Philadelphia police identify formerly unknown murder victim in one of state’s oldest cases. — Last week, I mentioned that on Thursday, November 30, 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department made a stunning announcement. They had finally found the identity of the young unknown murder victim behind the “Boy in the Box” case. After more than six decades of leads pursued and tips followed, with countless…

The case of a Washington teenager killed by his pre-teen “pals.” — “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” Indeed, sometimes in life, the people we consider our best buddies could wind up being our worst enemies. That’s one harsh lesson the family of a Washington teenager tragically and needlessly found out the hard way nearly two decades ago. Craig Sorger was…

The strange tale of two deaths and an unsolved disappearance from the same college campus. — In the early morning hours of Friday, 13 November 1925, in Northampton, Massachusetts, a young woman named Jean M. Robeson was discovered dead in her dormitory at Smith College by asphyxiation through illuminating gas. However, shortly after Jean's untimely death, another tragedy would befall the institute. At around 8 a.m…

Who were the men he spoke of before he died? And what did the word he wrote down mean? — At approximately 3 a.m. on October 26, 1984, two truck drivers in Germany came across a bizarre scene. They witnessed a visibly injured person wearing a white jacket walking away from a wrecked blue VW Golf I sitting in a ditch of the Autobahn 45 near Hagen-Süd, about 60 miles…

Who was the mystery man Elizabeth spoke with over the phone? And who later abandoned her vehicle? — Elizabeth Crawford, a 34-year-old woman, went missing from a small town in South Carolina after she left her home to meet with a female friend. Just before her disappearance, she had received a phone call from an unknown man with a deep voice. Two days later, her abandoned car was…

Adele Wells was last seen leaving her grandmother’s house to resume her walk to school. So, why did she never arrive? — On the morning of Friday, November 21, 1958, in Genesee County’s Flint, Michigan, Adele Wells found herself unable to attend school due to a mild cold. However, as the morning progressed she had a change of heart and made the decision to go to school after all. The 7-year-old stepped…

What happened to 4-year-old Hickle Harley Ware? — Bungo Township, Cass County, Minnesota — On June 11, 1938, young Hickle Ware was playing in a meadow near his family’s farm southwest of Pine River with his older brothers, 13-year-old Richard Jr., and 10-year-old Bob. At some point between noon and 1pm, his brothers briefly left to round up…

Missing Barbara Willard’s car was found abandoned near a ravine in a rural community with unsettling evidence left behind. — Delaware County, Oklahoma — On June 27, 1996, in the rural community of Sandusky, located 20 miles southeast of Jay, Oklahoma, authorities responding to a call about an abandoned vehicle discovered close to a brush-clogged ravine near Colcord are met with a troubling sight.

I was so happy to hear Joseph got his name back, though seriously doubt his killer ever faced justice. Nonetheless, giving his identity back to such a young victim, especially against ALL the odds, is the one miracle that mattered the most in Joseph's case. Coupled with several other (really) long-standing Jane and John Doe cases being identified within the last year or so, most of these still-unsolved cases stand better a chance than they did even five or ten years ago. Hopefully, they each get their conclusions one day.