The Mysterious, Missing, and Murdered

In the 1970’s a small manufacturing town in Ohio started to be plagued by an upsetting and mysterious series of letters. On this episode, we talk about the well known case of the Circleville Letters and the story of a man who went to prison for a crime he may not have committed.

In the finale of this two-part serie, we take a look at the disappearance of the Cowden family. On Labor Day weekend in 1974, Richard and Belinda June Cowden and their two young children went camping in the Pacific Northwest and were never seen alive again. This case has been described as one of Oregon’s most haunting and baffling mysteries in the state’s history. What happened to the Cowden family? Sources: Eugene Register-Guard, Feb 11, 1966 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WaxVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5587%2C2135664&sjid=DOEDAAAAIBAJ] The Bulletin, Jul 9, 1975 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?dq=cowden%20family%20murder&hl=en&id=mTYVAAAAIBAJ&pg=1150%2C4554008&sjid=8vcDAAAAIBAJ] Eugene Register-Guard, Nov 2, 1980 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?dq=cowden%20family%20murder&hl=en&id=oYQRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2144%2C401142&sjid=9uEDAAAAIBAJ] Find A Case - Oregon v. Little [http://or.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19670920_0040104.OR.htm/qx] Mail Tribune, May 4, 2003 [https://mailtribune.com/business/universally-frustrating-for-police-officers-family-members-and-the-community-are-southern-oregon-s-unsolved-murders] WikiMili [https://wikimili.com/en/Cowden_family_murders] Phantoms and Monsters [https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2012/06/cowden-family-massacre-mystery.html] James Donahue [https://www.perdurabo10.net/cowden-killings.html] Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowden_family_murders] Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/avcuh1/the_cowden_family_murders_an_entire_family/] Strange Outdoors [https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2018/3/8/the-cowden-family-strange-and-disturbing-murders-in-the-us-wilderness] Find A Grave - Orla Fay Fipps [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98862333] Find A Grave - David James Phillips [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3891535/david-james-phillips] Find A Grade - Melissa Dawn Cowden [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114056539/melissa-dawn-cowden] Newspapers Archive [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23986880/orla-fay-fipps-death/] Google Maps [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=43.68429198470088%2C-123.0007179&mid=13HLA8InvJ5TOSLju4CUu0R9G45fzqtC6&z=8] The Trail Went Cold - Episode 113 [https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-trail-went-cold/the-trail-went-cold-episode--jp8Mrg3SuN/] But I Trusted You and Other True Cases by Ann Rule [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6372106-but-i-trusted-you-and-other-true-cases] Art: Elou Carroll's work can be found at the following: https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/] https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/] https://eloucarroll.com/ [https://eloucarroll.com/] https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/ [https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/]

In this two-part series, we take a look at the disappearance of the Cowden family. On Labor Day weekend in 1974, Richard and Belinda June Cowden and their two young children went camping in the Pacific Northwest and were never seen alive again. This case has been described as one of Oregon’s most haunting and baffling mysteries in the state’s history. What happened to the Cowden family? Sources: Note: Sources contain information also discussed in Episode Two of this two-part series. Eugene Register-Guard, Feb 11, 1966 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WaxVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5587%2C2135664&sjid=DOEDAAAAIBAJ] The Bulletin, Jul 9, 1975 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?dq=cowden%20family%20murder&hl=en&id=mTYVAAAAIBAJ&pg=1150%2C4554008&sjid=8vcDAAAAIBAJ] Eugene Register-Guard, Nov 2, 1980 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?dq=cowden%20family%20murder&hl=en&id=oYQRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2144%2C401142&sjid=9uEDAAAAIBAJ] Find A Case - Oregon v. Little [http://or.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19670920_0040104.OR.htm/qx] Mail Tribune, May 4, 2003 [https://mailtribune.com/business/universally-frustrating-for-police-officers-family-members-and-the-community-are-southern-oregon-s-unsolved-murders] WikiMili [https://wikimili.com/en/Cowden_family_murders] Phantoms and Monsters [https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2012/06/cowden-family-massacre-mystery.html] James Donahue [https://www.perdurabo10.net/cowden-killings.html] Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowden_family_murders] Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/avcuh1/the_cowden_family_murders_an_entire_family/] Strange Outdoors [https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2018/3/8/the-cowden-family-strange-and-disturbing-murders-in-the-us-wilderness] Find A Grave - Orla Fay Fipps [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98862333] Find A Grave - David James Phillips [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3891535/david-james-phillips] Find A Grade - Melissa Dawn Cowden [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114056539/melissa-dawn-cowden] Newspapers Archive [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23986880/orla-fay-fipps-death/] Google Maps [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=43.68429198470088%2C-123.0007179&mid=13HLA8InvJ5TOSLju4CUu0R9G45fzqtC6&z=8] The Trail Went Cold - Episode 113 [https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-trail-went-cold/the-trail-went-cold-episode--jp8Mrg3SuN/] But I Trusted You and Other True Cases by Ann Rule [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6372106-but-i-trusted-you-and-other-true-cases] Art: Elou Carroll's work can be found at the following: https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/] https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/] https://eloucarroll.com/ [https://eloucarroll.com/] https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/ [https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/]

In early 2016, Nicole Fitts and her 2-year old daughter Arianna went missing in the San Francisco. In this episode, we discuss the tragic disappearance of these two and what’s known about the fate of Arianna and her mother. Sources: The Charley Project [http://charleyproject.org/case/arianna-fitts] @TheBestNuala [https://twitter.com/TheBestNuala] SF Weekly [https://www.sfweekly.com/topstories/where-is-arianna-fitts/] Finding Nicole and Arianna Fitts Facebook Page [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1099688866770572] CBS SF BayArea [https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/04/01/new-evidence-a-year-after-sf-mom-was-murdered-and-her-toddler-went-missing/] Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Arianna_Fitts] FBI [https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/arianna-fitts] ABC News [https://abc7news.com/news/sf-police-release-new-info-in-search-for-missing-girl-mothers-homicide/1303617/] Oxygen [https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/arianna-fitts-case-reward-for-info-on-killed-mom-missing-daughter] Reddit Unsolved Mysteries Thread [https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6glfj8/arianna_fitts_babysitters_didnt_want_to_return] True Crime Daily [https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/03/13/baby-daughter-missing-mysterious-logo-may-hold-key-to-mothers-murder-in-san-francisco/] Art: Elou Carroll's work can be found at the following: https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/] https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/] https://eloucarroll.com/ [https://eloucarroll.com/] https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/ [https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/]

Sources: Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Jean_Welden] The Long Trail [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Trail] Historic Mysteries [https://www.historicmysteries.com/disappearance-of-paula-jean-welden/] Bennington Banner [https://www.benningtonbanner.com/stories/after-60-years-students-fate-remains-a-legendary-mystery,260506] Charley Project [http://charleyproject.org/case/paula-jean-welden] Art: Elou Carroll's work can be found at the following: https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarrollcreative/] https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/ [https://www.instagram.com/eloucarroll/] https://eloucarroll.com/ [https://eloucarroll.com/] https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/ [https://www.eloucarrollcreative.com/]