"You know what we say about camping in the '70s!"-Branden, Derric, and Ro (3AM Mystery Club)

Richard and Belinda Cowden, a married couple with two very young children go camping in the woods in 1974 and were never seen alive again. 

What happened on that fateful camping trip? Were they the victims of a crime of opportunity or a serial predator? Join us as Branden dissects, The Cowden Family Murders. 

Sources:

Rule, Ann (2009) But I Trusted You, and Other Case Files. New York: Simon and Schuster

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/true-crime-in-the-outdoors/the-cowden-family-massacre

https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/little-dwaine.htm

https://kobi5.com/news/unsolved-so-oregon-mystery-in-the-woods-pt-2-135405/

https://img0.newspapers.com/clip/44577179/dwaine-little-suspect-in-cowden-family/

In 2010, experienced diver Ben McDaniel's truck was found parked in the lot of dive park Vortex Spring near Ponce de Leon, Florida. Ben was no where to be found and remains missing to this day. Did Ben venture too far into his dangerous dive or did something more sinister happen? Ben's love of the water and diving has some people believing the latter, while police have always leaned more toward the former. Listen as Derric tells the story of 30-year-old Ben McDaniel, and as we discuss what we think could have happened. 

Sources:

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2011/04/17/beyond-the-last-restriction/

Disappeared: The Vortex. Season 5, Episode 11

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Ben_McDaniel

June 25, 1980 the bodies of two women were found haphazardly disposed of in a clearing at a West Virginia State Park. Vicki Durian and Nancy Santomero were hitchhiking across the United States from Iowa to the lush Greenbrier River Valley in the mountains of West Virginia to attend the annual Rainbow Coalition Festival. A weeklong celebration of fellowship and music intended to bring people together and promote world peace. Unfortunately for these two women, the mystery of who killed them would drag on for decades. Join us as 'Ro presents The Rainbow Murders. 

Sources: 

Youtube.com, The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia- Emily Copely Eisenberg

AETV.com The Unsolved Rainbow Murders: What Happened To Vicki Durian and Nancy Santomero, Crystal Ponti, 2020

http://stevenhager.net/2018/07/01/the-rainbow-murders/, The Rainbow Murders, Steven Hager, 2018

NPR.org, The Third Rainbow Girl, Maureen Corrigan, 2020

In the early morning hours of May 27, in a quaint suburb in Birmingham, England two young women are found murdered. The murders are so similar, one wonders if the culprit is the same person on a spree. The catch- These murders took place 157 years apart. Join us as Branden takes us across the pond to discuss The Erdington Murders. 

Sources

https://the-line-up.com/erdington-murders-coincidences

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-eerie-coincidences-of_b_8682392

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/12/05/two-eerily-similar-murders-157-years-apart/76829428/

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/from-the-archives-chilling-similarities-of-the-murders-of-two-117606

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/family-murdered-barbara-forrest-demand-187122

Heralded as "The Mother of Adoption", Georgia Tann used her status as a wealthy and college-educated socialite in the early to mid-twentieth century socialite to champion the cause of orphaned children in the United States. Helping famous clients such as Joan Crawford, adopt children publicly removed the stigma that had previously surrounded adoption, Tann even advised former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on children's issues. 

It wasn't until 1950 that "The Mother of Adoption" was exposed for the monster that she was. Join us as Ro' presents, "Georgia Tann and the Stolen Babies of Tennessee." 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Tann

https://www.insider.com/georgia-tann-tennessee-children-home-society-survivors-speak-out-2019-12

Unsolved Mysteries  Dec 13, 1989 Season 2, Episode 11

Deadly Women Sept 12, 2018 Episode: Above The Law

The Baby Thief by Barbara Bisantz Raymond (5-Aug-2013) Paperback. John Blake Publishing (5 Aug. 2013), 2021.

Spring Break 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley embarked on a Caribbean cruise with her family only to vanish in the middle of the night at sea. What happened to this vivacious and outgoing young woman? Was her disappearance a tragic accident or something worse? Join us as Derric presents the Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley.

Sources

https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-amy-lynn-bradley/philgibbons

Disappeared, "Troubled Waters", sesaon 9, episode 3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Amy_Lynn_Bradley

Vanished with Beth Holloway, "Bradley" season 1, episode 3

On a hot August day in New York City in 1963, the murder of two young women on the Upper East Side would lead to a game-changing Supreme Court Ruling, a setback to young women moving to the "big city" to pursue their dreams. It would also bring the conversation of racial profiling, forced confession, and false imprisonment to the forefront of conversation within American households nationwide. Join us a Branden leads us back from hiatus and straight into the era of Mad Men and the real-life Peggy Olsens whose lives ended well before they could properly start. 

Sources

A Crime to Remember, "The Career Girl Murders." ID Discovery, Nov. 19, 2013

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26042860/career-girl-murders-initial-ny-daily/The Career Girl Murders: Gender, Race, and Crime in 1960s New York. Marilynn S. Johnson.

https://nypost.com/2013/08/18/the-career-girl-murders/

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/nyregion/george-whitmore-jr-68-dies-falsely-confessed-to-3-murders-in-1964.html

In 1922 Germany, an entire family was annihilated one chilly Spring night. Locals and police didn't know about it for days, despite the family missing school and church. Why? The killer lived comfortably among the bodies of his victims in their home. The farm animals were being cared for, smoke was coming from the chimney every day, and all seemed well. It wasn't until a machine repairman alerted a neighbor to the unusual absence of people, that the murder was discovered. Was it ghosts? Wayward train hoppers? Scorned lovers?  Join us as Ro walks us through the terrifying and unsolved tale of, the Hinterkaifeck Family Massacre. 

Sources

Lore (television series) Season 2 Ep 3

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/7mi5lv/unresolved_murder_the_hinterkaifeck_murders_an/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIOiemydz9E&t=388s

https://www.ranker.com/list/hinterkaifeck-farm/cat-mcauliffe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterkaifeck_murders 

The Taconic Parkway Crash of 2009 was one of the area's most tragic stories. The fatal three-car crash resulted in the deaths of eight people. Join us as Derric covers the case of Diane Schuler, a perfect "PTA" mom and business executive who seemed to have the perfect life on the surface, until that fateful day in 2009 that decimated her family and the families involved in this vehicular manslaughter. 

Sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Taconic_State_Parkway_crash

HBO Documentary, "There's something wrong with Aunt Diane" 

https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/theres-something-wrong-with-aunt-diane/synopsis

The Journal News (Westchester) https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/mount-pleasant/2019/07/25/diane-schuler-taconic-state-parkway-crash/1769219001/

At midday on December 13, 2009, Steven Koecher got out of his car, parked at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Anthem neighborhood of Henderson, Nevada, United States and was never seen again. What happened to this 30-year-old devout Mormon who, according to loved ones, didn't seem to have any major troubles? Join us as Derric presents the Stange Disappearance of Steven Koecher. 

Sources:

https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2015/05/15/ccj-search-for-missing-st-george-man-is-renewed-almost-6-years-later/#.YJsbfmZKjPZ

Disappeared Season 3, episode 15 “Secrets of a Son”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Steven_Koecher