Last Seen Alive
Last Seen Alive is a true crime podcast that exists to bring public attention to unsolved cases that need it. It's researched, written and hosted by Crime Analyst Leah Owens, and co-hosted by Scott Owens. Recognizing that the right piece of information can sometimes be the difference between a cold case and resolution, each episode presents listeners with a specific case--often one they've never heard of before. Cases covered include unsolved homicides, disappearances and suspicious deaths.
Episodes
Unsolved Disappearance: Israel Smith
When a man vanishes from small-town Virginia without a trace, investigators face the most perplexing case of their careers. The enduring mystery of the whereabouts of a loving son and father is explored in this episode of Last Seen Alive. …
Unsolved Disappearance: Amy Wroe Bechtel (Revisited Case)
When an accomplished long distance runner hits the trails in the central Wyoming mountains and never returns, investigators are tasked with answering the question: what—or who—did this Olympic hopeful fail to outrun? Strange journals, a ser…
Unsolved Double-Disappearance: Scott and Tracy Hawkins
When two brothers retreat into the woods of Appalachian Tennessee to forage for ginseng in 2021, they vanish without a trace. Their unexplained absence haunts their family and community in this episode of Last Seen Alive. If you know anythi…
Unsolved Double-Homicide: Rose Burkert & Roger Atkison (Revisited Case)
When a young couple sets off for a weekend away, disappointment awaits at their destination, where a morticians’ convention has the hotel fully booked. A last-minute vacancy proves to be more deadly than lucky, resulting in a double ax murd…
Unsolved Homicide: Alicia Hummel
When an Iowa woman ventures out to spend a summer afternoon unwinding on the banks of a South Dakotan river, she’s ambushed by an opportunistic predator. Investigators believe they’re facing the rarest type of murder—a true stranger killing…
Unsolved Disappearance: Patrick Carnes (Revisited Case)
When an elderly World War II veteran and his loyal dog embark on a cross-country road trip, all goes smoothly until they reach The Big Lonely: a remote stretch of highway in the northern Nevada desert suspected to be a hunting ground for se…
Unsolved Homicide: Sarah Saganitso
When an Arizona woman fails to return home from her late-night shift at the hospital where she works, her family and friends launch a search and locate her battered body. Her accused killer raises one of the most outrageous defenses ever en…
Unsolved Homicide: Kanika Powell (Revisited Case)
When a young soldier leaves the Army to work as a physics lab security specialist with a top-secret clearance, civilian life turns out to be more dangerous than anything she faced in uniform. After a series of strange events culminates in h…
Unsolved Disappearance: Dr Mari Ann Fowler
When a Baton Rouge woman is abducted from a parking lot, an active serial killer is a major suspect. The mystery surrounding her disappearance persists even after the serial predator is identified and captured in this episode of Last Seen A…
Unsolved Homicide: Brian Egg (Revisited Case)
When the friendliest resident of San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood suddenly disappears, the entire neighborhood is suspicious. His neighbors’ worst fears are confirmed when a privately-hired crime scene clean-up crew arrives at his home, pr…
Unsolved Homicide: Lia (Eulalia) Chavez
When the body of a young woman is discovered by a farmer in an Illinois cornfield, it takes decades for her to be identified. The investigation continues into the present as investigators seek out the person—likely a serial killer—responsib…
SOLVED Homicide: Aliza Sherman
When a woman is murdered in broad daylight in downtown Cleveland, her killer is caught on camera. After a dozen years of searching for answers, her alleged killer is finally charged. One of the most bizarre motives for murder imaginable is …
Unsolved Disappearance: Veronica Blumhorst
When a young Illinois woman finishes a late-night shift at work, she vanishes without a trace just steps from her home. Investigators are certain her disappearance was a result of foul play, but evidence and answers are hard to come by in t…
Unsolved Mass Murder: The Crew of the Investor (Revisited Case)
When an Alaskan fishing vessel is found abandoned and aflame the morning after a storm, it quickly becomes apparent that its crew encountered something much darker than the wrath of the sea. Investigators sift through ash in search of fragm…
Unsolved Double-Homicide: Barbara and William Singer
When a Phoenix, Arizona couple is murdered in their own home, responding officers consider it one of the cruelest crimes they’ve ever investigated. Investigators search for the killer or killers of two beloved grandparents who’d devoted the…
Unsolved Disappearance: Elizabeth and John Calvert (Revisited)
When a wealthy Lowcountry power-couple confronts their financial manager over missing funds, they immediately vanish from their Hilton Head Island retreat. Unanswered questions haunt a tale of deadly greed in this episode of Last Seen Alive…
Unsolved Homicide: Patricia Jauron
When an Iowa woman lists some furniture she no longer needs for sale, a calculating killer responds to her ad. All leads are exhausted by frustrated investigators and a case goes cold in this episode of Last Seen Alive. If you know anything…
Unsolved Homicide: Jaclyn Dowaliby (Revisited Case)
When a seven year-old girl is abducted from her suburban Chicago home and murdered, investigators initially suspect those closest to her. A tumultuous search for her killer takes a series of shocking turns in this episode of Last Seen Alive…
Unsolved Homicide: Theresa Insana
When a woman vanishes from her Las Vegas home, investigators find themselves working to solve a carefully-planned abduction and murder. A meticulous killer remains at large despite leaving DNA evidence behind in this episode of Last Seen Al…
Unsolved Disappearance: Cynthia Anderson (Revisited Case)
When a young legal secretary disappears after being haunted by recurring dreams of abduction and murder, her unsolved case becomes—and still is—one of the most mysterious in the state of Ohio. An array of compelling possibilities are explor…
Unsolved Homicide: Su-Ya Kim
When a New York woman doesn’t return home from a routine errand, her husband endures a sleepless night of worry before being called to the medical examiner’s office to identify her body. A case gone cold receives new scrutiny when a notorio…
Unsolved Disappearance: Shelley Sikes (Revisited Case)
When a young Texan woman fails to return home after a late night of waiting tables, her car is found—abandoned and blood-stained—in the heart of the notorious Texas Killing Fields. An unexpected lead results in the untangling of a twisted s…
Unsolved Disappearance: James Yoblonski
When a 13-year-old Wisconsin boy vanishes in the summer of 2023, investigators learn that he had aspirations of trying to survive “off-grid” in the wilderness. Despite the discovery of abandoned campsites and extensive search efforts, a chi…
Unsolved Homicide: Rashawn Brazell (Revisited Case)
When a Brooklyn teen disappears without a trace, a nightmarish discovery in a subway tunnel turns a missing person report into a homicide investigation. Investigators discover and accuse an alleged serial killer in this episode of Last Seen…
Unsolved Double-Homicide: Heather and Kira Radcliffe
When a housefire erupts in a quiet Florida neighborhood, first responders find a mother and her young daughter deceased inside the home. Investigators search for the killer who set the fire in an attempt to destroy evidence of a double-homi…
Unsolved Disappearance: Ben McDaniel (Revisited Case)
When a scuba enthusiast embarks on a notoriously dangerous cave dive alone and fails to return, it’s initially assumed that “the vortex” has claimed another victim. However, lack of a body and suspicious circumstances force authorities to c…
Unsolved Homicide: Wilma Nissen
When the remains of a young woman are found in an Iowa ditch, it takes decades for them to be identified. Determined to solve her murder, investigators piece together the short and heartbreaking life of the victim in this episode of Last Se…
Unsolved Homicide: Jennifer Harris (Revisited Case)
When a Texas woman returns to her small hometown to start over, she vanishes and is found dead in the Red River. Evidence suggests she died at the hands of someone she knew well, but her case remains unsolved in this episode of Last Seen Al…
Unsolved Homicide: Sarah Long
When a North Carolina woman is found dead in her home, investigators realize that what initially appeared to be a suicide is in fact a staged murder scene. A family waits for justice while a suspect inherits the victim’s estate in this epis…
Unsolved Mother-Daughter Homicide / Disappearance: Nikki & Arianna Fitts (Revisited Case)
When a single mother and her two-and-a-half year old daughter go missing from California’s Bay Area in a simultaneous mother-daughter homicide / disappearance, one family seems to be at the center of it all. From a self-declared street pr…
Unsolved Homicide: Bobbie Brown
When a dedicated Indiana teacher misses class without warning, a search of her apartment leads to a grim discovery. The chilling murder of a mother, grandmother and favorite teacher becomes a cold case in this episode of Last Seen Alive. If…
Unsolved Homicide: Suzanne Jovin (Revisited Case)
When one of the brightest students at a prestigious Ivy League university is fatally stabbed in plain sight, police scramble to determine who’s responsible. In a campus full of brilliant minds, one outsmarts all the rest, literally gettin…
Unsolved Suspicious Death: James McClintock
When an elderly Washington man dies from a fall, no one suspects his in-home caretaker—until her involvement in several other deaths is discovered. Suspicion over his death is raised as the remains of murder victims are unearthed from a ser…
No-Body Homicide Conviction: Sierra Lamar (Revisited Case)
When a teen vanishes from a safe neighborhood in California’s Bay Area on her way to the school bus stop, a brutal crime of opportunity and a controversial DNA evidence law lead to a rare no-body homicide conviction in this episode of Last …
Unsolved Disappearance: Melissa Brannen
When a young girl and her mom attend a neighborhood Christmas party in Northern Virginia, they enjoy the festivities—until the girl vanishes. An open window on a cold night suggests that she was abducted, and investigators quickly zero in o…
Unresolved Homicide: Sandra Birchmore
When a young, pregnant Massachusetts woman is found dead in 2021, local police write off her death as a suicide. However, the findings of a medical examiner hired by the victim’s family prompt the FBI to step in and perform an expert inves…
Unsolved Double-Homicide: Melody and Paul Jones
When an Oklahoma newlywed is found murdered in his own home, all signs suggest that his missing wife was abducted from the scene. A small town is haunted by these crimes—plus another, eerily-similar abduction—in this episode of Last Seen Al…
Unsolved Homicides: Atlantic City Serial Killer Victims
When an Atlantic City, New Jersey woman vanishes, her remains are found a month later—along with those of three other women. Investigators are still working to identify the “Atlantic City Serial Killer” nearly 20 years later, in this episod…
Unsolved Cases: Missing and Murdered Hunters
Each fall, millions of hunters venture into the American wilderness in pursuit of wild game. Some return successful, others empty-handed—and some not at all. These are the stories of four different hunters who never made it home to their…
Unsolved Homicide: Maria Caleel
When an Illinois veterinary medicine student is attacked in her own home, she uses the last of her strength to seek help, but dies before being able to name her killer. No explanation—or potential suspect—is off the table as investigators s…