The Trail Went Cold

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 […]

Christmas Eve 2002. Port Allen, Louisiana. After leaving her home on a road trip to visit her husband in prison for the holidays, 65-year old Mari Ann Fowler stops at a strip mall to purchase some food from a Subway sandwich shop. When she walks back into the parking lot, Mari Ann vanishes without a […]

December 17, 1988. Miami, Florida. Lisa Bishop, a 23-year old journalism student from Georgia State University, leaves on a trip to Haiti on a boat called the Freedon, which is being captained by a German national named Florian Meyer Bourch. When they do not arrive at their destination and Lisa does not contact her family, […]

November 28, 1985. Tarrant County, Texas. The family of 44-year old Joe Blount gathers together for Thanksgiving dinner in their trailer at the Hilltop Mobile Home Park. After making a trip to a convenience store later that night, they return home to discover a briefcase on their front doorstep. When the briefcase is opened, a […]

February 7, 1999. Kettering, Ohio. Nine-year old Erica Baker leaves her family’s home to take their dog for a walk. While a pair of eyewitnesses see Erica in a nearby park, she soon vanishes without a trace and the dog is found unattended. Six years later, a suspect named Christian Gabriel is indicted on the […]

January 25, 1977. Lexington, Kentucky. 24-year old Melanie Flynn leaves her workplace, but fails to show up for an appointment and does not return home for dinner with her family. Two weeks later, Melanie’s abandoned car is discovered in an apartment complex parking lot and her purse is found washed up next to the Kentucky […]

April 15, 2004. Forsyth County, Georgia. After finishing a phone call with a customer, 38-year old Patrice Endres vanishes from the hair salon she owns. Patrice’s purse and SUV are left behind and two eyewitnesses report having seen her in the parking lot next to an unidentified individual and a blue vehicle shortly before she […]

January 16, 1985. Massillon, Ohio. 64-year old Bill Wacker informs the local sheriff that his home has been ransacked and this is the third time such an incident has occurred. Months later, Bill’s wife, Dorothy Wacker, is attacked inside the house by an unidentified man who had asked to use the phone after claiming his […]

March 5, 1957. El Paso, Texas. 52-year old William “Pat” Patterson and his 42-year old wife, Margaret Patterson, vanish without explanation from their home, leaving everything behind. A friend of the couple soon claims to have received a phone call from Pat, who allegedly said that he and Margaret were leaving town for awhile. Ten […]

June 11, 1980. Todmorden, England. The body of 56-year old Zigmund Adamski is found on top of a large pile of coal inside a coal yard. Five days earlier, Zigmund had vanished after leaving his home, which is located 25 miles away, but his whereabouts during that time period are unknown. Zigmund’s official cause of […]

July 5, 2000. Seabrook, New Hampshire. Curtis Pishon, a 40-year old former police officer suffering from multiple sclerosis, is working the graveyard shift as a factory security guard when his car suddenly catches fire. The fire department shows up to handle the situation, but less than two hours after they leave, Curtis inexplicably vanishes from […]

March 8, 1945. Shelby, Ohio. 34-year old Mary Jane Vangilder quits her job at the Shelby Army Air Force Depot after working there for a year. Mary Jane had previously lived in West Virginia with her husband and five children, but after the couple separated, Mary Jane went off on her own to live in […]

September 14, 1963. Bowmanville, Ontario. 13-year old Noreen Greenley leaves her best friend’s house and heads towards the bus stop, but never returns home. Shortly thereafter, one of Noreen’s sisters is nearly struck by a car and hears a female scream from inside, and it turns out the car matches the description of a vehicle […]

May 12, 2000. The South Pole, Antarctica. While working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, 32-year old Australian astrophysicist Rodney Marks becomes seriously ill before he dies. Rodney’s death is initially assumed to be natural causes, but when his body is transported to New Zealand months later, an autopsy reveals that he died from acute […]

November 27, 1985. St. Augustine, Florida. While attending a neighbourhood social gathering, 12-year old Martha Jean Lambert tells her mother that she will be taking a brief trip back to their mobile home, but Martha never returns and is eventually reported missing. Suspicion starts to fall upon on Martha’s 14-year old brother, David Lambert, after […]

November 8, 1985. Harris County, Texas. A burned-out Jaguar belonging to 52-year old Ed Baker, the millionaire chairman of a Houston-based oil investment business, is discovered in a remote field. The charred remains of what is believed to be Baker’s body are in the passenger’s seat and since he had been suffering from serious financial […]