For the McCann family, the newest search isn’t about publicity, it’s about keeping someone locked up.

Griffith Park's extensive parklands and diverse landscapes make it a popular choice for portraying jungle brush, desert scenes, and summer camps in TV and film productions. However, its vast size and rugged terrain also make it an ideal location for disposing of bodies, suicides, and accidental deaths. Photo by De’Andre Bush on Unsplash The park, which sits on the eastern edge of the Santa Monica mountains, is one of the largest urban parks in North America, with attractions

John Haigh's methods for his victim's disposal are the stuff of nightmares. However, there's always evidence left behind. Born into an average family, John George Haigh moved from Lincolnshire to West Riding of Yorkshire when he was younger. The boy was a fan of classical music and played the piano, which won him a scholarship to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and Wakefield Cathedral. Haigh had an odd sense of humour and was bullied at school. A lover of strange pranks, he'd

The islanders locked their doors, but nothing could stop the bogeyman from entering their homes, and no one would forget his mask. Jersey lighthouse via Britannica.com Famous for its woollen trade and cows, Jersey is smaller than the Greater London region. At only nine miles wide by five miles long, the tiny island is part of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom that sits in the Channel between England and France. Its population in the 1950s was just over 30,000 inhabit

What should have been an easy crime to solve is now a cold case. On the 18th of April 2016, while getting ready to teach a fitness class at a local church, Terri “Missy” Bevers was murdered by an unknown assailant. Six years on, her case is still unsolved. Missy Bevers via courtjunkie.com Missy was a 45-year-old mother of three from Red Oak, Texas. She took fitness very seriously and taught her own classes. She was an active member of the community and had no known enemies.

Dennis DePue evaded police for nearly a year before he was finally stopped, but his actions were forever engrained in the cinematic universe for entertainment. On the 15th of April 1990, Ray and Marie Thornton were driving along quiet Snow Perry Road in Coldwater, Michigan. As they drove, they played a game to pass the time. The game was to make words and phrases out of the number plates that passed them. As a green 1984 Chevrolet truck passed them at high speed, Marie won th

Socialite Mimi Boomhower disappeared with seemingly no trace at all, but why? And who had the motive to get rid of her?

A journalist was able to buy a dead man’s spine for $300, so where are your remains really going when you die? Photo by Rory Waldegrave on Unsplash In the primarily unregulated industry of body brokering, thousands of bodies are being donated to companies under the deception that they’re going to be used to further science. However, many loved one’s remains are being used for something far more sinister. When Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were arrested for mail fraud and trans

Goldyne Pizer would have done anything for Joan Rabel, even murder. Photo by Dan Smedley on Unsplash On Halloween night, 1957, Los Angeles hairstylist Peter Fabiano walked down the stairs of his Valley home to greet a belated trick-or-treater. It was late, around 11 pm, and Peter had already got into bed with his wife, Betty. It was too late for children to be knocking. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old grabbed the bowl of remaining sweet treats and answered the door. A second l

Karina Holmer was discovered in a dumpster, but only half of her has ever been found. Boston, Massachusetts in 1996 was a very different city. The Boston Police Department was struggling with youth violence, specifically the use of guns and homicides. The Boston Gun Project Working Group had begun to meet in January 1995, but Operation Ceasefire had only been implemented a year later in January 1996. There were still attacks around the city, but ultimately, the streets were

Iceland would never be the same again after one of their own was murdered by an outsider. Photo by Alec Cooks on Unsplash With a population of 368,000, Iceland is home to fewer people than Anaheim, California. The country known as the Land of Ice and Fire has long summers and even longer dark winters, with some days only getting a few hours of sunlight. The country is so tiny that drawing a map instead of an address on a letter will ensure that it’s still delivered to its r

Viking Sally has more history than some empires. The cruise ship was built in 1979 for Rederi AB Slite, a Swedish shipping company. The vessel had ten decks and was designed with all the modern conveniences, including a swimming pool, sauna, nightclub, cinema and numerous restaurants and bars. Over a period of eight years, the vessel saw 855 deaths with its final demise in 1994, when it sank at full capacity. Two of those fatalities were murders, and one was solved in 2020, a

Dorothy Arnold vanished while shopping on Fifth Avenue, triggering a manhunt that continues to this day. Dorothy Arnold via Wikimedia Commons Born in 1885 to a wealthy goods importer, Dorothy was one of Mary and Francis’ four children. The Arnolds were considered high society and socialised with New York royalty, including the Rockefellers. Dorothy was a writer but had found it near impossible to be published in credible magazines. Her family made fun of her failure, and inst

The Hollywood actress’ case is still unsolved seven decades later. Jean Spangler via Wikipedia On the 7th of October 1949, Jean Spangler said goodbye to her daughter, walked out of her apartment door in Park La Brea, and vanished. This would be the last time Christine would ever see her mother alive. What followed was one of the biggest manhunts in Los Angeles history. Jean Elizabeth Spangler was born on 2nd September 1923 in Seattle, Washington, to Florence and Cecil Spangle

Known as the ‘holy grail’ of cold cases, our victim finally has a name Facial reconstruction of the Lady of the Dunes via Wikimedia Commons The Lady of the Dunes case has puzzled local law enforcement and web sleuths across the globe for the past four decades. However, in 2015, the case was brought to the forefront of popular culture when author Joe Hill believed he saw the woman on screen. The woman was found beneath long grass by a young girl walking her dog on the 26th of

Halloween is a night of scares and sweet treats but under the cloak of a mask, it’s also the perfect cover for a crime. Cindy Song via The Charley Project Cindy Song was born in South Korea as Hyun Jong Song. In the mid-nineties, Cindy moved to Virginia, to live with her aunt and uncle to attend school in America. She was accepted into Pennsylvania State University after high school, where she majored in integrative arts, a course that combined engineering, communications and

The 8-year-old’s murder changed England’s laws. Sarah Payne via bbc.co.uk Playing hide and seek with her brothers and sister in a cornfield, Sarah crawled through a gap in the tall harvest and onto the road adjacent to the field. She was heading back to her grandparents’ home because she’d received a knock on the head, but while walking down the road, she was abducted by a man in a white van. What came next was England’s worst child murder at the time. Eight-year-old Sarah g

Homophobia hindered the investigation, but Jaap Bornkamp’s death helped change gay rights rules. 52-year-old Jacob Bornkamp, known as Jaap, was precisely where he wanted to be in life. The Dutch native was creating stunning flower displays for the Royal Family and nobility, and he was in a relationship with the man he loved. “He once picked us up at the airport wearing snake leather boots, camo trousers and a big white fur coat. Jaap was not your regular florist.” — Hilgert B

What happened that Christmas became one of the most notorious and unsolved cases of modern times. JonBenét Ramsey via Criminal Minds...

The celebrity publicist was shot in her car on the way home from a party. On the 10th November 2010, Ronni Chasen was driving home from...