On the afternoon of Friday, October 5th, in the small town of Rices Landing, Pennsylvania, eight-year-old Debbie Makel left Dry Tavern Elementary School and got on the bus headed toward her home a mile away. Debbie had two older brothers, aged ten and eleven, who would sometimes ride the bus with her, but on this … More Debbie Makel
Fifty-one-year-old Terrianne Summers had spent the first part of her life as Gary, and had served twenty-two years as an engineer in the Navy under that moniker, eventually attaining the rank of Commander. She had also married and fathered two sons. But in the late 1990s, Terrianne realized she could no longer stifle her true … More Terrianne Summers
Thirteen-year-old Carol Spinks set out on the evening of April 25th, 1971 to walk to a 7-Eleven store less than half a mile from her home; her older sister had given her five dollars to pick up a few things. On the way to the store, Carol was seen by her mother, who had been … More The Freeway Phantom
On the morning of Monday, July 10th, 1967, in Des Moines, Iowa, twenty-five-year-old Leota Camp saw her husband Raymond off to his job at the Iowa Employment Security Commission, then set about her tasks for the day, which included doing laundry and looking after her three children: four-year-old Kevin, three-year-old Brenda, and three-month-old Kristine. The … More Leota Camp
It was January 13th, 1996 in Arlington, Texas. Nine-year-old Amber Hagerman and her five-year-old brother Ricky were spending some time at their grandparents’ house on a Sunday afternoon when they decided to take a bike ride around the neighborhood. They set out at about three p.m., heading for the parking lot of an abandoned Winn-Dixie … More Amber Hagerman
On Saturday, June 14th, 1997, a twenty-two-year-old woman named Bilynda Williams was planning on going for a night out with her sister Kadee to a friend’s birthday party not far from their home in Moe, Victoria, Australia—a relatively small town about 80 miles from Melbourne. Bilynda had two children: Breehanna, who was two-and-a-half, and Jaidyn, … More Jaidyn Leskie
Twenty-year-old Nyoka Brice hailed from the small town of Salem, New Jersey, and in February of 2000 was six months pregnant, though the identity of the child’s father is unclear. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nyoka was seen alive on February 9th, spending time with a girlfriend, but evidently her whereabouts were unknown after that … More Nyoka Brice
Fifty-one-year-old Frank Morris owned a shoe repair and dry goods shop in the poverty-stricken town of Ferriday, Louisiana, and also lived in a small room in the back of the store. He was a well-liked and respected businessman in the area, catering to both black and white customers who appreciated his fine handiwork and his … More Frank Morris
In September of 1973, a free-spirited young woman would meet a grisly end in a cemetery in small-town Derbyshire, England, and her murder would lead to what was initially considered to be one of the longest miscarriages of justice in Britain’s legal history, though complications have arisen in the case in the years since. Thirty-two-year-old … More Wendy Sewell
It was the late fall of 1923. Three men, Edward Nickols, Roy Wilson, and Dewey Morris, were heading out from their homes in Bend, Oregon to spend the winter fur trapping at a cabin near Little Lava Lake. The cabin was owned by a logging contractor named Edward Logan, who had agreed to let the … More The Lava Lake Murders
