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Some of the Best ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Episodes Led to Arrests — Many Others Didn’t
For 14 seasons, true crime TV show Unsolved Mysteries captivated viewers, many of whom even helped solve the cold cases. Some of the best Unsolved Mysteries episodes, however, presented bizarre cases that still haven’t been cracked. Here are some of the stories that still have fans enthralled, only a few of which endings…
Matthew Chase
Matthew Chase, 22, left his Los Angeles house to deposit a paycheck on June 8, 1988, and he was never seen again — except in ATM surveillance footage. In the grainy photo, a man can be seen hovering over Matt’s shoulder. Authorities believe that man abducted Matt, who seemingly tried to signal for help by deliberately entering erroneous withdrawal amounts into the ATM. Three months later, Matt’s body was found in a ravine, his cause of death a gunshot wound. His abductor has never been caught.
Circleville Letters
In 1976, someone started airing all the dirty laundry of the residents of Circleville, OH, through anonymous letters. School bus driver Mary Gillespie bore the brunt of the harassment: The letter writer accused her of having an affair. Her husband started getting letters, too, until he received a call and thought he knew the identity of the blackmailer. He immediately zoomed off, lost control of his car at a nearby intersection, and died in the crash. Years later, the letter writer started putting signs along Mary’s bus route. When she tried to take one down, she saw it was rigged to a pistol aimed at her. The gun belonged to Paul Freshour, her brother-in-law, who was jailed for attempted murder. But the letters continued, even targeting the Unsolved Mysteries production office.
Dave Davis
On July 23, 1980, Dave Davis drugged his wife to death near Pittsfield, MI, using a horse tranquilizer thought to be undetectable. Then he bashed her head with a rock, framing the death as a horse-riding accident in an alleged effort to cash in on her life insurance policy. By the time authorities realized it wasn’t an accident and indicted him, Davis had fled the country. After this Unsolved Mysteries episode aired, a viewer recognized Davis, who was was living in American Samoa at the time. He was returned to Michigan and sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2014.
Kaitlyn Arquette
I Know What You Did Last Summer author Lois Duncan died in 2014, never knowing what happened to daughter Kaitlyn Arquette 25 years prior. The 18-year-old was shot twice in the head while driving through Albuquerque, NM, on July 16, 1989. Duncan believes Arquette was killed because she was going to expose a street gang running an insurance fraud operation, a gang in which Arquette’s boyfriend was involved.
Michael Martin
Someone robbed a gas station in Garland, TX, on July 14, 1979 — but the jury is out, so to speak, on whether it was Michael Martin. The prosecution had two witnesses who said Martin did it; the defense had five who backed Martin’s claim that he was 70 miles away. Despite that disparity, Martin was found guilty, and he served 20 years behind bars before his release in 1999.
Edward Harold Bell
On August 24, 1978, Edward Harold Bell approached a group of children in Pasadena, TX, and exposed himself. A 26-year-old named Larry Dickens tried to stop Bell from leaving the scene as Larry’s mother called the authorities, but Bell shot Dickens multiple times. Bell was arrested, but he fled after being released on bail. In 1993, he was arrested in Panama, thanks to tips from Unsolved Mysteries viewers, and sentenced to 70 years in prison. He later claimed to have killed 11 girls.
Walter “Curley” Green
None of Walter “Curley” Green’s neighbors in Omaha, NE, had any idea he had a huge fortune to his name. But when he died of a heart attack on April 24, 1978, he left behind $200,000. He even owned the apartment building in which he lived. But no legitimate heirs have been found, so no one inherited that money.
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