The Vault

By Forum Communications Co.

What's The Vault about?

Join host Trisha Taurinskas as we delve into the news vault for a fresh look at the cold cases, crime and intrigue in our upper Midwest communities. Brought to you by Forum Communications Company.

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The Vault episodes:

04.16.2024
PART 7: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
This is part 7, the final episode in the series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed. In this episode, we explore new information brought to light through listener contributions, including potential suspects and...
04.05.2024
PART 6: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
This is part 6 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed. In part 6 of this series, reporter and host Trisha Taurinskas sits down to interview the main suspect, Timothy...
03.18.2024
PART 5: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
This is part 5 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed. In this part of the series, we explore the cold case review of Belinda's case, which took place from...
03.03.2024
PART 4: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
This is part 4 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed. In part 4 of this series, we explore an alleged confession related to Belinda's disappearance. In January 2002,...
02.23.2024
PART 3: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
This is part 3 in an ongoing series on the disapperance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed. In part 3 of this series, we explore the criminal history of Timothy Crosby, the main suspect in the...
02.16.2024
AN UPDATE: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
We had originally planned to produce four episodes in this series. But, because we continue to uncover and receive new information and insight, we are expanding the series. This episodes includes a preview of what's to come. We will be...
02.09.2024
PART 2: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
This is part 2 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed. Six months after Belinda went missing, Timothy Crosby, the last known person to see her was arrested for abducting...
01.30.2024
PART 1: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith
Belinda Van Lith (also referred to in various media outlets as Belinda VanLith) was 17 years old when she went missing from a home she was house sitting on Eagle Lake, just outside of Monticello, Minnesota. Over the past several...
11.15.2023
The Night Kevin Mahoney Vanished: PART 2 OF 2
Kevin Mahoney vanished from a known party house in Fargo on Oct. 2, 1993. Some party-goers told investigators that he left on foot for his brother's house in nearby Moorhead. His brother wasn't home that night, and there's no indication...
11.02.2023
The Night Kevin Mahoney Vanished: PART 1 OF 2
This year marks thirty years since Kevin Mahoney went missing from a once-notorious party house in Fargo, North Dakota. His sisters believe that somebody in the Fargo area knows something. They’re after one thing: They want the person -- or...
10.13.2023
Holly Spangler Murder: PART 2 OF 2
Donald Blom. His name creeped into Minnesota households through newscasts when he was arrested and charged for the abduction and murder of 19-year-old Katie Poirer in 1999. Find out why investigators consider him a person of interest in the 1993...
10.04.2023
Holly Spangler Murder: PART 1 OF 2
Holly Spangler’s body was discovered in a Minnesota park, with a single stab wound to the chest on July 20, 1993. After five days of being exposed to the elements, her body was in a state of decomposition. Little evidence...
08.09.2023
Madeline Kingsbury Murder: A Timeline of Events
On June 7 – a little over two months after Madeline "Maddi" Kingsbury went missing – her body was found in a remote area near Mabel, Minnesota — her boyfriend's hometown. Inside a fitted sheet, enclosed with Gorilla tape, investigators discovered...
07.03.2023
Dakota Desperado: The infamous Rust murders
In this episode, Tracy Briggs dives into the story of a man knonwn as the "Dakota Desperado," who left his mark on North Dakota through a life of crime and murder. Written and narrated by Tracy Briggs Edited by Kris...
06.23.2023
Loyal Lundstrom, Part 2: Motel murder
In part two of this two-part series, learn what happens when a Minnesota father and husband is let off the hook for the death of his first wife. Does he remarry in Texas and repeat the pattern? Find out. ...
06.20.2023
Loyal Lundstrom, Part 1: Mysterious lake resort death
Hours before Helen Lundstrom’s death, she and her husband sat at the dining room table, preparing Sunday school lessons for the weekend. It was a normal Saturday night — a weekend ritual for the church leaders. Yet what came next...
06.01.2023
Kate Richards O’Hare: She delivered anti-war speeches all over the U.S., but North Dakota threw her in prison for it
Kate Richards O’Hare was sentenced to a five-year sentence of hard labor at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. Her crime? Violating the Espionage Act of 1917 for making an anti-war speech in Bowman, North Dakota, just two years...
05.17.2023
Vanished in Vermillion: A reporter's deep dive into South Dakota's most infamous cold case
This episode focuses on the book, "Vanished in Vermillion," written by award-winning journalist Lou Raguse. “Vanished in Vermillion,” peels back the layers of complexity that hide behind headlines. Through years of added research and interviews with those involved, Raguse tells...
05.04.2023
A farm party murder. Who killed Karla Jo Nieland?
Court documents newly obtained by Forum News Service show the man who was acquitted in the 1981 brutal murder of his girlfriend, 18-year-old Karla Jo Nieland, at a farm party had first asked a judge to dismiss second-degree murder charges...
04.26.2023
Midwest pipe bomber tried to make a 'smiley face' on national map
In less than a week, 18 pipe bombs packed with lead shot and nails were either found or detonated in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas. At least six people were injured in Iowa, four of whom were mail carriers . With...
04.19.2023
How the O.J. Simpson verdict swayed justice in a Minnesota murder case
The 1979 death of a young woman, Denise Daly, who fell from a moving grain truck in Carlton County, Minnesota, was initially thought to be a suicide or an accident. That was until an anonymous tip nearly 15 years later...
04.14.2023
Walter Liggett, part 2: Did Minnesota's former governor order the mob hit?
Walter Liggett was shot dead while holding a bag of groceries. In part 2 of “The Slaying of Walter Liggett,” why a Minnesota governor and a former North Dakota governor were players in the tragedy. Written by: Tracy Briggs...
04.12.2023
Walter Liggett, part 1: A mob hit on a former Fargo newspaper editor?
Walter Liggett was beaten up, framed on rape charges and eventually murdered. In part 1 of this two-part report, Tracy Briggs explores the question: What was he writing about? Written by: Tracy Briggs Hosted by: Trisha Taurinskas Full story: https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/what-lead-up-to-an-alleged-mob-hit-on-a-former-fargo-newspaper-editor-in-1935
03.30.2023
Refugio Rodriguez, part 4: Homicide or suicide? What role does the medical examiner play in determining how a person died
*This episode contains disturbing descriptions of both strangulations and hangings. Please take care while listening. In this episode, we examine the role of the medical examiner in suspicious death cases. Can a medical examiner determine whether a death was a...
03.17.2023
Al Capone, part 3: Are the rumors true?
I have a bit of a treat for you folks who are fascinated with Al Capone. Forum journalist Tracy Briggs put together a three-part series on some incredibly fascinating — and definitely not well known — stories of Capone and...
03.17.2023
Al Capone, part 2: A small-town waitress and an infamous bootlegger
I have a bit of a treat for you folks who are fascinated with Al Capone. Forum journalist Tracy Briggs put together a three-part series on some incredibly fascinating — and definitely not well known — stories of Capone and...
03.17.2023
Al Capone, part 1: His brother was a prohibition agent in North Dakota?
I have a bit of a treat for you folks who are fascinated with Al Capone. Forum journalist Tracy Briggs put together a three-part series on some incredibly fascinating — and definitely NOT well known — stories of Capone and...
03.09.2023
Refugio Rodriguez, part 3: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agrees to review investigation as national expert weighs in
Expert insight into the death investigation of Refugio Rodriguez reveals critical errors in police procedure that compromised key evidence collected from the crime scene and failed to document critical details related to the hose found around Rodriguez’s neck. The review...
02.21.2023
What happened to 8-year-old girl saved by father in '68 fire
According to The Forum, the first person to notice the fire that night was Kathryn. She later told investigators she had gone downstairs just after midnight and when she flipped a light switch fire erupted. The Jenkins’ son-in-law Dean Bienusa...
02.17.2023
Refugio Rodriguez, part 2: Sole investigator had case thrown out due to bad police work
A Minnesota police investigator who closed the case on a possible murder after labeling it a suicide was simultaneously under fire for shoddy police work in another case, according to court records. The matter raises serious concerns for the family...
02.01.2023
The Deadly Medina Shootout
On this episode, Forum Digital Managing Editor Paula Qualm interviews Forum columnist Jim Shaw about the deadly Medina Shootout. Jim recently wrote a 3-column series on the infamous shootout that occurred four decades ago. https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dakota/the-medina-shootout-40-years-after-the-tragedy-that-didnt-need-to-happen
01.25.2023
Was this missing North Dakota woman the victim of America's oldest serial killer?
Sharon Hensley left her home in Bismarck, North Dakota, in the summer of 1970 with peace and love on her mind. She wanted to experience life in a way that she hadn’t before, alongside fellow free spirits etching their existence...
01.09.2023
Part 2: The Starvation Doctor
Sheltered, wealthy and enamored with alternative medicine, Dorothea and Claire Williamson were the perfect marks for Linda Hazzard, an osteopath-turned-fasting fanatic. The British sisters, both in their 30s, had wealth and a life of leisure, which made it possible to...
01.05.2023
Part 1: The Starvation Doctor
Linda Hazzard was a force of nature. She stood nearly as tall as her 6-foot husband, although some wondered if her personality was so imposing that she simply seemed larger than she actually was. A formidable figure with sharp cheekbones,...
01.03.2023
Minnesota's Cheers connection: Where every felon knew your name
Every Thursday for 11 years, from 1982 to 1993, millions of Americans settled into their sofas as the notes started playing: “Making your world in the world today takes everything you’ve got…” The theme song to the sitcom “Cheers” was...
12.21.2022
Refugio Rodriguez, part 1: A Minnesota hitjob? Why did police ignore clues and rule it suicide?
A Minnesota man found dead on walking path told family he was a 'goner' after identified as confidential informant. Yet despite the suspicious death, his case was closed after suicide determination.
12.09.2022
This Minnesota man went missing without a trace. 7 years later, there are still no answers
The night before Zak disappeared, he’d been texting his mother about plans for Christmas and was arranging his work schedule at a Super One bakery in Duluth. Investigators feel that a cellphone ping may have misled the investigation from immediately...
11.17.2022
How a 14-year-old bootlegger ended up inspiring a big change in North Dakota law
In this episode, reporter Tracy Briggs tells the story of Engolf Snortland, who started a life of crime as a teenager in North Dakota. He'd continue it with kidnapping and robbery in Idaho. But his return to North Dakota ended...
11.10.2022
The missing persons case of Joshua Guimond: Investigators withheld key information for years
Days before the "Unsolved Mysteries" episode on Joshua Guimond aired, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office released 28 images of individuals found on the computer, along with a plea to the public to help identify those pictured. The Stearns County Sheriff’s...
10.27.2022
The mysterious disappearance of Cheryl Miller and Pamela Jackson, and how the case was solved 43 years later
Cheryl drove away from her home around 6:30 p.m., riding in style in her grandfather’s beloved 1960 Studebaker. She picked up Pamela, and together they drove to the party. Somewhere along their travels to the party, however, Cheryl and Pamela...
10.18.2022
Haskell Bohn, part 3: Kidnapping ends in tragedy for captor
After six days of blindfolded isolation in a basement with minimal sunlight, Haskell Bohn learned that his release had been successfully negotiated. Finally, freedom was near. It was also the start of the FBI's hunt for his kidnapper. By Trisha...
10.18.2022
Haskell Bohn, part 2: Police transcript reveals 6-day kidnapping of Minnesota millionaire's son
Reporter Trisha Taurinskas tells the story of Haskell Bohn, who was kidnapped for ransom in St. Paul in 1932 because he was heir to a refrigeration fortune. He struck up an unlikely 'friendship' with his Sankey Gang captors, talking baseball...
10.18.2022
Haskell Bohn, part 1: Unlikely millionaire's heir held captive for 6 days in Minnesota basement in 1932
Dave Bohn thinks that in order to really understand his father’s story, you have to understand why he was a victim in the first place. Haskell Bohn was… a millionaire. Well, he was the son of a millionaire. Here’s the...
10.14.2022
Prohibition-era bootleggers made southeast Minnesota a booze smuggling hotspot
Prohibition-era runners brought thousands of gallons of booze into the area, and despite law enforcements raids and arrests, there was plenty of demand for 'the devil's water.' Narrated by Trisha Taurinskas Written by Mark Wasson
10.05.2022
Killer caught by DNA genealogy service dragnet gets life sentence for 1986 murder of mother of 2 in Minnesota
Family and friends crowded into a Hibbing courtroom Friday afternoon to watch as Carbo, 54, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1986 rape and murder of the Chisholm mother of two. Under Minnesota sentencing laws that were in effect...
10.04.2022
A Wahpeton woman kidnapped by a gangster and shot in his getaway car finally got justice
The mystery of who robbed a Wahpeton bank in September 1932 endured until the man bragged about it 40 years later. He was “Public Enemy #1” and “the scourge of the Midwest.”
09.29.2022
Illegal fishing ring resulted in 3 murders in 1940 — and armed game wardens in Minnesota
Decades ago, Minnesota conservation officers, then known as game wardens, generally didn’t carry weapons on duty. But that changed following a single deadly encounter on July 12, 1940, that left three wardens slaughtered and their killer dead in less than...
09.21.2022
Stranger than fiction: Nopeming Sanatorium's history of tuberculosis, ghost hunts and ownership scandals
As medications for tuberculosis became available, the need for the sanatorium waned. While the transition to nursing home care began in the 1950s, by 1971 it officially became a St. Louis County nursing home, known as Nopeming Nursing Home. By...
09.16.2022
Meet 4 stars of Minnesota's 'League of Their Own' team, hounded out of the state by hostile media
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, formed as male ball players were being drafted into the military for World War II efforts, allowed more than 600 female players a chance to shine and get a paycheck to play their game...
09.16.2022
Wild Bill Hickok's Deadwood gun gets a buyer, nearly 150 years after the legendary gunslinger was slain
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was undoubtedly carrying at least one sidearm in the gold mining town of Deadwood in what was then Dakota Territory. So what happened to Hickok's gun?

What's The Vault about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Vault episodes:

PART 7: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

PART 6: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

PART 5: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

PART 4: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

PART 3: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

AN UPDATE: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

PART 2: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

PART 1: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

The Night Kevin Mahoney Vanished: PART 2 OF 2

The Night Kevin Mahoney Vanished: PART 1 OF 2

Holly Spangler Murder: PART 2 OF 2

Holly Spangler Murder: PART 1 OF 2

Madeline Kingsbury Murder: A Timeline of Events

Dakota Desperado: The infamous Rust murders

Loyal Lundstrom, Part 2: Motel murder

Loyal Lundstrom, Part 1: Mysterious lake resort death

Kate Richards O’Hare: She delivered anti-war speeches all over the U.S., but North Dakota threw her in prison for it

Vanished in Vermillion: A reporter's deep dive into South Dakota's most infamous cold case

A farm party murder. Who killed Karla Jo Nieland?

Midwest pipe bomber tried to make a 'smiley face' on national map

How the O.J. Simpson verdict swayed justice in a Minnesota murder case

Walter Liggett, part 2: Did Minnesota's former governor order the mob hit?

Walter Liggett, part 1: A mob hit on a former Fargo newspaper editor?

Refugio Rodriguez, part 4: Homicide or suicide? What role does the medical examiner play in determining how a person died

Al Capone, part 3: Are the rumors true?

Al Capone, part 2: A small-town waitress and an infamous bootlegger

Al Capone, part 1: His brother was a prohibition agent in North Dakota?

Refugio Rodriguez, part 3: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agrees to review investigation as national expert weighs in

What happened to 8-year-old girl saved by father in '68 fire

Refugio Rodriguez, part 2: Sole investigator had case thrown out due to bad police work

The Deadly Medina Shootout

Was this missing North Dakota woman the victim of America's oldest serial killer?

Part 2: The Starvation Doctor

Part 1: The Starvation Doctor

Minnesota's Cheers connection: Where every felon knew your name

Refugio Rodriguez, part 1: A Minnesota hitjob? Why did police ignore clues and rule it suicide?

This Minnesota man went missing without a trace. 7 years later, there are still no answers

How a 14-year-old bootlegger ended up inspiring a big change in North Dakota law

The missing persons case of Joshua Guimond: Investigators withheld key information for years

The mysterious disappearance of Cheryl Miller and Pamela Jackson, and how the case was solved 43 years later

Haskell Bohn, part 3: Kidnapping ends in tragedy for captor

Haskell Bohn, part 2: Police transcript reveals 6-day kidnapping of Minnesota millionaire's son

Haskell Bohn, part 1: Unlikely millionaire's heir held captive for 6 days in Minnesota basement in 1932

Prohibition-era bootleggers made southeast Minnesota a booze smuggling hotspot

Killer caught by DNA genealogy service dragnet gets life sentence for 1986 murder of mother of 2 in Minnesota

A Wahpeton woman kidnapped by a gangster and shot in his getaway car finally got justice

Illegal fishing ring resulted in 3 murders in 1940 — and armed game wardens in Minnesota

Stranger than fiction: Nopeming Sanatorium's history of tuberculosis, ghost hunts and ownership scandals

Meet 4 stars of Minnesota's 'League of Their Own' team, hounded out of the state by hostile media

Wild Bill Hickok's Deadwood gun gets a buyer, nearly 150 years after the legendary gunslinger was slain