The Trail Went Cold

June 28, 1991. An elderly couple named Gord and Jackie McAllister drive their motor home into an isolated rest stop near Blind River, Ontario, in order to spend the night. They are awakened by an armed man, who robs them before shooting Jackie to death and wounding Gord. When a motorist named Brian Major pulls into the rest stop, the suspect fatally shoots him as well before fleeing the scene. Years later, a former Blind River resident is tied to two unsolved murders from 1970 and becomes a potential suspect in the rest stop killings. This terrifying case was featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” and is our first Canadian story. Join us for the very first minisode of “The Trail Went Cold”.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolved.com/archives/gordon-jackie-mcallister
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dna-leads-to-arrest-in-30-year-old-sex-slayings-1.176374
“Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder” by Lee Mellor
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Christmas Eve 1975. Winter Garden, Florida. Police respond to call for help at the W.T. Zeigler Furniture Store and find one of the store’s owners, 30-year old Tommy Zeigler, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Inside, they discover that four people have been murdered: Tommy’s wife, Eunice Zeigler; her parents, Perry and Virginia Edwards; and a customer named Charlie Mays. Tommy claims he was attacked and shot by unknown intruders, but authorities believe Tommy committed the murders himself and that his gunshot wound is self-inflicted. Months later, he is put on trial and sentenced to death. However, the prosecution’s case was shaky at best and over the years, evidence has emerged to cast doubt on the conviction. Tommy Zeigler has remained on death row for over 40 years, but has never stopped maintaining his innocence and his supporters continue to fight to get him released. This is undoubtedly the most convoluted case “The Trail Went Cold” has ever profiled, so we will be making this a two-part episode. This week, Part 1 will chronicle the incredible series of events surrounding this horrific crime and the controversial trial of Tommy Zeigler.
Additional Reading:
“Fatal Flaw: A True Story of Malice and Murder in a Small Southern Town” by Philip Finch
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-tommy-zeigler-medill-justice-project-20160308-story.html
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/defense-seeks-touch-dna-to-question-death-row-inmates-guilt/2236115
http://tommyzeiglerisinnocent.com
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

January 21, 1962. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Authorities arrive at the burning home of Edward Maps to discover that his wife, Christine, has been bludgeoned to death and their four-month old daughter, Julie Louise, has died of smoke inhalation. Edward Maps himself has disappeared and a warrant is issued for his arrest. Maps is soon placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, but to this day, he has never been found. However, over the years, allegations have surfaced that another suspect might have been the real perpetrator and disposed of Maps’ body to frame him for the crime. Did Edward Maps get away with the murder of his family or was he actually an innocent victim all along? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, I analyze one of the most baffling wanted fugitive cases ever.
Additional Reading:
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080121/NEWS/801210331
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080128/NEWS/801280322
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080211/NEWS/802110332
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20080413/NEWS/804130349
http://articles.mcall.com/1992-05-03/news/2858965_1_christine-fine-artist-murders
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 7, 1982. Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Catholic priest named Father Reynaldo Rivera receives a phone call from a man asking him to administer last rites to a dying relative. After leaving to meet this man at a rest stop, Father Rivera disappears and is soon found murdered. Two years later, another Catholic priest named Father John Kerrigan disappears from the community of Ronan, Montana and though his body is never found, the evidence suggests he was also murdered. There are enough similarities between the two crimes that investigators start wondering if they might be connected and committed by a serial killer targeting Catholic priests. However, allegations have surfaced to suggest that one of the priests may have been harboring dark secrets which contributed to his death. I will be analyzing two unsolved cases on this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I attempt to figure out what happened to both Father Rivera and Father Kerrigan.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/fr-reynaldo-rivera/
http://charleyproject.org/case/john-patrick-kerrigan
https://missoulian.com/news/local/list-of-priests-accused-of-sex-abuse-includes-believed-to/article_260a2a21-8c7f-5b29-ad6a-2cbc8583426d.html
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

March 18, 1990. Augusta, Georgia. Fifteen-year old twin sisters, Jeannette and Dannette Millbrook, are heading back to their family’s apartment when they decide to stop off at a gas station to buy some food. After leaving the store, the twins never return home and vanish without a trace. Over the next two decades, the twins’ family would be trapped in a trapped in bureaucratic nightmare, as law enforcement would inexplicably close the case without informing them. The disappearance would not receive a proper investigation or any media coverage for 23 years! This week’s episode of The Trail Went Cold is our most important one yet, as we were personally contacted by Jeannette and Dannette’s half-sister, Shanta Sturgis, who asked us to cover their story.
Please check out the Charley Project profile pages for Jeannette and Dannette Millbrook, which contain their vital statistics, age-progressed photographs, and contact info for the proper authorities should you happen to have any information:
http://charleyproject.org/case/jeannette-latressa-millbrook
http://charleyproject.org/case/dannette-latonia-millbrook
Also, click here to hear an interview with Shanta Sturgis on an episode about this case from the true crime podcast, “Thin Air.”
Additional Reading:
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/08/16/dannette-jeannette-millbrooks-missing_n_3762972.html
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

February 14, 1980. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While recovering from a bad drug hangover, 25-year old Michael Rosenblum drives off in his girlfriend’s car and vanishes without a trace. The vehicle is soon found abandoned by the Baldwin Borough Police Department, but even though Michael’s family reports him missing, the police inexplicably keep the car impounded for three months without informing anyone. As the years go by, Michael’s father uncovers disturbing evidence to suggest that the Baldwin police chief helped orchestrate an elaborate cover-up involving his son’s disappearance. Even when a skull fragment belonging to Michael is found in 1992, there are no answers about what happened to him. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles the unexplained disappearance and death of Michael Rosenblum, which is perhaps our most convoluted and controversial case to date.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolved.com/archives/michael-rosenblum
http://coldcaseshardcopy.blogspot.com/2011/10/who-murdered-michael-rosenblum.html
Pittsburgh Magazine (April 1988)
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

January 13, 1976. Beaumaris, Australia. The family of eight-year old Eloise Worledge wake up to discover she has mysteriously vanished from their suburban home and that an opening has been cut in the flyscreen window inside Eloise’s bedroom. Eyewitnesses report a lot of strange activity in the neighbourhood throughout the night, which seems to suggest that Eloise was abducted by an intruder. However, other evidence seems to suggest the abduction scene might have been staged. Since Eloise’s parents were going through a separation and her father was planning to move out of the house that very same morning, investigators start eyeing the family as possible suspects. Who was actually responsible for Eloise Worledge’s disappearance? Join us for the first international episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I analyze one of the most controversial unsolved cases in the history of Australia.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Eloise_Worledge
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1057179154768.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/07/1057430137175.html
http://www.australianmissingpersonsregister.com/Worledge.htm
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

November 16, 1982. An abandoned SUV is discovered in the middle of a desolate Wyoming prairie and numerous possessions are scattered all over the highway. The vehicle belongs to Don Kemp, a former New York City ad executive who has left his old life behind and vanished without a trace. In spite of an extensive search of the area, it is four years before Don’s skeletal remains are found on the prairie. However, five months after Don originally disappeared, one of his friends allegedly received a series of bizarre phone calls from him. Did Don die of exposure shortly after abandoning his vehicle? Or was he killed elsewhere before his remains were somehow returned to the prairie years later? Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I analyze the very first case to ever be featured on “Unsolved Mysteries”.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/don-kemp/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Donald_Kemp
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

July 10, 1991. El Dorado, Arkansas. A young blonde woman known to her friends as “Mercedes” is shot to death by her estranged ex-boyfriend at a seedy motel. It turns out Mercedes has been living under a stolen identity and no one in her life – not even the man who murdered her – knows who she really is. An extensive check into the woman’s background turns up many pieces of a puzzle which does not fit together and investigators are unable to uncover her true identity. However, it is possible she might be connected to some other unsolved cold cases… including one we have previously featured on this very podcast! Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I share the story of the mysterious unidentified woman known as “El Dorado Jane Doe”.
Please check out the Doe Network profile page for El Dorado Jane Doe, which contains her vital statistics, numerous photographs, and contact info for the proper authorities should you happen to recognize her: http://doenetwork.org/cases/81ufar.html
Additional Reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/eldorado-jane-doe_us_56e6d679e4b0b25c918276a3
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

On April 9, 1997, Judy Smith, a 50-year old wife and mother from Newton, Massachusetts, decided to accompany her husband, Jeff, on a business trip to Philadelphia. The following day, Judy set out to do some sightseeing in the city while her husband attended a conference. When Jeff returned to their hotel that night, Judy was not there and she could not be found anywhere in the city. Five months later, Judy’s skeletal remains would be discovered in a mountainous area… 600 miles away in North Carolina! The evidence indicated foul play, but eyewitness sightings seemed to suggest that Judy had traveled to the area voluntarily. Did Judy take an impromptu 600-mile trip without telling her family and if so, how did she wind up dead in the Appalachian Mountains? Join me for a new episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, as I analyze the truly baffling unexplained death of Judy Smith.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolved.com/archives/judy-smith
http://citypaper.net/articles/071797/article010.shtml
http://citypaper.net/articles/072497/article015.shtml
http://citypaper.net/articles/100297/cb.smith.shtml
http://citypaper.net/articles/100997/cb.buncombe.shtml
http://articles.philly.com/1997-10-05/news/25540618_1_detectives-medical-examiner-crime-scene
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.