Twenty-eight Niqui McCown was a loving mother and sister. She was eagerly anticipating her upcoming wedding in August of 2001. However, just three weeks before she was to be married, on July 22nd, Niqui went to a local laundromat and was never seen again.In the weeks following her disappearance, Niqui's fiance became a person of interest, and t ...…

Thirty-two year old Brandy Hanna had recently gotten out of a six year long relationship. Having lived with her fiance, Ray McAdams, she couldn't help but develop feelings for a friend, Zeke Lankford. The situation became complicated and ultimately Brandy moved out, choosing to find an apartment to rent with Zeke.Just weeks after leaving Ray, Z ...…

Thirty-six year old Susan Walsh wanted, more than anything, to be a journalist. She'd put herself through college by dancing in bars and adult clubs. It had been a rough road, and Susan struggled with addiction but when she got married and had her son, everything changed.Working alongside an acclaimed journalist, Susan was finally getting into ...…

Twenty-four year old Amy Wroe Bechtel was putting the future together. Along with her husband, Steve, they had moved to the picturesque town of Lander, Wyoming and in the Summer of 1997, they had just closed on the purchase of their first house.On July 24th, both had the day off from work and while Steve planned to go rock climbing, Amy was goi ...…

Twenty-four year old Mitrice Richardson wasn't making sense. She was sending cryptic text messages and indecipherable social media posts. Her mother was concerned, and on September 16th, 2009, she received a call explaining that Mitrice had been arrested in Malibu.After speaking with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Mitrice's mother ...…

Celebrating the holiday season by answering listener questions.For more information please visit: https://www.trace-evidence.comhttps://www.patreon.com/traceevidence Social Media:https://twitter.com/TraceEvPodhttps://www.instagram.com/traceevidencepod/https://www.facebook.com/groups/traceevidencepodMusic Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod ( ...…

Nineteen year old Brandon Swanson had just completed his first year of college. Planning to spend his evening celebrating with friends, Brandon drove from his home in Marshall, MN to two separate gatherings. After leaving the second, near midnight, Brandon made the choice to take back roads rather than the faster and easier route of Highway 68. ...…

Nineteen year old Rachel Cooke had been attending college in San Diego. There, she met and fell in love with a man with whom she hoped to create a brilliant and beautiful future. Rachel was pursuing a career in fashion, and she had completely fallen in love with California, which was entirely different from her small hometown of Georgetown, Tex ...…

Short update episode regarding sentencing of a suspect in the Disappearance of Heather Elvis, examined in episode 33 of Trace Evidence."Wounded" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Seventeen year old Norman Ladner loved spending his free time on his family's land. He would walk through the 122 acre plot, exploring the open pastures and dense forestry. Fishing and hunting were two of his favorite activities, but on the night of August 21st, 1989, Norman didn't come home.After searching for over an hour, Norman's father mad ...…

It was a hot summer afternoon in Newark, New Jersey in 1978. Five close friends, Melvin "Ricky" Pittman (17), Ernest Taylor (17), Alvin Turner (16), Randy Johnson (16) and Michael McDowell (16) had all gotten together to play basketball at West Side Park.As the afternoon turned to evening, the friends went their separate ways, planning to meet ...…

Twenty year old Angela Hammond was living in rural Clinton, Missouri. Everything in her life seemed to be coming together: she'd fallen in love, gotten engaged and was pregnant with her first child. The bright, sweet and beautiful young woman was excited for the days ahead and the future she was building.On April 4th, 1991, she had plans to mee ...…

Twenty year old Karina Holmer wanted to see more of the world beyond her Swedish home town. In the Spring of 1996, she decided to go to America, working as an Au Pair for a well to do family in the Boston suburb of Dover. At first, everything was going great, but soon problems began to rear their head.In letters home, the young woman went from ...…

Six year old Isabel Celis disappeared from her family's home in April of 2012. Despite extensive searches, nothing could be found. Rumor quickly built up suggesting that a member of her own family had been involved in the crime. In March of 2017, Isabel's remains were recovered in rural Pima County. Now, a year later, an arrest has finally been ...…

In her early twenties, April Pitzer found herself on the wrong side of the law. In order to wipe the slate clean, she agreed to become a confidential informant. She had no idea the dangerous world she was entering, and ultimately had to flee Arkansas when her identity was compromised. Years later, she was brought back to testify in a trial whic ...…

Jeramy Burt was last seen on February 11th, 2007. Ninety six days later, the vehicle he had driven off in, his ex-wife's Mercury Cougar, was discovered abandoned and torched in the Bruneau desert in Southwest Idaho. The discovery of the car caused the Boise Police Department to officially launch an investigation into his disappearance.During th ...…

Thirty-three year old Jeramy Burt was putting his life back together. After an affair with his lawyer, his wife, Kim, filed for divorce and the two went their separate ways, though they were forever bonded through their young daughter. Jeramy regretted his mistakes and worked hard to make amends and regain Kim's trust. After his lawyer tried to ...…

Twenty-two year old Jamie Fraley was working hard to put her life on track. After a life wrought with health issues as the result of complications are birth, she had gotten a slow start. Unable to complete high school, or obtain a driver's license, she struggled to strike out on her own and put a future together.In 2006, everything changed when ...…

On July 6th, 2001, ten year old Tionda Bradley was looking after her three year old sister, Diamond while their mother, Tracey went to work. The children were reportedly last seen by their mother at 6:30am, and when she returned home at 12:30 they were nowhere to be found. All that was discovered was a note, allegedly written by Tionda, saying ...…

Dorothy Kilgallen was one of the most well known and prominent reporters in American history. Her tenacious personality and intense columns examines major stories of her time, including the murder trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard and the Cuban Missile Crisis. While her readers loved her dynamic style, powerful figures in Hollywood and Intelligence Age ...…

On February 7th, 1999, in Westminster, Colorado, thirty-nine year old Paul Skiba brought his nine year old daughter, Sarah, to work at his moving company while covering a shift for an employee. They were met by Lorenzo Chivers, one of Paul's employees, to go out on a job. The three drove off in a moving truck and were never seen again.Police in ...…

Twenty year old Irina "Ira" Yarmolenko was finishing up her sophomore semester at UNC Charlotte in May of 2008. She planned to begin her junior year at UNC Chapel Hill where she would pursue a career in Public Health, an area near and dear to her kind and compassionate sensibility. Tragically, Ira would never begin her junior year.On May 5th, 2 ...…

Logan Schiendelman had just finished his first year of college as Washington State University. He had spent a little too much time having fun, and not as much attending classes, and so he wasn’t able to return and instead planned to get a job, put some money in his pocket and see where the world would take him. He was on a journey of self disco ...…

Case Update: Episode 10 - The Bizarre Murder of Arlis Perry has been SOLVEDOn June 26th, 2018, Deputies of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department moved to execute a search warrant on suspect Steve Blake Crawford, the security guard who originally found Arlis Perry's body. During the execution of that warrant, Crawford committed suicide wit ...…

Twenty-three year old Brandi Wells was beginning to put her life back on track. After a failed marriage and traveling throughout Texas, she moved to Brownsboro, just twenty minutes away from her hometown of Tyler. She re-enrolled in college, to pursue a degree in education, and had just gotten a new job. Things were looking up. On August 2nd, 2 ...…

Fifteen year old Kayla Berg was excited to move back to her hometown of Antigo, Wisconsin after spending the previous two months in Texas with her mother, Hope. While Texas hadn't worked out for the pair, Kayla was looking forward to seeing her father and brother, as well as all the friends she had left behind.Kayla returned on August 2nd, 2009 ...…

Chuck Morgan worked as an escrow agent in Tucson, Arizona in 1977. Far from an exciting life, Chuck enjoyed the quiet calm and exactness of his work, and in his free time, delighted in joy and excitement of raising four daughters with his wife, Ruth. Suddenly, Chuck's life would be thrust into danger and mystery when he vanished on March 22nd. ...…

On June 27th, 1995, Jodi was meant to arrive at the studio at 3am. When 4am came, and she hadn't showed up, her assistant called her apartment and awoke a sleeping Jodi. She said she'd be there in twenty minutes, but Jodi was never seen again. Over the course of the next twenty-three years, the case has spiraled through moments of brilliant att ...…

Twenty-seven year old Jodi Huisentruit was living out her dream, being a television news anchor for KIMT in Mason City, Iowa. She'd always wanted to be on television, and her interest in broadcast journalism had brought her to her first role as the main anchor of a news network. Everything seemed to be coming together. On June 27th, 1995, Jodi ...…

For the One Year Anniversary Episode of Trace Evidence: On September 10th, 2000, Leah Hackett put her eight year old son, Zachary Bernhardt, to sleep in her bed at 11pm. Over the course of the next five hours, she watched television, chatted online and went for a walk and swim. After taking a shower, she discovered that Zachary was no longer in ...…

August 11th, 2009 was a hot and humid day in the North Georgia town of Blairsville. Thirty-eight year old Kristi Cornwell was visiting with her parents that summer as she had recently embarked on major changes in her life. She’d left her career as a probation officer, and was pursuing a new journey into the medical field. She had gotten divorce ...…

Bryce Laspisa was the average American college student. He was bright, charming and liked to have fun at every possible time. During the Summer of 2013, he stayed at home with his parents, eagerly anticipating his return to Sierra College, in Rocklin, California. Within two weeks of his return, in August of 2013, Bryce's friends and girlfriend ...…

Twenty-Five year old Tiffany Daniels was a talented artist living in Pensacola, Florida in August of 2013. Saddened by her boyfriend moving out of state, and overwhelmed with financial difficulties, Tiffany was struggling to find her way. Her worries seemed as though they might be ending as a friend's father rented a room from her home, making ...…

Twenty-three year old Lily Aramburo was on top of the world. She'd overcome her addictions, transformed her life and given birth to a son who she loved beyond compare. She'd recently moved in with an old friend, Christen, after each shared their true feelings and they were building a life together, but in early 2007, it would all begin to fall ...…

On October 23rd, 1981, seventeen year old Kurt Sova had plans to go to a local carnival. Plans changed when he ran into a close friend who invited him to a party at a duplex nearby. The party was filled with locals and people who had driven in from Detroit, and Kurt began drinking heavily. When he began feeling ill, his friend took him outside ...…

I recently conducted a series of Q&A videos in which I answered listener questions. This is the audio from these sessions. If you want to see the videos, visit the Trace Evidence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPFbLcFipff2OVJC2KdARbwhttps://www.trace-evidence.comhttps://www.patreon.com/traceevidence…

Twenty-one year old Elisa Lam decided to take a break from college. She wanted to take a trip, out of Canada and down into the United States to see California. Her trip involved stops in San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. Embarking on her trip in January of 2013, Elisa visited San Diego and then went to Los Angeles where she had booked a th ...…

Forty-two year old Sonia Varaschin was a pediatric nurse living in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. A hard working woman with a zest for life and a love of adventure, she had a lovely personality and was often found dancing whenever she had the time. In August of 2010, Sonia vanished from her home and her blood stained car was found abandoned not ...…

On December 2nd, 2016, twenty-eight year old Danielle Stislicki made dinner plans with her best friend. She left her office building, located in Southfield, Michigan, at 5pm, and sent a text saying that she was going to be stopping at her apartment, and would meet for dinner around 6pm. Danielle never arrived. Within 24 hours, friends, family a ...…

Nineteen year old Suzanne Lyall was an accomplished poet and computer whiz attending the State University of New York at Albany. Majoring in computer science, she was cutting the path for a bright future full of joy and love. Along with her boyfriend, Richard, she was setting her goals high and looking to achieve all of her dreams. On March 2nd ...…

Thirty-four year old Danielle Imbo was going through a divorce and raising her eighteen month old son. Through her best friend, Christine, she reconnected with her high school crush, Christine's older brother, thirty-five year old, single father Richard Petrone. The two clicked instantly. Their relationship was going well when Danielle's ex-hus ...…

Fourteen year old Dana Bradley has gone to a friends house after school on December 14th, 1981 in St. John's, Newfoundland. She couldn't stay for too long, as it was her mother's birthday that night and she needed to get home. She planned to walk to a nearby bus stop and arrive home by 5:30pm. When 5:30 came and went, and Dana hadn't returned h ...…

In the summer of 2013, twenty year old Heather Elvis had an affair with Sidney Moorer, a much older married man she met through her job. When Sidney's wife, Tammy, found out, the relationship was severed and Heather became the subject of threats and insults. By December, Heather was moving on with her life and hoping to leave Sidney and Tammy i ...…

Thirty year old Steven Koecher was born into a large family, to two loving parents in November of 1979. A quiet child who enjoyed laughing, sports and music, Steven was raised up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His faith was strong, and as he grew into an adult, he became even more devout. Between his large family, his churc ...…

Joel Lovelien took his fiancee to a Halloween party at the Broken Drum bar and grill in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Saturday, October 27th, 2007. The party was big, and a bus pulled up pouring out 40 to 50 twenty-somethings making it even busier. Joel took a call outside, and when he returned, explained to his fiancee that he was going to chec ...…

In October of 2010, twenty-four year old, single mother of two, Unique Harris was having a movie marathon sleepover with her sons and young cousin. After putting the children to bed, sometime between 10pm and 9am, Unique vanished from her apartment. When the children awoke the next morning they were scared because Unique was gone. Her family wa ...…

Thirty-five year old wife and mother of two, Teresa Lynn Butler spent the evening of January 24th, 2006 with her sister-in-law. She went home that night to put her two and four year old sons to bed, received a call at approximately 10pm and seemingly vanished into thin air. When her husband, Dale, arrived home the next morning, he found his wif ...…

Sneha Anne Philip was a thirty-one year old medical student in the final year of her residency. The year prior, she had married her med-school sweetheart and the two were now living in an apartment in Battery Park City. While on the surface, everything seemed to be moving along smoothly, a dark shadow of rumor and legal trouble was beginning to ...…

Kanika Powell was a brilliant twenty-eight year old woman living in Prince George County, Maryland. After a tour of service in the Army, she came out and began work as a security contractor. Much to her delight, she found work at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. After two years working as a contractor ...…

Twenty-Three year old Leah Roberts had lived a difficult life and suffered multiple tragedies. By the time she was twenty-two she had lost both of her parents and been involved in a near fatal car accident. Desperate for a way to deal with her grief, and in order to find herself and her true dreams, she embarked on a secret trip. On March 9th, ...…