The Trail Went Cold

October 16, 1987. Indiana, Pennsylvania. Jack Davis Jr., a 20-year old sophomore at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, spends the night partying and drinking with members of his fraternity, but he never returns to his apartment. Five days later, Jack’s body is found at the bottom of an exterior stairwell on the university’s campus and the county coroner concludes that Jack passed out there while intoxicated and choked to death on his own vomit. However, there are a number of discrepancies which make Jack’s family suspect that his body was placed in the stairwell after he died. When the investigation is reopened and Jack’s body is exhumed, a number of unexplained fractures are discovered on his skull. Was Jack Davis Jr. the victim of an accidental death or did some sort of cover-up take place to conceal what really happened to him? For our first new episode of 2021, “The Trail Went Cold” explores the unexplained death of a university student which has yet to find conclusive answers after three decades.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolved.com/gallery/jack-davis-jr
“Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell” by Marlene Gentilcore
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jack_Davis_Jr.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/33568754/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/33650609/
https://web.archive.org/web/20131224081638/http://www.indianagazette.com/news/indiana-news/new-book-tries-to-unravel-mystery-of-iup-students-1987-death,115043/
“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.

In 2018, “The Trail Went Cold” released a special Q&A episode in which Robin Warder answered a number of questions from listeners. This year, we decided to do a follow-up episode and received some more interesting questions. Of all the cases you’ve covered, which ones have the best chance of being solved in the near-future? What do your family and co-workers think about the podcast? What is the average day in the life of a podcaster like? What cases would you like to cover, but need additional information to make it a viable episode? Have you ever been threatened or harassed by any of the people associated with the cases you discussed? These questions and many others will be answered as we close out 2020 with our second Q&A episode of “The Trail Went Cold”.
“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.

Christmas Day 1929. Stradbally, Ireland. After completing his holiday route, 49-year old postman Larry Griffin fails to return home and his bicycle is found on a road outside the village the following morning. Once a missing persons investigation is launched, rumours start circulating that Larry was killed after an incident at a local pub and a massive cover-up took place. Ten people are eventually charged for their alleged roles in Larry’s death, but his body cannot be found and the key eyewitness changes his story, the charges against the ten defendants are withdrawn. Was Larry Griffin’s disappearance the result of a vast conspiracy to conceal the truth about what happened? On this year’s final holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we will explore the saga of “The Missing Postman of Stradbally”, one of the most convoluted unsolved mysteries in the history of Ireland. Special thanks to listener for Bailey Meeker for providing the opening narration on our episode.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Larry_Griffin
“The Missing Postman: What Really Happened to Larry Griffin?” by Fachtna O Drisceoil
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-missing-postman-26713401.html
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mystery-still-surrounds-1929-disappearance-of-co-waterford-postman-1.4125610
https://www.mayonews.ie/living/staying-in/12494-books-larry-griffin-the-missing-postman
https://www.newspapers.com/image/258779806/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/173233522/
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
Join us on Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm EST for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.
“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.

Christmas Eve 2002. Port Allen, Louisiana. After leaving her home on a road trip to visit her husband in prison for the holidays, 65-year old Mari Ann Fowler stops at a strip mall to purchase some food from a Subway sandwich shop. When she walks back into the parking lot, Mari Ann vanishes without a trace and surveillance footage from a security camera shows that she was abducted by the unidentified driver of a pick-up truck. Months later, serial killer Derrick Todd Lee is arrested after being linked to the murders of multiple women. While there’s evidence to suggest he could have been responsible for Mari Ann’s disappearance, investigators cannot conclusively link him to the crime and her body is never found. Was Mari Ann Fowler an unconfirmed victim of the notorious Baton Rouge Serial Killer? On this week’s holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a terrifying Christmas Eve abduction.
If you have any information about this case, please contact the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office at (225) 343-9234.
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/mari-ann-fowler
https://www.wafb.com/story/1061608/search-for-mari-ann-fowler-enters-third-day
https://www.ksla.com/story/3774629/memorial-services-held-for-mari-ann-fowler/
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_d4d1fa86-5a90-5b13-9000-b93f52cf0543.html
https://www.lsureveille.com/new-evidence-emerges-in-fowler-investigation/article_508e928b-5bd2-5c16-b008-d3c0ea3d4dbf.html
“I’ve Been Watching You: The South Louisiana Serial Killer” by Susan D. Mustafa, Tony Clayton & Sue Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Todd_Lee
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
Join us on Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm EST for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.
“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.

December 17, 1988. Miami, Florida. Lisa Bishop, a 23-year old journalism student from the University of Georgia, leaves on a trip to Haiti on a boat called the Freedon, which is being captained by a German national named Florian Meyer Bourch. When they do not arrive at their destination and Lisa does not contact her family, a search from the Coast Guard fails to find the missing boat. Months later, an eyewitness reports having seen the Freedon in Grand Cayman weeks after it originally went missing and residents of the island also recall having seen Florian during that time period. This leads to speculation that the Freedon may have been involved in an illegal smuggling operation, but no trace of Lisa, Florian, or the boat and its crew are ever found.
April 11, 1990. Richmond Hill, Georgia. 32-year old Nathan Neesmith, his 23-year old brother Billy Joe Neesmith, their 18-year old nephew Keith Wilkes, and a 23-year old friend named Franklin Brantley leave for a fishing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean on a boat named the Casie Nicole. The following morning, the four men are forced to abandon the boat when it starts sinking and Nathan becomes separated from the group. After four days drifting on his own, Nathan is finally rescued, but the other three men are never found. Months later, a series of bizarre phone calls leads Nathan and his family to believe that Billy Joe, Keith and Franklin may have been picked up by a freighter Nathan had seen and are being held against their will, but they do not receive any conclusive answers.
On this week’s episode of the “Trail Went Cold”, we explore the separate stories of the Freedon and the Casie Nicole, two boats which became the centre of unique unsolved mysteries.
This episode of The Trail Went Cold is brought to you by Best Fiends, a unique and exciting puzzle experience unlike other puzzle games out there. Download Best Fiends FREE on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That’s FRIENDS without the R, Best Fiends!
Additional Reading:
http://www.unsolved.com/gallery/lisa-bishop/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/The_Crew_of_the_Freedon
https://www.newspapers.com/image/400333720/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/400163696/
http://www.unsolved.com/gallery/missing-fishermen
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/The_Crew_of_the_Casie_Nicole
https://apnews.com/article/1e238f5f9485e136815a91f4ed02885a
https://www.newspapers.com/image/79406314/
“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.

November 28, 1985. Tarrant County, Texas. The family of 44-year old Joe Blount gathers together for Thanksgiving dinner in their trailer at the Hilltop Mobile Home Park. After making a trip to a convenience store later that night, they return home to discover a briefcase on their front doorstep. When the briefcase is opened, a bomb goes off, claiming the lives of Joe, his 15-year old daughter, Angela, and Joe’s 18-year old nephew, Michael Columbus. Fourteen years later, a suspect named Michael Roy Toney is convicted of the bombing and sentenced to death, but it turns out the prosecution withheld evidence supporting Toney’s innocence at trial. As result, Toney’s conviction is overturned and he is released from prison in 2009. Who was actually responsible for planting the bomb which killed three members of the Blount family and what could their motive have been? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a tragic and baffling unsolved mystery which took place on Thanksgiving. Special thanks to listener Brooke Bunch for providing the opening narration for our episode.
Special thanks to our sponsor of this week’s episode: Nutrafol. For 20 % off, please visit Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code “cold”.
“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.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Roy_Toney
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3692
https://murderpedia.org/male.T/t/toney-michael-roy.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20100830181454/http://www.michaeltoney.com/case.htm
https://www.deseret.com/1997/12/6/19349732/12-year-probe-into-briefcase-blast-at-texas-home-finally-yields-an-arrest
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Inmate-on-death-row-for-Fort-Worth-bombing-freed-1737069.php
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article24558250.html
https://www.newspapers.com/image/639108561
https://www.newspapers.com/image/639108567
https://www.newspapers.com/image/639206571/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/649058179/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/648201727/
“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.

February 7, 1999. Kettering, Ohio. Nine-year old Erica Baker leaves her family’s home to take their dog for a walk. While a pair of eyewitnesses see Erica in a nearby park, she soon vanishes without a trace and the dog is found unattended. Six years later, a suspect named Christian Gabriel is indicted on the charges of evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse after confessing that he was in a van which fatally struck Erica in a hit-and-run accident before the responsible parties disposed of her body. Even though Gabriel recants his confession, he winds up being convicted on these charges and serves nearly six years in prison. Numerous searches fail to turn up Erica’s body and following his release, Gabriel still does not divulge the location of her remains. Was Gabriel being truthful in his original confession or did something else happen to Erica? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore one of the most frustrating missing children’s cases you’ll ever hear about.
If you have information about this case, please contact the Kettering Police Department (937) 296-2555.
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/erica-nicole-baker
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/oh-court-of-appeals/1469914.html
https://mercercountyoutlook.net/2018/02/08/the-mystery-of-erica-baker-continues-after-18-years/
https://www.whio.com/news/erica-baker-what-the-missing-girl-would-look-like-today/vskS120C1pVST5CqE8k6iI/
https://apnews.com/article/6286840462bb1738eead57e7de25f209
https://www.newspapers.com/image/409877651/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/409877927/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410119613/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410119738/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410813727/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/410813770/
“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.

January 25, 1977. Lexington, Kentucky. 24-year old Melanie Flynn leaves her workplace, but fails to show up for an appointment and does not return home for dinner with her family. Two weeks later, Melanie’s abandoned car is discovered in an apartment complex parking lot and her purse is found washed up next to the Kentucky River later that summer. After numerous eyewitnesses claim to have seen Melanie alive in Florida, the police close the investigation, but her family is convinced she was murdered. Over the years, rumours circulate that Melanie worked as an undercover informant for the narcotics squad and was killed by corrupt police officers who were involved in drug trafficking. The story eventually balloons into a mammoth scandal known as the “Bluegrass Conspiracy”, but no trace of Melanie is ever found. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a convoluted missing persons case which may have been connected to a multi-million-dollar drug smuggling ring.
This episode of The Trail Went Cold is brought to you by Best Fiends, a unique and exciting puzzle experience unlike other puzzle games out there. Download Best Fiends FREE on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That’s FRIENDS without the R, Best Fiends!
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/melanie-dee-flynn
“The Bluegrass Conspiracy: An Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs and Murder” by Sally Denton
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article232423297.html
https://www.newspapers.com/image/101002756/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/110786699/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/110800054/
“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.

April 15, 2004. Forsyth County, Georgia. After finishing a phone call with a customer, 38-year old Patrice Endres vanishes from the hair salon she owns. Patrice’s purse and SUV are left behind and two eyewitnesses report having seen her in the parking lot next to an unidentified individual and a blue vehicle shortly before she went missing. Nearly eighteen months later, Patrice’s remains are discovered in a wooded area behind a church located six miles away. Investigators look into a number of potential suspects, including Patrice’s husband, Rob Endres, and a pair of convicted serial killers, one of whom confessed to her murder, but they are unable to find a resolution. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an unsolved murder which was recently featured on the new reboot of “Unsolved Mysteries”.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/13-minutes/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Patrice_Endres
https://www.newspapers.com/image/424650076/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/261684140
https://www.newspapers.com/image/423149045/
https://www.forsythnews.com/local/crime-courts/husband-seeks-closure-in-cold-case/
https://www.forsythnews.com/local/crime-courts/investigators-still-dedicated-murder-case-local-hairdresser-after-15-years/
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/gbi-asking-for-help-solving-salon-owners-homicide-cold-case
https://www.newsweek.com/unsolved-mysteries-netflix-rob-endres-patricia-endres-terry-dunn-meurer-1516216
http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/unsolved-mysteries-show-boss-gives-update-on-the-first-six-cases/ar-BB1aaMon?li=BBnb7Kw&srcref=rss&ocid=iehrs
“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.

March 5, 1957. El Paso, Texas. 52-year old William “Pat” Patterson and his 42-year old wife, Margaret Patterson, vanish without explanation from their home, leaving everything behind. A friend of the couple soon claims to have received a phone call from Pat, who allegedly said that he and Margaret were leaving town for awhile. Ten days later, Pat’s accountant receives a telegram from him, which states that he and Margaret are on an extended vacation and provides instructions about how to handle their assets and business. However, there is speculation that Pat did not actually write the telegram and evidence eventually emerges to suggest that the couple were victims of foul play. The case attains further notoriety when rumours spread that the Pattersons’ former home is haunted and their remains might be buried somewhere on the property. On this week’s Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a baffling unsolved cold case involving a missing couple which contains numerous theories involving murder, espionage and the paranormal.
Special thanks to our sponsor of this week’s episode: Nutrafol. For 20 % off, please visit Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code “cold”.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Bill_and_Dorothy_Wacker
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/07/27/Elderly-woman-with-stories-of-break-ins-found-dead/2396365054400/
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/07/31/An-elderly-spinster-terrorized-by-nighttime-burglars-apparently-was/3745365400000/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/j0jcqm/87yearold_sigrid_barginde_was_found_dead_in_in/
“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.