2017-10

Happy Halloween, everyone! As a special piece of bonus content this month, “The Trail Went Cold” has participated in a joint collaboration with over a dozen podcasters in which each of us share our own scary Halloween-themed story. Hosted by Tyler from The Minds of Madness, the end result is the spookiest Halloween podcast episode you’ve ever heard.
Contributing Podcasts:
CreepyFairy Tales for Unwanted ChildrenThe Murder Road Trip PodcastEvil PodcastThe Trail Went ColdAmerican Crimecast36 TimesMoms & MurderTrue Crime IslandCold Case NotesThere Might Be CupcakesBless This MessThe Mad Scientist PodcastThe Minds Of Madness
Music Credits:
Kevin McLeod – Nightmare MachineKevin McLeod – Classic Horror 1Kevin McLeod – IntrepidKevin McLeod – Devastation and RevengeKevin McLeod – Evening of ChaosKevin McLeod – Unnatural SituationKevin McLeod – Private ReflectionKevin McLeod – The House of LeavesKevin McLeod – UnpromisedKevin McLeod – Private ReflectionKevin McLeod – VanishingKevin McLeod – Impromptu in BlueKevin McLeod – Tenebrous Brothers Carnival – IntermissionKevin McLeod – Thunder DreamsKevin McLeod – Blue SizzleKevin McLeod – The DreadKevin McLeod – UnrelentingKevin McLeod – ArcadiaKevin McLeod – Ghostpocalypse – 6 Crossing the ThresholdKevin McLeod – Long Note FourKevin McLeod – Pop Goes the WeaselKevin McLeod – Dark WalkKevin McLeod – Tenebrous Brothers Carnival – MermaidKevin McLeod – Darkest ChildKevin McLeod – Night BreakKevin McLeod – CryptoKevin McLeod – Come Play with MeKevin McLeod – Quinns Song-First NightKevin McLeod – MirageKevin McLeod – Lightless DawnKevin McLeod – Unseen HorrorsKevin McLeod – Bump in the NightKevin McLeod – Chase Pulse FasterKevin McLeod – Classic Horror 3Kevin McLeod – MaliciousKevin McLeod – Bent and BrokenKevin McLeod – Gloom HorizonKevin McLeod – Ice DemonKevin McLeod – Blue SizzleKevin McLeod – Chase Pulse FasterKevin McLeod – Quinn’s Song: First NightKevin McLeod – Seven MarchKevin McLeod – KillersAesis – Black AngelSurrain – FadePaolo MessereKiddycar – You Save Me From Understanding More
All music is used under an Attribution License – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

October 21, 1978. Cape Otway, Australia. After leaving on a seemingly routine training flight in a Cessna 182 aircraft, 20-year old pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes without explanation over Bass Strait. During a radio transmission, Valentich describes seeing an unidentified flying object and his final words are: “It’s hovering and it’s not an aircraft”. When eyewitnesses report seeing strange things in the sky that night, speculation mounts that Valentich’s disappearance might have been the result of an alien encounter. For our final Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold” this month, we will be covering our very first story involving potential UFO involvement and explore whether this caused a pilot to vanish forever. Special thanks to Cambo, host of the True Crime Island podcast for providing the voice of Frederick Valentich in this episode.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentich
https://unsolved.com/gallery/ufo-disappearance/
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/truth-was-out-there-after-all/news-story/2973bd131c27da0a31f4a7b8eba643fe
http://www.mufon.com/valentich-disappearance—1978.html
Thanks to Winc for supporting our podcast. Get $22 and free shipping on your first order of wine at http://trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

May 14, 2008. Marshall, Minnesota. The parents of 19-year old Brandon Swanson receive a late-night phone call from their son, who claims that his car has become stuck in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. The Swansons leave to go pick Brandon up, but have trouble finding him. At one point, Brandon’s father hears him shout a swear word over the phone before the call abruptly cuts off, and there is no answer to repeated attempts to phone him back. Even though his abandoned car is eventually found on a rural road, Brandon himself is never heard from again. What happened to Brandon Swanson, and what could have prompted his final reaction during his final phone call? In our latest Halloween-themed extended minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we tackle one of the scariest, most baffling missing persons cases of the past decade. Special thanks to Joe from Thinking Sideways Podcast for popping in to share a theory. Be sure to check out their episode about this case.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Brandon_Swanson
http://charleyproject.org/case/brandon-victor-swanson
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/User:Jeff_Hasse/Missing_Person_Case_Study_–_Brandon_Swanson
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/18/grace.coldcase.swanson/index.html
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 27, 2007. Grand Forks, North Dakota. 38-year old Joel Lovelien and his fiancée attend a Halloween party at a local bar. When Joel takes a moment to step outside, he is beaten to death in the parking lot. The investigation leads to a suspect named Travis Stay, who was so intoxicated that night that he cannot even remember what happened. Travis goes on trial for Joel’s murder, but his defence team manages to generate reasonable doubt by diverting attention towards a group of costumed suspects from a party bus. Did Travis Stay commit this crime or have others managed to get away with it? We look at both sides of this case in another Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”. Special thanks to listener Scott Owings for providing the opening narration for today’s episode.
Additional Reading:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/halloween-murder-mystery-who-killed-man-hockey-costume-f8C11470596
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/2086041-taxi-driver-tells-jurors-ride-travis-stay
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/2086010-party-bus-riders-testify-lovelien-murder-trial
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 31, 1986. Long Beach, New York. Chaim Weiss, a 15-year old Orthodox Jewish rabbinical student, returns to his dormitory after attending Shabbat services at his yeshiva high school. The following morning, Chaim’s body is found on his dorm room floor. At some point during the night, an unknown individual entered his room and brutally murdered him while he slept. Police conduct an extensive investigation and interview students and faculty members from the yeshiva, but are unable to uncover a solid suspect or any discernible motive for Chaim’s murder. We examine a very perplexing cold case on this month’s first Halloween-themed minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/chaim-weiss/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/chaim-weiss-brutally-murdered-1986-article-1.2417684
http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/investigation-continues-1986-halloween-murder-article-1.2417285
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.