The Trail Went Cold

June 6, 1993. Windsor, North Carolina. After a Be-Lo supermarket closes for the night, a gunman emerges from a hiding spot and forces the two employees - 47-year old manager Grover “Bud” Cecil and 36-year old casher Joyce Coburn Reason - to hand over $3,000 from the safe. The gunman then orders the employees and four members of an after-hours cleaning crew - 48-year old Johnnie Rankins, 40-year old Sylvester “Tony” Welch”, 48-year old Thomas Hardy and his 50-year old brother Jasper Hardy - to the back of the store, where they are bound and stacked on top of each other before they are shot. While Bud, Joyce and Johnnie are killed, the other three victims survive and provide a description of the perpetrator, but he is never tracked down or identified. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore an horrific and baffling crime known as the “Be-Lo Murders”, which has gone unsolved for over 30 years.

If you have information about this case, please contact the Windsor Police Department at (252) 794-3111 of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-334-3000. 

Additional Reading:

https://www.ncsbi.gov/Divisions/Cold-Case-Investigation-Team/Unsolved-Homicides/Be-Lo-Murders-(1)

"Closing Time: The 1993 Be-Lo Murders" by Jeb Bohn

https://www.wavy.com/news/cold-case-files-tuesday-is-30-years-since-gruesome-windsor-be-lo-murders/

https://wcti12.com/archive/be-lo-killer-remains-unidentified

https://www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com/news/rumors-spread-of-arrest-of-windsor-be-lo-murderer-b0f9453d

https://www.dailyadvance.com/bertie/news/local/windsor-police-respond-to-rumors-of-be-lo-suspect-arrest/article_0990b5ad-c075-40ba-9524-294b0d80fcbb.html

https://www.wral.com/archive/2004435/

https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/940607/06070332.htm

https://www.newspapers.com/image/656191012/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1007689848/

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

June 24, 1974. Burlington, New Jersey. 14-year old Margaret Ellen Fox boards a bus to travel to the nearby township of Mount Holly in order to meet a man named John Marshall and never returns home. Days earlier, Margaret had placed an ad in the newspaper offering her services as a babysitter and received a phone call from Marshall, who offered her a job babysitting his son, but it seems apparent this was a set-up. Margaret’s family receives a phone call and a pair of letters demanding a $10,000 ransom for her safe return, but the kidnapper eventually ceases all communication and Margaret is never found.

October 9, 1984. Mercedes, Texas. 21-year old Kim Leggett disappears while working a shift at her workplace, the Ross Gin Company. Witnesses report having last seen Kim speaking with a pair of unidentified men, so there is fear that she was the victim of an abduction. Kim’s family receives a phone call from an anonymous man demanding money for her safe return and they soon receive a ransom letter for $250,000 ransom. However, no instructions are provided for how to pay the money and no further contact is made, so Kim is never heard from again.

On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a pair of unsolved kidnapping cases in which the victim’s family received a ransom demand, but the victims were never found and the perpetrators were never identified.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Margaret Ellen Fox, please contact the Burlington City Police Department at (609) 386-3300 or the Newark FBI Field Office at (973) 792-3000. If you have any information about the disappearance of Kim Leggett, please contact the Mercedes Police Department at (956) 565-3102.

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Margaret_Ellen_Fox

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/margaret-ellen-fox

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/25/us/new-jersey-fbi-cold-case-call

https://charleyproject.org/case/margaret-ellen-fox

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/margaret-ellen-fox-missing-chilling-ransom-call-released-45-years-after-new-jersey-girls-disappearance/

https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/picture-gallery/news/crime/2017/09/10/gallery-investigators-hope-to-solve/558198007/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1192978947/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/173660091/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/173596199/

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Leggett

https://charleyproject.org/case/kim-sue-leggett

https://web.archive.org/web/20100818184003/http://www.krgv.com:80/news/local/story/New-Reward-Offered-in-Cold-Case/v5BZqlHmAEa6X3tAcwQZHA.cspx

https://www.valleycentral.com/rgv-true-crimes/rgv-true-crime-the-nationwide-search-of-a-mercedes-mother-remains-unsolved-37-years-later/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/439164565/

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

August 25, 1973 Adelaide, Australia. While attending a football match at the Adelaide Oval stadium alongside their respective families, 11-year old Joanne Ratcliffe and four-year old Kirste Gordon leave their seats to go to the toilet together, but never return. After Joanne and Kirste are reported missing, numerous eyewitnesses report having seen them in the company of a middle-aged man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and since the two girls appeared to be in distress, they were likely the victims of an abduction. Over the years, a number of known pedophiles are looked at as potential suspects in the case, but there is not enough evidence to implicate any of them, so Joanne and Kirste are never found.

On last week’s episode, we presented Part One of our series about the 1966 disappearance of the Beaumont children. This week, we will not only conclude our series about the Beaumont case, but also explore another unsolved Australian mystery known as the “Adelaide Oval Abductions” and look into the possibility that these two missing children’s cases are connected.

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Joanne_Ratcliffe_and_Kirste_Gordon

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/on-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-disappearance-of-joanne-ratcliffe-and-kirste-gordon-family-reveal-new-connections-to-murderer-bevan-spencer-von-einem/news-story/c5449152bfe324dd65b4bead5fcc7fc1

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/cold-case-fresh-leads-in-1973-adelaide-oval-abduction-links-key-suspect-to-abandoned-prospect-home-with-an-underground-bunker/news-story/a20c5f0e8db7de5c81c22ff316971a30

https://www.nine.com.au/tv-shows/joanne-ratcliffe-kirste-gordon-abduction-adelaide-oval-mystery-breakthrough-under-investigation-20221031-p5rcy0.html

https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/adelaide-oval-abduction-1973-sister-joanne-ratcliffe-kirste-gordon-20230823-p5yuqz.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-25/joanne-ratcliffe-and-kirste-gordon-disappeared-50-years-ago/102770974

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-29/search-for-clues-linked-to-kirste-gordon-and-joanne-ratcliffe/105112146

https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/real-life/joanne-ratcliffe/

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/coldcases/top-cops-stern-words-in-private-search-for-joanne-ratcliffe-and-kirste-gordon-50-years-after-disappearance/news-story/c2c53d53603c3039b96c8f2a3d689220

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-10/bones-found-in-yatina-search-not-human/106325728

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_the_Beaumont_children

https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/parents-of-beaumont-childrens-tortured-wait-goes-on/news-story/fb533bc2a34d59bacea04713d1b03732

https://www.theage.com.au/technology/one-man-so-many-faces-of-evil-20070422-ge4pv0.html

https://www.theage.com.au/national/suspected-mass-child-killer-is-buried-with-his-secrets-at-90-20020722-gduf0t.html

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/allan-max-mcintyre-who-was-linked-to-the-disappearance-of-the-beaumont-children-in-1966-has-died/news-story/aa23bce2ce29b65a9182a81cb5f18ef5

https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/exscout-master-anthony-allan-munro-jailed-for-repulsively-evil-abuse-of-boys-from-1965-to-1983/news-story/e75963cb928358a9487460a13a3deb12

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/sa/2018/01/22/new-search-beaumont-children

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/beaumont-children-mystery-harry-phipps-angry-son-says-his-father-did-not-kill-the-children/news-story/173bda07a90ba4a450e8f154921bddf6

https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/beaumont-children-grandfather-was-involved-in-disappearance-says-grandson-20180201-p5w63x.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/beaumont-children-search-at-former-castalloy-factory-site/104917216

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-01/dig-for-beaumont-childrens-remains-concludes/104997388

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

January 26, 1966. Adelaide, Australia. Three children from the Beaumont family – nine-year old Jane, seven-year old Arnna and four-year old Grant – leave their residence in order to travel to the beach in the suburb of Glenelg, but they never return home. A number of eyewitnesses report having seen the children in the company of an unidentified man before they went missing and this person is believed to be responsible for their disappearances. Over the years, investigators explore a number of potential suspects and perform excavations at various locations, but no trace of Jane, Arnna or Grant is ever found. This week, “The Trail Went Cold” will be releasing the first part of a special two-part episode about one of the famous mysteries in the history of Australia: the disappearance of the Beaumont children. Special thanks to listener Kristen Rodway for narrating the opening of this episode.

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_the_Beaumont_children

https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/parents-of-beaumont-childrens-tortured-wait-goes-on/news-story/fb533bc2a34d59bacea04713d1b03732

https://www.theage.com.au/technology/one-man-so-many-faces-of-evil-20070422-ge4pv0.html

https://www.theage.com.au/national/suspected-mass-child-killer-is-buried-with-his-secrets-at-90-20020722-gduf0t.html

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/allan-max-mcintyre-who-was-linked-to-the-disappearance-of-the-beaumont-children-in-1966-has-died/news-story/aa23bce2ce29b65a9182a81cb5f18ef5

https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/exscout-master-anthony-allan-munro-jailed-for-repulsively-evil-abuse-of-boys-from-1965-to-1983/news-story/e75963cb928358a9487460a13a3deb12

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/sa/2018/01/22/new-search-beaumont-children

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/beaumont-children-mystery-harry-phipps-angry-son-says-his-father-did-not-kill-the-children/news-story/173bda07a90ba4a450e8f154921bddf6

https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/beaumont-children-grandfather-was-involved-in-disappearance-says-grandson-20180201-p5w63x.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/beaumont-children-search-at-former-castalloy-factory-site/104917216

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-01/dig-for-beaumont-childrens-remains-concludes/104997388

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

May 24, 2012. Dickinson, North Dakota. After making a 100-mile commute to a worksite alongside a construction crew from Cofell’s Plumbing & Heating, 30-year old Eric Haider disappears in the middle of his shift and his crew returns back home without him. Nearly three years later, Eric’s remains are found buried at the former construction site in Dickinson inside a trench where he had last been seen working on a pipeline during his final shift. While it is suspected that Eric’s co-workers buried him alive and orchestrated a cover-up, the authorities do not believe they have the necessary evidence to file charges against anyone, so Eric’s death remains shrouded in mystery. At the direct request of the victim’s family, this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold” will explore the suspicious death of Eric Haider.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Dickinson Police Department at (701) 456-7759.

Additional Reading:

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/family-demands-answers-2012-death-eric-haider-whose-body-was-n1269124

https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Disappearance-of-Eric-Haider-Family-searches-for-answers-402765666.html

https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/4-years-after-man-disappeared-his-family-still-seeks-closure

https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/crime/2016/01/26/case-man-killed-at-work/32644489007/

https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Disappearance-of-Eric-Haider-A-workplace-mystery-402538096.html

https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/news/body-found-confirmed-as-haider-private-investigators-helped-find-man-who-went-missing-may-2012-in-dickinson

https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/body-found-at-dickinson-construction-site-confirmed-as-man-missing-more-than-three-years

https://www.jamestownsun.com/news/family-friends-protest-closing-of-case-on-eric-haider

https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/search-continues-in-dickinson-for-missing-bismarck-man

https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/still-no-sign-of-bismarck-man-missing-near-dickinson

https://hot975fm.com/north-dakota-where-is-the-justice-for-eric-haider/

https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/no-new-leads-in-eric-haider-disappearance/article_7919fd8e-ab66-11e1-914e-001a4bcf887a.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1187401719/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1153874733/

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.