dannette’s half-sister, Shanta Sturgis, who asked us to cover their story. Please check out the Charley Project profile pages for Jeannette and Dannette Millbrook, which contain their vital statistics, age-progressed photographs, and contact info for the proper authorities should you happen to have any information: http://charleyproject

February 14, 1980. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While recovering from a bad drug hangover, 25-year old Michael Rosenblum drives off in his girlfriend’s car and vanishes without a trace. The vehicle is soon found abandoned by the Baldwin Borough Police Department, but even though Michael’s family reports him missing, the police inexplicably keep the car impounded for three months without informing anyone. As the years go by, Michael’s father uncovers disturbing evidence to suggest that the Baldwin police chief helped orchestrate an elaborate cover-up involving his son’s disappearance. Even when a skull fragment belonging to Michael is found in 1992, there are no answers about what happened to him. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles the unexplained disappearance and death of Michael Rosenblum, which is perhaps our most convoluted and controversial case to date. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/michael-rosenblum http://coldcaseshardcopy.blogspot.com/2011/10/who-murdered-michael-

January 13, 1976. Beaumaris, Australia. The family of eight-year old Eloise Worledge wake up to discover she has mysteriously vanished from their suburban home and that an opening has been cut in the flyscreen window inside Eloise’s bedroom. Eyewitnesses report a lot of strange activity in the neighbourhood throughout the night, which seems to suggest that Eloise was abducted by an intruder. However, other evidence seems to suggest the abduction scene might have been staged. Since Eloise’s parents were going through a separation and her father was planning to move out of the house that very same morning, investigators start eyeing the family as possible suspects. Who was actually responsible for Eloise Worledge’s disappearance? Join us for the first international episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I analyze one of the most controversial unsolved cases in the history of Australia. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Eloise_Worledge http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1

November 16, 1982. An abandoned SUV is discovered in the middle of a desolate Wyoming prairie and numerous possessions are scattered all over the highway. The vehicle belongs to Don Kemp, a former New York City ad executive who has left his old life behind and vanished without a trace. In spite of an extensive search of the area, it is four years before Don’s skeletal remains are found on the prairie. However, five months after Don originally disappeared, one of his friends allegedly received a series of bizarre phone calls from him. Did Don die of exposure shortly after abandoning his vehicle? Or was he killed elsewhere before his remains were somehow returned to the prairie years later? Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I analyze the very first case to ever be featured on “Unsolved Mysteries”. Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/don-kemp/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Donald_Kemp The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed b

July 10, 1991. El Dorado, Arkansas. A young blonde woman known to her friends as “Mercedes” is shot to death by her estranged ex-boyfriend at a seedy motel. It turns out Mercedes has been living under a stolen identity and no one in her life – not even the man who murdered her – knows who she really is. An extensive check into the woman’s background turns up many pieces of a puzzle which does not fit together and investigators are unable to uncover her true identity. However, it is possible she might be connected to some other unsolved cold cases… including one we have previously featured on this very podcast! Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I share the story of the mysterious unidentified woman known as “El Dorado Jane Doe”. Please check out the Doe Network profile page for El Dorado Jane Doe, which contains her vital statistics, numerous photographs, and contact info for the proper authorities should you happen to recognize her: http://doenetwork.org/cases/81ufar.html Additional Readi

On April 9, 1997, Judy Smith, a 50-year old wife and mother from Newton, Massachusetts, decided to accompany her husband, Jeff, on a business trip to Philadelphia. The following day, Judy set out to do some sightseeing in the city while her husband attended a conference. When Jeff returned to their hotel that night, Judy was not there and she could not be found anywhere in the city. Five months later, Judy’s skeletal remains would be discovered in a mountainous area… 600 miles away in North Carolina! The evidence indicated foul play, but eyewitness sightings seemed to suggest that Judy had traveled to the area voluntarily. Did Judy take an impromptu 600-mile trip without telling her family and if so, how did she wind up dead in the Appalachian Mountains? Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I analyze the truly baffling unexplained death of Judy Smith. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/judy-smith http://citypaper.net/articles/071797/article010.shtml http://citypaper.net/article

April 26, 1980. Manchester, New Hampshire. Judith Rahn goes out of town, leaving her 14-year old daughter, Laureen, alone at their apartment. When Judith returns home late that night, she discovers that one of Laureen’s friends is sleeping in her bed, but Laureen herself is missing without explanation. Over the next few years, there would be several strange leads to suggest that Laureen somehow wound up in California, including some unexplained calls on Judith’s phone bill and an unlikely connection to a notable porn star. Each clue in this case seems to be a piece of a large jigsaw puzzle which doesn’t quite fit together. Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I attempt to analyze the truly bizarre unsolved disappearance of Laureen Rahn Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/laureen-ann-rahn The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 1, 2003. Naples, Florida. A Mexican national named Felipe Santos gets into a minor traffic accident and mysteriously disappears after being taken into custody by the police. Three months later, another Naples man named Terrance Williams also vanishes without explanation after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop. What makes this story so unusual is that both men were last seen being taken into custody by the same police officer: Corporal Steve Calkins. Was this all just a very bizarre coincidence or was Calkins responsible for the disappearance of both men? Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I examine one of the most controversial missing persons cases of recent memory. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Terrance_Williams_and_Felipe_Santos http://charleyproject.org/case/terrance-deon-williams http://charleyproject.org/case/felipe-santos https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/11/tyler-perry-reward-missing-men/1826873/ The Trail Wen