The Trail Went Cold

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 88 - The Salomon Family

October 12, 1982. Los Angeles, California. 35-year old Sol Salomon, his 39-year old wife Elaine, his 15-year old stepdaughter Michelle, and their 9-year old son Mitchell all vanish without explanation from their home. Evidence suggests they were victims of foul play and pieces of their identification are found scattered alongside a freeway. The investigation leads to Harvey Rader, a business acquaintance of Sol’s who is accused of killing the entire family and burying their bodies in the desert, and is also considered a potential suspect in the unsolved disappearance of a California couple named Peter and Joan Davis. Rader is eventually charged with murdering the Salomons, but after two mistrials, he is acquitted at his third trial in 1992. Did Harvey Rader get away with the murders of the Salomon family, or was someone else responsible? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles the harrowing unsolved disappearance of an entire family who have still never been found.
Additional Reading:
http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/salomon-unsolved-murder/
http://charleyproject.org/case/sol-salomon
http://charleyproject.org/case/elaine-salomon
http://charleyproject.org/case/michelle-houchman
http://charleyproject.org/case/mitchel-salomon
http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/salomon-family
“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.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 87 - Stanley Gryziec

November 6, 1976. Rome, New York. 59-year old Stanley Gryziec and his wife, Esther, are attacked in their home by two masked intruders, who tie up Esther, ransack the place, and murder Stanley. Even though the original autopsy report states that Stanley was stabbed to death, his son finds a shell casing inside the house which was overlooked by police, and an exhumation of Stanley’s body reveals that he was actually shot through the chest. Over a decade later, a new investigation uncovers evidence that the two perpetrators were hired to break into Stanley’s house and that his death may have been connected to illegal activities at a local bar and a secret confession Stanley heard from his dying brother. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a baffling unsolved home invasion murder and an alleged cover-up.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/stanley-gryziec/
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Stanley_Gryziec
“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.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 86 - Michael Dunahee & Casey Bohun

March 24, 1991. Victoria, British Columbia. Four-year old Michael Dunahee accompanies his family to a football game at a local elementary school and after they park their car, Michael asks if he can go to a nearby playground. Within minutes, Michael’s parents notice that he is not at the playground and has vanished without a trace, leading to speculation that he was abducted during a very narrow timeframe. Over the next two decades, there would be reported sightings of Michael, the surprising discovery of his missing poster in a deceased individual’s home, and a couple of young adults who were briefly suspected of being Michael himself, but he is never found.
August 5, 1989. North Delta, British Columbia. After spending the night in the same bedroom as her baby sister, three-year old Casey Bohun vanishes without explanation from her home. Casey is last seen playing on the front porch by a neighbour and police dogs are able to track her scent down the street to a nearby park, but there is no sign of the missing child. Casey’s family would suffer a number of personal tragedies in subsequent years, but there are still no answers about what actually happened to her.
This week, we will be presenting a special double feature episode of “The Trail Went Cold” about two unsolved missing children’s cases from Western Canada. Special thanks to one of our listeners, Julie, for providing the opening narration on today’s episode.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Michael_Dunahee
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/148dmbc.html
https://michaeldunahee.ca/app/en/
“Vanished: The Michael Dunahee Story” by Valerie Green
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/310dfbc.html
“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.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 85 - Mimi Boomhower

August 18, 1949. Los Angeles, California. After finishing a phone call with a friend, 48-year old widowed socialite Mimi Boomhower is not heard from for days. When police eventually check Mimi’s house, they discover that her lights are still on, an uneaten salad is sitting on the table, and her car is still parked in the garage. Mimi herself has vanished without explanation and her purse is soon found inside a phone booth containing a message that it was found on a beach. It would also turn out that Mimi was suffering from financial problems at this time and had told her business manager she was planning to meet a gentleman on the evening she went missing. Did Mimi elope and run off voluntarily, or was she the victim of foul play? Could her disappearance be connected to the infamous “Black Dahlia” murder from two years earlier? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a baffling missing persons cases which would become known as “The Disappearance of the Merry Widow”.
Thanks to Warby Parker for supporting “The Trail Went Cold”. Visit http://www.warbyparker.com/cold to order your own FREE Home Try-On Kit with free shipping!
Additional Reading:
http://charleyproject.org/case/mimi-boomhower
“Black Dahlia Avenger: One of the Most Notorious Murders of the Twentieth Century… Solved!” by Steve Hodel
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
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The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 84 - Audrey Moate & Thomas Hotard

November 24, 1956. LaPlace, Louisiana. 46-year old married family man Thomas Hotard and 31-year old single mother Audrey Moate meet up to continue their secret affair, which they have been carrying on for years. The following day, Thomas’ body is discovered inside his vehicle at a remote swamp area with a shotgun blast to the back of his head. Even though most of Audrey’s clothing has been left behind, she is nowhere to be found and a search of the area turns up no trace of her. Two decades later, a dying man confesses that his common-law wife was responsible for murdering the couple and that he helped dispose of Audrey’s body, but no evidence is found to support his story. This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” covers a “lovers’ lane” murder from the Louisiana bayou involving one victim who has still never been found.
Additional Reading:
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Thomas_Hotard_and_Audrey_Moate
http://charleyproject.org/case/audrey-alta-moate
https://nbcmontana.com/archive/montana-woman-hopes-dna-will-crack-unsolved-mysteries-cold-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.
We would like to thank our sponsor, Winc, for supporting this week’s episode. To receive a $20 credit and free shipping on 4 bottles of wine on your first order, go to trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 83 - Crystal Spencer

May 6, 1988. Burbank, California. Crystal Spencer, a 28-year old aspiring actress working as a topless dancer, phones her sister and mentions that she is feeling ill. This is the last time anyone ever hears from Crystal and one week later, her decomposing body is discovered in a corner of her apartment. She is nude from the waist down and entangled in her telephone cord, but the coroner is unable to determine her exact cause of death. However, even though the authorities are inclined to believe that Crystal died from an unknown illness, neighbours report having heard screams from her apartment shortly after her final phone call and Crystal’s boyfriend notices some strange discrepancies in her autopsy report which make him suspect foul play and a police cover-up. In this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we examine the bizarre unexplained death of Crystal Spencer.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/crystal-spencer/
http://articles.latimes.com/1992-02-24/news/mn-2042_1_spencer-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.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 82 - Jonathan Luna

December 3, 2003. Baltimore, Maryland. While working on a plea agreement, 38-year old prosecutor Jonathan Luna leaves his office at the Federal District Court Building shortly before midnight. The following morning, Luna’s vehicle is discovered over 90 miles away in a rural creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and his body is lying in the water. He has been stabbed 36 times with his own penknife, but while the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office are certain Luna was murdered, the FBI believe his death might have been a suicide. An investigation into Luna’s movements only opens up more questions, as he inexplicably made a detour through Delaware before travelling to Pennsylvania. Was Jonathan Luna a victim of foul play? And what was the purpose of his lengthy road trip? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines one of the most baffling unexplained deaths we have ever encountered.
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Luna
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-decade-later-prosecutor-lunas-death-still-a-mystery/2013/12/10/211e2ab8-f563-11e2-aa2e-4088616498b4_story.html?utm_term=.d5e0800ed279
https://lancasteronline.com/news/the-curious-case-of-jonathan-luna/article_4e09be61-673f-54a5-a19b-ef95f509e542.html
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10.pdf
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog885/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog885/files/file/Luna%20Case%20Study/CS10-2.pdf
“The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna” by William Keisling
“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.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 81 - Philip Cairns

October 23, 1986. Dublin, Ireland. After going home for lunch, 13-year old Philip Cairns leaves in order to return to school. He never arrives and vanishes without a trace. Six days later, Philip’s school bag appears in a laneway which had previously been searched, leading to speculation that it was planted there by the person who abducted him. In 2016, a witness implicates a former radio host and convicted pedophile named Eamon Cooke in Philip’s disappearance. By this point, Cooke is on his deathbed and even though he is questioned by investigators, he is unable to provide any conclusive answers. Did Eamon Cooke abduct and murder Philip Cairns, or was someone else responsible? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we return to Ireland to examine of one of their most famous unsolved disappearances. Special thanks to listener Aine Noonan for narrating the intro to this episode!
Additional Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Philip_Cairns
http://www.thejournal.ie/philip-cairns-anniversary-3036664-Oct2016/
https://www.broadsheet.ie/2016/06/14/philip-cairns-and-a-trail-of-disinformation/
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/philip-cairns-missing-sorry-what-11551067
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon! Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
We would like to thank our sponsor, Winc, for supporting this week’s episode. To receive a $20 credit and free shipping on 4 bottles of wine on your first order, go to trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 80 - Eric Tamiyasu

June 25, 2001. Hood River, Oregon. During a date with a friend, 41-year old Eric Tamiyasu hears strange noises outside his home and discovers an unidentified shoeprint. After his friend leaves for the night, Eric is not heard from for five days. His decomposing body is eventually discovered in his bed and it turns out he has been shot three times in the head. The investigation would uncover a number of intriguing suspects: the local sheriff, who made the odd decision to destroy a crucial piece of evidence; a close friend and business partner who allegedly had a dispute with Eric over money; and the person who discovered Eric’s body and displayed some very strange behavior. Did any these of suspects murder Eric Tamiyasu, or was someone else responsible? We explore a true whodunit on this week’s edition of “The Trail Went Cold”.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/eric-tamiyasu/
https://www.koin.com/archives/somebody-came-for-sole-purpose-of-killing-eric_20171130085922738/870127444
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2002/feb/06/tamiyasu-case-rumors-swirl-around-murder/
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2002/mar/06/tamiyasu-murder-draws-national-attention/
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2002/jul/02/local-murder-draws-new-exposure/
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2003/sep/24/family-turns-up-heat-on-cold-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” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
We would like to thank our sponsor, Winc, for supporting this week’s episode. To receive a $20 credit and free shipping on 4 bottles of wine on your first order, go to trywinc.com/cold.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 79 - Harold & Thelma Swain

March 11, 1985. Waverly, Georgia. While holding a Bible class at the Rising Daughters Baptist Church, 66-year old deacon Harold Swain is summoned to the vestibule by an unidentified man. Harold is soon shot to death and when his 63-year old wife, Thelma Swain, goes to check on him, she is fatally shot as well. Eighteen years later, a suspect named Dennis Perry is convicted of the murders and receives two life sentences. However, controversy surrounds the conviction, as a lot of crucial evidence went missing, Perry seemed to have a solid alibi, and another suspect allegedly bragged about the murders. Did Dennis Perry actually commit this crime, or has the real killer escaped justice? This week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” examines an “Unsolved Mysteries” case which may not be as “solved” as everyone thinks.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Harold_and_Thelma_Swain
https://www.news4jax.com/news/man-found-guilty-of-1985-church-murders
https://www.denverpost.com/2007/07/24/key-evidence-goes-missing-in-georgia-church-murders/
https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/active-cases-2/case-page-perry/
https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2015-3-19-PERRY-combined.pdf
http://matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/2777/assets/A93D_Motion__exhibits_combined_SMALLER.pdf
http://freedennisperry.blogspot.com/2007/11/
“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” will be appearing alongside other true crime podcasts at a “A Canadian Crime Podcast Event” on July 22 at The Hideout in Toronto. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets for only $10, please visit here.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.