Welcome back to Washed Away, a podcast that breathes new life into Washington State’s coldest cases. On this episode I’ll be giving you some updates on a few of the cases you’ve already heard about on the show: Mary Anderson, Tom Wales, Helen Doe, Sofia Juarez, and more.

I was recently invited to take a tour of the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office and I got to interview investigator, Jane Jorgensen. We talked about the details of her job, Snohomish County’s unidentified and recently identified cases, and how much of a role genealogy plays in finding out who someone was. You’ll hear a lot of names, dates, and locations on this special episode as we try to bring more attention to folks who either still need help to solve the mystery of who they were or to help figure out who killed them.

A teenager disappeared on his way to work in Spanaway one morning… leaving behind no clues, no witnesses, and no answers for what would be two very long years. His parents had to turn into detectives to try and find him when no one else would. This tragic case will end in not one, but two shocking and senseless murders. Welcome to Washed Away, a podcast that breathes new life into Washington state’s coldest cases. I’m Ashley Smith and on this episode I’m covering the unsolved murder of Chris Virdell.

On a January night in 1986, a young mother and her daughter were strangled to death in their Bremerton home. Over the years several persons of interests would be looked at for taking their lives and this case would be re-examined each decade that it remained cold. But despite new DNA tests done in 2009, no arrests have ever been made. Welcome to Washed Away, a podcast that breathes new life into Washington state’s coldest cases. I’m Ashley Smith and on this episode I’m covering the unsolved murders of Nikki Anderson and Adrienne Hale.

It’s no secret that nature is one of the things people love most about the Pacific Northwest. And the outdoors are supposed to be a peaceful place, where you can go to clear your head and escape from the real world. So when two avid hikers, who spent a lot of their time outdoors, were seemingly executed on a trail in 2006, it was a harsh reality check for people here in Washington State. And it was a complete nightmare for the victims’ family. On this episode of Washed Away, I’m covering the unsolved murders of mother and daughter, Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden.

1994 was a year that would forever change the city of Seattle. From the suicide of Kurt Cobain to the launch of Amazon dot com, it was a uniquely important year that would go down in the city’s history books and news archives. But something else happened that year that most people haven’t heard about… until now. On this episode of Washed Away, I’m covering the tragic kidnapping and murder of 14 year old Tanya Frazier.

There’s an unsolved murder that took place almost 3,000 miles away from Washington state and yet it remains linked to this part of the country because of a cult TV show from the 90s. This special episode of Washed Away for the North Bend Film Festival is all about Hazel Drew, the woman whose mysterious death was used as inspiration for Twin Peaks.

Gary Ridgway AKA the Green River Killer murdered women in Washington state from 1982 to 1998, but possibly could have continued killing until 2001 when he was finally apprehended. Ridgway confessed to 71 murders but was only prosecuted for 49. So who are these other 22 victims? A local true crime researcher has put together an extensive list of murdered, missing, and unidentified women- to try and figure that out. On this episode of Washed Away we’ll be talking about the unknown victims of the Green River Killer.

The case I’m covering on this episode of Washed Away comes from Tacoma, Washington and involves a missing little girl, a DNA scavenger hunt, and a possible serial killer suspect. Oh and this case has been cold for almost 60 years. Let me tell you about the disappearance of Ann Marie Burr. Plus retired detective Lindsey Wade not only discusses her work on this mystery, but also how she managed to track down Ted Bundy's DNA.

A teenager from Tumwater woke up one morning, told his grandmother he had an epiphany, and then seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. He left his phone and wallet behind and his car was spotted several times on I-5, sometimes parked on the side of the road, but eventually drifting across several lanes of traffic. On this episode of Washed Away, I’m gonna tell you about one of the strangest missing persons cases that Washington state has seen in a long time. What the heck happened to Logan Schiendelman?

Today’s episode is focused on two separate cases and I interview two daughters, who are not related. One is Sam Moyer, who’s mother Nancy went missing in Tenino, Washington in 2009. The other is Karlee Bodine, who’s mother Karen was murdered in Rochester, Washington in 2007. While Nancy and Karen may have never known each other, their children Sam and Karlee have bonded over a shared fight - for justice.

On February 4th, 2003 - a little girl left home on a quick trip to the store, just a few blocks away. She was supposed to be getting in the car of a family friend who had just left, but when he later returned without her… the family realized that there had been a huge miscommunication. It’s the case that triggered the first-ever Amber Alert here in Washington state… This episode is all about the disappearance of Sofia Juarez.

Spooky season is by far my favorite time of year, so I wanted to release a special episode of Washed Away to celebrate. You’ll hear me talking to a paranormal investigator out of Spokane, Amanda Paulson, as she tells me about her experiences at some of Eastern Washington’s most haunted locations. There’s some history, mystery, ghosts, and… even a little bit of murder… consider this your content warning, though truly this episode is much more casual and lighthearted than usual in my opinion. Hope you enjoy it and Happy Halloween!

This is an interesting and unique case because it doesn't involve a murder or a suicide - there wasn’t necessarily anything nefarious going on at all - it was just a tragic accident that became an ongoing mystery. Who was the hitchhiker that died in a truck collision near Mount St. Helens in 1991? Let's try to find out on this episode of Washed Away.

On this episode of Washed Away I’m gonna tell you about what could possibly be the oldest and coldest, unsolved case in Seattle’s history. It involves dynamite, a widow, and 60 years of mystery. Actually 61 years as of earlier this month. This is the truly bizarre story around the bombing of Pearl Kongsle.

The Lake Stickney John Doe has been a mystery since 1994 when his body was found underwater in Snohomish County. Authorities knew so little about him they couldn’t even be sure he was caucasian … and oddly enough his race would change several times throughout the years as Forensic Artists tried to ID him. DNA recently gave him his name back - it’s Rodney Johnson - but we still don't know how he ended up in that lake in the first place and who killed him? This is Washed Away.

One of the FBI’s major case files is an unsolved murder of Assistant United States Attorney, Thomas Wales, that happened in Seattle back in 2001. This is a case that had all the resources imaginable to solve it, all the press attention, plus A MILLION DOLLAR REWARD, and yet… almost 19 years later… there are still so many unknowns. The Bureau recently charged someone in this case, the first indictment in almost 2 decades, but it wasn’t the murderer. This is Washed Away.

A young mother was murdered in December of 1985 near Mineral, Washington. Her case has remained unsolved for over 3 decades… along with the murders of a couple that took place just four months earlier… these cases have been tied together somewhat by location but mostly because of tube socks found at the crime scenes. Are these cases actually connected? Well, that depends on who you ask. The show Unsolved Mysteries couldn’t even figure this one out, but now in 2020, DNA might finally reveal the truth… about what happened to Diana Robertson. This is Washed Away.

On this episode of Washed Away, I’m gonna tell you about a John Doe whose story started out a lot like Mary Anderson’s… but recently ended very differently. This person also took their own life… in the month of October… in Seattle - but 12 years before Mary would check into her hotel room. The coincidences between this John Doe and Mary’s Jane Doe have led to theories about these cases possibly being connected, like maybe these people even knew each other!? But the main difference so far is that in this case, a family really was out there all along. Searching, hoping, and never giving up. And that’s how, after almost 4 decades, a John Doe became Mark Ashland.

On this episode of Washed Away, I'm going to tell you about the unusual death of Mary Anderson, a mysterious woman who claimed to have no relatives, no one to care about what happened to her and yet she's made a lasting impression on dozens of strangers, including myself. I'm Ashley Smith and I've been researching this case for so long that I now feel closer to Mary than anyone... both literally and figuratively. Because I've never been able to give up on a good mystery without learning every single detail available and because she was buried just a few blocks from my house in Crown Hill Cemetery.