True Crime in the 50

Kansas: The Brazen Killing of Kelsey Smith

On June 2nd, 2007, at 6:30 p.m.,18-year-old Kelsey Smith went to the local Target in Overland Park, Kansas, to buy a gift for her boyfriend, John. Kelsey had just graduated from High School days earlier, was planning on going to Kansas State University in the fall, and was planning on studying veterinary medicine. She and John had been dating for about six months. Once inside the Target store, she called her mom, Missy to ask where she might find gift wrap. Missy told her and Kelsey hung up the phone. At 7:30 John showed up at her house to take Kelsey on a date but Kelsey still was not home. Concerned, her father Greg and sister Lindsay set out to look for her. Eventually, at around 10 p.m. that evening, the worried father and sister found her car parked across the street from the Target at a Macy's store. There was still no sign of Kelsey. Until June 6th, in a wooded area some 20 miles away in Grandview, Missouri, two hikers found her body. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled with her own belt. What transpired to determine her killer would involve a non-cooperative phone company, more than 40 surveillance cameras, and one incredible citizen tipster.  Show Notes: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4219070/

Iowa: The Abduction and Murder of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook

On Friday, July 13th, 2012, in the tiny town of Evansdale, Iowa, two cousins and best friends, Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook, 10 set off on their bikes. Their grandmother told them to be back in an hour for lunch, but by late afternoon, the girls still had not returned. Concerned, family members called police who searched a nearby lake, where they found the girls' discarded bikes, but there was still no sign of the girls.  The case went cold until almost six months later, in December of that year, a hunter found the remains of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook. The girls had been abducted and murdered. The police had a few suspects, but the case remains cold to this day. If you have any information on the murders of Collins and Cook please call the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6010 or email them at dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us. Show Notes: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33035689/

Indiana: David Camm and Richard Hoagland

The cases of David Camm and Richard Hoagland are discussed.  Show Notes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mystery-on-lockhart-road/id1464919521?i=1000463343241 https://www.andthentheyweregone.com/episodes/episode-514-re-release-richard-hoagland

Illinois: The Disappearance of Timmothy Pitzen

The disappearance of Timmothy Pitzen and the suicide of Amy Frye Pitzen in Rockford, Illinois is discussed. Show Notes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJqFMVT-S8

Idaho: The Disappearance of Amber Hoopes

On September 14, 2001, Amber Hoopes, a 20-year-old native of Idaho Falls, Idaho left her grandparents house where she was living, and went out to their auto body shop on the premises to check her email around midnight. Amber's grandmother woke up a few hours later and noticed Amber's TV and lights were on in her room. Her grandmother went out to check the auto body shop, but Amber was nowhere to be found.  What followed her disappearance in the middle of the night led police to a man named Keith Hascock, who was a former employee of Amber's family's business. Keith Hascock had abducted a 14-year-old girl in a neighboring town, but the girl had escaped. As police narrowed in on Keith Hascock, another young girl in Challis, Idaho, 9-year-old Stephanie Crane, was also kidnapped and never seen again. Was Keith Hascock responsible for all of these abductions and possible murders? Or was it the work of other child kidnappers and killers in Idaho? Show Notes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/without-a-trace/id1766011211 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8350730/