The Trail Went Cold - Episode 406 - Jonathan Francia

December 18, 1979. Moline, Illinois. 30-year old Cody James and 30-year old Gary Harker leave Gary’s woodcarving shop in Cody’s pick-up truck in order to make a delivery and collect some money, but they never return and the truck is later found abandoned across the state line in Davenport, Iowa. Four months after the disappearances, the pick-up is sold off at a police auction, but the new owners are shocked to discover Cody and Gary’s bodies concealed beneath some debris in the truck bed and it turns out both men have been bludgeoned to death. It is theorized that the crime was drug-related and even though photographs of two potential suspects are provided to investigators decades later, no one is ever charged with the murders. For our final holiday-themed episode of 2024, “The Trail Went Cold” chronicles a shocking double homicide which has remained unsolved for 45 years. Additional Reading: https://www.newspapers.com/image/338695963/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/132294466/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/305885059/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/338686918/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/305875824/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/306038136/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/308122207/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/308122229/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/308435558/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/308435566/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/548370305/ “The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the AdvocacyCon, taking place at the Indianapolis Marriott East in Indianapolis on March 28-30, 2025. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.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.

December 23, 1988. Orange County, North Carolina. A quartet of friends – 19-year old Kenneth Dungee, 17-year old Kenneth Newkirk, 17-year old Levern Allen and 17-year old Darius Bannerman – leave their homes in Greensboro in order to drive to Raleigh to go Christmas shopping. While travelling down Interstate 40, their car is violently run off the road by a blue Monte Carlo containing a white man and a white woman. Kenneth Dungee is killed in the crash and while his three friends survive, Levern has his right leg amputated. Since the four young men were black, it is speculated that the occupants of the Monte Carlo may have committed a hate crime, but they cannot be identified. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a shocking hit-and-run murder was has remained unsolved for 36 years. In addition, we will also be covering the unsolved 1990 abduction, assault and attempted murder of a woman known only as “Debbie”, another crime which took place along the interstates of North Carolina and was committed by an assailant who has never been identified. Join us on Saturday, December 14 at 8:00pm ET for an 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://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Kenneth_Dungee https://unsolved.com/gallery/greensboro-hit-and-run https://greensboro.com/unsolved-mysteries-generates-300-calls/article_73f2546a-b7e2-5d91-baea-2057e5539e12.html https://greensboro.com/highway-ramming-death-still-unsolved/article_ca088d5c-8526-55a2-8ef9-c34e255089ae.html https://greensboro.com/hit-and-run-still-lingers-for-victims/article_98dcb974-a1fe-5152-b28d-82dc81c18a21.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/655391766/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/655996666/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/655985511/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/625632837/ https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Debbie https://unsolved.com/gallery/shotgun-survivor/ https://greensboro.com/officers-search-for-rapist/article_d2e03e5e-35ad-56a4-a14b-013cc1ec1646.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/655996954/ https://greensboro.com/family-boosts-reward-in-kidnap-case/article_3c7615dc-413f-56bf-849f-0d884b5fb26f.html https://greensboro.com/first-survival-then-success-it-s-like-god-gave-me/article_5de2143b-73c7-5e33-8533-3bfb79950b28.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.

May 18, 2024. Redding, California. 39-year old Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain texts her sister from a hospital and says she is planning to drive to her mother-in-law’s house, but she soon cuts off all contact with her family and disappears. One week later, Nikki’s abandoned truck is discovered 50 miles away in a remote section of Tehama County, but searches of the area fail to find her. Prior to her disappearance, Nikki had filed domestic violence charges against her estranged husband, Tyler McCain, and they were scheduled to go to trial in the near-future. Even though Tyler and his family display suspicious behavior and provide constantly-changing and conflicting stories about the last time they saw Nikki, there is no direct evidence of foul play and Nikki cannot be found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover a recent missing persons case where the victim’s family is desperately searching for answers.  If you happen to have any information about this case, please contact the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (530) 245-6135. You can also E-mail them at MCU@shastacounty.gov or submit tips at www.scsecretwitness.com/submit-a-tip Additional Reading:  https://www.newspapers.com/image/1092055923/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1093905298/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1100104152/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1102064689/ https://krcrtv.com/news/local/community-unites-in-first-large-scale-search-for-mother-of-four-nikki-saelee-mccain?fbclid=IwY2xjawFid0dleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfaKr6DjCiKnnDNDWD5yB7CMOPaCc1YCzsrxatoU983yM-MDlj3NUB-hfA_aem_O8hCrrMGyWLD8P02bLNauA https://krcrtv.com/news/local/olinda-fire-started-one-person-individual-cited-by-cal-fire-happy-valley-anderson-shasta-county-identity-law-enforcement?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0PQFG2Rl3S482BojIv5x6TX-w-nGe_x29QmJu0HmN0xQDMMMq91Wig-mw_aem_0K63BDFK36hnyaGZ9ZIOnw https://anewscafe.com/2024/07/13/redding/new-witness-sheds-light-on-allegations-of-domestic-violence-endured-by-missing-shasta-county-woman-nikki-saelee-mccain/ https://anewscafe.com/2024/08/09/redding/new-information-emerges-in-missing-nikki-saelee-mccain-case-as-law-enforcement-reveals-few-details/ https://nypost.com/2024/08/17/us-news/missing-mom-who-vanished-in-may-had-texted-family-to-say-she-was-leaving-abusive-husband-report/ https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/missing-in-america/no-clues-may-disappearance-nikki-cheng-saelee-mccain-domestic-violence-rcna163307 https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/missing-in-america/no-clues-may-disappearance-nikki-cheng-saelee-mccain-domestic-violence-rcna163307 https://shastascout.org/tyler-mccains-felony-dv-charges-dismissed-as-search-for-missing-wife-nikki-cheng-saelee-mccain-continues/ “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 22, 1965. South Bend, Indiana. 49-year old Edward Banish is murdered inside his home after being stabbed seven times. Over two months earlier, Edward’s 18-year old son, Scott Banish, had gone missing after an apparent drowning accident in Lake Michigan, but eight days after his father’s murder, Scott is discovered to be alive and admits to having faked his own death. Even though Scott seems to have a solid alibi placing him over 2,500 miles away on the night of the crime, he eventually admits to killing Edward and is arrested and charged with second-degree murder. However, after Scott recants his confession, a grand jury rules that there is insufficient evidence to indict him, so the murder charges are dropped. Was Edward Banish actually stabbed to death by his son? If not, then who was actually responsible and what could their motive have been? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the bizarre story of a missing persons case which eventually evolved into an unsolved murder. Special thanks to listener Holly Dodson for narrating the opening of this episode. Additional Reading: https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/opinion/2017/10/01/colwell-st-joseph-county-murder-case-remains-a-mystery/45809981/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516195400/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/516199513/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515531517/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515768233/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515760968/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515761266/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515763176/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515763640/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515733969/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/515384338/ “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.  

Listen to Murder, She Told: an award-winning true-crime podcast created by victim’s advocate, Kristen Seavey that mostly covers lesser-known unsolved cases.  This is a preview of the episode about Ludger Belanger on “Murder, She Told”, which was originally published on November 19, 2024.  Ludger Belanger went missing while hunting in rural Washington, Maine in 1975. Though on the surface, it seemed like he vanished without a trace, tracks in the snow led detectives to a crucial piece of evidence and into a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse with two men who might know exactly where to find him  Listen to the full episodes on Ludger Belanger:  Apple: https://apple.co/3Oh2eJSSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/LudgerbelangerOther: https://www.murdershetold.com/connectSources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/ludger-belanger  Quick links to find Murder, She Told: Apple: https://apple.co/42Zmd5XSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/MSTSpotifyAll others and social media: https://www.murdershetold.com/connectLink to Reeves Johnson: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/reeves-johnson-2