Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

When 13-year-old Elisa Roberson went missing in August of 1989, an incorrect detail was assigned to the narrative, and it continued to be reported for decades: the time in which Elisa’s disappearance occurred. Through the dozens of years since Elisa’s missing persons case began, leads were few, and far in between. But some years, like 1994, produced at least a dozen. None offered anything substantive. Something changed in 2016, and in this episode, we’ll discuss the seed that led to even more pain and suffering for the Roberson Family.To keep up with the case, join the Missing Elisa Roberson Facebook page at: facebook.com/groups/739117898034158In the cover photo: to the left is Ruby and to the right, ElisaIf you have any information about the disappearance of Elisa Roberson, please contact missingelisa1989@gmail.com, the email for the private investigationThanks to Debbie Green, Holly Hall, Linda and Mike Thompson, Ruby Roberson Hall, and Marina Quintana Tomchak for their contributions to this episodeYou can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFollow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Click linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast The Corpus Christi Caller-Times and KRIS 6 Corpus Christi were used as a sources for this episode.#JusticeForElisaRoberson #WhereIsElisaRoberson #AransasPass #AransasPassTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #NonFamilyAbduction #Abduction #Kidnapping #UnsolvedMysteries

Aransas Pass Police Lt. Linda Thompson was making up for lost time on the morning of August 7th, 1989. The evening before, 13-year-old Elisa Roberson vanished, but the Lt., and the department’s Chief of Detectives Mike Thompson, weren’t notified. A bloodhound was quickly brought in from Rockport and widespread searches got underway. But as days turned to weeks, nothing was panning out. When the department started receiving mysterious and anonymous letters from an apparent “tipster” implicating Elisa’s mother’s abusive past boyfriend, was it the information they were looking for?If you were ever a part of the CESAR searches for Elisa, please contact us at gonecoldpodcast@gmail.comIf you have any information about the disappearance of Elisa Roberson, please contact missingelisa1989@gmail.com, the email for the private investigationThanks to Linda and Mike Thompson, Ruby Roberson Hall, and Marina Quintana Tomchak for their contributions to this episodeYou can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFollow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at both or just click linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcastThe Corpus Christi Caller-Times, and The Aransas Pass Progress, were used as additional sources for this episode#JusticeForElisaRoberson #WhereIsElisaRoberson #AransasPass #AransasPassTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #NonFamilyAbduction #Abduction #Kidnapping #UnsolvedMysteries

On the late afternoon of August 6th, 1989, 13-year-old Blanca Elisa Roberson, known to most by her middle name, left her home in Aransas Pass and headed to meet a friend halfway between their houses. But Elisa never showed up. Searches for Elisa by friends of the family turned up nothing. Not a clue where Elisa might have gone could be found. After the sun went down, a police report was called in but the responding officer did little more than assure the family that Elisa was probably just with friends and would return soon. But Elisa never came back. If you have any information about the disappearance of Elisa Roberson, please contact missingelisa1989@gmail.com, the email for the private investigationThanks to Holly Hall, Linda and Mike Thompson, Ruby Roberson Hall, and Marina Quintana Tomchak for their contributions to this episodeYou can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, The Aransas Pass Progress, The Texas State Historical Association online, and AmericanArchive.org were used as sources for this episode #JusticeForElisaRoberson #WhereIsElisaRoberson #AransasPass #AransasPassTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #NonFamilyAbduction #Abduction #Kidnapping #UnsolvedMysteries

In the Fall of 1988, everything was headed in the right direction for 31-year-old Cathy Thom. After a childhood and then young adulthood that kept her on the move constantly, she was finally settling into a new job that promised to keep her home in Arlington, Texas with her favorite person in the world – her 10-year-old son, Danny. But in mid-November that year, Cathy vanished without a trace. For a month, her family worried the worst had befallen her, but miraculously, Cathy reappeared. The Arlington Police, however, had a difficult time getting any information from the traumatized woman, giving the folks Cathy said kidnapped and held her in captivity the upper hand.If you have any information about the kidnapping and captivity of Catherine Ann Thom, please call the Arlington Police at 817-274-4444.You can support gone cold – texas true crime at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastThe Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News were used as sources for this episode #WhoKidnappedCathyThom #Arlington #ArlingtonTX #TarrantCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #Unsolved #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #Abduction #Kidnapping #UnsolvedMysteries

On Halloween, 1989, 30-year-old Sylvia Salinas, owner of Salinas Food Store in Galveston, Texas, stayed behind to stock the shelves while her folks returned home for lunch. At 1:23 PM, police were informed by the company who handles the alarm service for the small grocery, that the silent alarm had been tripped. When a patrolman arrived at the scene, he found Sylvia in a pool of blood, stabbed through the heart with a large knife. Virtually no leads could be produced, and the case went cold almost immediately. Decades later, as forensic DNA science advanced to a point that gave the family hope, a natural disaster dashed those hopes - or did it? Special thanks to Christine and Shericka for their contributions to this episode.If you have any information about the murder of Sylvia Salinas, please contact Crime Stoppers of Galveston at (409) 763-8477.You can support gone cold and listen ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using @gonecoldpodcast and on YouTube at: youtube.com/c/gonecoldpodcast#JusticeForSylviaSalinas #Galveston #GalvestonTX #GalvestonCounty #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #Homicide #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast

On Halloween Eve 2006, 16-year-old Terressa Lynn Vanegas bounced around between friend’s houses. Though she was supposed to spend the night with one of them, those plans fell through unbeknownst to her family. Terressa had other plans, anyway, and the teenager was seen that night by several folks who knew her in her hometown of Dickinson, Texas. But the following day when she didn’t come home from school, Terressa’s family knew something was wrong. Two days later, her body was found in a shallow ditch near her school, Dickinson High. Though there were plenty of witnesses to report last known movements, one person she was seen talking to that night was, apparently, unknown to all of them.If you have any information about the murder of Terressa Lynn Vanegas, please call the Dickinson Police Department at 281-337-4700 or Galveston County Crime Stoppers at 281-763-8477You can support gone cold – texas true crime at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastFind us on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve finally released content and plan to continue producing more. Search @gonecoldpodcast at bothDavid Lohr’s reporting at CrimeLibrary.org, abc13.com, The Galveston Daily News, and The Houston Chronicle were used as sources for this episode. #JusticeForTerressaVanegas #DickinsonTX #Houston #Galveston #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries

A few days before Christmas in 1984, 26-year-old David Dale Larson and 21-year-old Regina Suzanne Grover went out for a dinner date at The Keg Restaurant and Bar off Camp Bowie in Fort Worth, Texas. Service industry workers themselves, they knew folks at The Keg, and those folks saw Regina and David leave around 11 PM. It was the last time they were seen alive. The following afternoon, David Larson’s roommate discovered his nude and badly bludgeoned body in their apartment just southwest of downtown Fort Worth. Minutes later, a discovery was made in northwest Fort Worth. On the bank of a river under a bridge, covered with illegally dumped furniture, was the body of Regina Grover. She’d been strangled to death. Police lumped Regina’s murder in with several others that would eventually become known to locals as “The 80s Murders,” and David’s murder, which separated the case from the others in a major way, was often left out. Detectives never got a break on Regina and David’s case, but decades later, when a 1974 murder was solved, similarities never before noticed became hard to ignore.If you have any information about the murders of David Dale Larson and Regina Suzanne Grover, please contact the Fort Worth Police Cold Case Unit at (817)392-4307, or you can provide information by emailing coldcase@fortworthpd.comIf you’d like to help fund testing that can solve cold cases in Fort Worth, go to fwpdcoldcasesupport.org and donateYou can support gone cold – texas true crime at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastFind us on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve finally released content and plan to continue producing more. Search @gonecoldpodcast at bothThe Fort Worth Star-Telegram and KXAS TV video archives at UNT’s Portal to Texas History were used as sources for this episode#JusticeForReginaAndDavid #JusticeForReginaGrover #JusticeForDavidLarson #FortWorth #FortWorthTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #The80sMurders #TheFebruarySlayings

In 2013, 24-year-old Lauren Bump was brutally killed while jogging through San Antonio’s O.P. Schnabel Park, on the city’s northwest side, generally a safe, middle-class area and during the day. The stabbing murder was completely random; it was the act of a sociopath who simply wanted to cause pain and kill. Luckily, he was apprehended and eventually convicted of Lauren’s murder. The terrible crime was markedly similar to one that occurred 25 years before, in 1991. In August of that year, 32-year-old Valerie McPherson was jogging near her Olmos Park, Texas home in the San Antonio area during broad daylight, when she was savagely attacked by someone she didn’t know – stabbed repeatedly as she shielded her 19-month-old girl in the child’s running stroller. Val was able to describe her attacker but succumbed to her wounds four hours later at an area hospital. While it was impossible that the same man who killed Lauren Bump in 2013 was also responsible for Val McPherson’s murder, since he would have only been 4 years old in 1991, could the cases have had the same motive? Or, rather, the lack of motive?If you have any information about the murder of Valerie Lorane McPherson, please contact the Texas Rangers at (800) 346-3243 or remain anonymous and eligible for a reward of up to $3000 by calling Texas Crime Stoppers at (800)252-8477You can support gone cold – texas true crime at https://www.patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastFind us on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve finally released content and plan to continue producing more. Search @gonecoldpodcast at bothThe San Antonio News-Express and San Antonio Channel 4 News were used as sources for this episode #JusticeForValerieMcPherson #SanAntonio #SanAntonioTX #BexarCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #Unsolved #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMysteries

On February 23rd, 1953, two men asked workers at the Lyles Buick Company Service Station in Sonora for help; they’d ran out of gas and were stranded just east of town, the strangers said. 17-year-old Raul Arevalo filled up a gas can, grabbed the keys to the company pickup, and drove the men back to their vehicle. But he never returned. For six days, Raul’s family searched for him, as did Texas Highway Patrol and the Sutton County Sheriff’s Office. On March 1st, 1953, six days after he disappeared, a young married couple found the body of Raul Arevalo. He’d been tortured and shot to death. The men who Raul sought to help have never been identified. At least, not officially.If you have any information about the murder of Raul Arevalo, please contact the Texas Rangers at (800) 346-3243, submit an electronic tip by visiting Raul’s page at dps.texas.gov/coldCase/Home/Details/261 and clicking on the “submit a tip online” link at the bottom of the page or remain anonymous and eligible for a reward of up to $3000 by calling Texas Crime Stoppers at (800)252-8477You can support gone cold – texas true crime at https://www.patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastFind us on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve finally released content and plan to continue producing more. Search @gonecoldpodcast at bothThe Devil’s River News, The San Angelo Standard-Times, The Del Rio News Herald, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and NBC Houston were used as sources for this episode#JusticeForRaulArevalo #Sonora #SonoraTX #SuttonCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #Unsolved #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #UnsolvedMysteries

On April 16th, 1968, in the Arellano’s packed in the family’s Buick and headed away from their Villa de Fuente, Mexico home to San Angelo, Texas to visit an expecting family member. The car was packed tight with a mother, a father, a young child, a toddler, a sister, and a baby. Though the trip wasn’t anything new to the family, they visited Texas and the US often, an unfortunate and horrific series of events took place. Vehicle issues led the Arellano Family directly into the path of a psychopathic devil who would prove to be no less than the annihilator of nearly the entire family. Remastered with 25+ minutes of updated material.If you have any information on the 1968 murders of the Arellano Family, please contact the Edwards County Sheriff’s Office at (830) 683-4104Please donate to help get #JusticeForLeonLaureles at gofundme.com/f/leon-laureles-private-detective-and-memorialYou can support gone cold and listen ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Twitter or X or whatever by using @gonecoldpodcastFind us on YouTube, where we are releasing content finally, at: youtube.com/c/gonecoldpodcastThe Los Angeles Times, The Del Rio News-Herald, The San Antonio Express, The Austin Statesman, and the San Angelo Standard Times were used as sources for this episode.#Unsolved #JusticeForTheArellanoFamily #Arellano #Texas #LomaAlta #Sonora #DelRio #SanAngelo #SanAntonio #TexasTrueCrime#GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #UnsolvedMysteries #Murder

Part 2 of 2. Years after pathologist Dr. Ralph Erdmann was discredited – found to have falsified countless autopsies all over West Texas and the Panhandle, Plainview Jane Doe was buried after her remains had been shuffled around for 11 years. Her grave was marked, simply, “Jane Doe 1982.” When she was exhumed in 2015, however, the mystery began unraveling. And the truth was nothing like anyone thought. The unidentified murder victim, originally determined to have been white by Dr. Erdmann was actually black. It wasn’t the only misstep that made prior identification virtually impossible. The skull buried with the body did not belong to it. Eventually, the body was identified as belonging to 20-year-old Debra Mackey of Lubbock. Who killed her, however, remains unknown.If you have any information on the murder of Debra Denise Mackey, please contact the Lubbock Police Department Crime Line at (806)741-1000 or reach out to Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit Detective Madrigal at (806)775-3072You can support gone cold – texas true crime at https://www.patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastFind us on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve finally released content and plan to continue producing more. Search @gonecoldpodcast at bothThe Lubbock Evening Journal, The Plainview Herald, The Arizona Daily Star, The Arizona Republic, The Austin American Statesman, The El Paso Times, The Kilgore News Herald, The Tyler Courier – Times, The Odessa American, DNADoeProject.org, and Henry Lee Lucas Police Documents were used as sources for this episode #JusticeForDebraMackey #PlainviewJaneDoe #JaneDoe #Lubbock #LubbockTX #Plainview #PlainviewTX #HaleCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #Unsolved #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #UnsolvedMysteries

When the partially frozen, headless body of a woman was found off a deserted road in rural Hale County just outside of Plainview in 1982, the case was cold from the start. Months later, when a skull was found in Maricopa County, Arizona, it was sent to Texas and determined to belong to the headless woman by pathologist Ralph Erdmann. When Henry Lee Lucas was arrested the following year, he confessed to decapitating the victim, among other vile acts, but charges were dropped against him in return for a guilty plea to another crime in the jurisdiction of the Hale County District Attorney’s Office. Very few possibilities arose as to the identity of Plainview’s Jane Doe, but given mistakes made by the pathologist in charge of the body, at least one very good possibility was never even considered: missing 20-year-old Debra Mackey of Lubbock, who was last seen a little more than a month before. If you have any information about the murder of Debra Denise Mackey, please contact the Lubbock Police Department Crime Line at (806)741-1000 or reach out to Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit Detective Madrigal at (806)775-3072You can support gone cold – texas true crime at https://www.patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever, Threads, and Instagram by searching @gonecoldpodcastFind us on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve finally released content and plan to continue producing more. Search @gonecoldpodcast at bothThe Lubbock Evening Journal, The Plainview Herald, The Arizona Daily Star, The Arizona Republic, The Austin American Statesman, The El Paso Times, The Kilgore News Herald, The Tyler Courier – Times, The Odessa American, OurBlackGirls.com, DNADoeProject.org, and Henry Lee Lucas Police Documents were used as sources for this episode #JusticeForDebraMackey #PlainviewJaneDoe #JaneDoe #Lubbock #LubbockTX #Plainview #PlainviewTX #HaleCountyTX #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrime #Unsolved #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #MissingPerson #Disappearance #Vanished #UnsolvedMysteries

If there’s one thing that’s certain about the missing person’s case of Jared Wayne Chavis, it’s that absolutely nothing is. As if dealing with conflicting stories from the friends who were with Jared that cold January night in 2018, the missing young man’s family also feels that at the get-go, the Houston Police were less than enthusiastic about investigating. Add to that their failure to procure certain seemingly important evidence and it’s no wonder Jared’s family – including his little boy – still have no answers five years later. Part 2 of 2. If you have any information about the disappearance of Jared Chavis, please contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-1840. Crime Stoppers has a $10,000 reward for information leading to the charging or arrest of an individual or individuals involved in the disappearance of Jared Chavis. Information may be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app. All tipsters remain completely anonymousJoin the Facebook Group “Jared Chavis Veteran Missing from Houston, TX” here: facebook.com/groups/2204516876498469/Please consider donating to the go fund me for Leon Laureles. You can find it at: gofundme.com/f/leon-laureles-private-detective-and-memorialThis episode was brought to you by BetterHelp. If you’re considering starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Go to betterhelp.com/gonecold today to get 10% off your first monthYou can support gone cold and listen ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter or X or whatever it's called, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram by using @gonecoldpodcast and on YouTube at: youtube.com/c/gonecoldpodcast #JaredChavis #JusticeForJared #BringJaredHome #Houston #HoustonTexas #Missing #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Vanished #Disappeared #UnsolvedMurder #Homicide #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast

Jared Wayne Chavis went missing January 12, 2018, in Houston, TX. His family fears that something tragic has happened to Jared due to the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Witnesses report that Jared was in the back seat of a black Ford Fusion when an argument broke out and shots were fired by a young man in the front of the car. Jared's friend was able to run out, but Jared never exited the vehicle, and he has never been seen again. His car was later found unlocked and the seat covers had been removed. His family fears that Jared was killed that day. They continue to search for answers and justice. Jared was an old soul; he was generous, independent, ambitious, and strong-willed. At just 19 years old, he had big plans for establishing a career and a family - and he was headed down that path. Jared has a 9-month-old son, Ameer, who was born after Jared's disappearance, so unfortunately Jared never had a chance to meet his own son and Ameer will grow up without his father in his life. Ameer is a driving force for the family to keep pushing for answers, to keep fighting to find out what happened to Jared.If you have any information about the disappearance of Jared Chavis, please contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-1840. Crime Stoppers has a $10,000 reward for information leading to the charging or arrest of an individual or individuals involved in the disappearance of Jared Chavis. Information may be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app. All tipsters remain completely anonymous.Join the Facebook Group “Jared Chavis Veteran Missing from Houston, TX” here: facebook.com/groups/2204516876498469/Please consider donating to the go fund me for Leon Laureles. You can find it at: gofundme.com/f/leon-laureles-private-detective-and-memorialThis episode was brought to you by BetterHelp. If you’re considering starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Go to betterhelp.com/gonecold today to get 10% off your first monthYou can support gone cold and listen ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcastFind us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using @gonecoldpodcast and on YouTube at: youtube.com/c/gonecoldpodcast #JaredChavis #JusticeForJared #BringJaredHome #Houston #HoustonTexas #Missing #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Vanished #Disappeared #UnsolvedMurder #Homicide #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast

When Debra Wilt married Robert Reiding in November of 1978, they immediately moved to Austin, Texas from Choteau, Montana to escape the brutal Winter. Robert had a relative that could give him work, and although it left much to be desired money wise, Debra found work at a restaurant near their apartment. But just shy of two months into settling in the Texas Capitol City, the newlywed 18-year-old was slain in the couple’s home. But it wasn’t a homicide the cops in Austin were accustomed to. It was, however, one they’d at least become somewhat familiar with over the course of the 1970s as the city underwent a major growth spurt – something Austin Police Homicide Lt. Nolan Meinardus called, “faceless crime.” Debra’s case went cold fast, and when it heated up decades later, it appeared the warm and friendly young woman might finally see justice.If you have any information about the murder of Debra Sue Wilt Reiding in January of 1979, please call the Austin Police homicide tip line at (512) 477-3588, the Homicide Unit at (512) 974-5210, or Capital Area Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477Please consider donating to the go fund me for Leon Laureles. You can find it at: gofundme.com/f/leon-laureles-private-detective-and-memorialYou can support gone cold and listen ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using @gonecoldpodcast and on YouTube at: youtube.com/c/gonecoldpodcastThe Austin American-Statesman, The Great Falls Tribune, and KVUE Austin were used as sources for this episode#JusticeForDebraSueReiding #Austin #AustinTX #ATX #TravisCountyTX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #GoneCold #GoneColdPodcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder