Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

In June of 1987, eighteen-year-old Michael Jefferson "Mike" Adams seemed to have everything going for him. A recent early graduate of Cooper High School, Mike had already enrolled at Texas Tech University to study architecture, worked full-time to save for college, and had purchased his own car through hard work and determination.

On the night of June 8, after closing the grocery store where he worked, Mike drove to his family's home in Abilene. His stepsister watched from a window as he stepped out of his car and casually spoke with someone waiting in another vehicle parked along the street. The interaction appeared completely normal.

Mike was never seen again.

When his family awoke the next morning, his car remained in the driveway, his wallet and cash were still inside the house, and his bed had never been slept in. Detectives quickly concluded that Mike had likely believed he was leaving for only a short time with someone he knew and trusted.

Over the years, police have explored numerous theories surrounding Mike's disappearance. Despite decades of investigation, none of those leads have ever provided definitive answers.

Nearly forty years later, Mike Adams remains missing. His father spent the rest of his life searching for answers before passing away in 2024, never learning what happened to his youngest son.

If you have information about the disappearance of Michael Jefferson Adams, please contact the Abilene Police Department at (325) 673-8331.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com

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#WhereIsMikeAdams #AbileneTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

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In Part Two of our series on the dark history of Wharton County, we examine three more haunting cases that continue to leave families searching for answers.

The episode begins in Ganado, Texas, with the unsolved 1999 murder of beloved English teacher Jean Schoeneberg. A respected educator known for her high standards and daily morning walks, Jean was found brutally murdered along a quiet rural road near her home. Despite decades of investigation, DNA testing, and renewed leads, her killer has never been identified.

Next, we explore the 2014 disappearance of Mitchelle Deborah Hicks, a 25-year-old mother of two who vanished after leaving a residence in Wharton. Investigators believe she may have been taken against her will, but more than a decade later, few details have been released publicly, and her family is still waiting for answers.

Finally, we follow the remarkable identification of Wharton County Jane Doe, whose skeletal remains were discovered in a remote field in 2021. For four years she had no name, until advances in forensic genetic genealogy revealed she was sixteen-year-old Yeimy Maciela Beltrand. Her identification led investigators to name a suspect in her murder, but he fled before he could be arrested and remains a fugitive.

These cases span more than twenty-five years, yet they share the same painful reality: families whose lives were forever changed, investigations that remain incomplete, and the enduring hope that someone, somewhere, still knows the truth.

If you have any information about the murder of Jean Schoeneberg or the whereabouts of Luis Omar Beltran-Mendoza, suspected in the murder of Yeimy Maciela Beltrand, please contact the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office at (979) 532-1550.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Mitchelle Deborah Hicks, please call the Wharton Police Department at (979) 532-3131.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com

Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

#JusticeForJeanSchoeneberg #JusticeForYeimyBeltrand #WhereIsMitchelleHicks #WhartonCoTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #DarkHistory #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

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For more than 150 years, Wharton County, Texas, has been shaped by both prosperity and violence. In the first installment of this special series, we trace the county's darker history: from racial terror and vigilante justice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to two heartbreaking crimes in modern times that forever changed the community.

In 1988, 24-year-old Juana Velasquez Moreno was brutally murdered while opening the Kwik Chek convenience store where she worked. For decades, her family believed the investigation had simply gone cold, only to later discover that a suspect had twice been indicted for her murder without their knowledge.

Just over two years later, fifteen-year-old Rosemary Diaz vanished while working alone at a small country store in Danevang. Twenty-five years passed before long-hidden secrets led investigators to her grave, finally revealing what happened on the night she disappeared.

This episode explores how violence has echoed across generations in Wharton County, where justice has never necessarily prevailed, sometimes failed, and sometimes arrived far too late.

If you have any information about the murder of Sanjuana Velasquez Moreno, please contact the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office at (979) 532-1550.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com 

Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

#JusticeForSanjuanaVelasquezMoreno #WhartonCoTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #DarkHistory #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

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Nearly twenty years after Brandi Wells disappeared, the questions surrounding her case remain as haunting as ever.

In part two, we examine the investigation that unfolded after Brandi's black Pontiac Grand Prix was found abandoned near Interstate 20. Detectives pursued leads, including a man whose phone number was discovered inside Brandi's car and the mysterious trail left by Brandi's actual cellphone after it passed through multiple hands. A critical mistake involving nightclub surveillance footage sent investigators down the wrong path for weeks before the real Brandi was finally identified entering and leaving Graham Central Station alone.

As searches expanded across East Texas, Brandi's family refused to let her name fade from public memory. They endured the emotional turmoil of potential identifications, including the heartbreaking possibility that Brandi might have been the young murder victim later known as Lavender Doe. Each lead brought renewed hope, only to end in disappointment.

Someone, somewhere, knows what happened after Brandi Wells walked out of Graham Central Station in the early morning hours of August 3, 2006. Until that person comes forward, one of East Texas's most enduring mysteries remains unsolved.

Part two of two.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Brandi Ellen Wells, please contact the Longview Police Department at (903) 237-1110.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com

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#WhereIsBrandiWells #JusticeForBrandiWells #LongviewTX #TylerTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

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In August 2006, twenty-three-year-old Brandi Wells left her mother's home in Tyler, Texas, for what should have been an ordinary night out. Excited about returning to college and rebuilding her life after a difficult few years, Brandi drove to Longview's popular Graham Central Station nightclub for Ladies Night. She was seen socializing, dancing, and asking acquaintances for a few dollars for gas before leaving the club shortly after midnight.

When Brandi failed to return home, her family initially hoped there was a simple explanation. But as hours turned into days, concern gave way to fear. Unknown to them, Brandi's black Pontiac Grand Prix had already been discovered abandoned along Interstate 20, its driver's door standing open and several troubling details left behind. Personal belongings remained inside, but Brandi had vanished without a trace.

Nearly twenty years later, the disappearance of Brandi Wells remains one of East Texas's most haunting unsolved mysteries. In this first installment, we explore who Brandi was before she became a missing person's case, retrace the final confirmed hours of her life, and examine how an ordinary night out ended with questions that still have no answers.

Part one of two.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Brandi Ellen Wells, please contact the Longview Police at (903) 237-1110.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com

Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

#WhereIsBrandiWells #JusticeForBrandiWells #LongviewTX #TylerTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.