The Trail Went Cold

October 23, 1981. Newburgh Heights, Ohio. 17-year old Kurt Sova goes out to spend the evening with friends, but does not return home. When Kurt’s parents go searching for him, they learn that he vanished after getting drunk at a party. Five days after his disappearance, Kurt’s body is discovered in a ravine, but the coroner’s office cannot figure out his exact cause of death and determine that he died only a day or two before he was found. The confusion is heightened by suspicious behavior from the host of the party, an unexplained eyewitness sighting of Kurt, and a mysterious stranger who accurately predicted the discovery of Kurt’s body two days beforehand. By popular demand, this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” will be chronicling one of the most memorable cases ever featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” Additional Reading: http://www.unsolved.com/gallery/kurt-sova "The Plain Dealer" (October 27, 1991) Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

March 24, 1994. After being honorably discharged from the Army, Matt Flores begins a new job at a computer company called Applied Materials, Inc.. One morning, Matt shows up for a training session at their headquarters in Silicon Valley, but after parking his car, an unknown assailant shoots him in the back of the head. Even though there were more than twenty people in the parking lot and it was covered by security cameras, the killer manages to escape without being seen and the only clue turns out to be surveillance footage of a suspicious-looking Ford Explorer. The investigation fails to uncover anything in Matt’s background to suggest why he was killed. Was Matt deliberately targeted or was he a victim of mistaken identity? Our latest minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines a seemingly motiveless murder which is about as close to a perfect crime as you can get. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/matt-flores http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/05/16/matt-flores-killing-a-22-year-old-santa-clara-mystery/ http://www.mercurynews.com/2009/03/24/march-2009-santa-clara-murder-still-haunts-family-15-years-later/ http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160516/from-archives-murder-of-matthew-flores-part-1-mystery-killing-leaves-scars-from-ri-to-silicon-valley Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 1, 1948. Denton, Texas. 21-year old Virginia Carpenter takes a train trip from her hometown of Texarkana to enrol at the Texas State College for Women. That evening, Virginia is dropped off at her dorm by a cab driver, who claims he last saw her speaking with two unidentified males. Virginia is never seen again and it would be three days before she is reported missing. Over the next several years, there would be numerous twists and turns, including alleged sightings of Virginia and suspicions about her cab driver. It is even theorized that Virginia’s disappearance might be connected to the infamous Texarkana Moonlight Murders, which took place in her hometown two years earlier. In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we chronicle one of the most baffling missing persons cases in the history of Texas. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Virginia_Carpenter http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/carpenter_virginia.html http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/story/2013/may/01/vanished-1948-case-remains-unsolved/314009/ "In the Line of Duty: Reflections of a Texas Ranger Private" by Lewis C. Rigler & Judyth Wagner Rigler Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

November 8, 1988. Botany Bay, Australia. A radio operator receives three calls from Ken Jones, the skipper of a steel schooner called the Patanela. The yacht is currently in the midst of a month-long voyage to Airlie Beach, and Ken Jones’ wife, Noreen, and two crew members, John Blissett and Michael Calvin, are also on board. Ken claims the boat has run out of fuel, but after his final radio call is abruptly cut off, there is no more communication from the vessel. When the Patanela fails to arrive at its destination ten days later, a massive search comes up empty, and neither the yacht nor its four passengers are heard from again. There are enough suspicious things about the disappearance to fuel rumors that the boat was hijacked, but aside from a lifebuoy and a message in a bottle from one of the missing crew members, no trace of the Patanela is ever found. This week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles our very first mystery about a missing boat. A huge thank you to Audible for supporting our podcast. To thank you for your support, we'd like to invite you to get a free audiobook with a free 30 day trial at audible.com/cold. Additional Reading: https://graham64.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-patanela/ http://strangeco.blogspot.ca/2016/05/the-last-voyage-of-patanela.html http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/sailor-note-washes-up-on-beach/news-story/e9d5f977c483078b9bc9b124e9d07be6 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/08/1202234167137.html Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 12, 1985. 36-year old Mike Riemer and his 21-year old girlfriend Diana Robertson leave their home in Puyallup, Washington to take their two-year old daughter, Crystal, out for a day in the woods to get a Christmas tree. That afternoon, Crystal is discovered wandering alone outside a Kmart, but is unable to tell anyone where her parents are. Two months later, Diana is found murdered outside Mike’s truck on a remote logging road with a tube sock tied around her neck, but Mike himself has gone missing. Police begin to suspect that Mike killed Diana and could have been responsible for the murders of another couple from the area. In that case, a tube sock was also tied around the female victim’s neck. In 2011, a skull fragment belonging to Mike is found a mile away from where Diana was killed. Did Mike commit these murders, drop off his daughter, and return to the scene to commit suicide? Or was an unknown serial killer responsible for the deaths of all four of these victims? We attempt to answer these perplexing questions in this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral,_Washington_murders https://unsolved.com/gallery/diana-robertson/ http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/skull-discovery-revives-washington-murder-mystery/ Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

July 4, 1999. Travelers Rest, South Carolina. The parents of 20-year old Brooke Henson return home to find her sitting on the front porch at 2:00 AM. Brooke tells them she is going to walk to a nearby store to buy cigarettes, but she does not return home and is never heard from again. Years later, investigators are shocked to discover that Brooke is registered for classes at Columbia University in New York because a con artist named Esther Reed has stolen her identity. In spite of this revelation, Brooke’s disappearance continues to remain unsolved, but we will attempt to figure out what really happened to her on this week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/brooke-leigh-henson http://www.sabrinaerdely.com/docs/IvyLeague.pdf http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vicky-ward/esther-reed-how-an-ordina_b_166118.html Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

September 12, 1943. Los Angeles, California. David Bacon, a 29-year old actor who has just played the title character in the serial drama “The Masked Marvel”, tells his wife he is planning to go swimming and leaves their home. Later that afternoon, Bacon’s car is seen driving erratically before it jumps a curb and crashes into a bean field. After Bacon stumbles out of the car and dies, a fatal knife wound is discovered in his back. The investigation would uncover numerous clues to suggest Bacon was leading a secret double life, such as a coded diary, a rented apartment and unexplained trips to Venice Beach. However, there would be no answers about who actually murdered him. For our special one-year anniversary show of “The Trail Went Cold”, we shall be examining one of Hollywood`s most baffling unsolved mysteries. A special thanks to one of our listeners, Esther Gamez, for providing the cover art for this episode. Be sure to check out Esther's Facebook and Tumblr pages to see more of her artwork. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bacon_(actor) https://ladailymirror.com/2013/10/02/the-masked-marvel-murder-part-1/ https://ladailymirror.com/2013/11/06/the-masked-marvel-murder-part-11/ https://ladailymirror.com/2013/11/07/the-masked-marvel-murder-part-12/ http://www.tomchristopher.com/miscellaneous2/who-killed-the-masked-marvel/ Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

September 12, 1987. Bradford, Pennsylvania. 50-year old Dale Kerstetter shows up to work the overnight shift as a security guard at the Corning Glassworks plant. The following morning, Dale is discovered to be missing and he is never heard from again. A check of the security tape uncovers footage of Dale walking through the plant alongside an unidentified masked intruder and it turns out that $250,000 worth of platinum was stolen that night. The ambiguous nature of the footage causes some debate: was Dale an innocent victim of this masked stranger, or was he actually a willing participant in the theft before he decided to skip town? We shall explore both possibilities, as our latest minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a very unique missing persons case. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/dale-kerstetter http://charleyproject.org/case/dale-kerstetter Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

April 9, 1992. 59-year old Jean Moore and her 70-year old fiancee, Al Henderson, have traveled from their hometown of Apple Valley, California for a vacation in Laughlin, Nevada. On the morning they were planning to return home, Al claims he dropped Jean off at a casino before she vanished without explanation. However, Jean does not show up on the casino’s surveillance footage, which contradicts many aspects of Al’s story. Investigators wonder if Jean even arrived in Laughlin to begin with and suspect her fiancee might be withholding information. Was Al responsible for what happened to Jean? We attempt to answer that question as we examine a baffling spousal disappearance in this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/jean-moore http://charleyproject.org/case/jean-marie-moore http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20120410/NEWS/304109985 Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

September 17, 1990. Davenport, Iowa. Jennifer Lewis, a nine-year old girl from nearby Rock Island, Illinois, is found murdered on a school playground and her body has been set on fire. A man named Stanley Liggins is soon convicted of the crime, but this would only be the beginning of a very controversial case in which Liggins’ conviction has overturned on two separate occasions. This story is chronicled on a brand new true crime podcast called “Suspect Convictions”, which examines the case from all angles and follows it in real time as Liggins prepares to go on trial for the third time this spring. In this episode, “The Trail Went Cold” is joined for an interview by veteran journalist Scott Reeder, who has covered this case since day one and thought it deserved to be turned into its own podcast. Click here to visit the official “Suspect Convictions” website and download the podcast. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 20, 1984. Greeley, Colorado. After singing in a choir at a Christmas performance, 12-year old Jonelle Matthews is dropped off at her family’s house by a friend. When Jonelle’s father returns home later that evening, he is horrified to discover that Jonelle is missing and the evidence suggests she was abducted by an intruder. In spite of an extensive search, Jonelle is never found and investigators fail to uncover any potential suspects in her disappearance. Our newest minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines a baffling missing children’s case, as well as its possible connection to an unidentified Jane Doe who was killed in Huntington Beach, California in 1990. Click here to see Jonelle Matthews’ profile page at the Charley Project, and here to see the profile page for the Huntington Beach Jane Doe at the Doe Network. http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2012/11/02/greeley-kidnapped-vanished-declared-dead/5758/ http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/local/three-decades-after-she-disappeared-from-her-greeley-home-memories-of-jonelle-matthews-remain/ Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 2, 2007. San Francisco, California. Hugues de la Plaza, a 36-year old sound engineer with dual French and American citizenship, returns to his apartment after spending the evening at a club. When morning hits, Hugues is found stabbed to death. Since a security camera shows no one else heading in the direction of Hugues’ apartment that night, police explore the possibility that Hugues committed suicide and his death is classified as “undetermined”. However, Hugues’ family discover disturbing discrepancies which point to murder, so they are forced to bring in the National Police from France to seek justice for his death. In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine a very controversial case which prompted an international police force to take over an American investigation. Additional Reading: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-mystery-a-case-for-murder/ http://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/no-exit-san-francisco-police-have-ensured-that-hugues-de-la-plaza-will-dwell-eternally-in-bureaucratic-limbo/Content?oid=2826340 http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Homicide-or-suicide-Man-s-death-a-mystery-3219748.php http://hoodline.com/2013/06/in-pursuit-of-justice-the-story-of-hugues-de-la-plaza Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

February 12, 2009. Washington, D.C.. 47-year old Pamela Butler phones her mother to say that she is planning to take her out on Valentine’s Day. Pam never shows up and after not hearing from her for several days, her family checks her house and discovers that she has vanished without explanation. Curiously, even though her home was covered with surveillance cameras, none of the footage shows Pam leaving during the time period she went missing, but her boyfriend can be seen entering and exiting the house on multiple occasions. In spite of this, there is no evidence of foul play or any trace of Pamela Butler. This week’s minisode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a bizarre mystery about a woman who somehow managed to disappear from a locked home which had 24-hour surveillance. Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/pamela-j-butler http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/24/AR2009112404264.html https://crimewatchdaily.com/2016/04/15/cold-case-d-c-government-computer-specialist-still-missing/ Be sure to take part in our Facebook poll to help decide which case we will cover on our one-year anniversary show! Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 23, 1987. Arlington, Texas. 43-year old Patsy Wright phones up her sister in the middle of the night to complain that she has become nauseous after taking some NyQuil, but collapses during the call and soon passes away. An autopsy eventually reveals that Patsy was poisoned after strychnine was put in her NyQuil. The investigation would uncover multiple suspects with a motive to murder Patsy, but no evidence to implicate anyone. Our first “Trail Went Cold” episode of 2017 analyzes a real-life whodunit which resembles an Agatha Christie murder mystery. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/patsy-wright http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1989/august/t-h-e-wax-museum-murder-mystery/ http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1990/february/the-name-is-dear-bill-dear/ Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 4, 1989. Spokane, Washington. 13-year old Russell Evans heads home after spending the evening with friends, but is soon found seriously injured in the middle of the road. Russell eventually succumbs to his injuries and the official ruling by police is that he was the victim of a random hit-and-run accident. However, the nature of Russell’s injuries and evidence from the scene do not support a hit-and-run scenario. Russell’s parents come to believe he was attacked and murdered by multiple individuals and that one of his friends is withholding the truth about what happened. “The Trail Went Cold” concludes 2016 with a very important minisode which was personally requested by one of the victim’s relatives. Additional Reading: http://unsolved.com/archives/russell-evans http://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/mar/01/new-witnesses-come-forward-in-teens-death-parents/ The Idaho Spokesman-Review (April 20, 1990) The Idaho Spokesman-Review (Feb. 27, 1996) Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Click here to listen to the podcast on Stitcher. Click here to subscribe to the podcast on Google Play Music. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.