June 23, 1997. San Francisco, California. After completing her shift at a coffee shop at the Crocker Galleria, 18-year old Kristen Modafferi vanishes without a trace. Even though co-workers report seeing Kristen with a blonde woman at the mall, this woman is never identified, and a police bloodhound tracks Kristen’s scent to the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Lands End over six miles away. Weeks later, a man named Jon Onuma phones in a fake tip in which he falsely accuses two women of murdering Kristen, but even though Onuma does a number of suspicious things and multiple women accuse him of abuse, no conclusive evidence can be found to link him to Kristen’s disappearance. Was Kristen Modafferi harmed by Jon Onuma? If not, then how did she wind up going missing? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the perplexing disappearance of a young university student where all the pieces of the puzzle just don’t seem to fit together. Special thanks to listener Gretchen Piening for narrating the opening for this episode.
If you have any information about this case, please contact the Oakland Police Department at (510) 238-3641.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Kristen_Modafferi
https://unsolved.com/gallery/kristen-modafferi/
http://charleyproject.org/case/kristen-deborah-modafferi
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Kristen-Modafferi-cold-case-Oakland-Jayne-DNA-13005068.php
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Kristen-Modafferi-Dennis-Mahon-Onuma-missing-Lampo-12988187.php
“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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download