In 1936, a teacher decides to take 20 schoolboys on a trip to Germany on his own... what could go wrong? Everything it turns out, after deciding to take them on a hike to the highest peak in the Black Forest.

It's been over 40 years since the body of an woman was found on the strip in Las Vegas and finally in 2023 she was identified as Gwenn Marie Story, but her identification sadly hasn't shed any light on who was responsible for her death - who killed Gwenn?

Since 2007, 23 feet have been found on the shores of the Salish Sea in Canada and the United States, most found inside trainers/sneakers and hiking boots. What's going on? 

This is a huge part of British and Canadian history which is rarely spoken about now, but a piece of history which has undeniably had a massive butterfy effect on both nations today. Thousands of children were taken off the streets of London and sent to homes in Canada for labour... and as you can imagine, there wasn't much love. 

Julie Hogg disappeared in 1989 after a pizza delivery shift, her mother calling to wake her up the next morning for a court date to find there was no answer. Despite her family's insistence that Julie would not have run away, police fail to investigate properly... and three months later, mother Ann finds her daughter's remains behind the bath panel. From that moment on, she embarks on a mission to see her daughter's killer behind bars, but it's not going to be an easy journey.

In the early hours of August 23rd 1994, Beth-Ellen Vinson was on her way to work when she disappeared, her car being found abandoned on the side of the road. A week later, her body was discovered nearby but to this day, there are no answers. Who killed Beth-Ellen? What was the motive?

In Franklin County, Maryland in 1982, two mushroom hunters came across a steamer trunk in woodland. Curious, they go to open it and find the decomposed body of a woman who remains unidentified 41 years on. Who was the Cheerleader in the Trunk?

Releasing over a million balloons at once sounds like a pretty spectacle right? What could go wrong? Well in 1986, the residents of Cleveland would find out. 

Today I've got some updates for you in some massive cases from over the last few months. This is what we hope for in the world of true crime, new information bringing us one step closer to solving a case or identifying a person.

For a whole decade between 1984 and 1994, elderly couple Bill and Dorothy Wacker were harassed by an unknown assailant, with Dorothy even being physically attacked on two occasions, sending her to hospital. But there was never any sign of the perpetrator and police eventually decided Bill himself was responsible. But was he? 

On Christmas Day 1929, residents of Germanton, North Carolina were disturbed by multiple gunshots over at the Lawson residence - and when they arrived to investigate, they found a scene that no-one ever wants to witness: an entire family killed by their own father. We've always known who's responsible for the Lawson family murders, but the big question is: why? Why did Charlie Lawson do it?

From 2010 to 2018, rumours were flying around Toronto's gay village that there was a serial killer on the loose, targeting muslim men in the area. Despite these cries, no-one seemed all that interested in investigating... until in 2018 something undeniable happened. Here is the story of the victims of Bruce McArthur.

Sarah Ottens was murdered in her university dorm in 1973 and after an investigation, James Hall was arrested and charged with the crime. But then a decade later, Hall was exonerated for the crime. Was he truly responsible? If not, who did kill Sarah?

When in 1984 751 people in The Dalles, Oregon, suddenly contracted salmonella after eating at a number of salad bars, the authorities put it down to poor hygiene of the food handlers, despite local residents suspecting the involvement of the Rajneeshees, a cult of 7000 people who had overtaken a nearby ranch. This is the tale of everything that happened before and after.

In May 1968, a man came across the remains of a girl who would go on to become known as Tent Girl. 2 decades later this man would be telling his future son-in-law, Todd, the story who found himself unable to get it off his mind. Todd goes on to dedicate his life to reuniting Tent Girl with her name and her family, becoming one of the founders of DoeNetwork and changing the face of true crime forever. 

In 1991, 18 year old Nicola Payne set off on the 6 minute walk from her boyfriend's house to her parent's house, a walk she had done countless times before... and then she disappeared. Over three decades on, numerous arrests and a failed trial later, Nicola's case still remains unsolved. Where is she?

In 1988, the body of a woman was found in the Green Swamp area of Clermont, Florida. Investigators went out in search of her identity, but were never successful - and then in the early noughties, a wave of funding meant that were able to take another look at the case. At this point it was found that investigators may have been looking in the wrong places, as Julie seemed to in fact be a transgender woman, adding a whole other layer of considerations to the investigation.

Lesley Herring was known to be a solid, reliable person who always showed up - so when one day in February 2009 she failed to turn up for work, her family knew that something was seriously wrong. What followed was a hunt, not only for Lesley but also for her husband Lyle, investigators following a trail of red herrings he'd left in his wake.

A few years ago Thomas Chan consumed magic mushrooms and went on to attack his father, arguing the defence of automatism in court: he wasn't responsible for his actions whilst under the influence. This, and the case of Sullivan, opened up a can of worms in Canadian law. 

This week we're going to be looking at some updates in cases that I've covered in the past, including Alicia Navarro, Lady of the Dunes, Nude in the Nettles, Paige Johnson and more. 

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the bodies of a number of women were found alongside major interstates from Virginia to Missouri. Investigators soon began to connect the cases, as all the women had one thing in common: they all had red hair.

In the 1960s, two couples were driving near Point Pleasant, West Virginia when they came across a creature that they could only describe as 'not-human', 7ft tall with 10ft wide wings and glowing red eyes. They reported it to the local authorities, and since then countless people have reported a similar creature, some think it is a harbinger of doom. But if the mothman exists, why is there no solid evidence?

In 2001, a missing persons segment was aired on Mexico's Canal 5 and for some reason people on the internet deemed that the photo of missing Selene Delgado Lopez was fake... and from there, you won't believe where this story goes.

On 29th October 2004, a woman got in the lift at the Wembley Point building in London and took it all the way up to the 21st floor. Once there, she calmly opened a window and jumped out, her body soon being found in the river down below. Almsot 2 decades on and she has still not been identified, despite a number of interesting clues being left behind.

The 1800s were a time of great migration within the USA, with families packing their entire lives into wagons and setting off on the treacherous journey. Lansford Hastings managed to convince the Donner-Reed party to try out a new route, one which was apparently shorter than the usual - they'll reach California quicker! But things went terribly wrong, and the party were forced to do things to survive that no human should do.

In April 1998, Traci Pittman Kegley failed to turn up home to her parents house, causing them to search for her through the night. The next morning, her car is found abandoned on the side of the road with her 2 year old daughter in the back, entirely unharmed. There's never been a single sighting of Traci since.

In 1980, Jessie Earl was due to come home to visit her parents but when she failed to arrive her mother headed down to her flat in Eastbourne to ensure Jessie was okay - only finding an enduring mystery. 9 years later, Jessie's body would be found but their battle would be far from over.

In 1994, Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked as she came off the ice after a practice session - and soon it transpired that her rival, Tonya Harding, may have been involved. But how did it come to this?

Did you know that only 0.5% of recorded history is about women? Think about all the stories of women who have been erased from history, the stories about men which may actually be about women? Well today we're going to be talking about a potential female spy who changed the course of the American Revolution, mentioned in just one letter in the culper spy ring. Did she exist? Who could she have been?

In 1976 the dismembered body of a young woman was found in Carbon County, Pennsylvania and despite extensive investigation, she went unidentified for 44 years. Finally in 2021 after her biological nephew uploaded his genetic information, investigators were able to confirm her identity as 15 year old Evelyn Colon. And through that, find the identity of her potential killer.

In the 1970s, four children went missing the Detroit, Michigan area, their bodies all being found shortly after. Despite this being the biggest investigation is USA history at this time, multiple suspects and even DNA evidence being linked to a person of interest, this case has never been solved. 

In 1989, 130 people boarded small pleasure boat, Marchioness, for a party cruise down the Thames. Less than an hour later, 51 of these people would die after the boat was struck by a large dredger. 34 years on, and still there's not been justice for the victims, survivors or families of this disaster. Who was responsible?

This week we're going to be looking at some updates in cases that I've covered in the past, including a massive update in the LISK/Gilgo Beach Killer: a suspect has been arrested. 

Starting in the 1940s, American researchers travelled down to Guatemala to conduct a number of experiments around STD research. They said they intended to find a post-exposure prophylaxis, but ended up deliberately infecting over 1000 Guatemalan people with STDs... and didn't cure over half of them. How was this allowed to happen?

In 1970, 17 year old Helen Claire Frost had had a few rough months after being forced to give up her newborn baby girl. One day in October, she headed out for a 'quick walk' after inviting her sister along, who declined, and she never returned. In all these years there's never been a single clue, but someone must know what happened to Helen.

We're travelling back to 1650 today to learn about a 22 year old woman called Anne Greene who gave birth to a stillborn baby and was unjustly sent to the gallows... only to survive her own execution. How was this possible? Find out with me!

On 2nd November 2007, 12 year old Jaliek Rainwalker was reported as missing by his adoptive father, who said he must have runaway during the night. However in 2012 Jaliek's case was reclassified as a presumed homicide, and much suspicion has been cast on those closest to him. 

In 1979, a horse rider in Bedgebury Forest, Kent, England, spotted the body of a woman in the bracken. What followed was an extensive murder investigation and one of the UK's most puzzling criminal cases, with a man going to trial 20 years later only to be found not guilty. Now in 2023, Jane Doe still has no identity and no justice. 

In 1987, 16 year old Theresa Bier got picked up by a man called Russell 'Skip' Welch to go hunting for bigfoot in the North California mountains. And then she was never seen again. Skip would later say she was abducted by Bigfoot, but do we believe him?

In January 1996, 9 year old Amber Hagerman was cycling around an abandoned parking lot when a man in a black van pulled up beside her, snatched her off the bike and threw her into his van. He sped away and days later Amber's body was found in a creek. He has never been identified. 

The News of the World phone hacking scandal was a controversy that came to light publicly in 2011 after employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories for many years. How was this able to happen?

In October 1996 a woman checked into a Seattle hotel under the name Mary Anderson, with hotel staff finding her dead in her room two days later. It would then be uncovered that Mary Anderson was a fake name, as was the address and number she provided. Who was she? Why did she end her own life in that hotel room?

On April 19th 1996, Timothy McVeigh detonated a car bomb out the front of the Alfred P Murrah building in Oklahoma City after spending years harbouring anti-government views. In that moment, the USA would change forever.

Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles were two people with unusual views of the world, they believed they were aliens sent from a higher kingdom, the two witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelations. So how did they manage to convince 39 people to end their lives in a mass suicide?

In 1990 the body of a woman was found in a culvert near Monroe Township in Pennsylvania, and despite investigation her identity and killer both still remain unknown. Who was Penny Doe?

In 1989 a bulletin about a missing woman called Joanna Lopez was broadcast overnight with no context on WMAQ Chicago, but the photo was low-res and all-round creepy. Then 2 years later, the same photo was re-broadcast. Who was Joanna Lopez? Why is there no evidence she even existed?

In 2002, 13 year old schoolgirl Milly Dowler was abducted on her way home from school, her body found 6 months later - and investigators had no clue as to who was responsible. After almost a decade, in 2011, Levi Bellfield was convicted of her murder. How did they finally catch him?

In 1957, 11 year old Moira Anderson hopped on a bus in her home of Coatbridge, Scotland, and then disappeared. The bus driver that was a convicted criminal but for some reason the police didn't speak to him until 1992... what happened to Moira?