Trace Evidence

Seventy-nine year old Iva Tice was worried about her husband after he suffered a stroke. Staying alone in their Allentown home, Iva made sure to visit the hospital every afternoon to be with him. Then, one afternoon, she never showed up. When no one could reach Iva, the Allentown police performed a welfare check and made a grisly discovery.Iva had been killed in the bedroom of her home sometime during the night. The killer had used both an iron fireplace poker and a large carving knife to commit the horrifying crime. At the time investigators theorized that Iva had come upon an intruder in the process of a robbery but as additional evidence was collected it soon became a question of whether the crime was random or if Iva had been targeted by a killer, perhaps even someone she may have known.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/lic

Two days after Christmas a family, vacationing in St. Petersburg, FL, made the grisly discovery of a human leg washed up on the shore. Investigators conducted searches of the bay as well as the coastline but never located any other remains or evidence. For more than three months, that leg would remain unidentified until investigators began making ties across county lines.Thirty-eight year old Kelly Moriarty and her girlfriend, sixty-one year old Doris "Pat" Carter hadn't been seen in more than a month by the time they were reported. Quickly investigators from St. Petersburg, Manatee County, Hillsborough County and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found themselves involved in a desperate search for the two women while the assailant had well over a months head start.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Sourc

All of his life Stephen Sandlin wanted to be a police officer. Growing up the son of a cop, Stephen looked up to his father and wanted to follow in his footsteps. At the age of twenty-one one Stephen realized his dream, but less than two months later, he would be violent killed in the line of duty.On the evening of Saturday, May 7th, 1988, Officer Sandlin was found lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the Mountainair, NM police department, the victim of a single gunshot wound to the head. Initially investigators believed the wound might have been self-inflicted, but multiple investigations would raise a series of disturbing questions.Was Stephen Sandlin's murder related to a recent drug bust? Was it connected to an investigation into accusations made against the department? Or was Stephen targeted by more than one individual in an attempt to cover up illegal activities possibly involving drug trafficking and local officials?Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtes

Thirty-five year old Regina Brown put her youngest child on a plan to Texas, to stay with her family. She was setting a plan in motion, one which would allow her follow her child, to escape the constant fear and worry she suffered under. Moments later, Regina stepped out of the airport and vanished.Over the next thirty-four years the investigation would stop and start as phone calls initiated a massive search, court testimony indicated a world of pain and horror for the young mother of three and the discovery of new evidence reinvigorated the search for justice.Regina Brown has been missing for nearly as many years as she was known to be alive and her children are now older than she was when she vanished in 1987. Many questions remain, but perhaps the most pertinent are what became of Regina Brown and who may have been responsible for her disappearance?Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Com

In the Winter of 1986 the world was captivated by the disappearance of Danish flight attendant Helle Crafts. Police would eventually arrest and charge her husband, pilot Richard Crafts for her grisly murder in what became known as the "Wood Chipper Murder." However, while all eyes were fixed on the Crafts, an eerily similar case was developing just down the road.Thirty-five year old Regina Brown mysteriously vanished after being seen at New York's LaGuardia airport. Much like Helle Crafts, she too was a flight attendant and mother of three married to a pilot. She lived less than three miles from the Crafts, in Newtown, Connecticut, and vanished just four months after Helle.Yet there were no major headlines for Regina, without the headline stealing aspects of a gruesome crime and an arrest, few articles were dedicated to her disappearance. When the Newtown Police began investigating they never imagined what they'd uncover; a life lived in fear, a woman subjected to brutal domestic violence and an estranged hus

In the Fall of 1978, twenty-five year old Russell Bean mysteriously vanished from a small New Hampshire town. He left behind a wife, children, siblings and a mother. For a long, dark decade, Russell's fate remained a mystery until a dramatic confession changed everything.In early March of 1988, a woman went to the police and relayed a story told by her father less than a week before his death. Her story suggested the location of a body and when police arrived they were shocked to discover Russell Bean had never left New Hampshire, but had been buried right beneath their noses.The land belonged to Robert Chambers, a long-time resident, part-time police chief, Russell's former best friend and the man his wife next married. Soon the investigation was swallowed into a sensational chaos of rumors telling of a bizarre love triangle, anger, jealousy and betrayal. It was up to investigators to determine fact from fiction, myth from reality, in hopes of uncovering just who killed Russell Bean and who exactly knew wher

James William "Bill" Wood Kaidena Lozelle "Kay" Wood had just celebrated their third wedding anniversary. Each had lived long, good lives building their own families and only united them when Bill was 77 and Kay was 60. For three long years they were in love and spent time with their families and enjoying their hobbies of antiquing and country music.Just two weeks later a massive fire broke out at the home they shared together. When firefighters were able to sift through the rubble they discovered Bill's body, but his cause of death was not what they had expected. Bill had been shot prior to the fire, which is believed to have been arson. What became of Kay, no one knew for sure as she mysteriously vanished.Over the course of the next ten years investigators would work hard to determine who had been responsible and why they had targeted the elderly couple. Finding their missing truck was the first major break, which lead to a description of a person of interest. The question was, could they identify him and t

Due to laryngitis, this is a previously recorded Patreon exclusive episode. Famed author Edgar Allan Poe was a master of mystery and fear. He wrote suspense stories, beautiful poems and created the modern detective story along the way. His mysteries were compelling and captivating, but perhaps none so much as the circumstances surrounding his death.In today's episode we examine Poe's life, love, loss and death trying to get to the heart of what led to one of the world's greatest writers dying in such a bizarre and confusing fashion.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time"  Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Echoes of Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Galactic Rap" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this week's conclusion we pick up with investigators turning their attention towards known killers who were active in Florida during the time that Mary Opitz vanished. After a brutal and violent spree ending with his death, Christopher Wilder becomes a prime focus for police and the possibility of his involvement is weighed.Forty years later, questions remain without answers. Are the disappearance of Mary Opitz and the murder of Mary Hare directly linked, or could there have been two separate but similar crimes committed from out of the same parking lot. In Part 2 we delve into all of the theories surrounding these cases and how one may tie into the other.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/mary-opitzBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tra

It was a chilly Friday night, by Florida standards, when seventeen year old Mary Opitz took a trip to the Edison Mall with her mother and brother. Less than an hour later she would mysteriously vanish from the parking lot, leaving no trace behind. Investigators at the time believed she had runaway, and would soon return.One month later, when eighteen year old Mary Hare vanished from the same parking lot, and nearly the same parking space, it became clear that something more sinister was at play. The vital hours lost in the early days of Mary Opitz's disappearance may have been just the space the assailant needed to strike again.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/mary-opitzBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/trace-evidence--3207798/support.

Seventy-one year old Shirley McKeown left home early on the morning of Saturday, August 24th, 2002. Her destination was just seven miles across town, her daughter's new house, where painters were working. It should have been a quick trip, but Shirley never arrived.Within twenty-four hours she was reported missing, but she had seemingly vanished without a trace. It wouldn't be until ten days later when her car was found that investigators knew something terrible had happened.The backseat was soaked in blood, enough to show that someone had been mortally wounded. While detectives would be lead towards two persons of interest Shirley's fate, and location, have never been discovered.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/shirley-mckeownBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://ww

Four high school friends decide to a Friday afternoon doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Kenneth Dungee, Levern Allen III, Darius Bannerman and Kenneth Newkirk were excited about the 90 minute trip, never imagining that only three of them would make it home.Driving along I-40, an unknown man emerged in a blue, Monte Carlo. After aggressively tailgating the teens, he began ramming their car. A fun outing quickly became a nightmarish fight for survival until, finally, the assailant succeeded in forcing them off the road where the car flipped down an embankment.Kenneth Dungee was dead and Levern Allen had his leg amputated while Darius Bannerman and Kenneth Newkirk survived with minor injuries. The killer then stopped, surveying the carnage, before speeding off into the unknown.Had this been a random incident of road rage gone out of control or was the white assailant driven by racism as he targeted the four black teens?Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy o

Regina Marie Bos' life was beginning to come around. After struggling for several years and an exceptionally difficult Summer she'd gotten a promotion, had a house in the works and was dating a new guy. One cool, October night, the talented singer went out to a bar in Lincoln, Nebraska to participate in an open mic night and never made it home.Her car was left exactly where she'd parked, directly across the street from the bar. There were no signs of a struggle, no pieces of evidence, nothing to suggest what might have happened. Perhaps the most disturbing detail for her family was the condition of her beloved guitar, left behind in her car's open trunk. Something Gina never would have done, if she'd had a choice.Bizarrely, the forty year old mother of three vanished from a city street, just yards from the bar where employees were closing up and band members were walking equipment out yet no one saw anything, no one heard anything. It was as if she'd simply vanished into thin air. As investigators worked the

One homecoming weekend at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, everyone was looking to party and have a good time, including nineteen year old Donnie Farrell. However, while most students weekends went off without a hitch, Donnie would find himself the target of a sudden, violent and unprovoked assault and within hours he would pass away.Investigators managed to find surveillance footage of the suspect and noted he was wearing a unique hoodie, limited in supply. They had descriptions from witnesses and a nickname the suspect used, but finding his true identity proved to be a difficult task in an investigation that spanned thousands of miles across multiple states.Who killed Donnie Farrell and how has he managed to evade authorities for nearly fourteen years?Surveillance Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HmAO6WfdmE&t=19sThe Donnie Project: https://thedonnieproject.wordpress.com/Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech

On a sunny, summer afternoon, forty-one year old mother of six Audrey Groat left home with a family friend and never returned. For nearly three decades now, the mystery of her disappearance and the search for Audrey has haunted both the children she left behind and the investigators who tried to find the answers.What initially appeared to be the case of a stranger abduction took on a very different complexion when police discovered that the last person to see Audrey alive had been harboring a dark secret. Had Audrey truly been the victim of a random crime or are some secrets worth killing to keep?Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/audrey-groatBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/trace-evidence--3207798/support.

Thirty-year old Traci Kegley was about to begin a new life. The recently divorced mother of a two year old daughter had faced some setbacks, but she was moving forward. She had just gotten a new job and was excited for her first day... but she'd never make it.On the afternoon of Sunday, April 26th, 1998, Traci set off with her two year old to run errands. She stopped to fill up her gas tank and then drove off, never to be seen again. More than twelve hours later, a passerby found her car sitting on an isolate stretch of highway. Sitting in the back, still buckled in, was her daughter but Traci was gone.Police launched searches, got the word out to the media and pushed hard to track her down but they had to contend with miles of thick woods, difficult terrain and a slew of flooded pits and quarries. The horror of the truth was difficult to dismiss; she could be almost anywhere. While some believed she'd likely fallen victim to a random attack, investigators began to feel that those responsible for her disappea

GoFundMe for Evelyn Colon: https://gofund.me/7862f1a4For forty-five years the mystery of the Carbon County Beth Doe haunted Pennsylvania. Who was she, how did she end up in Carbon County and who murdered the pregnant woman before dismembering her remains and throwing her off an overpass bridge. Now, thanks to genetic genealogy, she has been positively identified as fifteen year old Evelyn Colon of Jersey City, NJ. Even more surprisingly, her former boyfriend, Luis Sierra, has been arrested and charged with murder.In addition to discussing this amazing update, we will look at seven other cases which have had less major updates in the past years. Those include the Abduction of Angela Hammond, the Disappearance of LaShaya Stine, the Murder of Nick Kunselman and Stephanie Hart-Grizzell, the Abduction and Murder of Isabel Celis, the Vanishing of Asha Degree, the Disappearance of Dail Dinwiddie and the Littleton Colorado Bowling Alley Triple Homicide of Erin Golla, Bobby Zajac and James Springer Jr.Trace Evidence F

Thirteen year old Alexandra Anaya vanished without a trace from her home in Hammond, Indiana. Her mother, Sandra was baffled. No signs of forced entry, no signs of a struggle. It was almost as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth.While Sandra, her family and police were trying to track down the missing teen, the Chicago Police were responding to a call about a body discovered in the Little Calumet River. Wrapped in chains and strapped to a cinder block was the dismembered torso of a young woman. Three weeks later, a DNA match confirmed that Alexandra Anaya had been brutally murdered before her killer severed her arms, legs and head. To this day, all of her remains have never been found.While locals believed the crime had to have been random and was likely committed by a serial killer, Alexandra's mother felt she knew exactly who was responsible and he was definitely no stranger.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incom

Sixteen year old Jennifer Persia had everything going for her. She played saxophone in the school band, was on the color guard and was becoming a breakout athlete. As a freshman, she was on the varsity track team and medaled in a competition against mostly seniors. Then one quiet, Monday night, someone stole away everything she hoped to be, shattered a family and rocked a small town. On April 4th, 1994, an unknown killer, or killers, entered Jennifer's home and brutally murdered the sixteen year old over a matter of just $200For twenty-seven years the identity of Jennifer's killers has remained unknown, but while the small town believed a monster was stalking the streets, investigators began to learn that Jennifer's murder was likely not random, and in fact, may have been perpetrated by someone she knew and trusted.Trace Evidence FacebookInstagramTwitterOfficial WebsiteOfficial MerchMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:

Twelve year old Mark Degner and his best friend, thirteen year old Bryan Hayes had told several friends they planned to run away. On a cool, Thursday afternoon, they wandered out of their Special Education classrooms and walked off campus, seemingly vanishing.From the first moment there should have been tremendous concern, the boys suffered from several different issues, both psychological and physical, and required support, attention and their necessary medications. Yet, almost nothing was done. It would take nearly six hours before the first missing person's report was filed, because neither family had been told they'd left school.A desperate search was launched with family, friends and investigators trying to find the boys but there were few leads. Several sightings were reported, though none could be confirmed. As time began passing, years fell away and soon they were no longer looking for boys, but grown men.Then, in early 2017, Police and the FBI raided the home of a Jacksonville Beach man, charging him