2018-09

June 14, 2000. Jonesboro, Arkansas. 20-year old Amanda Tusing leaves her fiancee’s apartment to drive home to her parents’ house, but never arrives. Her abandoned car is soon discovered by the side of the highway, but there is no sign of Amanda. Days later, her body is found in a waterlogged ditch over 12 miles away, but there are no signs of sexual assault and the exact cause of death cannot be determined. The identity of Amanda’s killer, as well as the motive for the crime, remain unknown.
July 25, 1989. Bella Vista, Arkansas. After driving away from a grocery store, 17-year old Dana Stidham fails to return to her parents’ house and her abandoned vehicle is found next to the highway the following morning. Less than two months later, Dana’s skeletal remains are discovered in a shallow grave in a remote wooded area. The investigation focuses on a high school classmate of Dana’s who was infatuated with her and displayed suspicious behaviour after her death, but there is not enough evidence to implicate him.
On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine two unsolved murders involving young women from Arkansas whose vehicles were found abandoned by the side of the highway. Could these crimes possibly be connected? Special thanks to listener Jamie Winn for providing the opening narration for this episode.
Additional Reading:
https://www.aymag.com/why-mandy-the-case-of-a-murder-without-motive-part-2/
http://www.kait8.com/story/19881165/region-8-cold-case-amanda-tusing
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/cold-case-spotlight/no-answers-29-years-after-murder-arkansas-teen-dana-stidham-n893546
https://www.tulsaworld.com/archive/hair-sample-triggers-dispute/article_05fb6d8e-3b06-5de7-98a3-f0d327d49860.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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

April 16, 1987. Union City, Tennessee. Four-year old Marlena Childress vanishes from her front yard after her mother, Pamela Bailey, claims she saw a red car driving away from their house. Two months later, Pam confesses that she accidentally killed Marlena and tossed her body into the Obion River. Pam soon recants her confession and claims it was coerced and since Marlena’s body cannot be found and there is no other evidence to implicate Pam, she is not indicted for her daughter’s death. Over the next several years, there would be a number of twists and turns, including some seemingly credible eyewitness sightings to suggest Marlena is still alive, and Pam would also face legal trouble for another violent crime involving her children. Was Pam responsible for her daughter’s disappearance, or was Marlena actually abducted? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine a very controversial and divisive missing children’s case which has yet to find a resolution.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Marlena_Childress
http://charleyproject.org/case/marlena-danyele-childress
https://www.nwtntoday.com/2012/04/12/cold-case-investigation-to-focus-on-disappearance/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
We would like to thank our sponsor, Winc, for supporting this week’s episode. To receive a $20 credit and free shipping on 4 bottles of wine on your first order, go to trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 16, 1983. Idaho Springs, Colorado. 14-year old Beth Miller leaves her home to go jogging, but never returns. The investigation uncovers some promising leads, including eyewitness accounts of a man in a red pick-up truck who was seen flirting with Beth in the days prior to her disappearance. Ten years later, the former girlfriend of a deceased suspect leads the authorities towards an alleged burial location for Beth’s body, but nothing is found.
February 9, 1989. Gainesville, Florida. 20-year old university student Tiffany Sessions leaves her condo to go for a power walk, but does not return. 24 years later, after a convicted murderer named Paul Rowles dies in prison, investigators uncover evidence in his possessions which seems to implicate him in Tiffany’s disappearance, but her remains cannot be found.
August 5, 1989. Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. 17-year old Tracy Kroh leaves her house to visit her sister, who turns out not to be home. When Tracy does not return, her abandoned car is eventually discovered in a nearby town square, but Tracy is nowhere to be found. Four years later, some of Tracy’s possessions are found next to a remote creek, but she continues to remain a missing person.
While these three cases do not seem to have any connection to each other, they would unexpectedly be linked together in 1994 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a bizarre anonymous tip which alleged that all three victims were still alive. For the first time, “The Trail Went Cold” is going to tackle three unsolved missing persons cases in the same episode and explore the likelihood of them being connected.
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/elizabeth-ann-miller
http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2012/04/21/elizabeth-ann-miller-missing-kidnapped-buried/3767/
https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2017/02/07/unsolved-disappearance-beth-miller-idaho-springs-colorado/97585604/
http://charleyproject.org/case/tracy-marie-kroh
http://charleyproject.org/case/tiffany-louise-sessions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Tiffany_Sessions
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-05-07-9405070051-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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

October 12, 1982. Los Angeles, California. 35-year old Sol Salomon, his 39-year old wife Elaine, his 15-year old stepdaughter Michelle, and their 9-year old son Mitchell all vanish without explanation from their home. Evidence suggests they were victims of foul play and pieces of their identification are found scattered alongside a freeway. The investigation leads to Harvey Rader, a business acquaintance of Sol’s who is accused of killing the entire family and burying their bodies in the desert, and is also considered a potential suspect in the unsolved disappearance of a California couple named Peter and Joan Davis. Rader is eventually charged with murdering the Salomons, but after two mistrials, he is acquitted at his third trial in 1992. Did Harvey Rader get away with the murders of the Salomon family, or was someone else responsible? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles the harrowing unsolved disappearance of an entire family who have still never been found.
Additional Reading:
http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/salomon-unsolved-murder/
http://charleyproject.org/case/sol-salomon
http://charleyproject.org/case/elaine-salomon
http://charleyproject.org/case/michelle-houchman
http://charleyproject.org/case/mitchel-salomon
http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/salomon-family
“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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.