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December 16, 2025 23 mins

On a cold December night in 1989, a five-year-old girl vanished from a Christmas party—without a scream, without a trace, and without ever coming home. Join John Conner as he dives deep into the dark to discuss the disappearance of Melissa Brannen. Will this case be enough to make you check the locks?

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This episode of Check the Locks is dedicated, with love, to the memory of our friend Mathew Scott Halliday. 

Sources:

Forensic Files - Season 4, Episode 5 - Innocence Lost - Full Episode

Melissa Brannen Archives - Forensic Files Now

Melissa Brannen’s abductor, Caleb Hughes, will be freed from prison after nearly 30 years

Melissa Lee Brannen

Convicted child abductor on parole for 1989 case found babysitting in Virginia

Fairfax police still seek killer of 5-year-old Melissa Brannen, who vanished in 1989

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-11/27/005r-112799-idx.html

Inmate Locator — Virginia Department of Corrections




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