Christmas Eve 2002. Port Allen, Louisiana. After leaving her home on a road trip to visit her husband in prison for the holidays, 65-year old Mari Ann Fowler stops at a strip mall to purchase some food from a Subway sandwich shop. When she walks back into the parking lot, Mari Ann vanishes without a trace and surveillance footage from a security camera shows that she was abducted by the unidentified driver of a pick-up truck. Months later, serial killer Derrick Todd Lee is arrested after being linked to the murders of multiple women. While there’s evidence to suggest he could have been responsible for Mari Ann’s disappearance, investigators cannot conclusively link him to the crime and her body is never found. Was Mari Ann Fowler an unconfirmed victim of the notorious Baton Rouge Serial Killer? On this week’s holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a terrifying Christmas Eve abduction.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office at (225) 343-9234.

Additional Reading:

http://charleyproject.org/case/mari-ann-fowler

https://www.wafb.com/story/1061608/search-for-mari-ann-fowler-enters-third-day

https://www.ksla.com/story/3774629/memorial-services-held-for-mari-ann-fowler/

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_d4d1fa86-5a90-5b13-9000-b93f52cf0543.html

https://www.lsureveille.com/new-evidence-emerges-in-fowler-investigation/article_508e928b-5bd2-5c16-b008-d3c0ea3d4dbf.html

“I’ve Been Watching You: The South Louisiana Serial Killer” by Susan D. Mustafa, Tony Clayton & Sue Israel

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

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Join us on Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm EST for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.

“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon 2021: Austin” at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, Texas on June 2-4, 2021, as well as “Crimecon UK” at the Leonardo Royal Hotel & Spa in London on June 12-13, 2021. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD21”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.com/CC21 or https://www.crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.