E275: Hugh Harlin

A bent bell. A bike tossed six feet into a field. A rush of leads that cancel each other out: a bloody handkerchief, conflicting train sightings, a black Morris, a red-and-gray van. In this episode, we trace April Fabb’s 1969 disappearance minute-by-minute and ask the question residents of Norfolk, England have asked for decades: what happened in the nine minute window during which April disappeared?If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

On April 15, 2005, Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar of Pennsylvania left work for what seemed like an ordinary day off. He called his girlfriend while driving his red-and-white Mini Cooper, promised to be home later, and then—he was never seen again. His locked car was found the next day near the Susquehanna River, his phone still inside but his laptop mysteriously missing. Did Gricar walk away from his life voluntarily? Was his disappearance tied to one of his high-profile prosecutions—or to secrets someone wanted buried? Or did tragedy strike by accident along the water’s edge? Nearly twenty years later, the case remains one of the most haunting unsolved disappearances in America.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

On November 1, 1986, 51-year-old Morro Bay fisherman Hugh Harlin vanished along Highway 1 between San Simeon and Cambria, California. His truck was discovered roadside under suspicious circumstances—but not a trace of Hugh. Did he flee secrets tied to his wife’s unsolved murder, or did the same hand that strangled Dian Harlin in 1982 come for him, too?For context, you’ll likely want to start with last week’s episode on Dian Harlin first: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e274-dian-harlin/id1492318464?i=1000723044083If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

In the fall of 1982, the quiet rhythm of Morro Bay, California was shattered when the body of 43-year-old Dian Harlin was discovered beneath a cluster of cypress trees near the high school. She had been strangled with a dog leash—an eerie detail that raised more questions than answers.Was her stormy marriage to blame? Or was Dian the victim of a predator who struck by chance? And what are we to make of the fact that her husband Hugh, who acted strangely after her death, also vanished without a trace just four years later?More than four decades later, the mysteries remain. Who killed “the Dog Lady” of Morro Bay? Did her husband know more than he admitted? Or was he another casualty of a truth still buried in the fog?Tune in as we unravel the case of Dian Harlin—a story of eccentric lives, whispered rumors, and unanswered questions that continue to echo through the small seaside town.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

July 1995. Ada, Oklahoma. A small city with a long memory for tragedy. When 15-year-old Daniel Furr vanished, the search ended in a place that seemed to hold more questions than answers — the bottom of an abandoned brick quarry. What happened to Daniel in the days before a body was found has become the subject of rumor, fear, and conflicting theories that still divide those who knew him. Was it gang retaliation? A robbery gone wrong? Or — as his own mother fears — was it not Daniel in the pit at all? This is the story of a boy, a mystery, and a community still looking for the truth.If you have information about the case of Daniel Furr, please contact OSBI at (800) 522–8017 or email information to [email protected] hear more from our guest Raven Rollins, listen to Sirens: A Southern True Crime Podcast on your favorite podcast platform, and find her books at thesirenspodcast.com.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

She was tiny, fierce, and fighting for survival from the moment she was born. On October 4, 1978, Wilma June Nissen’s body was discovered along a quiet country road in Lyon County, Iowa. For decades, no one knew her name—only that someone had brutally taken her life. Today, we explore the haunting questions: Who wanted Wilma gone? What really happened at the parties she attended that summer? And why, all these years later, has no one been held accountable?If you know anything, please contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 472-8326 or [email protected], call the main office at (712) 472-8300, or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.To connect with Wilma’s daughter, Krissi Haas, visit Justice4WilmaJuneNissen.com or email [email protected]. You can also sign and share her Change.org petition to strengthen transparency for families of cold case victims.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

An unregistered ship. A haunting distress signal. A crew found dead, their faces twisted in terror—and then, an explosion that swallowed the vessel forever. This isn’t the plot of a horror movie. This is the real (or is it?) story of the SS Ourang Medan. In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most unsettling maritime mysteries ever recorded—or invented. What really happened aboard the ghost ship that governments have seemingly tried to erase? Why was the CIA still referencing it a decade later? And could it all have been the cover-up of a deadly wartime secret?If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

On December 7, 1958, the Martin family of Portland, Oregon—Kenneth, Barbara, and their three daughters—set off for a Sunday drive to gather Christmas greenery. They were never seen alive again. What began as a cheerful holiday tradition ended in one of the most baffling disappearances in Oregon history. Was it a tragic accident on the winding roads of the Columbia River Gorge? Or was something far more sinister at play—something involving suspicious sightings, ex-convicts, and a stolen gun? Decades later, new discoveries raise even more questions. What really happened to the Martins—and why did the river keep their secrets for so long?For additional information about this case, make sure to read J.B. Fisher’s book Echo of Distant Water, available HERE.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

It was just two days before Christmas in 1974 in Fort Worth, Texas, a time usually filled with holiday cheer and last-minute shopping rushes. Seventeen-year-old Rachel Trlica, 14-year-old Renee Wilson, and 9-year-old Julie Ann Moseley headed to the bustling Seminary South Shopping Center with plans to pick up gifts and be home in time for holiday parties. They parked the car, ready for an afternoon of shopping. But as the hours ticked by, the girls never returned. When worried family members arrived at the mall that evening, a chilling scene awaited them: the girls' car was found abandoned in the parking lot, but Rachel, Renee, and Julie were gone.Fifty years later, the disappearance of the Fort Worth Trio remains one of Texas's most inexplicable cold cases. How could three girls, ranging in age from a teenager to a young child, vanish without a trace from a public place on a busy day? Despite thousands of leads, extensive searches, and heartbreaking decades of waiting, the mystery endures.Check out Gone Cold Podcast episodes on the case, presented from December 2020 through January 2021.If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases

On the evening of September 16, 1997, six-year-old Brittney Ann Beers vanished just steps away from her Sturgis, Michigan apartment complex. Minutes earlier, neighbors had seen her chatting with a stranger. Then—nothing. Her bike was left behind, her voice gone quiet, and a haunting mystery began. Who was Brittney’s “new friend”? Why did no one see what happened next? And, more importantly, where did she go?In this week’s episode, Allison traces Brittney’s story from her complicated home life to the desperate search that followed—and the disturbing secrets that surfaced along the way. Could a stranger have taken her? Was someone closer to home responsible? And why do some believe her case may be tied to the convicted killer of another Michigan girl nearly a decade later?If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases