The Army mobilizes a massive search after another child disappears. Meantime, the Sierra Vista Police chief is certain he knows the identity of the killer. And a spelling error in the Phantom’s letter holds the key to the case.

Investigators race against the clock to identify the Phantom. The police chief zeros in on a troubled teenager, but one big misstep causes investigators to overlook the killer. Meantime, the Phantom’s own letters shed light on what motivated him to kill Cindy Clelland.

The killer sends a letter to the police, threatening to strike again and referring to himself as “The Phantom.” Meantime, an army of investigators hunt for an old man driving sedan. And the police chief senses something familiar about the murder of Cindy Clelland.

The year was 1967 in small town USA. Children were used to the freedom to play in the streets, playgrounds and fields of Sierra Vista, Arizona. But all that changed one spring day, when a blonde-haired, brown-eyed little girl disappeared. What followed was a search involving hundreds of police officers, sheriff’s deputies and soldiers from a nearby Army post. It ended with a gruesome discovery and a mysterious letter from someone who called himself “The Phantom.”

True Crime Arizona: The Phantom Killer is a limited series that examines the gruesome murders that terrified a small town 50 years ago. Investigative reporter Morgan Loew spent four years researching the case, interviewing family members of the victims, investigators, members of the killer’s family – and the killer himself. The podcast takes listeners back to the summer of 1967, when one little girl after another disappeared in Sierra Vista, Arizona and the police received a letter written by someone who called himself “The Phantom.” The story continues today, as the killer sheds new light on why he did what he did – all those years ago.