Missing Person Episodes

In this year-end recap episode of Cold and Missing, we revisit some of the most compelling cases from our archives, exploring new updates and breakthroughs that have emerged in 2024. We delve into advancements in genetic genealogy and highlight the tireless efforts of law enforcement and advocates keeping these cases alive. Join us as we reflect on the ongoing quest for answers and justice in these unresolved mysteries. This episode is a powerful reminder that no case is truly cold when we keep ...

In this episode, we dive into the mysterious disappearance of Larissa Sam, a talented 22-year-old mother and aspiring American Idol contestant who vanished on June 21, 2015. Larissa, known for her vibrant personality, was last seen leaving her uncle's house after a late shift at The Classy Chassy - a club in Indianapolis. Her car was found abandoned, but with clues that led to more questions than answers. Despite intense searches, a chilling security video, and multiple leads, including a troubl...

In September 2017, 20-year-old Abby Lynn Patterson vanished from Lumberton, NC. Abby, described as bubbly and close to her family, spent time with them over Labor Day weekend before disappearing. On September 5th, she left home with plans to run errands and visit an old friend but never returned. Witnesses saw her getting into a Buick Park Avenue with a friend. Shortly after this, Abby stopped responding to text messages and phone calls to her went straight to voicemail. Despite FBI involvement ...

Lynne, an adventurous and outgoing 18-year-old freshman at Middlebury College in 1971, vanished without a trace, sparking a decades-long mystery. Despite being a dedicated student and seemingly content, she disappeared on her way to an English Drama final just before Christmas break. Despite extensive searches and investigations, no conclusive evidence of her whereabouts or fate has ever been found. Over the years, her family has tirelessly sought answers, suspecting foul play or accidental deat...

Angela, also known as Angie, is a 20-year-old woman in 1991 who is pregnant and engaged to her high school boyfriend, Rob. One night in April, while on a call with Rob at a payphone, Angie starts to get worried about a green truck that is circling the block. When the truck pulls in and parks next to the payphones she starts to quickly tell her fiancé the description of the man and his green truck. Rob hears Angie scream on the other end and then the phone is hung up. Rob happened to be a few blo...

Ellabeth Mae Lodermeier, also known as Ellie, went missing on March 6, 1974, in Sioux Falls, SD. When she didn’t show up for work her co-workers called her soon to be ex-husband, Gene Lodermeier. When Gene and a few coworkers went to her house they found the doors locked and her car in the driveway. Inside was a pizza with a single slice missing, bread dough left rising on the counter, and spilled flour. Only her jacket and purse was missing from the home. Months later her credit cards will show...

Melissa, a talented and passionate individual, faced challenges in her life, including a diagnosis of Lyme disease. On February 6th, 2020, she experienced a mental health crisis and drove to the Taos Gorge Bridge with the intention of jumping off. However, she called her ex-girlfriend for help, who took her to a psychiatric hospital. After her release, Melissa struggled with medication side effects and concerned about a pickup truck that would drive by her friend's house that she was staying at....

Katelin Akens, a 19-year-old woman, went missing in December 2015. She was supposed to be heading to the airport to catch a flight back to Arizona. Her ex-stepfather was giving her a ride but had to drop her off 4 hours early so he could get back to work. He later said that Katelin wanted to be dropped off at a nearby mall instead of waiting at the airport. She told her former stepfather that she would catch the metro to Reagan National Airport for her flight later that day. However, surveillanc...

The Thompson family, consisting of Everett Sr., Lydia, and their two sons, Everett Jr. and Andrew, went missing in July 1996 in Chicago, IL. Prior to their disappearance, there was tension in the household due to Lydia's brother, Kenneth White, who had recently been released from prison and was staying with them. On July 3, 1996, Lydia called the police reporting that Kenneth was chasing her with an ax, but no arrests were made. On July 5, Everett received a frantic call from Lydia, stating that...

Dava Leonard, a 39-year-old mother of six, went missing in February 2021. She had been in an unhealthy relationship with her possessive boyfriend, Steve, whom she met on a dating website. Dava's family and friends became concerned about her well-being and reported her disappearance to the police. Despite initial skepticism from the authorities, her case was eventually reopened, and her family continues to search for answers. To date there has been no trace of Dava found. If anyone has informa...

Jeffrey Lynn Smith’s mother was a housekeeper for Bill Clinton’s family and was named after Virginia Clinton Kelley’s husband at the time - Jeff Dwire. She never loved the name so she went by Lynn, Lynn went missing on December 4, 1985, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She was walking home with her boyfriend and a friend from school during the festive season. Lynn's boyfriend claims they parted ways, but she never made it home. The police initially treated her disappearance as a runaway case and did no...

Michael John Olson, a 20-year-old man who had moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, went missing on December 1st, 1979. He was last seen leaving a bar at around 4:30 am driving his maroon 1979 Grand Prix. Michael had spent the day playing golf, going to a dog track, and bar hopping with friends. Despite staying out late, his friends noted that he didn't drink much. When Michael didn't show up for work the next day, his friends went to his hotel but couldn't find his car. The hotel clerk believed Mi...

Christine Cole, a 10-year-old girl from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, went missing on January 6, 1988. She was last seen at a market buying gum balls and milk. Despite extensive searches and investigations, Christine's body was not found until February 28, 1988, when it was discovered near a riverbank. The autopsy revealed that she died from asphyxiation, but it was unclear whether it occurred before or after she was placed in the water. The case was initially treated as a suspicious death, but later...

Phyllis Berry, a 21-year-old Chickasaw woman, went missing on Halloween night in 1975 during the World Championship Chili Cook-off in Terlingua, Texas. She was last seen at a dance party and was later seen sitting by a campfire before disappearing. Despite extensive searches by the police, including ground searches and the involvement of the Texas Rangers, no trace of Phyllis has ever been found. There have been rumors and false reports, but her case remains unsolved, and her family believes fou...

Leona Kinsey ran into a friend while grocery shopping in October of 1999 and told her that she would swing by later that evening after she met a man named ‘John’ at a different store. Leona never made it to her friends house and was never heard from again, Leona had being missing for several days when her car turned up abandoned at the store that she had told her friend she planned to meet John at. According to the store manager it had not been there in the days before. To date no trace of Leona has ever been found. Join Ali and Eli as we go over this missing person case and touch on the work of Leona’s daughter- Carolyn DeFord- who has changed the national conversation around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Jason Jolkowski was 19 years old when he seemingly vanished into thin air. Jason was called into work early on June 13th, 2001. Since his car was in the body shop he told his work that he would have to walk the 4 miles to get there. As he was getting ready to leave a coworker called back and said she would come pick him up. They agreed to meet at Benson High School which was 8 blocks from Jason’s home. At 10:45 in the morning Jason was last seen by his brother and a neighbor pulling the trash cans up from the curb and then heading in the direction of the school. When his coworker arrives to pick him up, Jason is no where to be found. She waits a half hour before driving back to work to call his home again. It’s here that they discover that Jason is missing. Join Ali and Eli as we go over this tragic missing person case.

In the early morning hours of June 30th, 2014 Nefertiti ‘Neffie’ Trader made an early morning run to 7-Eleven for a pack of cigarettes, two coffees, and a loaf of bread. When she returned home around 4am a neighbor, who happened to be up, looked outside his window when Neffie’s porch light turned on. He saw Neffie being forced into the back of her own car. When Neffie’s family come to her home later that day they find a loaf of bread on the front lawn that had been stepped on, an unwrapped condom on the porch, and Neffie’s shoes kicked off by the front door. They call police to report Neffie as missing and to date no trace of Nefertiti or her vehicle have been found. Listen this week as Ali and Eli go over this baffling missing person case.

On this episode of Cold and Missing we look into the baffling missing person case of Brandon Swanson. After finishing his freshman year of college Brandon spent the day celebrating with friends, but on his drive home his car got stuck in a ditch. He called his parents and told them where he was. Brandon stayed on the phone with his parents the entire time but when they arrived to where Brandon said he was - he was nowhere to be found. Growing frustrated Brandon told his parents he was going to start walking towards the lights of the nearby town and they could pick him up there. Brandon’s parents stayed on the phone with him for another 47 minutes while he walked until they heard Brandon say “oh, shit” and the phone call ended. The next day Brandon’s car was found about 25 miles away from where he said he was. Join Ali and Eli as we review this case.

This week on Cold and Missing Ali and Eli look into the 2000 unresolved missing person case of Aesha Muhammad. In Nov. of 2000 Aesha was having issues with her landlord and had made plans to move in with her sister. When family suddenly stopped being able to reach Aesha they became increasingly worried not only for her, but also for her 2 1/2 year old Amaru. A few days later Amaru turns up at the front door of a church during their Sunday service. He is unharmed but Aesha is no where to be found. Once Amaru is reunited with his family he begins to tell them what he knows. That his mommy is dead and she was hit on the head. Join us as we go over this tragic unresolved missing person case.

This week on Cold and Missing Ali and Eli look into the unresolved missing persons case of Diamond Bynum and King Walker. This case takes place in 2015 when King is 2 and Diamond is 21. Diamond is King’s aunt however she has Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) a genetic condition that causes developmental delays, extreme flexibility, and excessive hunger to the point that the person can never feel full. Due to PWS Diamond’s family says she operated like a 7 year old and is unable to care for King. On July 25th, 2015 Diamond and King took a nap and shortly after they fell asleep Diamond’s step-mother also took a short nap. When she awoke at 11:00 a.m. she discovered the two were missing and quickly called police. To date there have been no confirmed sighting and no evidence of where the two could have went.

This week on Cold and Missing Ali and Eli look into the case of 3 people who went missing on Feb. 7th, 1999: Paul Skiba, Sarah Skiba, and Lorenzo Chivers. Paul owned Tuff Movers in Westminster, Colorado where Lorenzo was also employed. It was Paul’s weekend with his daughter, Sarah, so when he had to cover for an employee unexpectedly on Sunday, February 7th that would mean that Sarah would also tag along for the day. Paul, Sarah, and Lorenzo were all last seen at the final moving job of the day but none of them returned home that night. It will take days of family and friends begging and arguing with police for them to investigate. After police begrudgingly start investigating it is uncovered that a large amount of blood was spilled at Tuff Movers and Paul, Sarah, and Lorenzo are presumed dead. Join us as we go through the timeline of events in this shocking case.

This week on Cold and Missing Ali and Eli are back to talk about Tito J, Garcia Quintanilla who has been missing since August 19th, 2022. We review the interview that Ali had with Faith - Tito’s wife- that you can listen to in episodes 16 & 17. Ali and Eli go over the timeline on Tito’s journey and talk about the complex immigration system that forces people to make impossible decisions with no guaranteed outcome.

This week on Cold and Missing we’re doing something a little different. This week Ali had the chance to speak with the wife of Tito J Garcia Quintanilla who has been missing since August 19, 2022. This is part 1 of the interview with Faith. In the part of the interview you will get to know Tito and Faith- from their Rom-Com meet cute to building their life in Honduras with their son. Ali and Eli will be back next week to go over this case in detail so make sure you’re subscribed on your favorite podcast platform.

This week on Cold and Missing we’re doing something a little different. This week Ali had the chance to speak with the wife of Tito J Garcia Quintanilla who has been missing since August 19, 2022. This is part 2 of the interview with Faith, If you have not listened to part 1 we encourage you to listen to get to know Tito and Faith. In this part of the interview with Faith we will hear about the nightmare that began for this family starting with COVID-19 to Tito making his trip to America to be with his family. We’ll hear Faith talk about the last time she heard from Tito that August day and where she is today with his case. Ali and Eli will be back next week to go over this case in detail so make sure you’re subscribed on your favorite podcast platform.