Coffee and Cases Podcast

On April 15, 2005, Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar of Pennsylvania left work for what seemed like an ordinary day off. He called his girlfriend while driving his red-and-white Mini Cooper, promised to be home later, and then—he was never seen again. His locked car was found the next day near the Susquehanna River, his phone still inside but his laptop mysteriously missing. Did Gricar walk away from his life voluntarily? ...

On November 1, 1986, 51-year-old Morro Bay fisherman Hugh Harlin vanished along Highway 1 between San Simeon and Cambria, California. His truck was discovered roadside under suspicious circumstances—but not a trace of Hugh. Did he flee secrets tied to his wife’s unsolved murder, or did the same hand that strangled Dian Harlin in 1982 come for him, too?

For context, you’ll likely want to start with last week’s episode on Dian Harlin ...

In the fall of 1982, the quiet rhythm of Morro Bay, California was shattered when the body of 43-year-old Dian Harlin was discovered beneath a cluster of cypress trees near the high school. She had been strangled with a dog leash—an eerie detail that raised more questions than answers.

Was her stormy marriage to blame? Or was Dian the victim of a predator who struck by chance? And what are we to make of the fact that her husband Hug...

July 1995. Ada, Oklahoma. A small city with a long memory for tragedy. When 15-year-old Daniel Furr vanished, the search ended in a place that seemed to hold more questions than answers — the bottom of an abandoned brick quarry. What happened to Daniel in the days before a body was found has become the subject of rumor, fear, and conflicting theories that still divide those who knew him. Was it gang retaliation? A robbery gone wron...

She was tiny, fierce, and fighting for survival from the moment she was born. On October 4, 1978, Wilma June Nissen’s body was discovered along a quiet country road in Lyon County, Iowa. For decades, no one knew her name—only that someone had brutally taken her life. Today, we explore the haunting questions: Who wanted Wilma gone? What really happened at the parties she attended that summer? And why, all these years later, has no o...

An unregistered ship. A haunting distress signal. A crew found dead, their faces twisted in terror—and then, an explosion that swallowed the vessel forever. This isn’t the plot of a horror movie. This is the real (or is it?) story of the SS Ourang Medan. In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most unsettling maritime mysteries ever recorded—or invented. What really happened aboard the ghost ship that governments have seeming...

On December 7, 1958, the Martin family of Portland, Oregon—Kenneth, Barbara, and their three daughters—set off for a Sunday drive to gather Christmas greenery. They were never seen alive again. What began as a cheerful holiday tradition ended in one of the most baffling disappearances in Oregon history. Was it a tragic accident on the winding roads of the Columbia River Gorge? Or was something far more sinister at play—something in...

It was just two days before Christmas in 1974 in Fort Worth, Texas, a time usually filled with holiday cheer and last-minute shopping rushes. Seventeen-year-old Rachel Trlica, 14-year-old Renee Wilson, and 9-year-old Julie Ann Moseley headed to the bustling Seminary South Shopping Center with plans to pick up gifts and be home in time for holiday parties. They parked the car, ready for an afternoon of shopping. But as the hours tic...

On the evening of September 16, 1997, six-year-old Brittney Ann Beers vanished just steps away from her Sturgis, Michigan apartment complex. Minutes earlier, neighbors had seen her chatting with a stranger. Then—nothing. Her bike was left behind, her voice gone quiet, and a haunting mystery began. Who was Brittney’s “new friend”? Why did no one see what happened next? And, more importantly, where did she go?

In this week’s episode, ...

On April 9, 1947, a monstrous F5 tornado tore through Woodward, Oklahoma—obliterating homes, claiming over 100 lives, and leaving behind one of the most haunting mysteries in American history. Four-year-old Joan Gay Croft survived the storm, injured but alive—only to disappear from a hospital basement hours later, never to be seen again. Who took her? Why was she taken? And why has no trace ever been found? In this episode, we unra...

On a quiet June evening in 1901, gunshots shattered the calm inside Montreal’s lavish Redpath Mansion. By night’s end, two members of one of Canada’s wealthiest families—Ada Maria Redpath, 59, and her 24-year-old son, Jocelyn Clifford Redpath—were dead. But what really happened inside the secluded estate at 1065 Sherbrooke Street? Was it a tragic accident, a desperate act, or something far more sinister? Step inside the gilded worl...

Vacations are supposed to be carefree—a time to disconnect from stress and reconnect with loved ones. But for the Bradley family, a Caribbean cruise aboard Rhapsody of the Seas became the start of a nightmare. Just three days into their trip, 23-year-old Amy Lynn Bradley vanished without a trace. No signs of struggle. No clear answers. How does someone disappear from a ship filled with thousands of people? And why, decades later, a...

In September 1981, the Oklahoma State Fair promised a night of freedom and fun for two best friends, thirteen-year-olds Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett. But what began as an evening filled with rides, laughter, and the excitement of adolescence quickly turned into every parent’s worst nightmare. This week, Allison explores a case that stunned a community, shook a nation, and left behind far more questions than answers.

If you are...

Labor Day weekend in 2014 was supposed to mean a short trip to Canada for Amina and Belel Kandil with their father, Ahmed, before the celebration of Amina’s 11th birthday on Monday, September 1 and the start of school on the following day. However, as the weekend came to a close, Amina and Belel’s mother--Rebecca Downey-- found that her phone calls were going unanswered. Her daughter’s birthday passed and school began but her ex-hu...

A name carries history, identity, and belonging—but what happens when it's lost to time? In 1984, the quiet town of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was rocked by a gruesome discovery along Interstate 65-- the discovery of a body. With no immediate clues to her identity, the woman became known only as "Bowling Green Jane Doe," her past a mystery and her voice silenced. Who was she? How did she end up there? And, more importantly, would she...

When 31-year-old Megan Drumhiller hugged her parents goodbye in January 2022, no one could have guessed it would be the last time they’d see her. She had dreams of moving, a tight-knit family who adored her, and a love for music that connected her deeply with her father. But when Megan suddenly stopped responding to messages, concern grew into fear—and that fear was justified. What happened to Megan in those final days, and who mig...

On a quiet spring morning in 1986, a farmer in Lawton, Oklahoma, noticed a column of smoke rising from a desolate stretch of road. What he found would haunt the town for decades—a car, consumed by flames, welded into the guardrail of a deserted bridge. Inside was the body of 50-year-old Aileen Conway, a devoted wife and mother of seven. At first, authorities believed it was a tragic accident, but unsettling details soon cast doubt.

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On March 26, 1991, a public holiday in South Korea, five boys from Daegu—aged 9 to 13—went missing while searching for salamander eggs near Mount Waryong. After missing their taekwondo lesson, their parents initially searched for them, but eventually reported them missing. Unfortunately, police initially dismissed the boys as runaways. Media attention about the lost boys grew, dubbing them the "Frog Boys," and despite a massive sea...

When Olivia Lone Bear went missing on October 24, 2017, her family was thrust into a search that would span years, uncovering a series of perplexing details that would leave them without answers. This episode delves into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Olivia's disappearance, from the cryptic final texts sent from her phone to the unexplainable discovery of the truck she had been driving being found just miles from her hom...