The Trail Went Cold – Episode 212 – Marie Lilienberg & Maria Wahlen

July 22, 1983. Redwood City, California. After spending the month travelling through the state, a pair of Swedish nationals – 23-year old Marie Lilienberg and 25-year old Maria Wahlen – leave their friend’s residence in order to hitchhike to Los Angeles. When they fail to make their scheduled flight and do not return home to Sweden, they are officially reported missing and their decomposing bodies are eventually found in Los Padres National Forest. Eight years later, the Swedish consulate in San Diego receives an anonymous phone call which implicates a potential suspect in the crime, but no arrest is ever made. Who was actually responsible for the deaths of Marie and Maria? Did they fall prey to a notorious serial killer who started operating in California during that time period? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the unsolved murders of two Swedish hitchhikers.

Additional Reading:

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Marie_Lilienberg_and_Maria_Wahlén

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/21/The-fathers-of-two-Swedish-girls-who-disappeared-while/2268430286400/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/08/Officer-thinks-he-saw-missing-Swedish-women/9924429163200/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/62496432/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/19/Bodies-tentatively-identified-as-missing-Swedish-women/8611430113600/

http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/21/The-fathers-of-two-Swedish-girls-who-disappeared-while/2268430286400/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/24/Swedish-girls-bodies-identified/7433430545600/

http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/28/Young-tourists-take-chances/7512430891200/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/446915616/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Freak_Killers

“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 going to be appearing on podcast row at  “Crimecon 2021: Austin” at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, Texas on June  2-4, 2021, as well as “Crimecon UK” at the Leonardo Royal Hotel &  Spa in London on June 12-13, 2021. To get a 10 % discount on the  purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo  code, “COLD21”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.com/CC21 or https://www.crimecon.co.uk.

“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.