Coffee and Cases Podcast

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 involving suspicious sightings, ex-convicts, and a stolen gun? Decades later, new discoveries raise even more questions. What really happened to the Martins—and why did the river keep their secrets for so long? For additional information about this case, make sure to read J.B. Fisher’s book Echo of Distant Water, available HERE [https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Distant-Water-Disappearance-Portlands/dp/1634242408]. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases]

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 ticked by, the girls never returned. When worried family members arrived at the mall that evening, a chilling scene awaited them: the girls' car was found abandoned in the parking lot, but Rachel, Renee, and Julie were gone. Fifty years later, the disappearance of the Fort Worth Trio remains one of Texas's most inexplicable cold cases. How could three girls, ranging in age from a teenager to a young child, vanish without a trace from a public place on a busy day? Despite thousands of leads, extensive searches, and heartbreaking decades of waiting, the mystery endures. Check out Gone Cold Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime/id1214679007] episodes on the case, presented from December 2020 through January 2021. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases]

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, Allison traces Brittney’s story from her complicated home life to the desperate search that followed—and the disturbing secrets that surfaced along the way. Could a stranger have taken her? Was someone closer to home responsible? And why do some believe her case may be tied to the convicted killer of another Michigan girl nearly a decade later? If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases]

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 unravel the heartbreaking case of Joan Gay Croft and the theories that still haunt investigators and listeners alike. This is not just a story about a storm—it’s about what was lost in the chaos, and the enduring hope that the truth might still be found. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases [https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases]

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 world of the Golden Square Mile to uncover a century-old mystery that still haunts Canadian history. If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases