The Path Went Chilly

July 10, 1958. Monterey County, California. 26-year old First Lieutenant Paul Whipkey leaves Fort Ord, the Army base where he is stationed. When he fails to return, he is declared AWOL before being declared a “deserter” 30 days later. Five weeks after he went missing, Whipkey’s abandoned car is discovered nearly 500 miles away in a remote section of Death Valley. Since Whipkey’s body cannot be found, the Army believes he suffered a mental breakdown and wandered into the desert and died. However, Whipkey’s family discovers troubling discrepancies to make them suspect the Army staged his disappearance. In 1982, Whipkey’s status is officially changed to “died in the line of duty”, but he is never found and the full truth about what happened to him is not revealed. Could Whipkey have been recruited by the CIA and sent on a secret mission? Or was his disappearance connected to a previous assignment involving atomic testing? We shall explore all the different potential scenarios as we cover a bizarre military-themed mystery on this week’s edition on “The Path Went Chilly”.

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Patreon.com/julesandashley

July 10, 1958. Monterey County, California. 26-year old First Lieutenant Paul Whipkey leaves Fort Ord, the Army base where he is stationed. When he fails to return, he is declared AWOL before being declared a “deserter” 30 days later. Five weeks after he went missing, Whipkey’s abandoned car is discovered nearly 500 miles away in a remote section of Death Valley. Since Whipkey’s body cannot be found, the Army believes he suffered a mental breakdown and wandered into the desert and died. However, Whipkey’s family discovers troubling discrepancies to make them suspect the Army staged his disappearance. In 1982, Whipkey’s status is officially changed to “died in the line of duty”, but he is never found and the full truth about what happened to him is not revealed. Could Whipkey have been recruited by the CIA and sent on a secret mission? Or was his disappearance connected to a previous assignment involving atomic testing? We shall explore all the different potential scenarios as we cover a bizarre military-themed mystery on this week’s edition on “The Path Went Chilly”.

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Patreon.com/julesandashley

October 21, 1978. Cape Otway, Australia. After leaving on a seemingly routine training flight in a Cessna 182 aircraft, 20-year old pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes without explanation over Bass Strait. During a radio transmission, Valentich describes seeing an unidentified flying object and his final words are: “It’s hovering and it’s not an aircraft”. When eyewitnesses report seeing strange things in the sky that night, speculation mounts that Valentich’s disappearance might have been the result of an alien encounter. For our final Halloween-themed episode of “The Path Went Chilly” this month, we will be covering our very first story involving potential UFO involvement and explore whether this caused a pilot to vanish forever. 

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentichhttps://unsolved.com/gallery/ufo-disappearance/

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/truth-was-out-there-after-all/news-story/2973bd131c27da0a31f4a7b8eba643fe

http://www.mufon.com/valentich-disappearance—1978.html

October 21, 1978. Cape Otway, Australia. After leaving on a seemingly routine training flight in a Cessna 182 aircraft, 20-year old pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes without explanation over Bass Strait. During a radio transmission, Valentich describes seeing an unidentified flying object and his final words are: “It’s hovering and it’s not an aircraft”. When eyewitnesses report seeing strange things in the sky that night, speculation mounts that Valentich’s disappearance might have been the result of an alien encounter. For our final Halloween-themed episode of “The Path Went Chilly” this month, we will be covering our very first story involving potential UFO involvement and explore whether this caused a pilot to vanish forever. 

Support the show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentichhttps://unsolved.com/gallery/ufo-disappearance/

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/truth-was-out-there-after-all/news-story/2973bd131c27da0a31f4a7b8eba643fe

http://www.mufon.com/valentich-disappearance—1978.html

July 8, 1983. Winter Haven, Florida. 47-year old Nancy Drake is viciously attacked inside her church after being bludgeoned with a claw-toothed hammer during an apparent robbery. Nancy is left comatose, but when she wakes up, she has no memory of the incident. Suspicion turns towards Nancy’s 45-year old husband, Thomas Drake, who took out a life insurance policy on her while conducting a secret affair with another woman. Thomas is charged with attempted murder and found guilty at trial, but shortly thereafter, Nancy claims that her memory has returned and she now recalls being attacked by another man. This leads to Thomas receiving a new trial, but he is found guilty a second time and remains incarcerated to this day. Did Thomas Drake attempt to bludgeon his wife to death with a hammer, or was someone else responsible? On this episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, Jules and Robin explore a controversial “Final Appeal” case from “Unsolved Mysteries” which did not even air on television until over 16 years after it was originally produced. 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

July 8, 1983. Winter Haven, Florida. 47-year old Nancy Drake is viciously attacked inside her church after being bludgeoned with a claw-toothed hammer during an apparent robbery. Nancy is left comatose, but when she wakes up, she has no memory of the incident. Suspicion turns towards Nancy’s 45-year old husband, Thomas Drake, who took out a life insurance policy on her while conducting a secret affair with another woman. Thomas is charged with attempted murder and found guilty at trial, but shortly thereafter, Nancy claims that her memory has returned and she now recalls being attacked by another man. This leads to Thomas receiving a new trial, but he is found guilty a second time and remains incarcerated to this day. Did Thomas Drake attempt to bludgeon his wife to death with a hammer, or was someone else responsible? On this episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, Jules and Robin explore a controversial “Final Appeal” case from “Unsolved Mysteries” which did not even air on television until over 16 years after it was originally produced.

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold

October 24, 1953. La Crosse, Wisconsin. The father of 15-year old Evelyn Hartley attempts to phone her while she is babysitting an infant child, but there is no answer at the house. After travelling there to check on her, he discovers that Evelyn has disappeared and the evidence suggests she was the victim of a violent abduction by an intruder. Days later, pieces of blood-stained clothing are found outside of town which are believed to belong to Evelyn and her abductor. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of developments, including a possible connection to notorious murderer Ed Gein and the discovery of a tape-recorded confession implicating multiple suspects in the crime, but Evelyn is never found. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we examine what is considered to be one of the most terrifying unsolved missing persons cases of all time.

Support the Show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold


Sources:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/evelyn-grace-hartley

http://jg-tc.com/news/old-tape-gives-new-clues-in-half-century-old-death/article_39f757c9-23d6-5f35-ae47-56809db3483c.html

October 24, 1953. La Crosse, Wisconsin. The father of 15-year old Evelyn Hartley attempts to phone her while she is babysitting an infant child, but there is no answer at the house. After travelling there to check on her, he discovers that Evelyn has disappeared and the evidence suggests she was the victim of a violent abduction by an intruder. Days later, pieces of blood-stained clothing are found outside of town which are believed to belong to Evelyn and her abductor. Over the next several decades, there would be a number of developments, including a possible connection to notorious murderer Ed Gein and the discovery of a tape-recorded confession implicating multiple suspects in the crime, but Evelyn is never found. On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we examine what is considered to be one of the most terrifying unsolved missing persons cases of all time.

Support the Show: 

Patreon.com/julesandashley

Patreon.com/thetrailwentcold


Sources:

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

http://charleyproject.org/case/evelyn-grace-hartley

http://jg-tc.com/news/old-tape-gives-new-clues-in-half-century-old-death/article_39f757c9-23d6-5f35-ae47-56809db3483c.html

In 1958 an entire family goes missing while doing the most wholesome Winter activity: Christmas tree shopping. What became of the Martin family? was it an opportunistic crime or was someone close to them responsible? A gun tied to the older brother would be recovered near the scene, he was alibied out but there are other theories...

In 1958 an entire family goes missing while doing the most wholesome Winter activity: Christmas tree shopping. What became of the Martin family? was it an opportunistic crime or was someone close to them responsible? A gun tied to the older brother would be recovered near the scene, he was alibied out but there are other theories...