The Trail Went Cold

Since “The Trail Went Cold” originally launched in February 2016, we have featured over 300 cold cases and unsolved mysteries on the podcast and a decent amount of them have either wound up being solved or had significant developments take place. Two years ago, we released a special “update” episode which detailed a lot of these developments, but there have since been many more new updates to share. Examples include the identification of the Sumter County Does; an arrest in the murders of Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee, a.k.a. “The Orange Sock Murders”; the overturning of a wrongful conviction for the murders of Harold and Thelma Swain, and a number of shocking revelations in the murder of 12-year old Jonelle Matthews. These are just a few of the cases we are going to discuss in our second special “update” episode of “The Trail Went Cold”. To listen to our previous “update” episode from January 2020, click here: https://www.trailwentcold.com/2020/01/01/the-trail-went-cold-episode-155-update/ Additional Reading: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonelle-matthews-murder-kidnapping-steve-pankey-person-of-interest-48-hours/ https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/steve-pankey-trial-verdict/73-48c6aa60-d61a-401d-ac43-d375ce25955e https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/10/13/steve-pankey-arrested-jonelle-matthews-murder-greeley-1984/ https://denver.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15909806/2020/10/Steve-Pankey-Indictment.pdf https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19735658.renee-macrae-murder-accused-face-trial-next-year/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-58719355 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/jose-rodriguez-cruz-sentenced-second-killing/2021/04/09/4dce72d6-995a-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78_story.html https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/12/man-accused-of-lying-in-tracy-kroh-case-accepts-sentence-gets-immediate-parole.html https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/dauphin-county/woman-charged-with-perjury-related-to-tracy-kroh-cold-case-sentenced/521-2c0a860a-f2d6-4fd7-a49b-680a8f911a3d https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/03/03/alan-lee-phillips-bobbie-jo-oberholtzer-annette-schnee-park-county-arrest-murder-breckenridge/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/us/phillips-colorado-sos-murder.html https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/04/09/cold-case-arrest-michael-jefferson-charged-murdering-roger-dean-1985/ https://people.com/crime/dna-taken-water-bottle-1985-cold-case-killing-arrest/ https://www.ktoo.org/2020/09/09/23-years-ago-the-state-of-alaska-tried-the-wrong-man-for-the-murder-of-a-sitka-teenager-now-police-say-theyve-found-the-real-killer-why-wasnt-he-a-suspect-all-along/ https://people.com/crime/bethany-decker-missing-virginia-woman-boyfriend-charged-murder/ https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-man-identified-44-years-after-being-found-dead-in-south-carolina-cold-case-reopened/article_951c9398-5cb5-11eb-bac3-5737c46afda3.html https://www.twincities.com/2021/11/12/14-year-old-girl-identified-as-victim-in-1980-texas-cold-case-homicide-had-forest-lake-stillwater-connections/ https://meaww.com/angela-hammond-ransom-note-abduction-pregnant-mistaken-identity-informant https://www.ajc.com/alibi-story/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/us/dennis-perry-charges-dropped-swain-murder-case.html https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2021/05/20/state-attorney-agrees-to-let-tommy-zeigler-perform-dna-testing/ https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2021/10/20/debate-over-dna-testing-for-death-row-inmate-headed-to-florida-supreme-court/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Christmas Eve 1924. Babbs Switch, Oklahoma. A fire breaks out at a Christmas party taking place at a schoolhouse and claims the lives of 36 people. The remains of one of the presumed victims, three-year old Mary Elizabeth Edens, cannot be found and since Mary’s aunt recalls handing the child to an unknown person, her family believes Mary might have been abducted. Over 32 years later, evidence is found to suggest that a California woman named Grace Reynolds might be Mary and she winds up having a reunion with the Edens family. However, in 1999, it is revealed that additional evidence was uncovered to indicate that Grace was not actually Mary after all, so the actual fate of the missing child remains unknown. For this year’s final holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we will be exploring a tragic Christmas Eve mystery that has gone from unsolved to solved to back unsolved again over the course of a century. Thanks Faherty. Get 20% off your first purchase by going to fahertybrand.com/COLD with promo code COLD at checkout. Additional Reading: https://oklahoman.com/article/2679856/journalist-honors-pledge-to-family-of-missing-girl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babbs_Switch_fire http://rebelcherokee.labdiva.com/babbsfire.html http://genealogytrails.com/oka/kiowa/babbsfire.html https://oklahoman.com/article/5378711/deadly-1924-christmas-eve-fire-in-oklahoma-brought-reform https://www.newspapers.com/image/596063048/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/455386905/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/603696188/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 15, 2000. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The former boss of 53-year old Colleen Wood calls her on her cell phone to invite her to an upcoming Christmas party, but even though Colleen says she will attend, she never shows up and is not heard from again. At the time, Colleen and her boyfriend, John Paul, were planning to leave on a five-year sailing trip around the world on John’s boat, but when John is tracked down and questioned about this months later, he claims that Colleen broke up with him and he has no idea where she is. However, it turns out that John has an extensive criminal history and may have bilked Colleen out of her money, but he winds up fleeing the country and manages to elude the authorities for the next two decades. Was John Paul responsible for the disappearance of Colleen Wood? If so, what are his current whereabouts? In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an unsolved cold case involving of a missing woman who may have fallen prey to a dangerous con artist. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at (954) 828-5517. Download Best Fiends FREE today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That’s “friends” without the “r” – Best Fiends. Thanks AcornTV. Get your first 30 days free by going to acorn.tv with promo code “cold” in all lowercase letters only. Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/colleen-wood/ http://charleyproject.org/case/colleen-wood https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Colleen_Wood https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-06-12-0106120078-story.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/667241663 https://www.newspapers.com/image/667283942/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Sr._(racing_driver) https://chalicepaul.com “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

December 5, 1998. Klamath County, Oregon. Eight-year old Derrick Engebretson travels to Winema National Forest with his father and grandfather in order to get a Christmas tree, but winds up becoming separated from them. An extensive search effort fails to find Derrick, though an eyewitness reports having seen a boy matching Derrick’s description struggling with an unidentified man near the road. Years later, a convicted child predator named Frank Milligan confesses to Derrick’s murder, but he fails to lead authorities to his body and soon recants his confession, so Derrick remains a missing person. August 31, 1975. Chain of Ponds, Maine. While on a camping trip with his family at the Natanis Point Campground, four-year old Kurt Newton sees his father driving away from the campsite to go chop some firewood and decides to follow him on his tricycle. A short time later, Kurt’s abandoned tricycle is found eight-tenths of a mile away next to a dumpsite, but Kurt himself has disappeared and an extensive search fails to turn up any trace of the boy. Since the campground is located only six miles from the United States-Canada border, Kurt’s family fears that he may have been abducted and taken into Quebec, but there is no evidence to indicate what happened. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover a pair of unsolved cold cases involving young boys who vanished without a trace in the wilderness. If you have any information about the disappearance of Derrick Engebretson, please contact the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 883-5130. If you have any information on the disappearance of Kurt Newton, please contact the Maine State Police at (207) 289-2155. Thanks Faherty. Get 20% off your first purchase by going to fahertybrand.com/COLD with promo code COLD at checkout. Join us on Saturday, December 11 at 8:00pm EST for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Derrick_Engebretson https://charleyproject.org/case/derrick-james-engebretson https://www.oregonlive.com/nwheadlines/2008/12/revisiting_a_tragic_tenyear_my.html https://tdn.com/news/oregon-boy-still-missing-after-years/article_020033d5-6f82-54aa-aa3d-af560f05b8f5.html https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cruel-joke-or-mindless-scrawl/ https://ktvl.com/news/local/20-years-later-family-still-holding-out-hope-missing-boy-will-return-home http://derrickengebretson.blogspot.com/ https://charleyproject.org/case/kurt-ronald-newton https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-history/kurt-newton-disappearance/ https://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1003&context=warden_docs https://www.sunjournal.com/2010/09/01/mystery-surrounds-boys-disappearance/ http://victimsnewsonline.com/missing-persons/dna-doesnt-match-in-case-of-woman-claiming-to-be-missing-jennifer-klein/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

May 14, 1991. Vidor, Texas. 34-year old Kathy Page is found dead inside her car after an apparent crash into a drainage ditch just over 100 yards from her residence. While the scene resembles an accident, the evidence shows that Kathy was actually strangled to death before the crash was staged. Since Kathy’s marriage to her estranged husband, Steve Page, was falling apart and there were a number of suspicious actions on his part, Kathy’s family believe that Steve was responsible for her death. Out of frustration, they put up a series of billboards accusing Steve of murder and the local authorities of orchestrating a cover-up, but no charges are ever filed. Was Kathy Page killed by her husband? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a controversial cold case which was the inspiration for the critically acclaimed film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas tip line at (409) 833-TIPS (8477). Thanks, StoryWorth. Get $10 off your first purchase at StoryWorth.com/COLD Listen and follow along to Toxic: The Britney Spears Story on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Pandora or wherever you find your podcasts. Additional Reading: https://unsolved.com/gallery/kathy-page/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Kathy_Page http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1406707.html http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Vidor-father-seeks-justice-20-years-after-1377056.php http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Latest-billboard-in-Kathy-Page-slaying-may-cause-4088141.php https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/unsolved-vidor-murder-case-put-in-spotlight-with-oscar-nominated-movie/502-523896646 https://people.com/crime/real-life-three-billboards-inspired-texas-murder-case/ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Victim-s-daughter-hopes-for-breakthrough-in-13476118.php https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Reward-for-Page-s-killer-raised-to-record-amount-16222583.php http://texasbillboard.blogspot.com “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

September 30, 1987. Northumberland County, Virginia. The body of 45-year old Kay Hall is discovered on a back road underneath her pick-up truck. She has been run over and her husband, Bob Hall, immediately becomes the prime suspect. Even though Bob stood to collect on an inheritance Kay had just received and there are issues with his alibi, there is some question about whether he would have been able to track down Kay and commit the crime during a very narrow timeframe. Years later, Bob is charged and convicted of Kay’s murder, but has his conviction overturned and after agreeing to enter an Alford plea, he is released from prison. Was Bob Hall really responsible for the murder of his wife, or was she simply the victim of a tragic accident? This special bonus episode chronicles an “Unsolved Mysteries” segment in which there is debate about the ultimate resolution. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 8, 2009. Latimer County, Oklahoma. 44-year old Bobby Jamison, his 40-year old wife, Sherilynn Jamison, and their six-year old daughter, Madyson Jamison, leave their home to go look at a plot of land in a remote mountainous area, but never return. Eight days later, their abandoned pick-up truck is discovered on a dirt road located thirty miles from their residence, but even though the family’s dog and many of their personal items are locked inside the truck and a bag containing $32,000 is hidden under the driver’s seat, the Jamisons are missing. In November 2013, the skeletal remains of Bobby, Sherilynn and Madyson are discovered in a wooded area less than three miles from where their truck had been parked, but since the authorities are unable to determine an exact cause of death, no one knows what actually happened to them. Were the Jamisons killed by an outside party? Could have they have orchestrated a murder-suicide? Did they simply wander off and succumb to the elements? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a truly baffling case involving the disappearance and death of a family which has yet to find a conclusive resolution. Special thanks to listener Jenny Kapur for narrating the opening of this episode. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office at (918) 465-2161. Download Best Fiends FREE today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That’s “friends” without the “r” – Best Fiends. Thanks AcornTV. Get your first 30 days free by going to acorn.tv with promo code “cold” in all lowercase letters only. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamison_family_deaths https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/jamison-family-mystery https://oklahoman.com/article/3909260/jamison-family-was-threatened-by-relative-before-vanishing-records-show http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/found-remains-could-belong-to-missing-oklahoma-family/article_b1c70d73-fac2-5bb0-a61c-979e7acdf58f.html https://www.cbsnews.com/news/skeletal-remains-found-by-hunters-in-okla-could-belong-to-jamison-family-missing-since-2009/ https://okcfox.com/archive/missing-family-mystery-expands-thanks-to-video-and-anonymous-tipster https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/medical-examiner-identifies-remains-found-near-kinta-as-jamison-family/article_ca25e42d-69b5-5d66-a6f7-4bb7f5ca4551.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130921095012/http://charleyproject.org/cases/j/jamison_bobby.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130921090902/http://charleyproject.org/cases/j/jamison_sherilynn.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130921075818/http://charleyproject.org/cases/j/jamison_madyson.html https://guardianlv.com/2013/11/missing-oklahoma-family-demons-and-drugs/ https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/mother-believes-religious-cult-is-responsible-for-familys-disappearance-in-latimer-county/article_b13f7c0e-51f3-11e3-af14-0019bb30f31a.html “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

May 25, 2000. Mercer County, Pennsylvania. After last being seen at a convenience store, 46-year old Sandra Kay Baker supposedly phones her fiancée, Billy Crea Jr., to say that she is in danger and cannot return home, but she is never heard from again. Five years later, Billy is named as a suspect in Sandy’s disappearance after a private detective he had once hired named Clifford Aley is charged with lying to law enforcement. Aley reveals that he heard Billy confess to Sandy’s murder, but there are a number of credibility issues with his story, so without a body or any other corroborating evidence, no charges are ever filed against Billy. Was Sandra Kay Baker murdered by her spouse? If so, did Clifford Aley have direct involvement in the crime? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a controversial missing persons case which has yet to reach a conclusive resolution after two decades. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Pennsylvania State Police at (724) 662-4200. Listen and follow along to Toxic: The Britney Spears Story on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Pandora or wherever you find your podcasts. Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/sandra-kay-baker “Who Killed? Pittsburgh, Pa” by Jack Swint https://www.post-gazette.com/uncategorized/2008/02/09/Missing-woman-declared-dead-after-7-years/stories/200802090129 http://www.sharonherald.com/news/local_news/children-seek-ruling-of-sandra-baker-s-death/article_4dbdde34-1c0a-5a89-a089-cfc6ad40cd8b.html https://www.sharonherald.com/news/local_news/suspected-killer-is-dead/article_d3f95f57-e47d-544e-bcc4-9f494dfaa540.html https://www.sharonherald.com/news/local_news/private-eye-aley-waives-hearing-on-threat-charges/article_34aace7f-57b5-538b-ac43-9e6bb411a0ba.html https://www.sharonherald.com/news/local_news/update-aley-pleads-guilty-to-federal-gun-charges/article_9e6f2176-2ef1-5659-9499-413cbcea8d9d.html https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/judge-finds-new-castle-private-investigator-guilty-of-lying-to-cops/article_196c7429-85f1-51bc-a8f1-425241d0f5a7.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/96571682/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/96571696/ “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 15, 1994. Loxahatchee, Florida. 31-year old Moses Lall and his 36-year old aunt, Lila Buerattan, are discovered to be missing from their ranch, where they run a business breeding and selling exotic birds. They were last heard from eleven days earlier and one of their employees, Daljeet “Hari” Gobin, had reportedly shared a story about seeing them get abducted at gunpoint by two men. Investigators soon learn that Gobin was picked up by police in Georgia while driving Moses’ van and using his driver’s licence, but he jumps bail and disappears before he can be questioned and is never tracked down. Did Hari Gobin actually witness Moses and Lila get kidnapped or was he personally responsible for their disappearances? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an unsolved cold case involving three missing people – two victims and one person of interest – who have not been heard from in three decades. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department at (561) 688-3000. Thanks, StoryWorth. Get $10 off your first purchase at StoryWorth.com/COLD Thanks, Shudder. To try Shudder free for 30 days, go to shudder.com and use code “COLD“   Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/bhagwaniala-lall http://charleyproject.org/case/lilawattie-buerattan https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Moses_Lall_and_Lila_Buerattan https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-06-23-9406230087-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-07-14-9407140043-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-07-20-9407200102-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-07-21-9407210019-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-08-10-9408100015-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1995-05-21-9505240230-story.html “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 12, 1987. Flagstaff, Arizona. After finishing her shift at the Flagstaff Medical Center, 40-year old Navajo woman Sarah Saganitso never returns home and her nude body is found in a nearby wooded area the following day. Her exact cause of death is asphyxiation via suffocation and there appear to be bite marks around her left breast. Nearly two months later, a suspect named George Abney is charged with the murder after making a confession, but he maintains that it was coerced. At trial, Abney’s defence team alleges that the crime is a ritualistic killing linked to witchcraft which may have been committed by a Navajo “skin-walker” and the jury ends up finding Abney “not guilty”. Was George Abney actually responsible for the murder of Sarah Saganitso? Or was the real killer a practitioner of Navajo witchcraft? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a bizarre case which may be the only documented murder trial in which the crime was blamed on a “skin-walker”. Additional Reading: https://www.newspapers.com/image/516638192/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515977717/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516635285/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515953068/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515965652/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/121259318/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/121255817/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/121776105/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/121264554/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515964099/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515966377/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516636809/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515942316/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515950740/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/121028439/ Download Best Fiends FREE today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. “The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on  GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.