April 26, 1980. St. Kilda, Australia. 43-year old Louise Faulkner and her two-year old daughter, Charmian Faulkner, are seen climbing into a car driven by an older man. Louise had told a neighbour she was planning to visit her boyfriend at his farm, but she does not return and both Louise and her daughter are reported missing. The investigation eventually focuses on George Sutherland, a married man who had been carrying on an affair with Louise and is believed to be Charmian’s biological father. 26 years later, the media receives an anonymous letter from someone who claims they heard George confess to Louise and Charmian’s murders. This leads to a coronial inquest, but in the end, there is not enough evidence to implicate George and neither of the two victims are found. “The Trail Went Cold” is going back down under this week for an episode which explores one of the infamous missing persons cases in Australian history. Special thanks to listener Mel Badger for providing the opening narration for this episode.

Additional Reading:

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

https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/7375411

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/letter-points-finger/news-story/6700035701279d7570932a49fc193b3c

“Badlands: Australia’s 13 Most Intriguing True Murders” by Liam Houlihan

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the Ottawa Podcast Festival, being held at the “LIVE! on Elgin” venue in Ottawa, Ontario on Saturday, August 24. For more information and to purchase tickets to the event, please visit their website (https://www.ottawapodcastfestival.com).

The Trail Went Cold will be appearing at the event, “True Crime Podcasts: Live in Toronto”, being held at the Royal Cinema in Toronto on Sunday, August 18. For more information and to purchase tickets to the event, please visit this website.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.