Trace Evidence

Thirty-five year old Kathryn Adam had made a decision: she was taking her sixteen year old daughter, leaving her husband and starting a new life. It wouldn't be easy, but she was determined to make it work. Then, just when things seemed to be falling into place the unimaginable happened.

On April 29th, 1993, Kathryn left for work in the early morning hours. She never returned, vanishing along with her van. When her daughter reported her missing, police traced her steps to a storage unit where she kept supplies for her job. There they found a pool of blood and signs of a struggle. Not long after, her van was found abandoned a few miles away. It was caked with mud and there was blood inside.

Was Kathryn Adam the victim of a random crime or did someone who knew her, and her schedule, lie in wait that early morning with a gun and murderous intent?


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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Twenty-seven year old Paul Featherman and twenty year old Nancy Baugh were living their dream on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Just before summer, on June 2nd, unknown perpetrators entered their rented home near Hanalei Bay. Paul was killed instantly, but Nancy's fate was unknown. Police would ultimately determine after witnessing her boyfriend's murder, she had been abducted by the killers.

For thirty-four years the mystery of Nancy's abduction haunted two families. Then, in the winter of 2012 after massive flooding hammered the island, Nancy's remains were discovered. It was ultimately found that she had likely been killed the same night as Paul and her remains had been concealed just miles from the crime scene.

Over the years, there have been many rumors about who may have been responsible. For some, it must have had to do with the influx of drug traffickers in the late 1970's, for others it was likely someone the couple knew and trusted. Yet beyond those two theories, there is the one people are too afraid to talk about involving two notorious brothers whose names they dare not speak.


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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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In this short update episode we will discuss the news that the Sumter County Does have finally been identified. James Paul Freund, thirty years old, was known as "Jock Doe" for forty-five years. Pamela Mae Buckley, twenty-five, was known as "Jane Doe."

James and Pamela were found, brutally murdered, on Locklair Road in Sumter County, South Carolina, on August 9th, 1976. Now that their identities have been discovered, perhaps soon, their killer will also be identified.


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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


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Sixty-four year old Nita Mayo loved going on long drives, exploring the countryside and finding new sites to see. Throughout her life she had an adventurous spirit and a zest for life but during one trip in August of 2005 she would mysteriously vanish.

Two days passed before investigators discovered Nita's vehicle, left behind at Donnell's vista, a beautiful but dangerous overlook situated on California's highway 108 which cut through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. While police believed the location of the vehicle would lead to Nita and that she may be lost in the wilderness, her family believed something far more sinister had occurred.

Despite multiple searches spanning several years, not a single trace of Nita was ever located. Eventually investigators were forced to admit that Nita was likely not anywhere near Donnell's vista. There was no evidence of foul play, but several disappearances from the same area would soon lead many to wonder if the mother and grandmother may have fallen victim to someone during her journey.

Missing Nita Mayo FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/missingnitamayo/

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/nita-mayo

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Thirty-three year old Julie Bell Davis was making strides. Married to the love of her life, mother of two beautiful children and now breaking her own sales records at work. Everything was looking up until it was all destroyed in a moment of madness.

On the evening of August 28th, 1997, Julie was working out of her Des Moines office. She'd recently gotten approval to move locations to a high rise building downtown. That night, she was packing up when an unknown killer entered the office and struck.

From the very beginning the investigation was almost cold with police acknowledging they had few clues. What they did know, however, was that whoever had committed the crime was no beginner and knew how to cover their tracks. Over the course of the next six months, three more murders occurred and some bore striking similarities to Julie's.

Years later, police would capture a serial killer, tying him to some of those murders but the question still lingers: was Julie Bell Davis one of his victims or is it possible her killer may have been someone she knew and trusted?

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/juliedavis

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In the early morning hours of Monday, January 20th, 1997, twenty-eight year old Robin Trivisonno was looking for a ride. Asking around to friends in the bar she previously worked at, no one was able to help. Then a mysterious man approached and the two walked out together. Neither has ever been seen again.

Investigators faced a tough case; few clues, no major leads and their main person of interest was unidentified. While witnesses were able to give extremely detailed descriptions, no one knew his name, where he was from or what he was driving. The case went cold almost immediately.

After four long months, several pieces of evidence were found in an unexpected place leading investigators to wonder if they had been there all along or if Robin's abductor might have planted them. Twenty-four years later, family and investigators are still hoping to find the truth and discover what happened to the twenty-eight year old mother of three.

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/robin-trivisonno

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Eighteen year old Jennifer Pentilla was driven to help others. Fresh out of high school she traveled to Mexico on a mission trip to paint churches and assist the local community. When an opportunity arose to go back, she leapt at it.

What was supposed to be a group bike trip from San Diego, down into Mexico, fell through but Jennifer was undeterred and even if she had to go alone, she was set on making the trip. In October of 1991, she set off on her own and for a time the trip was going well.

However, on October 17th she made her last call home and mysteriously disappeared from Deming, New Mexico. Over a year later, most of her belongings were found in the desert not far from the town of Hatch. Thirty years later, the question remains, what became of Jennifer Pentilla?

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/jennifer-pentilla

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Twelve year old Heather Kullorn was looking forward to spending a week with family friends but what she imagined to be a fun week would instead become a nightmare. During the early morning hours of July 15th, 1999, Heather mysteriously vanished.

What police had imagined to be a straight forward search for a child quickly became a chaotic situation filled with inconsistencies, lies and evidence that showed Heather was in dire trouble. The discovery of a drug lab aroused their suspicions and soon Heather's case was deemed a violent abduction.

While investigators initially considered the crime random, the further they dug, the more the sinister reality came into view. It seemed apparent that the child had likely been taken not by a stranger, but by someone she knew and trusted. Did she see something she shouldn't have and someone moved to silence her or was there something else going on beneath the surface?

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/heather-kullorn

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Twenty-two year old Jenna Nielsen had picked up a job delivering newspapers in the early morning hours. The mother of two wanted to help support the family she'd started with her husband, Tim. Eight months pregnant with their third child, a boy to be named Ethen, Jenna would soon be taking time off to be with her new baby.

Tragically, what should have been a time of celebration would become a period of mourning and grief which has never ended. In the early morning hours of June 14th, 2007, Jenna and her unborn son were brutally murdered.

For the past thirteen years investigators, and her family, have struggled to discover her killer's identity and see justice served. Still, to this day, the question lingers: was Jenna the victim of a random crime or is it possible she could have been killed by someone she knew?

***Episode includes an update regarding an arrest made in the 2010 Disappearance of Unique Harris, covered in Episode 30.***

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/nielsen

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Thirty-eight year old Sandra Sollie was finally going to become a mother. In the Spring of 1994 she was seven months pregnant and eagerly anticipating the arrival of her son, whom she'd named Brandon Michael.

While her family was planning for the excitement of a baby shower they instead would face the pain of loss and unknowing. On May 23rd, Sandra mysteriously vanished leaving behind few clues. Sandra wasn't reported missing until June 5th so investigators were already two weeks behind.

At the same time, a massive search was underway for a missing four year old, Kali Poulton, who had vanished on the same day. The difference between the investigations was startling and Sandra's family felt she did not receive the attention she deserved.

What happened to Sandra Sollie? Was this a random crime or, perhaps, one perpetrated by someone she knew and trusted?

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Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/sandra-sollie

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