It’s an unfortunate reality that cold cases generally only grow colder with time. Evidence is lost. Memories fade. Witnesses die. Collective interest wanes. And eventually unsolved crimes become nothing more than local legends told around campfires. Hope of ever really finding answers all but vanishes. But sometimes the truth of what really happened in the past survives in something as simple as a tale told by the old timer at the end of a bar.

The truth of the past can sometimes live on in the stories told to us that we may not even realize contain answers to questions we never thought to ask. Perhaps contained within a second-hand story passed from one generation to the next exists the truth of what really happened in St. Louis Canyon on March 14th, 1960.

This week we discuss a tip we received, illuminating the story of Smokey Wrona.

For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in episode 6’s coverage of the case, visit andyhalepodcast.com.