January 31, 1985. West Seneca, New York. 21-year old Leichia Reilly spends the night hanging out at a nightclub called the Pierce Arrow, but she never returns home and vanishes without a trace. Numerous witnesses recall having seen Leichia leaving the club during the early morning hours with an off-duty state trooper named Daniel Rose, but he denies this and stops cooperating with the investigation. Even though Rose is soon fired by the New York State Police and there appear to be some holes in his story, there is no evidence to implicate him in Leichia’s disappearance and she is never found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the controversial disappearance of Leichia Reilly, which has gone unsolved for more than 40 years. In addition, we will also discuss the unsolved 1982 murder of James Adamski, who went missing during the early morning hours of Halloween after leaving a bar in the nearby village of Depew before he was found in a shallow grave in a wooded area just under two months later.

Additional Reading:

https://charleyproject.org/case/leichia-m-reilly

https://www.newspapers.com/image/875577695/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/875582162/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/875637060/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/875577847/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/875673768/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/874757072/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/877043776/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/875897927/

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/cold-case-crime-west-seneca-missing-person-wny/71-ad11d332-e29e-44b4-a933-90d8c33edebe

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/article_b226ae35-9eb5-5afa-8c9d-64ed07491fc5.html

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/investigations/2-investigates/cold-case-leichia-reilly-disappeared-1985/71-a0527b9d-fda9-4ae4-817b-9ceb49af06e0

https://www.wivb.com/news/36-year-old-cold-case-still-haunts-lancaster-cheektowaga/

https://www.wkbw.com/news/who-killed-james-adamski

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/unsolved-37-years-later-investigators-still-search-for-clues-in-lancaster-murder/71-ba70ad6f-195d-4bf6-b3bd-e47f3cd94590

“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.

September 17, 1954. Salt Lake City, Utah. Five-year old Gregory MaComb is abducted from his apartment and found dead in a creek bed after he has been sexually assaulted, strangled and bludgeoned to death. A witness reports having seen a man carrying Gregory out of the apartment house and placing him inside his car and he seems to match the description of Norman Ash Fackrell, a friend of Gregory’s mother. Nearly three years later, Fackrell is charged with Gregory’s murder, but winds up being acquitted at trial, so the truth about who was responsible for the crime remains shrouded in mystery. Was Norman Ash Fackrell the right perpetrator all along or did someone else kill Gregory? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we look at both sides of this controversial case. Special thanks to listener Fran Krause for narrating the opening of the episode.

Additional Reading:

https://www.newspapers.com/image/595549367/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/599289443/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/599195293/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/597692336/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/598548447/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/595867589/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/599418869/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/595866911/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/599233507/

“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.

August 26, 2006. Hinton, Alberta. After failing to reach her on the radio or the telephone, the supervisor of 70-year old Stephanie Stewart travels to the Athabasca Lookout Tower in the province’s foothills, where Stephanie is posted as a seasonal fire spotter. When he arrives, the supervisor finds a smear of blood on the front steps of Stephanie’s cabin and a pot of water on the stove, but there is no sign of her anywhere. Since bed sheets and other items are also missing from the cabin, there is speculation that Stephanie was murdered by someone who transported her body from the scene and disposed of it, but she cannot be found and there are no solid suspects or a known motive for her disappearance. 

May 3, 1983. Hinton, Alberta. After spending the evening with her boyfriend at the Sunset Trailer Court, 16-year old Shelley-Anne Bacsu phones her mother to let her know that an unnamed friend will be picking her up and driving her home. Shelley-Anne never arrives, but a number of witnesses report having seen her walking down Alberta Highway 16 before she disappeared. Some of Shelley-Anne’s clothing and personal items are found scattered on a road next to the Athabasca River, but while her family suspects that she was harmed by someone who gave her a ride, no trace of Shelley-Anne is ever found.

On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel to the same region of Alberta to cover a pair of unsolved Canadian missing persons cases.

If you have any information about either fo these cases, please contact the Hinton branch of the RCMP at (780) 865-2455 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Additional Reading:

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/a-pot-of-boiling-water-and-a-smear-of-blood-12-years-later-fresh-clues-sought-in-stephanie-stewarts-disappearance

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ten-years-later-disappearance-of-senior-at-alberta-fire-lookout-still-a-mystery-1.3735252

https://globalnews.ca/news/63106/fourth-anniversary-of-stephanie-stewarts-disappearance/

https://globalnews.ca/news/2902724/10-years-since-wildfire-spotter-stephanie-stewart-vanished-near-hinton-alta/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/police-renew-calls-for-information-to-help-locate-wildfire-tower-worker-missing-for-15-years/

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/stephanie-stewart

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/rcmp-historical-homicide-unit-races-against-time-to-solve-alberta-cold-cases

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/28dfab.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/30-years-since-hinton-teen-disappearance-1.1412716

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/mother-still-desperate-answers-37-years-after-teen-daughter-shelley-n1199006

https://www.newspapers.com/image/740158386/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/494480089/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/472635703/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/475905572/

https://poig57.wordpress.com/

“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.

September 5, 1978. Sterling, Alaska. 13-year old Scott Fandel and his 8-year old half-sister, Amy Fandel, are dropped off at their cabin by their mother, Margaret Fandel, who then goes out to some bars with her own sister. When Margaret and her sister return home during the early morning hours of September 6, they discover a pot of warm water on the stove next to some macaroni and tomato sauce. This suggests that Scott had been in the midst of preparing a late-night snack before he was interrupted, but both he and Amy are missing. There is speculation that the two children were abducted and while investigators explore a number of different leads - including the possibility that some carnival workers or Margaret’s estranged husband could have been responsible for the disappearances - no trace of Scott and Amy is ever found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel to Alaska to explore a baffling missing children’s case which has gone unsolved for 47 years. 

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Alaska State Troopers at (907) 262-4453.

Additional Reading:

https://charleyproject.org/case/scott-curtis-fandel

https://charleyproject.org/case/amy-lee-fandel

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138216282/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1054276130/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138206372/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138456110/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138456273/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1054286770/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1054286791/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138280231/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138204917/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138204935/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138204963/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1057007859/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1057007991/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1057008009/

“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.

November 10, 1984. Lynbrook, New York, After getting fired from her job at a roller rink, 16-year old Theresa Fusco starts heading home, but she never arrives. Her nude body is eventually found in a wooded area and she has been raped and strangled to death with a ligature. Over four months later, a 21-year old suspect named John Kogut confesses to the crime and implicates two accomplices – 26-year old John Restivo and 31-year old Dennis Halstead – and they are all charged and convicted of Theresa’s murder. In 2003, all three men have their convictions overturned after DNA testing on the evidence excludes them. Kogut winds up being acquitted at his retrial while the charges against Restivo and Halstead are dropped, but there are still questions about who was actually responsible for killing Theresa.

For the first time ever, the “Trail Went Cold” is covering a cold case in which an arrest was made while we were in the midst of putting together our episode about it, so we’re going to cover the full story and all the recent developments. Special thanks to listener Reemi Hautamaki for narrating the opening of this episode.

If you happen to have any information about the cases mentioned in this episode, please contact the Nassau County Police Department at (516) 573-8800.

Additional Reading:

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/john-kogut/

https://centurion.org/cases/kogut-john/

https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/10591

https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/10504

https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/10795

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125077&page=1

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/mom-of-1984-long-island-murder-victim-decries-award-verdict/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/721897625/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/728546280/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/710299952/

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/us/theresa-fusco-suspect-indicted-cold-case

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/theresa-fusco-murder-indictment/

https://charleyproject.org/case/kelly-eileen-morrissey

https://archive.longislandpress.com/2010/11/18/kelly-morrissey-the-search-for-kelly-morrissey-continues-26-years-later/

“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.

August 20, 1966. Niteroi, Brazil. The bodies of a pair of electronics technicians, 34-year old Miguel Jose Viana and 32-year old Manuel Pereira da Cruz, are discovered on the top of Vintem Hill and they are carrying a pair of lead masks and some cryptic notes about ingesting capsules. Three days earlier, the two men had travelled to Niteroi from their homes in Campos dos Goytacazes over 260 kilometres away, but there is no direct evidence of foul play and the authorities are unable to determine their cause of death. There are a number of theories about what happened, including speculation that the two men’s deaths might be connected to UFO sightings from the area, but the whole situation is never satisfactorily explained and remains shrouded in mystery. For this year’s Halloween-themed episode, “The Trail Went Cold” is finally tackling one of the most bizarre unsolved mysteries of all time: the Lead Masks Case.

Additional Reading:

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

https://pmig96.wordpress.com/2021/05/10/the-lead-masks-case/

"Flying Saucer Review" (March-April 1967)

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/398

https://www.truecriminelle.com/the-lead-masks-case-bizarre-deaths-what-happened-on-vintem-hill/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoPHYQuAlnw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjqCQEjgzk4

“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.

March 6, 1939. Fingringhoe, England. After purchasing some cigarettes at a local pub, 67-year old Ada Constance Kent seems to disappear and over the course of the next decade, numerous searches are performed of her empty cottage and they fail to turn up any trace of her. Ten years later, a human skeleton is discovered beneath some rubble in the cottage’s bedroom alongside an empty bottle of poison, and after a forensic examination is performed, there is some uncertainty about who the remains actually belong to. When an inquest is held, a coroner’s jury does eventually conclude that the skeleton is likely Ada Constance Kent, but since they are unable to determine her exact cause of death, they return an open verdict. Did Ada Constance Kent die inside her cottage and remain undiscovered for an entire decade? If not, then what actually happened to her? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel back to the United Kingdom to explore a truly bizarre mystery.

Join us on Saturday, October 25 at 8:00pm ET for a Halloween-themed online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.

Additional Reading:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mvbtw

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Ada_Constance_Kent

https://essexandsuffolksurnames.co.uk/the-fingringhoe-skeleton/

"Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in & Around Colchester" by Patrick Denney

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1182993941/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/397806138/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/791699254/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/789295887

“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.

October 31, 1963. Newcastle, England. 70-year old Katherine Lillian Armstrong fails to show up for choir practice at her church. The following morning, Lillian’s body is discovered near the bottom of the staircase in her house and she has been stabbed 28 times and strangled with one of her nylon stockings. Since there are no signs of forced entry, police suspect that Lillian willingly let her killer inside, but even though a massive investigation is launched, no compelling suspects are found and the motive for the crime remains unknown. 

October 31, 1980. Bristol, England. 39-year old Derek Grain leaves his hotel and spends the night drinking at a pair of local nightclubs. After leaving one of the clubs during the early morning hours, Derek is later found dead in a pool of blood a quarter-mile away and it turns out he was kicked in the head and bludgeoned with a sand-filled traffic cone. Since money was stolen from Derek, it is theorized that he was the victim of a robbery gone wrong, but even though there are reported eyewitness sightings of someone being attacked by multiple people who fled the scene in a maroon Jaguar, the crime is never solved.

On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we travel to the United Kingdom to explore a pair of unsolved murders which happened to take place on Halloween.

Additional Reading:

https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/articles/mystery-newcastles-unsolved-halloween-murder

https://www.newspapers.com/image/876967689/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/876893608/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/804216277/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/804277720/

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/derek-grains-unsolved-murder-true-4340

https://www.newspapers.com/image/908265262/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/876333334/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/877244013/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/876431763/

https://thetruecrimeenthusiast.co.uk/who-was-the-brandon-hill-park-murderer

“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.

December 19, 2006. Clayton, Missouri. 57-year old attorney Ernie Brasier is found shot to death inside a third-floor office of his law firm: Boggs, Boggs & Bates. Since Ernie was killed in an office belonging to another attorney, there is speculation that he may have been the victim of mistaken identity, but no evidence is found to support this theory. Over the next few years, there are a number of strange incidents involving other employees at the firm, including a bombing at the home of two of its partners, but they fail to shed any light on Ernie’s death and the crime remains unsolved. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the bizarre murder of Ernie Brasier, which took place at a law firm which was described as being like something out of a John Grisham novel.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Clayton Police Department at (314) 645-3000 or the St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477)

Additional Reading:

https://www.komu.com/news/police-need-help-in-murder-case/article_8d7c83aa-2c7b-5c5e-b395-ce7a2a1f416d.html

https://www.komu.com/news/lawyer-found-dead-in-office/article_43b3b252-760c-5008-84c2-c803ea292554.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151872790/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/151995160/

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/the-unsolved-murder-of-ernie-brasier-a-clayton-attorneys-death-nearly-two-years-ago-continues-to-mystify-police-and-colleagues/

https://issuu.com/chsglobe/docs/april_globe_2022_1_/s/15434096

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_mystery_second_lawyer_dies_at_young_age_slaying_of_third_unsolved

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bombs_explode_at_home_of_2_partners_in_law_firm_that_was_site_of_unsolved_m

https://www.courthousenews.com/big-problem-at-the-law-office/

https://www.businessinsider.com/lawyer-fire-bombing-lawsuit-2012-9

https://patch.com/missouri/kirkwood/accused-of-bombing-ex-partners-home-kirkwood-lawyer-fights-back

https://molawyersmedia.com/2013/06/19/st-louis-lawyers-settle-with-ex-partner-in-bombing-case/

“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.

June 3, 2017. Dallas, Texas. After suffering a violent assault at the hands of a female acquaintance and her male companion, 27-year old Armani Morgan goes missing. Seven weeks later, Armani’s skull and five of his other bones are found in a vacant residential lot located near his residence and since the police are inclined to believe that he succumbed to a drug overdose, his cause of death is listed as “undetermined”. However, in the days prior to his disappearance, Armani had been repeatedly assaulted and harassed by this female acquaintance, who also allegedly fired a bullet through his living room window. While Armani’s loved ones suspect he was the victim of foul play and that three individuals were involved in the crime, his death is never reclassified as a “homicide”. At the direct request of his family, this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” will be exploring the controversial case of Armani Morgan. A petition has also been started to demand that the Dallas Police Department test evidence from Armani’s case and can be found at Change.org:

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Dallas Police Department Special Investigations Unit at (214) 671-3677.

Additional Reading:

https://www.fox4news.com/news/nonprofit-billboard-draws-attention-dallas-cold-case-murder

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/armani-morgan-cold-case-billboard/3846479/

“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.