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In August 1996, John Hartenfeld drove into the mountains of northern New Mexico for a solo fly fishing trip and never came home. His Toyota 4-Runner was found two months later on remote ranch land — every fingerprint wiped from the vehicle. His credit card had already been used, four days after he vanished, to buy a small and troubling amount of two-stroke fuel. Private investigators and law enforcement both concluded foul play. No one was ever prosecuted.

John's son James Hartenfeld is a Portland comedian who has spent most of his adult life with this unresolved wound. He joins us to talk about the moment as a kid when he searched under beds and in closets hoping his dad was pranking him, about the phone call his dad made to a close friend reporting that someone was messing with his car — days before he disappeared — and about a jaw-dropping development that happened just weeks before this recording: New Mexico cold case investigators found remains in the area where John vanished, and they need James's DNA.

James is also building My Little Cold Case, a six-episode documentary series about his father's disappearance. It's a project designed for the families that most cold case content ignores — the ones with no ending, no arrest, no resolution. Just a missing person and a family still waiting.

• The last confirmed sighting of John Hartenfeld and the fishing trip that never ended
• The credit card charge investigators believe may have been used to purchase fuel for dismemberment equipment
• John's final phone call to his friend Muggsy: "Someone's messing with my car"
• A wiped-down truck, refused polygraphs, and a case that went cold
• The tensions investigators cited as the most likely motive — and why they're hard to talk about
• DNA samples collected in 1996 that have never been tested
• The brand-new development: recently found remains and a pending DNA test
• What it's like to grow up, build a career, and still carry an unanswered question
• Why James built My Little Cold Case — and who it's really for

Links from this episode

mylittlecoldcase.com — follow the project and support James's documentary series

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Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

#JusticeForShaylee: She Was Not a Runaway

Fifteen-year-old Shaylee Snyder disappeared from Indianapolis on February 10, 2025. Her family went to police with burner phones, medical records, and eyewitness accounts — and were told, "She's probably bipolar. There ain't nothing we can do." Twelve days later, Shaylee was found dead beside railroad tracks, bruised from head to toe, next to a burning car. She was a Jane Doe for three days. No one has been charged.

In this episode, we sit down with Shaylee's aunt Laura Davis to hear what really happened — and what law enforcement doesn't want you to know.

Justice for Shaylee. She was not a runaway.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

In April 1999, 70-year-old Guy Pyke pulled into his cousin's driveway in Evans Mills, New York — and never got out of the car. A barking dog kept him away. He backed out, drove north, and was never seen again.

No body. No crash site. No trace of his midnight blue Chevy Blazer. Just silence — for 26 years and counting.

We sit down with Jennifer Wood, Guy's granddaughter, who has spent decades fighting to correct the record, coordinating underwater search teams, and refusing to let her grandfather become a forgotten file. She shares what Guy told his brothers before he vanished — words that take on a chilling new meaning in hindsight.

This is the cold case that has no peaks, no valleys. Just an empty space on a gravestone where a date of death should be.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. If you have information on Guy Pyke or his 1989 Chevrolet Blazer (VIN: 1GNEV18K7KF176294, plate NY FMS-867), contact the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office at (315) 435-5434.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

On the morning of February 26, 1996, 25-year-old Gary Butler was found dead in a retention pond in Manville, New Jersey. Police initially called it a hit-and-run. The evidence said otherwise. Nearly thirty years later, no one has been charged — but according to Gary's sister Michelle, the people of Manville already know who did it. We sit down with Michelle Butler, who has spent decades demanding answers, to hear what the investigation got wrong, what the community won't say out loud, and why this case refuses to go cold.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

Devan Sanders came home from work around 11 p.m. on a stormy August night in 2018. Something — or someone — drew him back outside into the rain. He was found shot to death on the side of his own house hours later, steps from his front door in Dayton, Ohio. He was 25 years old. He worked two jobs, drove relief supplies to Flint, Michigan, and once saved a stranger's life without ever knowing it. His killer has never been caught. Today, we sit down with the woman who supervised him at a local nonprofit, who has waited seven years for answers that have never come. This is the unsolved murder of Devan Sanders.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

On the night of July 25, 1982, Patricia "Pat" Shea — a beloved physician's assistant from Rockaway Beach, Queens — crossed the street to check on an elderly neighbor. She was found strangled eleven miles away in Brooklyn's Prospect Park the next day. More than four decades later, no one has ever been charged.

In this episode, we speak exclusively with Kevin Shea, Pat's nephew, who has spent decades pushing for answers — filing FOIA requests, tracking missing evidence, and keeping his aunt's memory alive. He shares new details never before reported: a forensic finding that reframes where the crime may have occurred, a revelation about three men on the floor that night and a polygraph that was never given, and the truth about what police actually found when they investigated the mysterious anonymous letter that arrived at a local newsroom in 2021.

For the full investigative report — including a complete case file, crime timeline, and tip line information — visit TheColdCases.com.

If you have any information about the murder of Patricia Shea, contact the NYPD Cold Case Homicide Squad at 212-239-2256.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

In November 2008, an electric company crew replacing a power pole in Oklahoma City made a grim discovery — the partial remains of a young woman. She was Native American, estimated to be between 17 and 23 years old, and she had no name. The only clue she left behind was a pair of black Croft & Barrow shoes. For sixteen years, she was known as the Croft & Barrow Jane Doe.

Her name was Amy Elizabeth Davis.

In this episode, we sit down with Darlene Nixon — Amy's biological cousin — who spent years searching for answers across state lines, fighting through closed adoption records, institutional silence, and a system that looked the other way. Darlene tells us how Oklahoma City police turned Amy's adoptive family away when they tried to file a missing persons report. How the family was told Amy was just a sex worker on the street, and that was that. How Darlene herself finally filed the report in January 2026 — and how just three months later, Amy's brother's DNA confirmed what the family had feared for years.

Amy is identified now. But the questions surrounding her death remain open. No cause of death. No suspect. And not a single person from her final years willing to come forward.

If you knew Amy Elizabeth Davis — from Oklahoma City, from the Will Rogers Court area, from anywhere — somebody needs to hear from you.

To share information, contact the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at (405) 239-7141 or reach out to us at TheColdCases.com.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...

Send us Fan Mail

In April 2024, 21-year-old Elizibeth "Lizzy" Green walked out the front door of her home in Callao, Utah — a remote desert community of fewer than 50 people — and was never seen again. Nearly two years later, no physical evidence has been found. No arrests have been made. And the case has received almost no national attention.

In this episode, we sit down with Kale Green, Elizibeth's father, for an exclusive interview. He shares what investigators found — and didn't find — on her devices, why the K-9 units' failure to pick up any scent trail points him toward someone within the community, and why he believes the answers to his daughter's disappearance lie not in the vast surrounding desert, but among the people who were already there.

He also shares details that have never been publicly reported — including disturbing events inside the household in the weeks before she vanished, and a comment made to him by someone close to the case that he has never been able to shake.

This is a story about a young woman the news largely forgot. And a father who refuses to let that be the end of her story.

If you have information about Elizibeth Green's whereabouts, contact the Juab County Sheriff's Office at (435) 856-0358. Reference case number 24JC0335.

Support the show

Every Unsolved Case Deserves a Voice.

Somewhere right now, a family is waiting for answers. Not the famous cases that dominate true crime podcasts or fill network television specials — but the other cases. The ones that slipped through the cracks of media attention. The ones where a name was forgotten before it ever had a chance to be remembered.

That's exactly why TheColdCases.com exists.

We are building the most comprehensive repository of lesser-known cold cases the internet has ever seen — a dedicated, searchable archive where forgotten victims finally get a permanent home. Where their names, their faces, and their stories are preserved with the dignity and urgency they deserve. Where investigators, journalists, amateur sleuths, and compassionate strangers can connect the dots that time tried to bury.

But we can't do this alone.

This work takes time, research, resources, and an unwavering community of people who refuse to let the forgotten stay forgotten. Every case we document is hours of careful, respectful work. Every profile published is a renewed chance for justice.

You are the missing piece.

By subscribing at TheColdCases.com/subscribe, you become part of a movement — one that believes every victim matters, regardless of whether a camera was ever pointed in their direction. Your support helps us research more cases, reach more families, and keep these stories alive until answers...