And Then They Were Gone

This episode explores the mysterious disappearance of three women from Springfield, Missouri, known as the Springfield Three. On June 7, 1992, Cheryl Levitt, Susie Streeter, and Stacy McCall vanished without a trace after a night of celebration. Despite extensive investigations and numerous theories, the case remains unsolved over three decades later. The podcast delves into the events leading up to their disappearance, the investi...

This episode explores the tragic disappearance of Lauren Spierer, a 20-year-old student from Indiana University, who went missing on June 3, 2011. The podcast delves into her final hours, the subsequent investigation, and the ongoing search for answers by her family and the community. Despite numerous tips and theories, Lauren's case remains unsolved, highlighting the impact of her disappearance on her loved ones and the import...

This episode originally aired in May 2021

No one in Kristine Kupka’s life was a fan of her ex-boyfriend, Rudy Persaud. But on October 24, 1998, when she told her roommate she was going to meet up with him so he could show her his new apartment, she understood why Kristine was trying to maintain a friendly relationship— Kristine was five months pregnant with their child. But what was supposed to be a pleasant afternoon followed by br...

On the night of May 13, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson was driving home from a party after finishing his first year of college. Just after midnight, he called his parents. He’d driven into a ditch, he said. He wasn’t hurt—just frustrated, and he needed a ride.

What followed was a 47-minute phone call—nearly an hour of confusion and missed turns. Brandon’s parents tried desperately to find him in the dark, rural backroads of south...

A new episode of And Then They Were Gone is coming soon, but in the meantime I wanted to share today's episode of Day by Day: True Crime Stories, on the disappearance of Shapammala Buckner. Her case has clear suspects, yet interest in her case died out quickly. It's been nearly eight years since she's been seen, and the investigation seems to be going nowhere.

This episode of Day by Day True Crime Stories delves into the...

In this episode, And Then They Were Gone host Kona Gallagher sits down with Director Michael Bayer to discuss the Heather Elvis case, a missing persons investigation that remains unsolved. The conversation delves into the complexities of the case, including the impact of online harassment, the role of social media in investigations, and the ongoing struggles of the Elvis family. Bayer shares insights into the making of the document...

In December 2013, 20-year-old Heather Elvis was going through a transitional period in her life. After an ill-advised relationship with a married man, she had just gone on a first date, and was getting ready to start a new job. She was trying to make a fresh start and had plenty to look forward to in life.

But in the early morning hours of December 18, Heather’s car was found abandoned at a remote boat landing in her home town of My...

At 10:45 am on June 13, 2001, 19-year-old Jason Jolkowski was seen outside his family’s home in Omaha, Nebraska, helping his younger brother bring in the trash cans.

He was scheduled to work that day at a local Fazoli’s restaurant. But because his car was in the shop, Jason had arranged for a coworker to pick him up at his old high school—just eight blocks away. He told his family he was heading out. He never made it to the school. ...

This episode originally aired on February 2, 2022

Mary Johnson hadn’t been acting like herself for months. She and her husband were having marital problems, and she was thinking about next steps. The 39-year-old was staying with friends, only returning home to shower and pick up more clothes. On Friday, November 25, 2020, Mary started walking toward a church in Tulalip, Washington. She never arrived. It would be nearly two weeks bef...

October 24, 1953 was a typical fall Friday night in La Crosse, Wisconsin. La Crosse State College was playing their homecoming game, and families and students filled the stands.

Fifteen-year-old Evelyn Hartley was supposed to be at that game too, but at the last minute, she agreed to help a family friend and babysit their toddler so the parents could go to the game themselves. She brought her schoolbooks and planned to spend the nig...

On August 27, 2006, two-year-old Trenton Duckett was tucked safely into bed at his home in Leesburg, Florida. But when his mother, Melinda Duckett, went to check on him, she said she found an open window, a sliced screen, and an empty bed. She immediately called 911, launching a frantic search for the missing toddler. But as investigators dug deeper, Melinda's story began to fall apart, and in its place was deception, a bitter ...

This episode was originally released in 2022.

In 2015, 19-year-old Katelin Akens was getting ready to start a new life. The teenager fell in love, and left her small Virginia town to move across the country to Arizona with her fiancee. She was living her life and making changes, but when her sister gave birth to a son that December, Katelin immediately flew home to meet her new nephew. The trip was a short one, only about four days....

Though our podcast focuses on unsolved missing persons cases, over the course of the last five years, we’ve seen movement on many of the cases we’ve covered, including some resolutions. This week, we’re going to revisit a few of the missing people whose stories we’ve told on this podcast and give you updates on what’s going on in their cases today. 

This week, we're updating you on the stories of Tyler Goodrich, Aubrey Dameron, ...

On August 12, 2013, 25-year-old Tiffany Daniels left work early and asked her boss for a few days off so she could take care of some things. After stopping by her house briefly, she drove off in her Toyota 4-Runner, and was never seen again. When no one could get in touch with Tiffany, her friends and family couldn’t imagine where she had gone. She hadn’t told them about any plans to travel, or leave her home in Pensacola, Florida....

On May 12, 2018, 65-year-old Stephanie Tyson left her home, her car, and her belongings. She apparently set off on foot in the woods near the Graysville, Tennessee home that she had been sharing with her boyfriend, Wayne Griffith. A massive search ensued, but it was called off after authorities determined that she didn’t want to be found. 

Is Stephanie a survivalist who left on her own accord to start a new life in the Tennessee wil...

This episode was originally released February 10, 2022. Kierra is still missing, but her case is extremely solvable. Please share and help get the word out so we can get her back in the news and force law enforcement to act.

Everything was going Kierra Coles’s way. She had a good-paying job with the United States Postal Service, she had just bought a car, and she had gotten her own apartment that she was sharing with her boyfriend. ...

When Tyler Goodrich’s husband, Marshall Vogel, asked him what his perfect night would be, Tyler said, “A movie night with our kids and pizza and just hanging out.” So that’s how they decided to spend the evening of November 3, 2023. Tyler picked up a pizza from Costco on his way home from work around 5:30 and settled in for a movie with Marshall and their youngest son. But just two hours later, Tyler and Marshall got into an argume...

Late in the evening of September 13, 2010, 19-year-old Samantha Clarke was dressed in her pajamas and watching TV with her younger brother in their Orange, Virginia home. But after receiving a call, she told her brother she was going out and would be back in the morning. Samantha left her home, and has never been seen again.

Police had few clues to work with, but did zero in on a person of interest almost immediately. However, a lac...

A kidnapping happens in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses, but no one knows it’s a kidnapping. That’s what happened when a man abducted family friends, 11-year-old Joane Ratcliffe and 4-year-old Kirste Gordon from an Australian Rules football match on August 25, 1973. 

The stands were packed at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide Australia, with over 10,000 fans in attendance. Many of those there saw a middle-aged man in a...