Trace Evidence

**Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/Trace and download the ZocDoc app for FREE! | Talkspace! Visit Talkspace.com and use code "TRACE" to get $100 off your first month! | Masterclass! Visit Masterclass.com/trace to give one annual membership and get one free!***On a bitterly cold winter night in January of 1985, twenty-one year old Leichia M. Reilly left her family home to visit a popular, local nightspot. She never made it home and early the next morning, her parents reported her missing.Investigators tracked down everyone who had been at the bar that night and found several witnesses who stated that they saw Leichia leaving at approximately 3am in the company of another man, off-duty NY State Trooper Daniel D. Rose. Rose did not report being at the bar that night, nor did he tell investigators he had seen the missing woman.Rose quickly hired a lawyer, denied leaving with Leichia, denied knowing her and denied being involved in whatever happened to her. Severely lacking evidence, and having never

***Sponsored by: Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace to signup for a free trial! | NextEvo! Visit NextEvo.com and use promo code trace for 25% off subscription orders of $40 or more! ***Who is New Hope Jane Doe Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WhoIs1990OrangeCountyNCJaneDoe/On a cool Wednesday morning in September of 1990, three roadside workers discovered the badly decomposed remains of an unidentified female. Murdered via strangulation, her body was dumped just over a guardrail along I-40 in Hillsborough, North Carolina at the New Hope Road Church exit.The victim was partially dressed, nude from the waist down other than a pair of white, anklet socks with clean bottoms. A pink sweater displaying an image of three cartoon bunnies was partially wrapped around her neck. She wore several pieces of costume jewelry, including a ring which may have been home made. For more than thirty years the identity of the woman known as New Hope Jane Doe has remained a mystery, as has that of her killer. Perhaps

***Sponsored by: ZocDoc.com/Trace | Everlywell.com/trace | Talkspace.com code Trace | The End Up Podcast | MasterClass.com/trace ***On a cold, November afternoon in 1996, twenty-nine year old Richard Bendele left his mother's home to do a little hunting where his recently deceased father used to take him. Hours later, Richard called his mother in a panic. He couldn't get his truck started and due to the darkness, he couldn't give specific directions to where he was. Planning to mark the road, to make finding him easier, Richard said he would call back, but he never did.The next morning, investigators discovered his truck abandoned miles north of where they'd thought he had been. The scene itself was bizarre; a window was smashed out, the battery was broken and tilted upside down and Richard had left everything behind: his phone, his gun and his coat.As massive searches were launched over the course of the next week, the discovery of several items belonging to Richard began making investigators wonder if

***Sponsored by: Canva Pro! Visit Canva.me/trace for FREE 45 day extended trial! | Everylywell! Visit Everlywell.com/trace for 20% off your next at-home lab test! | Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace to sign up for a FREE trial! | The End Up Podcast - available wherever you listen to podcasts!***Unfound: https://theunfoundpodcast.com/2019/05/10/kelly-sims-conjecture-coincidences-and-crimes/Twenty-seven year old mother of three, Kelly Wright Sims was heading out for a night on the town. Alongside her boyfriend, Sims planned to participate in a darts tournament at a local bar. Sometime after arriving, however, the couple argued and split up, going their separate ways.Kelly ended up meeting with different friends, had a few drinks and took a trip. When pulling back into town, she requested to be dropped off so she could walk over to the Rendezvous Tavern to shoot a few games of pool. She has never been seen again.While investigators believed her disappearance to be an isolated crime, another young woman wo

***Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/trace and download the FREE app today!***In Episode 129, Trace Evidence features the case of the Fort Myers 8. In March of 2007, the skeletal remains of 8 unidentified men were found in a wooded lot in southwest, Florida. Investigators managed to identify three of the victims, but the remaining names were unknown.A few years earlier, in nearby Charlotte County, investigators discovered the remains of several men. Some of the bodies were found hundreds of feet apart, others were nearly a mile away. Ultimately police arrested and charged Daniel Conahan Jr with one of the murders -- there was not enough evidence to link him to all.***UPDATE***In June of 2021, investigators working the "Hog Trail Murders," announced they had positively identified John Doe Number 1 as being Gerald "Jerry" Lombard who had vanished from Lowell, MA in 1991. In September of 2022, investigators from Fort Myers announced that through the use of genetic genealogy, they had successfully ide

***Sponsored by: Everlywell! Visit Everlywell.com/trace to save 20% on an at home test today!***Thirty-six year old Paresh Patel was on top of the world. Smart, rich and powerful, Patel was the owner of three separate clubs on Austin's famous Sixth Street. Outside of his own clubs, Patel was tied into several others run by friends and business associates. Many loved Paresh and called him a great person and a smart businessman; others believed he was corrupt and went out of his way to try and cut the legs out from under the competition.On the afternoon of Monday, September 25th, 2000, Paresh stopped by his club, the Metro, to pick up cash from the weekend's profits. Leaving with $15,000 in his hand, Paresh was set to stop at Azucar, another club he owned just down the street. Driving away in his Lexus SUV, Paresh was never seen alive again.Investigators located his abandoned vehicle the next day, with the windows rolled down and the keys in the ignition but there was no sign of Paresh, nor the money he

***Sponsored by: Canva! Visit Canva.me/trace for a FREE 45 Day Extended trial! | Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace for a FREE 14 day trial! | The End Up Podcast, available where you listen to podcasts! ***On Christmas night, 1992, Boaz, Alabama resident Peggy Reaves Mock left the home she shared with her mother for a night of drinks and celebration with friends. She never made it home, and for months following her disappearance, investigators didn't have a single clue.Then, in March, several of Peggy's personal affects were discovered discarded at the sight of a burned down club that was once a town hotspot. Despite the recovery of the items, no additional information about the disappearance was uncovered. Two months later, Peggy's missing car was found, parked at an apartment complex less than a mile from where she was last seen. It had been wiped clean of prints.Back to square one, with no solid leads or clues, investigators received a bizarre letter. A local woman wrote about Peggy's disappearance an

***Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/Trace and download the app FREE! | The End Up podcast. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts! | Talkspace! Visit Talkspace.com and use code Trace to get $100 off your first month!***In May of 2008, the body of twenty year old Irina Yarmolenko was discovered along the shore of the Catawba River, in North Carolina. Initially, investigators were baffled as they found Irina with three ligatures tied around her neck. Hoping to locate witnesses in the area who had seen or heard something, detectives began canvassing.They quickly came upon thirty-nine year old Mark Carver, fishing just up the river. He, along with his cousin, Neal Cassada, would become the prime suspects despite absolutely no evidence linking them to the crime. Cassada would pass away as the result of heart attack before going to trial, Carver would ultimately be found guilty and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.Several years later in 2019, Carver's lawyer successfully ar

***Sponsored by: The End Up podcast. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.***October 29th, 1982 -- Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Twenty year old Angela Gray Hamby had a big day planned with her mother. Together, the two women were set to head out on an all day shopping trip where they'd hit all the clothing stores, share lunch and just be together. Sadly, however, Angela never made it to the store that day.At approximately 9:30am, Angela headed out to run some errands. She needed to fill her gas tank, drop off a payment on her car and deliver a message to her sister at work. All of this should have taken no longer than an hour so when Angela hadn't returned by 11am, her mother grew concerned. When noon hit, that concern transformed into panic and terror.By evening, the Wilkes County Sheriff's Department, along with the Wilkesboro Police and the State Bureau of Investigation were out searching for the missing woman. More than fifteen hours after she had last been seen, detectives discovered h

***Sponsored by: Shopify! Visit shopify.com/trace for a free 14 day trial and full access to the entire suite of features! | TalkSpace! Visit Talkspace.com and use promo code Trace to get $100 off your first month!***In episode 200 of Trace Evidence we examine one of the most shocking, disturbing and haunting murders in Texas history -- The Shocking Murder of Betty Williams.Odessa Texas, 1961. Seventeen year old Betty Williams goes missing from her bedroom sometime during the night. At first investigators don't believe there's any reason to worry, it's not uncommon for seventeen year old's to sneak out or run off for a few hours. As a matter of procedure, an investigator heads to Odessa High School to find out if anyone knew where Betty was.They could have never imagined what happened next. John Mack Herring, a popular football player at the school, and Betty's ex-boyfriend, makes a shocking confession. He killed Betty the night before and hid her body beneath the muddy waters of a rural stock pond.

Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/Trace and download the ZocDoc App for FREE! | Gobble! Visit gobble.com/trace to get your first 6 Gobble meals for just $36!***Episode 200 - Q&A Special. In this week's episode, as we prepare for the release of episode 200, host Steven Pacheco answers listener submitted questions covering everything you want to know from details about case, creation of the show and overall views of podcasting and true crime in general.FB: https://www.facebook.com/TraceEvidencePod/IG: https://www.instagram.com/traceevidencepod/TW: https://twitter.com/TraceEvPodVisit https://www.trace-evidence.com for more information, case photos, contact information and more.Merch: https://traceevidence.threadless.com/ Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

***Sponsored by: Gobble! Visit gobble.com/trace to get your first 6 Gobble meals for just $36! | Upside! Download the FREE Upside App and use promo code tracepod to get $5 or more cash back on your first purchase of $10 or more!***February 11th, 1988 - twelve year old Jie Zhao Li walks out of her family's Honolulu home to sell tickets for a school fundraiser. She never makes it back home. Within hours she's reported missing and investigators begin massive searches trying to track down the little girl or anyone who may have seen her.Soon witnesses come forward but their stories lead detectives in different directions. Some people saw Jie speaking to a man outside of the local 7-11 moments before her disappearance. Others claim to have seen her in the back of an old, yellow Chevy miles away and days after she went missing.While detectives quickly determine that the twelve year old was likely the victim of an abduction, their race against time hits dead end after dead end leading many to wonder if Jie is

***Sponsored by: Canva Pro! Visit Canva.me/trace to get your FREE 45 day extended trial! | Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace for a FREE 14 day trial! | Talkspace! Visit Talkspace.com and use promo code TRACE for $100 off your first month!***This weeks episode takes a look at three major updates regarding cases previously covered on Trace Evidence. First we examine the details surrounding Annandale Jane Doe who, after twenty-five years, has positively been identified as Joyce Marilyn Meyer Sommers. Then we turn towards the release of new information and the announcement that investigators have narrowed their suspect pool down to one person in the 1982 abduction of Kelly Bergh Dove. Finally, we will discuss the results of the trial of Dawan Ferguson, charged with the murder of his nine year old son, Christian.FB: https://www.facebook.com/TraceEvidencePod/IG: https://www.instagram.com/traceevidencepod/TW: https://twitter.com/TraceEvPodVisit https://www.trace-evidence.com for more information, case photos,

***Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/TRACE and download the ZocDoc app for FREE! | CanvaPro! Visit Canva.me/trace to get your FREE 45 day extended trial! | AcornTV! Visit Acorn.tv and use promo code trace to ger your first 30 days for FREE! | Upside! Download the FREE Upside App and use code tracepod to get $5 or more back on your first purchase of $10 or more! | Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace for a FREE 14 day trial and get full access to Shopify's entire suite of features!***On a cool spring morning in May of 1984, fourteen year old Laura Ann Parker went off to Lindenhurst High School and never came home. While her parents pressed the police, and even the FBI, to track down the missing teen, their concerns were written off as it was ruled that Laura had chosen to runaway.For four long months James and Patricia Parker investigated for themselves. They gave out their home phone number, tracked down every lead from Manhattan to the eastern end of Long Island. Sadly, they never found a trace of

***Sponsored by: Canva Pro! Visit Canva.me/trace to get your FREE 45 day extended trial today! | Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace for a FREE 14 day trial and full access to Shopify's entire suite of features!***Nineteen year old Barbara Jean "Bobbie" Barkley arrived for a normal day of work at the pipe furniture store in Pinellas Park, Florida on Friday, May 29th, 1981. Less than three hours later she had mysteriously vanished.There were no signs of a struggle, no indications of where Bobbie may have gone. Left behind were her purse and her cigarettes; the only things missing were Bobbie and her 1973 Plymouth Fury. While, at first, her family thought there might be a reasonable explanation, investigators were immediately concerned.Less than a year earlier, two other women had vanished under similar circumstances from within the same area. Police found one body, but the other remained missing. Soon it became a race against time to determine if Bobbie had been targeted by someone she knew or if she'd fa

***Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/Trace and download the App FREE! | Shopify! Visit Shopify.com/trace for a FREE 14 day trial and full access to Shopify's entire suite of features! | AcornTV! Visit Acorn.tv and use promo code trace to get your first 30 days for FREE! | Manscaped! Visit Manscaped.com and use promo code TRACE to get 20% off and FREE Shipping!***On a warm, lazy Sunday afternoon, nineteen year old Pamela Tinsley decided to take a ride down to one of her favorite Oklahoma City spots -- Lake Overholser. She'd had a rough few weeks and really needed a break from the hectic rat race of life. She never could have imagined that she wouldn't make it back home.According to friends at the Lake that day, Pam accepted an offer from a man she didn't know. He's drive her a ride around the lake on his motorcycle and then drop her right back off where he found her. Pam agreed, but neither was ever seen again.For more than twenty years investigators believed that Pam had been abducted by this lo

***Sponsored by: Shopify! Go to Shopify.com/trace for a FREE fourteen day trial and get access to Shopify's entire suite of features! | Canva Pro! Visit Canva.me/Trace to get a FREE 45 day extended trial today! ***On a cold winter morning in March of 1970, Rock Creek, Ohio Police Chief Robert Hamrick radioed in that he was involved in a high speed pursuit. He never called in again. Hours later a deputy moving through the area came upon the scene of a hideous accident.Chief Hamrick was found lying across the front seat of his cruisers whose lights and engine were off. He had sustained massive head and chest injuries and was barely clinging to life. Despite being flown to Cleveland for emergency brain surgery, Chief Hamrick succumbed to his injuries just nine days later.While the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department ultimately ruled Chief Hamrick's death to be the result of a car accident, rumors and speculation suggested something more sinister. Many believed there had been a massive cover up to conce

***Sponsored by: ZocDoc! Visit ZocDoc.com/Trace and download the app FREE today! | AcornTV! Visit Acorn.tv and use promo code trace to get your first 30 days FREE! | Shopify! Go to Shopify.com/trace for a FREE fourteen day trial and get access to Shopify's entire suite of features! ***This week I'm crisscrossing the country, making my way to CrimeCon in Last Vegas. Taking a break from our usually scheduled episode releases, Trace Evidence brings to you an episode driven by you, the listener. Host Steven Pacheco answers questions submitted by listeners and also addresses the progress being made on Episode 195, set to release next week!FB: https://www.facebook.com/TraceEvidencePod/IG: https://www.instagram.com/traceevidencepod/TW: https://twitter.com/TraceEvPodVisit https://www.trace-evidence.com for more information, case photos, contact information and more.Merch: https://traceevidence.threadless.com/ Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Att

***Sponsored by: Shopify! Visit shopify.com/trace for a FREE 14 day trial and get full access to Shopify's entire suite of features!***On a cool October afternoon in 2007, forty-seven year old Irina Malezhik walked out of her Brighton Beach apartment and mysteriously vanished. Nearly two years later, the FBI finally identified the prime suspect: Dmitriy Yakovlev. However, what they believed was an investigation into identity theft would quickly become something much more hideous.While the FBI dug into Dmitriy they quickly uncovered a complex history in which Yakovlev had been the last person to see Irina alive, but also two others; Michael Klein and Viktor Alexseyev. Klein, like Irina, has never been found. Alexseyev's dismembered remains were found just a few weeks after he was last seen alive.Quickly investigators uncovered a pattern; every two years someone Dmitriy knew vanished and within days he, and his wife, would reap the benefits of the missing persons bank account. It soon became clear that

***Sponsored by: Headspace! Visit Headspace.com/Trace to get one month FREE! | Genomelink! Visit Genomelink.io to discover your full genetic potential! | Canva Pro! Visit Canva.me/Trace to get a FREE 45 day extended trial today! ***Forty-seven year old Irina Malezhik mysteriously disappeared from Brooklyn after leaving her Brighton Beach apartment in October of 2007. Employed at the time as a Russian translator for the Federal Court system, tackling cases involving the Russian mafia, many were concerned that Irina had been targeted by someone from the mob.However, as the FBI began digging into the case they quickly discovered that someone was using Irina's identity to make large purchases; expensive clothes, watches and linens. They'd even gone and withdrawn thousands of dollars from her bank account. That trail did not lead to organized from, but to a married couple with a direct connection to the missing woman.What began as a case surrounding identity theft quickly developed into something more inten