#unsolved cold cases

[misteria247]

Mr. Ballen in his video: There's an abandoned town in the remote part of Alaska known as Portlock.

Me who's watching: Oh? I've never heard of this!

Mr. Ballen: The town had a promising future in the fish canning industry however very shortly after business started booming and people had become settled into the town strange occurrences began happening.

Me: ??

Mr. Ballen: People started to go missing when they entered the forests surrounding the town, and mutilated bodies were found in the lagoon beside it as well. The people believed that they were at first animal attacks however Native Alaskans were quick to step forward and explain that they were not animal attacks. But instead they were the work of large, hairy creatures that stood on two legs who lived in the forests surrounding the town.

Me starting to sweat: Oh god it's one of those stories......

Mr. Ballen after explaining a few accounts: After dealing with this for so long the townspeople finally had enough. In the span of one night everyone had evacuated the area, save for the post man who had to stay till the government came down to close it down. The post man stated in his reports that it was awful, every night he'd see large creatures moving in the treeline and howls in the night. He was glad to leave. Now due to all of this most existing pictures of Portlock are incredibly old, since no one ever goes there. Those who did quickly left asap and thus there's no real modern photos of the town, save for one.

Mr. Ballen shows a photo of a lone building surrounded by a thick forest and a murky lagoon: This is one of the remaining buildings that haven't crumbled from nature over the years, surrounding it is the very same woods that the young men who lived in the town had vanished in and the very same lagoon were dozens of bodies had been discovered. Anyways! That's all for today if you liked this video please-

Me pulling out a list: Places to avoid at all costs. Portlock, Alaska. Got it.

[morbidology]

The haunting question "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?" has perplexed and fascinated the public since 1943, when the skeletal remains of an unidentified woman were discovered inside a hollow tree in Hagley Wood, Worcestershire, England.

On April 18, 1943, four young boys—Bob Farmer, Fred Payne, Thomas Willetts, and Bob Hart—were exploring Hagley Wood, part of the Hagley Hall estate owned by Lord Cobham. In the course of their exploration, the boys came across a large wych elm tree. Curiosity led one of them to peer inside the hollow trunk, where he discovered what appeared to be a human skull, complete with some strands of hair and teeth.

Frightened by their grisly find, the boys initially kept the discovery to themselves, fearing they would get into trouble for trespassing. However, the secret proved too heavy to bear, and one of the boys eventually confided in his parents, who contacted the police.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they retrieved the nearly complete skeleton of a woman, along with fragments of clothing, a shoe, and a gold wedding ring. The woman’s right hand was missing, later found buried nearby. The skeletal remains were sent to Professor James Webster, a forensic pathologist, who estimated that the woman had been dead for about 18 months, placing her death around October 1941.

Professor Webster's examination revealed that the woman was around 35 years old, 5 feet tall, with irregular teeth, including a distinctive dental feature—a missing front tooth. He suggested that she had been dead for approximately 18 months before her discovery and that she had likely been placed in the tree shortly after her death, as the small hollow would have made it difficult to fit her body after rigor mortis had set in.

The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, possibly due to being suffocated or strangled, although the exact circumstances remained unclear. Despite extensive investigations, the police were unable to identify the woman. Missing person reports were checked, dental records were examined, but no match was found.

The case took an strange turn in late 1943, when graffiti began appearing in the West Midlands area. The first message, written in chalk on a wall in Upper Dean Street, Birmingham, read: "Who put Luebella down the wych-elm?" Subsequent messages shortened and refined the name to "Bella," and variations of the phrase "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?" began appearing on walls and buildings across the region.

The identity of the graffiti artist remains unknown, but the messages suggested that someone knew more about the woman’s identity or her fate than they had revealed.

Over the years, numerous theories have emerged regarding the identity of "Bella" and the circumstances of her death. Some of the most prominent theories include:

Witchcraft: One theory suggests that Bella may have been killed as part of a black magic ritual. The removal of her hand, a practice known as the "Hand of Glory" in folklore, lent some credence to this idea. The Hand of Glory was believed to possess magical powers, often associated with witchcraft and sorcery. However, there is little concrete evidence to support this theory.

Espionage: Another theory posits that Bella was a spy during World War II. This idea gained traction in the 1950s, when Margaret Murray, an anthropologist and archaeologist, suggested that Bella could have been involved in espionage, possibly as a Nazi spy. Some speculated that she might have been a German cabaret singer and spy named Clara Bauerle, who had parachuted into the area during the war and was killed after her cover was blown. However, no concrete evidence has been found to confirm this theory, and Clara Bauerle's records suggest she died in Berlin in 1942.

Romani Connections: Some researchers have suggested that Bella might have been part of a Romani group or a traveler community. This theory is based on the fact that many Romani people lived in the area during the 1940s, and some witnesses reported seeing gypsies in Hagley Wood around the time of Bella's presumed death. However, like the other theories, this remains speculative.

Local Knowledge: There are suggestions that the graffiti artist had local knowledge and possibly knew more about the case than the police were able to uncover. The use of the name "Bella" might indicate that someone in the community recognized her, but chose to remain anonymous.

Despite extensive investigations, the true identity of Bella and the circumstances surrounding her death remain unknown. The case was reopened several times, and modern forensic techniques have been suggested to re-examine the remains and the evidence, but so far, these efforts have not provided definitive answers.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Wales' Bermuda Triangle 

The day was February 4, 1977. It was a normal day at Broad Haven Primary School in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was normal, that is, until more than a dozen children started telling their teachers that they had seen something “weird” flying around the school. What they saw was described as a silver, cigar-shaped object around 45ft in length. It had a central dome and a red pulsating light on the top and appeared over the trees around the perimeter of the school. What exactly it was has been subject to debate and discussion for more than four decades. One of the 10-year-old boys who saw the object was Dave Davies. Mr Davies, now in his 50s, told the BBC: “Throughout the day children had come in from playtime saying they had seen a weird object flying around the perimeter of the school. The headmaster thought he was having his leg pulled at the time so he wouldn’t actually go out and have a look. At the end of the day the final bell went and I thought I’d investigate for myself so I went up to the top perimeter of the school and the object popped up from behind some trees. It was about 50ft long, about the size of a bus, with a florescence to it. " The Monday after the sightings at the school the headmaster – understandably sceptical – asked the children to draw an image of what they had seen. Amazingly children who had seen the object at different times all drew very similar depictions of it. Mr Davies said: “The headmaster approached us, isolated the children who had seen the object, and made us draw pictures of what we saw and also a written account. He was very sceptical but the accounts were so similar that there was this resignation that hit him that we had in fact seen something.”

[luciferlaughs]

Mekayla Bali's disappearance on April 12, 2016, from her hometown of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, has remained a haunting mystery, capturing the attention of both law enforcement and the public. The 16-year-old Canadian was last seen at a local bus stop between 1:00 and 1:45 p.m., sparking a frantic search effort that has yet to yield any definitive leads. The day before her diappearance, she visited the bank to have $25 wired to her account. Later, she texted several friends that she was upset and needed help with something, but no further explanation was provided. The day she went missing was marked by a series of perplexing events, adding layers to the enigma surrounding her case. She texted a friend at around 6:41am asking for a ride to the bank again, but the friend declined since the bank was closed. Her grandmother then drove her to school at around 8:10am. Surveillance cameras showed her putting her binder in her locker and then slipping out the back entrance. She hiked all the way to the bank, where she withdrew $55. She then went to a Wendy's/Tim Horton's restaurant, where, for the next hour or so, she exhibited strange behaviour. Footage shows her disassembling her phone and then reassembling it. Multiple times she left the restaurant, wandered around, and then re-entered. She spent much of her time talking on the phone and texting, including a friend whom she asked for help with something, only to follow it up with ''Nevermind I figured it out''. She also asked a random customer for help with renting a hotel room, but was turned down. At around 11am, she went to the bus stop and asked a stranger when the next stop to Regina would be. Since the bus wasn't going to arrive until 5pm, she left without purchasing a ticket and went back to school for the lunch period, where she met with friends and told them she was planning a trip to Regina. At around 12:03pm, she departed from school and went to a Trail Stop Restaurant, which was attached to a bus stop. She ordered food and left about an hour later. She was never seen by eyewitnesses again, nor was she captured on surveillance footage anywhere. Police were able to confirm she did not get on any bus that day, either. Over the years, various theories have emerged regarding Bali's disappearance, ranging from the possibility of her running away to concerns about human trafficking or falling victim to an online predator. Despite reported sightings and extensive police investigations, including the review of hundreds of hours of surveillance footage and interviews with potential witnesses, Bali's whereabouts remain unknown, leaving her family in agonizing uncertainty.

[potterandpromises]

What if... what if Jan is the Sixth Avenue Slasher?

[truecrimecrystals]

Renee Yeargain has been missing since August 9th, 2004. The then-24-year-old woman was last seen in Torrington, Wyoming. Renee has never been seen or heard from again.

At the time of her disappearance, Renee was living in Torrington with Josh Minter - her boyfriend and father of her youngest child. Renee was determined to be missing after Minter dropped off her three older children - who aren't biologically his - at their former foster home. The foster parents subsequently contacted the Wyoming Department of Family Services. 

Police had a conversation with Minter on August 10th, 2004, during which he told officers that Renee abandoned him and her four children. Minter explained that she left with a grocery sack full of clothing and refused to say where she was going. Police reportedly took Minter's word and did not do much to corroborate his version of events.

On August 12th, 2004, Renee's car was found parked at a rest stop between Torrington and Cheyenne. The keys were found inside the vehicle, as were several of Renee's personal items - including her wallet, identification, and cell phone. The only things that appeared to be missing were Renee's tattoo kit and the reported bag of clothes that Minter said she had when she left their home. 

It was eventually determined that the car had been at the rest stop since August 10th - two days before it was reported to police. Authorities learned that witnesses had seen the car parked there, but it does not appear that anyone reporting seeing Renee. The vehicle is the last known trace of Renee, yet it is unknown if she drove the car there herself. 

Two decades have passed, and Renee remains missing.  Her loved ones are left with several unanswered questions, namely: What happened to Renee? Additionally, a look into the details of how Renee's case was handled by police leads to another question: Would Renee's case be solved if police had acted sooner?

[continue reading]

[americasonlylibertybell]

people who “love life” and are “full of life” are always getting unsolved murdered and that’s why i’m so FUCKING scared. i’m next.

[elisabethloxx]

Cynthia Leslie, 18, victim of an unsolved murder case from 1974.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries-movedd]

The Weird Death of Elisa Lam

For her trip to California, Lam travelled alone on Amtrak and intercity buses. She visited the San Diego Zoo and posted photos taken there on social media. On January 26, she arrived in Los Angeles. After two days, she checked into the Cecil Hotel, near downtown’s Skid Row. Lam was initially assigned a shared room on the hotel’s fifth floor; however, her roommates complained about what the hotel’s lawyer would later describe as “certain odd behavior” and Lam was moved to a room of her own after two days.

Lam had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression. She had been prescribed four medications – Wellbutrin, Lamictal, Seroquel and Effexor – to treat her disorders. According to her family, who supposedly kept her history of mental illness a secret, Lam had no history of suicidal ideations or attempts, although one report claimed she had previously gone missing for a brief period.

Lam contacted her parents in British Columbia every day while traveling. On February 1, 2013, the day she was scheduled to check out of the Cecil and leave for Santa Cruz, her parents did not hear from her and called the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD); her family flew to Los Angeles to help with the search.

Hotel staff who saw Lam that day said she was alone. Outside the hotel, Katie Orphan, manager of a nearby bookstore, was the only person who recalled seeing her that day. “She was outgoing, very lively, very friendly” while getting gifts to take home to her family.

Police searched the hotel to the extent that they legally could. They searched Lam’s room and had dogs go through the building, including the rooftop, but the dogs were unsuccessful in detecting her scent. “But we didn’t search every room,” Sgt. Rudy Lopez said later, “we could only do that if we had probable cause” to believe a crime had been committed. On February 6, a week after Lam had last been seen, the LAPD decided more help was needed. 

On February 15, after another week with no sign of Lam, the LAPD released a video of the last known sighting of her taken in one of the Cecil’s elevators by a video surveillance camera on February 1. In approximately two and a half minutes of footage, Lam, alone, makes unusual moves and gestures, leaving the elevator at one point while its doors remain open, even after she appears to have pressed every button. When the doors fail to close after she returns, she leaves; the doors close later.

The video drew worldwide interest in the case due to Lam’s strange behavior, and has been extensively analyzed and discussed. It was reposted widely, including on the Chinese video-sharing site Youku, where it got 3 million views and 40,000 comments in its first 10 days. Many of the commentators found it unsettling to watch.

Several theories evolved to explain her actions. One was that Lam was trying to get the elevator car to move in order to escape from someone who was pursuing her. Others suggested that she might be under the influence of ecstasy or some other party drug, but none was detected in her body. When her bipolar disorder became known, the theory that she was having a psychotic episode also emerged.

Other viewers argued that the video had been tampered with before being made public. Besides the obscuring of the timestamp, they claimed, parts had been slowed down and nearly a minute of footage had been removed. This could have been done to protect the identity of someone who otherwise would be in the video, either related or not to the disappearance.

During the search for Lam, guests at the hotel began complaining about low water pressure. Some later claimed their water was colored black and had an unusual taste. On the morning of February 19, Santiago Lopez, a hotel maintenance worker, found Lam’s body in one of four 1,000-gallon (3,785 L) tanks located on the roof providing water to guest rooms, a kitchen, and a coffee shop. Through the open hatch he saw Lam lying face-up in the water. The tank was drained and cut open since its maintenance hatch was too small to accommodate equipment needed to remove Lam’s body.

On February 21, the Los Angeles coroner’s office issued a finding of accidental drowning, with bipolar disorder as a significant factor. The full coroner’s report, released in June, stated that Lam’s body had been found naked;  clothing similar to what she was wearing in the elevator video was floating in the water, coated with a “sand-like particulate”. Her watch and room key were also found with her.

Lam’s body was moderately decomposed and bloated. It was mostly greenish, with some marbling evident on the abdomen and skin separation evident. There was no evidence of physical trauma, sexual assault, or suicide. Toxicology tests showed traces consistent with prescription medication found among her belongings, plus non-prescription drugs such as Sinutab and ibuprofen. A very small quantity of alcohol (about 0.02 g%) was present, but no other recreational drugs. Investigators and experts have however noted that the concentration of her prescription drugs in her system indicated that she was under-medicating or had stopped taking her medications recently.

The investigation had determined how Lam died, but did not initially offer an explanation as to how she got into the tank in the first place. Doors and stairs that access the hotel’s roof are locked, with only staff having the passcodes and keys, and any attempt to force them would supposedly have triggered an alarm. The hotel’s fire escape could have allowed her to bypass those security measures; her scent trail was lost near a window that connected to it. A video posted to the Internet after Lam’s death showed that the hotel’s roof was easily accessible via the fire escape and that two of the lids of the water tanks were open.

Apart from the question of how she got on the roof, others asked if she could have gotten into the tank by herself. All four tanks were 4-by-8-foot (1.2 by 2.4 m) cylinders propped up on concrete blocks;  there was no fixed access to them and hotel workers had to use a ladder to look at the water. They were protected by heavy lids that would be difficult to replace from within. The hotel employee who found the body said that the lid was open at the time, removing the issue of how she could have closed the lid from inside. Police dogs that searched through the hotel for Lam, even on the roof, shortly after her disappearance was noted, did not find any trace of her.

Theories arose pertaining to the elevator video. Some argued that she was attempting to hide from a pursuer, perhaps someone ultimately responsible for her death, while others said she was merely frustrated with the elevator’s apparent malfunction. Some proponents of the theory that she was under the influence of illicit drugs are not dissuaded by their absence from the toxicology screen, suggesting that they might have broken down during the period of time her body decomposed in the tank or that she might have taken rare cocktails of such drugs that a normal screen would not detect. The very low level of her prescription drugs in her system, and the amount of pills left in her prescription bottle, suggested she was under-medicating or had recently stopped taking her medication for bipolar disorder, which might have led to a psychotic episode.

The autopsy report and its conclusions were also questioned based on the incomplete information. For instance, it does not say what the results of the rape kit and fingernail kit were or even if they were processed. It also records subcutaneous pooling of blood in Lam’s anal area, which some observers suggested was a sign of sexual abuse; one pathologist noted it could also have resulted from bloating in the course of the body’s decomposition, and her rectum was also prolapsed. Even the coroner’s pathologists appeared to be ambivalent about their conclusion that Lam’s death was accidental.

Since her death, her Tumblr blog was updated, presumably through Tumblr’s Queue option that allows posts to automatically publish themselves when the user is away. Her phone was not found either with her body or in her hotel room; it has been assumed to have been stolen at some time around her death. Whether the continued updates to her blog were facilitated by the theft of her phone, the work of a hacker, or through the Queue, is not known; nor is it known whether the updates are related to her death.

[deeploretv]

Buffalo New York's House of Horrors

The property at 107 Sheffield Avenue in South Buffalo, New York, harbors a dark history marked by multiple grim discoveries over the years. The narrative of tragedy began to unfold on June 23, 2020, when police responded to a welfare check and discovered the first of several bodies. Subsequent discoveries include another body found on September 11, 2022, leading to an arrest, and a third body unearthed in August 2023 in the house's yard.

The most heart-wrenching incident occurred when Jaylen Griffin, a 12-year-old boy reported missing since August 4, 2020, was found deceased in the house's attic on April 12, 2024. His body, severely decomposed, was identified through dental records. This marked the fourth body found at this address in four years, concluding a prolonged and sorrowful search. Jaylen had told his mother he was visiting a nearby store but never returned, sparking a case initially treated as a runaway situation.

The frequent tenant turnover at this address, combined with its history of housing individuals recently released from prison, adds layers of complexity to the ongoing investigations. The residence, owned by Sunrise West LLC and managed under suspicious conditions, has been subject to numerous police visits and a negligence lawsuit following a fire caused by a tenant.

These continuous and varied incidents at 107 Sheffield Avenue have cast a long shadow over the community, prompting extensive police investigations and drawing attention from local activists determined to unearth the truth and secure justice for the victims, including the unfortunate young Jaylen Griffin.

[st-paul-dano-cathedral]

[morbidology]

In 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar vanished during a family outing to Swayze Lake in Louisiana, igniting a nationwide search. After eight months, a boy resembling Bobby was discovered in Mississippi with a traveling handyman named William Walters. Walters asserted that the child, who was named Bruce Anderson, was the son of Julia Anderson, a woman he worked for. He claimed that she had given him custody of the young boy. Despite Walters' and Julia Anderson’s claims, the Dunbar family insisted the boy was their missing Bobby.

The case took a dramatic turn when the court sided with the Dunbars, and the boy was handed over to them. Raised as Bobby Dunbar, he grew up in the Dunbar household, but questions about his true identity persisted for decades. These doubts were finally addressed in 2004, when a DNA test was conducted on Bobby Dunbar’s son, Bob Dunbar Jr., and a relative of the Dunbar family.

The results revealed no genetic match, confirming that the boy found in Mississippi was not Bobby Dunbar. The whereabouts of the real Bobby Dunbar remains a mystery today,

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

On the morning of the disappearance, Murray informed a nursing school faculty work supervisor via email that she would be away for a week due to a family death. Contrary to her message, her family confirmed that no such death had occurred. Sometime after 7 pm, Murray crashed her car into a tree. Seemingly uninjured, she spoke to a local bus driver moments after the crash. The bus driver offered to call for help. She asked him not to call the police. The bus driver continued home and called the police. His call was received by the Sheriff's Department at 7:43 pm. Just minutes later, the police arrived at the scene. However, to their bewildered the female driver was nowhere to be seen. The police noted that her car had hit a tree on the driver's side of the vehicle, rendering it no longer drivable. Inside the car, the police officer found an empty beer bottle and a damaged box of wine on the rear seat. However, her debit card, credit cards, and cell phone were all missing. Non of which have been used in the years following her disappearance. Initially, police treated Murray as a missing person based on the belief that she may have wanted to disappear voluntarily. In 2019, investigators searched a house and dug up a basement in Haverhill. They had previously searched the property, but had not searched inside the home. The search was prompted by local dogs and a radar scan, which seemed to indicate that the ground had been moved. The search did not bring any further clues as to what might have happened to Maura. As of 2023, Maura Murray is still a missing person and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unresolved.

[misteria247]

Nothing will ever make me break out into goosebumps of fear faster than anything involving ghosts who haunt places and who had been Nuns during their lives.

There's just something so incredibly unnerving about something that's supposed to be holy in nature and symbolic for God in some way, becoming something so incredibly evil and hostile. Like I can deal with ghosts and abandoned buildings and stories involving serial killers or unsolved cold cases or horrific urban legends, but as soon as anything religious enters the playing field I'm like fucking out bruh.

[acrylicalchemy]

"You Called Out For Me And So I Came To You (The Dreamer And The Night Terrors)" is from "The Boy In The Box Collection" and is dedicated to my missing friend, Deanne Hastings.

I have a number of works still available from this signature collection, and canvas prints of many of my best works, including this one. Please take a look. Even if you aren't in the market for art, sharing an artist's work really helps them a lot.

[deadstrangeblog]

Between 24th August 2020 and 11th April 2021, three people were killed by 'Jack the Knife'- a mystery slasher who still remains at large. Larry Eugene McChristian, Jeff Welch, and Marlon Anthony Franklin were all randomly stabbed by a man in Little Rock, Arkansas. Another victim, 41-year-old Debra Walker survived, and was able to give a description of the killer.

It quickly became obvious to detectives that they were looking for one suspect, who was acting alone. Motives were too similar for the crimes to just be random stabbings. Although the victims' profiles differed somewhat, the timing, location and pattern of behaviour were clearly a pattern. What's more, CCTV captured the assailant after one of the murders. He appears to casually walk away from his dying victim as if nothing happened.

After the fourth and final murder, a $20,000 reward was issued for any information, but nothing solid has led to an arrest yet. Surviving victim, Debra Walker was able to give police a partial description. According to her, her attacker was ‘a young, black male with a slender build, over six feet tall’.

The murderer is still at large, and it's unknown whether or not he's likely to strike again.