The Trail Went Cold

January 29, 2011. Loudoun County, Virginia. 21-year old Bethany Decker calls her place of employment to find out her work schedule, but does not show up for her shift later that night. When Bethany’s friends and family do not hear from her for three weeks, she is officially reported missing. At the time, Bethany was pregnant and her husband had been deployed to Afghanistan, but she was carrying on an affair with another man named Ronald Roldan, who may have been her unborn child’s biological father. Ronald is alleged to have been abusive and controlling towards Bethany, and years later, he is charged with attempted murder after shooting another woman. Was Ronald responsible for Bethany’s disappearance? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an unsolved cold case involving a missing pregnant woman who seemed to be trapped in a nightmarish situation. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Bethany_Decker http://charleyproject.org/case/bethany-anne-decker https://truecrimedaily.com/2016/06/02/update-person-of-interest-in-decker-disappearance-takes-plea-deal/ http://crimewatchdaily.com/2015/10/04/military-wife-goes-missing-while-husband-deployed-overseas/ https://wjla.com/news/crime/gone-without-a-trace-search-for-local-pregnant-mom-missing-for-4-years-113572 https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/husband-boyfriend-of-missing-pregnant-woman-questioned http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1103/10/ng.01.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.

February 8, 2005. Totowa, New Jersey. 43-year old chemist Geetha Angara shows up to work her shift at the Passaic Valley Water Commission treatment facility, but turns up missing. The following day, Geetha’s body is discovered inside one of the facility’s water tanks and her cause of death is determined to be drowning. A number of bruises on Geetha’s neck and body suggest that she got into a violent struggle before she was placed in the tank, so her case is classified as a homicide. While police investigate a number of Geetha’s co-workers, the killer is never identified. Who was responsible for murdering Geetha Angara and what was their motive? Or could her death have actually been a tragic accident caused by negligence? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an horrific unexplained death which has stymied the authorities for over 15 years. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geetha_Angara_homicide https://www.nj.com/news/2015/02/from_the_archives_accident_or_murder_former_invest.html https://www.nj.com/news/2015/02/death_in_the_water_tank_nightmarish_case_remains_u.html https://www.nj.com/news/2015/02/from_the_archives_at_plant_a_chilling_idea_killer.html https://www.nj.com/news/2015/02/from_the_archives_state_to_take_up_probe_in_death.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jun-12-na-drown12-story.html https://people.com/archive/a-killer-among-us-vol-65-no-11/ https://nypost.com/2006/02/06/zeroing-in-on-n-j-chemists-killer-3-suspects-eyed-1-yr-after-water-plant-slay/ https://nypost.com/2006/05/01/murder-may-be-mishap-scientist-might-have-fallen-into-tank/ “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 16, 2006. Baltimore, Maryland. 32-year old Rey Rivera receives a phone call which compels him to race out of his house and drive away before he goes missing. Eight days later, Rey’s partially decomposed body is discovered inside a locked conference room at the Belvedere Hotel. Since there is a hole in the ceiling, police conclude that Rey jumped off the main roof of the fourteen-story building and his death was a suicide. However, Rey’s loved ones discover some odd discrepancies which make them think it would have been impossible for Rey’s body to land at that location and they suspect he was murdered. They also believe that Rey’s workplace may have been involved his death and the discovery of a cryptic typewritten note behind Rey’s home computer brings up even more unanswered questions. Did Rey Rivera take his own life or was he the victim of foul play? By popular demand, “The Trail Went Cold” is going to be exploring the featured case from the premiere episode of the new version of “Unsolved Mysteries” and it will be one of our most in-depth episodes to date. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Rey_Rivera https://unsolved.com/gallery/mystery-on-the-rooftop/ “An Unexplained Death: The True Story of a Body at the Belvedere” by Mikita Brottman Rey Rivera Autopsy Report Original Police Report FBI Behavioural Analysis Unit Report https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fbi-says-dead-filmmaker-s-letter-not-a-suicide-note https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-rey-rivera-netflix-inaccuracies-20200805-zxmiq4ppp5euxhbcm23ksgezva-story.html https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/hj7w5c/stunned_by_rey_rivera_clue_that_no_one_seems_to/ https://ew.com/tv/unsolved-mysteries-terry-dunn-meurer-rey-rivera-update/ “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. 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 24, 1981. Miami County, Ohio. The body of a young woman wearing a buckskin poncho is discovered in a ditch alongside a remote road. She has been severely beaten and strangled to death, but since she carries no identification, she remains a Jane Doe and is given the nickname, “Buckskin Girl”. 37 years later, DNA analysis and genetic genealogy identify Buckskin Girl as a 21-year old Arkansas resident named Marcia King. There are numerous theories about how Marcia may have been murdered, including that she was the victim of an unidentified serial killer who went on to kill a number of other female victims in Ohio over the next several years. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we recount the story of how an unidentified Jane Doe got her name back after nearly four decades and explore her unsolved murder. This episode of The Trail Went Cold is brought to you by Best Fiends, a unique and exciting puzzle experience unlike other puzzle games out there. Download it FREE on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Marcia_King https://dnadoeproject.org/case/buckskin-girl/ https://people.com/crime/buckskin-girl-found-dead-ohio-identified-37-year-later/ https://www.cincinnati.com/story/accused/2020/07/13/buckskin-girl-marcia-kings-killer-still-large-after-1981-slaying/5372788002/ https://dayton247now.com/news/local/buckskin-girl-receives-new-headstone-with-her-name https://www.fox16.com/news/ohio-cold-case-develops-new-timeline-puts-murder-victim-in-arkansas-two-weeks-before-death/ https://web.archive.org/web/20180810025749/https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2018/04/buck-skin-girl-case-break-success-new-dna-doe-project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._No_(serial_killer) https://unsolved.com/gallery/prostitute-serial-killer/ “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. 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 31, 1986. Silver Spring, Maryland. The body of 19-year old Keith Warren is found in a wooded area, hanging from a tree in a noose. Even though there are some unexplained discrepancies, as well as suspicious behaviour from the authorities, Keith’s death is ruled to be a suicide. Nearly six years later, Keith’s mother receives an envelope containing never-before-seen photos of the crime scene, revealing that Keith’s body had been dressed in clothing which did not belong to him. When Keith’s body is exhumed, an autopsy reveals the presence of toxic chemicals in his system, and a former acquaintance of Keith’s who may have had information about the case also turns up dead in a suspicious accident. In spite of these new developments, the authorities refuse to waver from their original suicide ruling. Did Keith Warren really take his own life, or was a massive cover-up orchestrated to cover up his death? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” offers an in-depth exploration into a very controversial case. Additional Reading: https://www.thekeithwarrenjusticesite.com https://unsolved.com/gallery/keith-warren/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/sister-on-mission-to-prove-brother-didnt-take-his-own-life/2012/02/17/gIQATe2ZAS_story.html?utm_term=.f54f2fc36d68 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-sister-fights-for-justice-for-her-brother-25-years-after-hanging-126177263.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.

July 22, 1985. Nolensville, Tennessee. After failing to pick up his wife from the bus station, 79-year old George Owens and his car are discovered to be missing from his home. One week later, George’s abandoned vehicle is found on a hilltop in a rural wooded area over 100 miles away and piles of kindling are found outside and in the back seat. Eyewitnesses report having seen George in the area looking disoriented, leading to speculation that he wandered off into the woods, but an extensive search effort is unable find to him. June 5, 1998. Cincinnati, Ohio. Gary Adams contacts the police and reports that his 98-year old father, Walter Munson, has gone missing during a shopping trip at Findlay Market, but almost none of the other witnesses from the market remember seeing Walter there that day. Even though Gary claims that his father has lived with him for the past 20 years, the official paper trail for Walter seems to end in 1980 and virtually no one else can recall having seen him since then. Investigators soon uncover evidence that Gary was committing fraud by cashing his father’s Social Security checks and while he serves time in prison for that crime, no trace of Walter is ever found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold’, we will be chronicling a pair of unsolved missing persons cases involving elderly victims. If you have information about the disappearance of George Owens, please contact the Perry County Sheriffs Department at (931) 589-8803. If you have any information about the disappearance of Walter Dunson, please contact the Cincinnati Police Department at (513) 352-3542. Additional Reading: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/George_Owens http://charleyproject.org/case/george-owens https://www.newspapers.com/image/112397889/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/113113271/ http://charleyproject.org/case/walter-dunson https://cite.case.law/f-appx/39/52/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/102278366/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/102256146/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/102402055/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/98734213/ “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.

April 23, 1995. New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Eight-year old Dimitric Moore tells his mother, Ora Lee Moore, that is he going out to visit a friend, but he fails to return home that night. The following afternoon, Dimitric’s nude body is discovered inside the trunk of his mother’s car and his cause of death is determined to be asphyxiation. Months later, Ora is indicted for voluntarily manslaughter after she is accused of drowning Dimitric in her bathtub, but winds up being acquitted when she goes on trial for the crime, Ora is acquitted. Rumours circulate that Dimitric may have actually been killed by some local neighbourhood kids before his body was placed in Ora’s trunk in order to frame her. Was Ora Lee Moore actually guilty of killing her own son? Or was Dimitric’s death the result of some violent bullying which escalated out of control? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a controversial story about the death of an eight-year old boy which has yet to find a conclusive resolution after 25 years. Additional Reading: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dimitric_Moore http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-04-30/news/9504290814_1_dimitric-new-smyrna-alex http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-05-14/news/9505140232_1_dimitric-moore-trunk http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-06-15/news/9506150494_1_smyrna-beach-police-new-smyrna-dimitric http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-12-19/news/9512190085_1_new-smyrna-moore-grand-jury http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-05-27/news/9605260385_1_dimitric-moore-smyrna-beach http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-05-31/news/9605301668_1_lee-moore-smyrna-beach-new-smyrna http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-06-05/news/9606041350_1_dimitric-moore-smyrna-beach http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-02-28/news/9702280407_1_smyrna-beach-dimitric-tanner http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-05-24/news/9705231644_1_unsolved-mysteries-dimitric-moore http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-10-23/news/9710221032_1_dimitric-smyrna-beach-tanner https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/28/sport/perry-baker-rugby-sevens-usa-eagles-intl/index.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.

August 3, 1980. AuSable Township, Michigan. 20-year old Cherita Thomas borrows her friend’s car in order to pick up her daughter from a babysitter, but the vehicle breaks down before she arrives. Witnesses see Cherita climbing into a blue pick-up truck driven by a white male, but she is never heard from again. Jimmie Allen Nelson, the babysitter’s brother-in-law, is suspected of harming Cherita in a racially motivated hate crime, and even though Cherita’s body is not found, Nelson is charged and convicted of her murder three decades later. However, Nelson’s conviction is overturned when newly discovered evidence surfaces which reportedly implicates another suspect, so the murder charge against him is dismissed in 2014. Was Jimmie Allen Nelson actually responsible for Cherita Thomas’ disappearance? If not, then what actually happened to her? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a convoluted missing persons case which has had a number of surprising twists and turns over the past 40 years. Special thanks to Chris Wimmer for providing the opening narration on today’s episode. Be sure to listen to Chris’ podcast, “Infamous America” (https://blackbarrelmedia.com/infamous-america/). Additional Reading: http://charleyproject.org/case/cherita-janice-thomas http://www.iosconews.com/news/article_165d5202-3706-5394-8298-92de7a5a7925.html https://www.macombdaily.com/news/nation-world-news/michigan-court-strikes-murder-conviction-in-case/article_d03714a2-e37b-5665-8ca4-00f7e736789c.html https://abc7news.com/archive/7771114/ http://www.michbar.org/file/opinions/appeals/2012/082312/52533.pdf http://www.michbar.org/file/opinions/appeals/2014/022514/56526.pdf https://law.justia.com/cases/michigan/court-of-appeals-unpublished/2008/20081223-c271768-41-271768-opn.html https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4394 “True Police Stories of the Strange & Unexplained” by Ingrid P. Dean “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.

July 5, 2004. Regina, Saskatchewan. Five-year old Tamra Keepness heads for bed while her mother, Lorena Keepness, goes out drinking, leaving Tamra and her five siblings alone at their house. Lorena eventually returns home, but when she wakes up later that morning, she discovers that Tamra is missing. Since Tamra lives in a dysfunctional home alongside adults who have substance abuse issues and a history of troubles with the law, there is suspicion that they might know more about her disappearance than they’re saying. Ten years later, an anonymous Reddit user posts a photo of a hand-drawn map for Tamra’s alleged burial location, but an investigation turns up nothing and no trace of Tamra is ever found. Was Tamra Keepness the victim of an abduction, or was someone in her household responsible for her disappearance? On this week’s special Canada Day edition of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a tragic unsolved case from our host country involving a missing Indigenous child. Additional Reading: https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/mmiw/profiles/tamra-jewel-keepness https://thewalrus.ca/little-girl-lost/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tamra-keepness-a-haunting-reminder-of-an-unsolved-mystery/article21490589/ https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/map-of-missing-regina-girl-belonged-to-late-grandmother-reddit-user-claims-1.2084242 https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/11/07/search_yields_no_evidence_of_tamra_keepness_map_not_authentic.html https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/keepness_tamra/night.html https://thetruecrimefiles.com/tamra-jewel-keepness-disappearance/ https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/brkve3/lorena_keepness_social_services_apprehansion_file/ “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.

July 12, 1964. Vidalia, Louisiana. 25-year old Joseph “Joe-Ed” Edwards is seen leaving his place of employment, the Shamrock Motel. Shortly thereafter, an eyewitness sees Joe-Ed’s vehicle pulled over by the side of the highway and three white males and what appears to be an unmarked police car are also at the scene. Joe-Ed is never heard from again and his abandoned vehicle is discovered one week later. As the years go by, rumours circulate that Joe-Ed was the victim of a hate crime and may have been murdered for attempting to kiss a white woman. Some local police officers and members of the Ku Klux Klan are suspected of being responsible for Joe-Ed’s disappearance, but even after multiple investigations by the FBI and Department of Justice, no one is ever charged and no trace of Joe-Ed is ever found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel back to the Civil Rights Era and explore the horrific and tragic story of an unsolved racially-motivated disappearance which took place only ten days after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. Additional Reading: https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/joseph-joed-edwards-notice-close-file https://www.hannapub.com/concordiasentinel/frank_morris_murder/cold-case-whatever-happened-to-joseph-edwards-was-he-silver-dollar-group-target/article_fa868fb0-41a4-11e3-8e10-0019bb30f31a.html https://www.hannapub.com/concordiasentinel/frank_morris_murder/cold-case-mysteries-of-the-night-joseph-edwards-disappeared/article_faa1f7bc-4af7-11e3-9d26-001a4bcf6878.html https://www.hannapub.com/concordiasentinel/frank_morris_murder/cold-case-who-killed-joseph-edwards-doj-names-suspects-closes-1964-case/article_71dc31ee-424c-11e3-848f-0019bb30f31a.html http://lsucoldcaseproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Joseph-Edwards-SCANNED.pdf “Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934-1970” by Michael Newton https://web.archive.org/web/20130429140958/http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=6830 https://web.archive.org/web/20130518114607/http://www.concordiasentinel.com/print.php?story=7297 https://web.archive.org/web/20130429111854/http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=5108 http://charleyproject.org/case/joseph-edwards “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.