The Trail Went Cold

February 10, 1990. Las Cruces, New Mexico. A pair of armed gunmen enter a bowling alley called the Las Cruces Bowl and bring everyone inside into the manager’s office. After stealing money from the safe, the assailants fire several bullets into seven people before fleeing the scene. Three of the victims – 33-year old Ida Holguin, 34-year old Stephanie Senac, and her 12-year old daughter, Melissia Repass – manage to survive the shooting, but the four other victims – 13-year old Amy Houser, 26-year old Steven Teran, his six-year old stepdaughter Paula Holguin, and his two-year old daughter Valerie Teran – wind up dead. While the crime generates a lot of publicity, the two perpetrators are never found or identified, and there is a lot debate about whether robbery was actually the true motive for this crime. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores the “Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre”, one of the most horrific and senseless crimes ever featured on the podcast. Special thanks to listener Rob Polanco for providing the opening narration for this episode.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Cruces_bowling_alley_massacre
https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/05/us/bowling-alley-massacre-anniversary/index.html
https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/30-years-later-bowling-alley-massacre-still-unsolved/5523494/
https://unsolved.com/gallery/bowling-alley-murder/
http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/crime/2016/02/09/bowl-alley-massacre-case-remains-unsolved-26-years-later/80089278/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-mexico-murders-still-a-mystery-after-21-years#ixzz1wBH3crfh
“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.

March 5, 1974. Coconut Grove, Florida. 17-year old Amy Billig phones her father from her home and arranges to meet him at his workplace in order to borrow money to have lunch with friends. Amy is last hitchhiking next to a highway, but she never shows up to meet her father or her friends and is subsequently reported missing. After being informed that Amy was abducted by a gang of bikers, her mother, Susan Billig, spends the next several years attempting to track her down and even encounters a biker who claims to have bought and owned Amy for a time. The Billig family also has to endure two decades’ worth of harassing phone calls from another man who claims to have kidnapped Amy, but even after the caller is identified and arrested, no trace of Amy is ever found. Was Amy Billig actually abducted and held captive by bikers? Was the tormenting caller responsible for Amy’s disappearance? Or could an unknown third party have murdered her instead? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles one of the most convoluted missing persons cases we’ve ever covered, which has still not found a conclusive resolution after 45 years.
Additional Reading:
“Without a Trace: The Disappearance of Amy Billig” by Greg Aunapu and Susan Billig
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Amy_Billig
http://charleyproject.org/case/amy-billig
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/03/us/the-night-caller-21-years-of-unspeakable-grief.html
http://people.com/archive/the-night-caller-vol-45-no-8/
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1998-02-26-9802250754-story.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article226721904.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.

July 28, 2013. Newtown, Connecticut. 50-year old Robert “Hoagy” Hoagland is last seen mowing the lawn outside his house. The following day, his wife, Lori, returns from a trip to Turkey, but Hoagy fails to pick her up at the airport as scheduled. When Lori returns home, she discovers that her husband is missing and that his vehicle and all of his personal possessions have been left behind. Investigators explore the possibility that Hoagy’s disappearance might be connected to drug addiction issues involving his son, Max, and a recent confrontation Hoagy had with some of Max’s criminal associates. However, they also cannot rule out the idea that Hoagy disappeared voluntarily, as he had once run away from his family on a previous occasion. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a truly perplexing missing persons case in which there is no conclusive evidence to suggest what happened.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Robert_Hoagland
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Newtown-Man-Missing-for-Nearly-a-Year-268545472.html
https://www.newstimes.com/policereports/article/Newtown-man-s-disappearance-featured-on-TV-show-7954415.php
https://www.newstimes.com/policereports/article/Man-s-disappearance-still-a-riddle-4757047.php
https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Six-months-after-Newtown-man-s-disappearance-no-5218083.php#photo-5843666
http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Newtown-man-s-disappearance-troubles-loved-ones-a-5677519.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 produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

April 9, 1947. Woodward, Oklahoma. Four-year old Joan Gay Croft is taken to the local hospital after an F5 tornado devastates her hometown and takes the lives of over 100 people, including her mother. While Joan Gay and her half-sister are recovering from injuries in the basement, two men show up and take her away. They claim that they are taking Joan Gay to another hospital to see her family, but she is never seen again. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of odd developments, including an anonymous E-mailer claiming to be Joan Gay. Did Joan Gay Croft go on living her life under a new identity? If so, who were the two unidentified men who took her? Could she still be alive today? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a truly baffling mystery surrounding one of the worst tornados in history.
This episode of “The Trail Went Cold” is sponsored by Native. For 20% off your first purchase, please visit nativedeodorant.com and enter the promo code “cold” during checkout.
Additional Reading:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2557dfok.html
https://newsok.com/article/2468875/dna-test-may-solve-47-year-old-woodward-mystery-woman-believes-shes-joan-gay-croft
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/woodward-mystery-believed-solved/article_0fb79ae6-33a1-5c44-9938-f9559581419e.html
http://newsok.com/where-is-mystery-woman-connected-to-1947-woodward-tornado/article/3666941
https://newsok.com/article/2609396/woman-seeks-cousin-lost-after-tornado
https://www.enidnews.com/opinion/after-years-joan-croft-still-a-mystery/article_9eefe3d7-1ca3-5af8-a438-efe4e2d71ea9.html
http://kfor.com/2016/05/05/search-still-on-for-woodward-5-year-old-who-vanished-after-tornado-69-years-ago/
“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.

September 12, 1982. Lewiston, Idaho. 21-year old Kristina Nelson and her 18-year old stepsister, Jacqueline “Brandy” Miller, leave Kristina’s apartment, but never return. That very same night, 35-year old Steven Pearsall vanishes after being dropped off at his workplace, the Lewiston Civic Theatre, where Kristina had previously held Steven’s job as a janitor. The disappearances are believed to be connected and a year-and-a-half later, Kristina and Brandy’s remains are found at the bottom of a ravine. Investigators explore potential connections with two other cold cases which took place within the Lewis-Clark Valley: the 1979 disappearance of 12-year old Christina White and the 1981 murder of 22-year old Kristin David. They turn up a promising person of interest who seems to link these cases together, but there is not enough evidence to charge with any of the crimes. Was a serial killer responsible for the murders of all five of these victims? Join us for this year’s final Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold” which explores one of the craziest stories we’ve ever covered: the Lewis-Clark Valley Murders.
This episode of “The Trail Went Cold” is brought to you by Away. For $20 off a suitcase, go to awaytravel.com/cold and use the promo code “Cold”
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/steven-r-pearsall
http://charleyproject.org/case/christina-lee-white
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/aug/22/lewiston-law-enforcement-gives-fresh-look-at-unsol/
https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/lewiston-clarkston-couple-create-documentary-on-late-70s-serial-killer/413396771
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/ids-cold-valley-doc-explores-unsolved-lewis-clark-murders-disappearances-you-can-only-hide-for-so-long
https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/id-shows/on-tv0/in-pursuit-with-john-walsh/articles/ava-baldwin-kathryn-baldwin-abducted-from-san-antonio-2015
https://www.altereddimensions.net/2014/lewis-clark-valley-serial-killer-lewiston-clarkson-asotin-washington-idaho-killer-remains-free
https://www.facebook.com/LCVSK/
https://vimeo.com/51442715
“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.

March 18, 1950. Columbia, Missouri. 13-year old Janett Christman shows up at a married couple’s residence to spend the evening babysitting their child. When the couple returns home, they discover that Janett has been raped and strangled to death by an intruder, and the local sheriff’s department would report having received a phone call from Janett while she was being attacked. The investigation uncovers a promising suspect named Robert Mueller, whom Janett had also babysat for, but there is not enough evidence to make an arrest. Four years earlier, another young Columbia woman was murdered in a strikingly similar fashion and a suspect went to the gas chamber for the crime. But could an innocent man have been executed while the real killer went on to murder Janett Christman? On this week’s Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a creepy unsolved crime which inspired an infamous urban legend.
Additional Reading:
https://www.columbiatribune.com/article/20100307/News/303079884
https://web.archive.org/web/20180412110956/https://insidecolumbia.net/2015/10/01/who-killed-janett-christman/
“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 31, 1988. Hidalgo County, New Mexico. 29-year old David Stone, a stock market analyst from California, is seen wandering through the desert and exhibiting strange behaviour. Two days later, David’s abandoned car is discovered next to the highway, but David himself is nowhere to be found. Search efforts uncover a number of cryptic clues David left behind to suggest he was on some sort of spiritual journey related to the New Age movement. Over three years later, David’s remains are discovered in the desert, but the exact circumstances of his death remain unknown.
May 28, 1995. Coconino County, Arizona. 28-year old Devin Williams, a long-haul truck driver from Kansas, recklessly drives semi-trailer truck into Tonto National Forest before it becomes stuck in some mud. After Devin exits the truck, witnesses see him displaying bizarre behaviour before he takes off into the woods and disappears. Devin had been in the midst of transporting a shipment from California to Kansas until he drove over 60 miles off-course for unknown reasons. Two years later, Devin’s skull is discovered near the bottom of a cliff, but no one can figure out his cause of death or why he wound up in the forest to begin with.
In this month’s first Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore two odd cases in which a victim went missing after acting strangely before they were subsequently found dead.
This episode of “The Trail Went Cold” is sponsored by the app game Best Fiends. Download it for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/David_Stone
“The Prescott Courier” (April 14, 1992)
https://unsolved.com/gallery/devin-williams/
https://web.archive.org/web/20140817081532/http://cjonline.com/stories/051697/skull.html
https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-157772.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 27, 2016. Las Vegas, Nevada. 21-year old Sydney Land and her 20-year old boyfriend, Nehemiah “Neo” Kaufmann, are found shot to death inside Sydney’s apartment. The prime suspect is an alleged pimp named Shane Valentine, who had threatened the couple and fired a bullet into the home of Neo’s mother weeks earlier. Allegations eventually emerge that whoever committed the murders might be tied to a scandal involving police corruption and sex trafficking, and that a cover-up has been orchestrated to prevent the crime from being solved. This episode of “The Trail Went Cold” explores a convoluted case which was requested to us by Sydney’s mother, Connie Land, who is still seeking justice for her daughter’s murder.
This episode of “The Trail Went Cold” is sponsored by Native. Native makes safe, simple, effective products that people use in the bathroom everyday with trusted ingredients and trusted performance. For 20% off your first purchase, please visit nativedeodorant.com and enter the promo code “cold” during checkout.
Additional Reading:
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/who-killed-my-daughter/2019/06/07
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/nevada-supreme-court-ruling-judge-melanie-andress-tobiasson-wins-round-one/2019/05/14
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-judge-melanie-andress-tobiasson-vice-detectives-wanted-me-and-my-daughter-dead/2019/04/01
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/why-is-the-las-vegas-media-silent-on-judge-melanie-andress-tobiasson/2019/03/15
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-judges-statement-to-judicial-investigator-about-klas-tv-interview-conflicts-with-statement-made-to-the-baltimore-post-examiner/2019/03/01
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-judge-melanie-andress-tobiasson-says-she-threatened-suspect-in-unsolved-murders-then-kicked-in-his-door/2019/02/26
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/fbi-agents-behavior-during-las-vegas-corruption-probe-led-to-inquiry/2019/02/24
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-detective-calls-baltimore-post-examiner-story-on-unsolved-murders-filth-and-filled-with-lies/2019/02/21
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/exclusive-witness-claims-las-vegas-judge-melanie-andress-tobiasson-offered-her-a-bribe-to-implicate-innocent-man-in-unsolved-murder-case/2019/02/18
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/did-las-vegas-d-a-steve-wolfson-and-sheriff-joe-lombardo-cover-up-corruption/2019/02/09
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-sex-trafficker-who-is-suspect-in-unsolved-double-homicide-threatened-victims-weeks-before-the-murders/2019/02/04
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-judge-melanie-andress-tobiasson-who-exposed-police-corruption-faces-constant-retaliation/2019/01/25
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/judge-claims-fbi-refused-information-on-police-corruption-probe-after-pressure-from-lvmpd/2019/01/21
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/exclusive-affidavits-provide-insight-las-vegas-fbi-corruption-probe-las-vegas-metro-police-department/2018/05/19
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/whos-running-fbi-las-vegas-division-las-vegas-metro-police-department-fbi/2018/05/17
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-police-department-tells-fbi-stop-talking-judge-corruption/2018/05/15
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/not-special-special-prosecutor-gives-convicted-las-vegas-pimp-sweetheart-deal/2018/05/15
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/las-vegas-sex-trafficker-prison-life-may-released-amidst-police-corruption-probe/2018/05/13
https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2018/06/07/plea-deal-raises-questions-about-ties-between-cops-and-pimps/
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/oct/26/2-years-later-mother-presses-for-break-in-case-of/
http://news3lv.com/news/local/a-new-break-and-a-familiar-person-of-interest-in-young-couples-murder
“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.

January 24, 1987. Burbank, California. 35-year old Charlie Anderson, a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, returns to his suburban home with his wife and two children. He is shot to death after entering the house in what appears to be a burglary gone wrong. Over one year later, 43-year old Carol Montecalvo is shot to death inside her home, which is located only four blocks away from the Anderson residence, creating suspicion that the two crimes are connected. However, Carol’s husband, Dan Montecalvo, is eventually convicted of her murder, but maintains they were both attacked by intruders. Even though a woman named Suzan Brown confesses to being involved in both these crimes, her claims are dismissed. Was Dan Montecalvo actually responsible for his wife’s murder? Did the same person who shot Carol also kill Charlie Anderson? Or could Charlie have actually been murdered by someone he knew and trusted? We shall examine both these cases on this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” and explore their possible connections.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/charlie-anderson/
https://www.dailynews.com/2007/01/29/probe-ongoing-in-cops-slaying/
http://articles.burbankleader.com/2002-01-26/news/export11305_1_burbank-police-off-duty-police-officer-tim-stehr
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-04-02/news/mn-524_1_hearing-shots
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Montecalvo_case
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dan_Montecalvo
“Final Vows: Murder, Madness and Twisted Justice in California” by Karen Kingsbury
“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.

March 26, 1993. Dublin, Ireland. 26-year old Annie McCarrick, an American-born citizen living in Ireland, leaves her apartment to travel to the Wicklow Mountains, but never returns. Even though Annie is allegedly seen in a pub that night with an unidentified man, no trace of her is ever found. Over the course of the next five years, eight other women – 39-year old Eva Brennan, 22-year old Imelda Keenan, 21-year old Jo Jo Dullard, 17-year old Ciara Breen, 25-year old Fiona Pender, 19-year old Fiona Sinnott and 18-year old Deirdre Jacob – would vanish within a triangularly-shaped radius surrounding Dublin. This leads to speculation that some or all of the disappearances might be connected and the area becomes known as “Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle”. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel overseas to explore eight separate unsolved missing persons cases.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland%27s_Vanishing_Triangle
https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/irelands-vanishing-triangle-missing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_McCarrick
http://charleyproject.org/case/annie-bridget-mccarrick
“Missing: The Unsolved Cases of Ireland’s Missing Women and Children” by Barry Cummins
“Missing, Presumed” by Alan Bailey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Murphy_(criminal)
“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.