Cold and Missing

In this week’s episode of Cold and Missing, we tell the story of 10-year-old Bianca Lebron, a bright and gentle fifth grader who vanished on a Wednesday morning in 2001 after being seen getting into a brown and beige van outside her school in Bridgeport, Connecticut. What followed was a desperate search, a grieving family demanding answers, and years of leads that went nowhere as Bianca’s loved ones clung to hope. Join Ali as she g...

In November 2003, 33-year-old Mont Highley IV returned home to Alabama for Thanksgiving. He was looking forward to some of his favorite things: good food, time with family, and time spent outdoors. Mont had planned a simple weekend of hunting with his dad after Thanksgiving. But after he drove out to the family’s hunting land on Friday night, Mont vanished. His truck was found abandoned, his belongings left behind, and the farm sho...

In April of 1979, 27-year-old Willie Ann Rucker was doing her best to rebuild her life in Waterloo, Iowa. A single mother of three, Willie Ann worked hard to provide for her children and had confided to police that her ex had been stalking and scaring her. Just days later, she vanished. Her loved ones never saw her again. In this episode, we center Willie Ann- a young mother who asked for help and deserved protection- as we trace t...

Eleven-year-old Levi Frady loved being outdoors riding his red and black bike through the woods, fishing, and exploring the quiet backroads of Forsyth County, Georgia. On an ordinary Wednesday in October 1997, Levi left home to do homework with a friend. He was supposed to be home by dinner, but he never made it back. By the next afternoon, Levi’s red bike was found in a ditch, and just hours later, his body was discovered 15 miles...

In November 1985, three-year-old Danyel Sparpana vanished from her West Sacramento home after her mother, 27-year-old Cynthia Sparpana, was discovered murdered. Neighbors reported seeing Danyel in the days after Cynthia’s death, but when Cynthia’s body is discovered Danyel is no where to be found. Investigators followed leads that ranged from a missing .22 handgun to a person of interest who later faced murder charges Despite a con...

On December 19, 2012, 24-year-old Marisha Cheong left her home in Jamaica, Queens, and never came home. Nearly two months later, her body washed ashore near Breezy Point. It was a clear homicide. her hands and feet bound bound behind her back. Surveillance footage, suspicious text messages, and haunting questions have followed her case for more than a decade, but no one has ever been arrested. In this episode, Ali and Eli walk thro...

On July 3rd, 1975, nineteen-year-old Francis “Frank” Cantea disappeared from Bremerton, Washington. Frank was just getting started in life when he stopped by a friend’s house to return a record, he seemed nervous to his friend. That was the last time anyone saw him. Days later, his mother discovered his car locked outside his apartment and his wallet, keys, and money left behind as if he had only stepped out for a moment. Despite i...

Part 2 of the Burger Chef murders.

The morning after their disappearance, the bodies of Jayne, Mark, Ruth, and Danny were found in a remote wooded area. Four people were murdered in three different ways, raising more questions than answers. Who would abduct four young people from their workplace and why? In part two of our series on the Burger Chef murders, we trace the discovery of the bodies, the shaken community, the troubled inv...

Episode One: The Disappearance

In November 1978, four young employees disappeared while closing up the Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana. Jayne Friedt, 20, Mark Flemmonds, 16, Ruth Shelton, 17, and Danny Davis, 16, were working the closing shift when they were all abducted. Initially written off as young folks ditching work quickly turns into one of the most horrifying cases in Indiana history. In part one of our two-part series, we ...

In January 1989, 16-year-old Michael Masaoay left his San Francisco home for school, carrying his clarinet and books in a dark blue duffel bag. But Sacred Heart High School was closed that day, and Michael never returned home. He was last seen alone near downtown, and weeks later his duffel bag was discovered wedged between rocks at Baker Beach, with only part of his clarinet inside. Despite community vigils, searches, and his fami...

In May 1990, just days before graduation, 18-year-old Rhonda Sue Coleman vanished on her way home from a senior decorating party in Hazelhurst, Georgia. Her car was found abandoned with the engine running and her purse inside, but Rhonda was gone. Days later, her body was discovered miles away, partially burned in the woods. Despite decades of investigation, growing rewards, and even new legislation inspired by her case, Rhonda’s m...

In September of 1995, two-year-old Ke’Shaun Vanderhorst vanished from his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A shy, gentle toddler who rarely left his mother’s side,. When his family began asking questions, his mother, Tina Vanderhorst, gave a series of conflicting stories—first saying the Department of Human Services took him, then claiming she had given him to a stranger, and finally admitting she sold him for drug money. Despit...

In 1995, 18-year-old Shana Jaros had just graduated high school and moved into her first apartment in the small town of Nokomis, Illinois. Known for her kindness and ability to get along with anyone, Shana was building her future when, on the morning of November 1st, she was found brutally murdered inside her home. Despite hundreds of interviews and nearly 30 years of investigation, no one has ever been arrested. Join us as we shar...

In August of 2004, 12-year-old Garrett Bardsley vanished during a Boy Scout camping trip in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. Just moments after stepping away to change out of wet clothes, Garrett was gone — without a sound, without a trace. Despite a massive search effort and national attention, no sign of Garrett has ever been definitively found. In this episode, we cover the disappearance of Garrett Bardsley, the heartbreaking search...

In January 2000, 49-year-old Kaysone Khounpanya was found murdered in her Hurst, Texas apartment. A kind, soft-spoken mother, grandmother, and aspiring singer, her death sent shockwaves through the Laotian community. Who would want to harm someone so beloved? No tips ever came in, and no suspect was ever named. This week, Ali and Eli revisit Kaysone’s tragic and still unsolved case.

*** If you have any information about the murder o...

In this episode of Cold and Missing, we’re telling the story of 15-year-old Yasmin Acree, a bright and ambitious honor student who vanished from her Chicago home in January of 2008. Despite clear signs of forced entry, police initially dismissed her disappearance as a runaway case—an assumption her loved ones fiercely dispute. As the investigation slowly unfolds, troubling details emerge about the adults in Yasmin’s life, systemic ...

In June of 1993, a quiet Sunday evening in Windsor, North Carolina turned horrific when a man entered the Be-Lo grocery store just after closing time. Within minutes, he had gathered the store manager, a cashier, and the overnight cleaning crew into the back of the store—what followed was a calculated act of violence that left three people dead and two more clinging to life. Despite surviving the ordeal, one man’s eyewitness accoun...

In the fall of 2016, eight-year-old Ameera Deadrick disappeared from Houston, TX after years of custody struggles between her parents. What began as a summer visit with her father turned into a permanent separation, despite her mother Tiara’s efforts to bring her home. The last confirmed sighting of Ameera was a Facebook video in early 2016—months before all contact stopped. When her father went to jail, no one knew where Ameera wa...

In July 2001, 24-year-old Marisa Lee Rose was found murdered in the basement of her South Philly home—bound, beaten, and shot execution-style. Independent and deeply loyal, Marisa was building a life she was proud of when someone took it from her. Despite early leads and the discovery of her stolen rental car, the case quickly went cold. Over two decades later, her killer has never been brought to justice. Join Ali and Eli as we go...