August 23, 2010. London, England. After he is not heard from for a week, the nude decomposed body of 31-year old Gareth Williams, a junior analyst who had been working with MI6, is found inside a padlocked holdall bag in the bathtub of his flat. While his cause of death cannot be determined, there are differing opinions about whether Gareth could have locked himself in the bag on his own and suffocated, or if he was murdered by an unknown third party. A number of different theories are pushed forward, such as Gareth being killed by Russian agents or becoming the victim of a sex game gone wrong, but there are no conclusive answers about how he died. Did Gareth Williams somehow manage to trap himself inside the bag and die in a tragic accident, or did something else take place? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore of the most bizarre unexplained deaths in the history of the United Kingdom.

Additional Reading:

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

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/sep/06/mi6-death-gareth-williams-cctv

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-11095158

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/20/gareth-williams-spy-mi6

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12059910

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/02/gareth-williams-key-unanswered-questions

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/23/spy-in-bag-death-coroners-inquest

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/02/gareth-williams-death-mi6

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/02/gareth-williams-coroner-never-solved

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078

https://www.businessinsider.com/kgb-defector-russia-killed-the-british-spy-found-in-a-duffel-bag-2015-9

https://nowthenmagazine.com/articles/murder-the-likely-story-of-gareth-williams

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwarren/secrets-of-the-spy-in-the-bag

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/gareth-williams-mi6-bag-bath-b2490768.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-68202900

“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 going to be appearing on podcast row at Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

November 6, 2021. Orlando, Florida. 22-year old Bryan “Vladek” Hasel shows up at a coffee shop he often frequents, but after police are called and Vladek is issued a trespass warning for a prior incident with a pocket knife, he walks off and vanishes without a trace. Nine days later, Vladek’s father returns from a family trip and discovers that his son is missing and has left most of his personal belongings behind in their apartment. There is speculation that Vladek may have suffered some sort of a mental health crisis and disappeared voluntarily, but no trace of him can be found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we are covering the unsolved disappearance of Bryan “Vladek” Hasel at the direct request of his family, who are doing whatever they can to spread awareness about his story and are hoping he is still alive somewhere and can be found safely.

If you have any information about Vladek’s disappearance, please contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at (407) 254-7000. His case number is 21-83864. You can also reach out to the family directly at FindBryanVladekHasel@gmail.com or visit their website about the case at findvladekhasel.wixsite.com/find-vladek.

Please visit FACTORMEALS.com/cold50 and use code cold50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next month while your subscription is active!

“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 going to be appearing on podcast row at Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

April 26, 2000. Reno, Nevada. 25-year old Star Palumbo is found wandering around through a restricted area at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and tells security that she is looking for her sister, even though she does not have one. An officer drives Star to the nearby Hilton Hotel and Casino and drops her off, but she soon vanishes without trace and her abandoned car is discovered at the airport one day later. Since Star had been displaying erratic and paranoid behaviour prior to her disappearance, investigators explore the possibility that she was on drugs or suffered some sort of mental breakdown, but even though there are a number of unconfirmed rumours about what might have happened to Star, no trace of her is ever found.

October 28, 1991. San Francisco, California. After last being seen at a hospital, 29-year old Selena Edon inexplicably disappears and breaks off all contact with her loved ones. Two years earlier, Selena had suffered a serious brain injury in a motorcycle accident which caused memory issues and made it difficult for her to take care of herself. She eventually tells her family and friends that she is leaving town with an unidentified woman, but no one can confirm if this woman even exists and Selena is never heard from again.

On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover a pair of missing persons cases that were featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” and involve young women who disappeared without leaving any evidence behind.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Star Palumbo, please contact the Reno Police Department at (775) 334-2155. If you have any information about the disappearance of Selena Edon, please contact the San Francisco Police Department at (415) 553-0123.

Additional Reading:

https://unsolved.com/gallery/star-palumbo/

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

https://charleyproject.org/case/star-michelle-palumbo

https://www.newspapers.com/image/149308077

https://www.newspapers.com/image/149383924/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/150317171/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/150315406/

https://mynews4.com/on-your-side/ask-joe/ask-joe-have-any-clues-surfaced-after-womans-disappearance-20-years-ago

https://unsolved.com/gallery/selena-edon/

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

“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 going to be appearing on podcast row at Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the Berkshire Podcast Festival, taking place in North Adams, Massachusetts on October 18-20, 2024. To get a 30 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD2024”, by visiting https://www.berkshirepodcastfestival.com/.

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

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.