Episode 16: The Final Trace of Annie McCann

✨ At just 16 years old, Annie McCann vanished from her safe suburban home in Virginia… only to be found dead in Baltimore days later under circumstances that defy explanation.

A missing car, a toxic substance, and a trail of unanswered questions leave her family—and investigators—wondering what really happened that Halloween weekend. Was it a runaway plan gone wrong? A chance encounter that turned fatal? Or something far darker hiding in the details?

🔗 Clickable Sources

• ABC News – The Mysterious Death of Annie McCann and Her Parents’ Ongoing Fight to Prove What Happened ABC News

• Mount Vernon Gazette – “Clawing Away For Information” in Mount Vernon m.mountvernongazette.com

• Judiciary Senate Document – Letter to Baltimore Police Department about Annie McCann Senate Judiciary Committee

• CBS News – Parents Of Va. Teen Found Dead In Baltimore Nearly A Decade Ago Fight For Answers CBS News

  • Letter from Senator Grassley to Baltimore Police Department (2016) – includes references to Annie’s autopsy report

  • Mount Vernon Gazette – Clawing Away For Information (parents struggling to obtain autopsy report, details reviewed by Dr. Michael Baden)

  • Washington Post – Parents of Annie McCann press Gov. Hogan to intervene (discusses autopsy findings, disputes, and manner of death)

Episode 15: The Final Trace of Zebb Quinn

An eighteen-year-old leaves work on an ordinary night… and is never seen again. His car is found abandoned—covered in strange markings, filled with items that weren’t his. A page from a family phone line. A story that twists through lies, suspicion, and silence. 25 years later, one man confessed just enough to save himself—but the truth about what happened to Zebb Quinn is still buried.

Sources and Readings:

• Timeline of the disappearance of Zebb Quinn — WLOS

• Owens pleads guilty to accessory-after-the-fact in Zebb Quinn case — WLOS

• Zebb Quinn: Will plea deal provide answers? — WLOS

• Owens indicted in Zebb Quinn killing — WLOS

• Former friend calls Owens “pathological liar” — WPDE

• “A Good Kid: The 22-year Murder Mystery of Zebb Quinn” — WLOS Documentary

Episode 14: The Final Trace of Erin Valenti

Erin Valenti was a rising tech CEO when her trip to California took a terrifying turn.

Her calls grew frantic—thoughts racing, words tumbling out. She spoke of the Matrix, of simulations, of reality not being real. When police reached her, she laughed it off—said she was “just joking around.” Days later, she was found dead in her car with no clear cause.

Did Erin glimpse behind the curtain of reality… or was it all in her mind?

🧵🔗Sources & Links

1. Business Insider — How Erin Valenti Died Remains a Mystery As Family …

2. KSL.com — Family doubts Utah CEO went ‘voluntarily missing’ in San Jose

3. The Salt Lake Tribune — Utah tech CEO Erin Valenti found dead after police say she was ‘voluntarily missing’

4. Business Insider — Family of a missing 33-year-old tech CEO called off its search after police found a body inside a parked car …

• 5. ABC4 Utah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwIN4s10n4w

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Episode 12: The Final Trace of Georgia Smith

On June 30, 1999, seventy-six-year-old Georgia Smith left her son’s home in Champlin, Minnesota, driving her dark blue Mercedes to her family’s lakeside cabin in Wisconsin. She never arrived. No wreck. No goodbye call. Just silence.

Eight months later, a woman walked into a Walmart carrying a bizarre, cryptic letter that mentioned Georgia—but offered no answers. To this day, Georgia’s car, her letter, and her final moments remain a mystery.

Sources & Further Reading

• Charley Project – Georgia Ann Clock Smith

Comprehensive profile with Georgia’s personal details, timeline, and disappearance context.

• Doe Network – Case 2642DFMN

Concise case summary including date, location, vehicle, and key facts.

• NamUs – Case MP334

The official federal missing-person record for Georgia Smith.

• The Deck Podcast – Georgia Smith (8 of Hearts, Minnesota)

Narrative podcast episode exploring Georgia’s disappearance, with context from her family.

• YouTube – Missing 23 Years: The Search for Georgia Ann Smith (Day 2)

Video coverage following ongoing search efforts for Georgia.

• YouTube – 23 Years Later: Search for Missing Grandma Georgia

Additional video report revisiting her case more than two decades later.

Episode Title: The Final Trace of Scott Javins

Description:

In the early hours of May 24, 2002, 20-year-old Indiana State University student Scott Javins left a party and vanished without a trace. His brand-new silver Honda Civic was nowhere to be found. For five long years, his family searched—until a single tip led divers to the Wabash River. But even after his car and body were recovered, the questions only got louder.

Was it a tragic accident? Or something far darker?

From a watch stopped at 2:33 a.m. to a haunting confession. This case leaves behind a trail of eerie clues… and a silence that still doesn’t feel like peace.

🎧 Listen now to unravel the mystery behind one of Terre Haute’s most unsettling disappearances.

Key Sources

• CBS News (October 2007) | After 5 Years, Remains of Student Found — Covers the recovery of Scott Javins’ car and remains pulled from the Wabash River.

Link: [CBS News: After 5 Years, Remains Of Student Found]

• WTHR (July 2002) | Four Arrested in Disappearance of ISU Student — Details early police arrests based on a tip.

Link: [WTHR: Four Arrested in Disappearance of ISU Student]

• WTHR (August 2016) | Informant Accused of Lying — Outlines how the woman who falsely implicated four individuals later admitted to lying, leading to dropped charges.

Link: [WTHR: Informant Accused of Lying]

• Footprints at the rivers edge https://footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot.com/2008/10/052402-scott-javins-20-terre-haute-in.html?m=1

• Indiana Daily Student (October 2007) | Missing Student — Includes a photograph of the recovery scene with state police and the overturned vehicle.

Link: [Indiana Daily Student: Missing Student]

📍 Episode Description – The Final Trace of Julie Mott

Julie Mott was only 25 when she passed away from complications of cystic fibrosis. Her funeral was held on what should have been her birthday — a final goodbye, surrounded by friends, family, and peace.

But the next morning… her casket was empty.

No forced entry. No tripped alarms. No sign of who came or went.

In this episode, we follow the chilling mystery of Julie Mott — from the sealed casket that was breached, to the $8 million lawsuit that exposed a disturbing pattern inside one of Texas’s largest funeral homes. And we uncover the haunting connection to two more women who were mishandled by the very same funeral home years later.

This isn’t just a story of grief.

It’s a story of what can happen when death isn’t the end…

but the beginning of a deeper mystery.

The Final Trace is part of DarkCastNetwork.com

📰 Articles & Reports:

1. People Magazine – “Julie Mott’s Body Stolen from Casket Following Funeral in Texas”

🔗 people.com

2. KSAT News – “Sharlotte Mott: ’We never had a chance to grieve properly’”

🔗 ksat.com

3. KSAT News – “Funeral home owner testifies in missing body trial”

🔗 ksat.com

4. Spectrum Local News – “Jury awards family of Julie Mott $8M in missing body case”

🔗 spectrumlocalnews.com

5. MySanAntonio – “Jury awards $8M to parents of woman whose body vanished from San Antonio funeral home”

🔗 mysanantonio.com

6. San Antonio Express-News – “2 years after disappearance of S.A. woman’s body, no answers”

🔗 expressnews.com

7. MySanAntonio – “Records: New developments emerge in case of Julie Mott”

🔗 mysanantonio.com

8. Reddit /r/UnresolvedMysteries – Julie Mott’s remains still missing (discussion with linked sources)

🔗 reddit.com

9. KENS5 – “Family seeks $10M from funeral home over missing daughter’s body”

🔗 kens5.com

10. ABC13 Eyewitness News – “Texas family sues funeral home after daughter’s body disappears”

🔗 abc13.com

On a stormy night in 1980, Granger Taylor — a mechanical genius from Duncan, British Columbia — left his family a handwritten note.

It said he was boarding a spaceship for a 42-month interstellar journey.

That night, he ate one last meal, said goodbye to a friend, and drove off into the rain.

He was never seen again.

Some believe Granger’s story ended in the woods.

Others insist his trace didn’t end on Earth at all… but far beyond the stars.

The Final Trace of Granger Taylor.

⸻

🔗 Sources & Further Reading

• CBC News – The mysterious disappearance of Granger Taylor

• Capital Daily – The Man Who Vanished Into Space

• Times Colonist – Family recalls Duncan man who vanished 40 years ago

• Vice – The Man Who Built a Spaceship and Disappeared