The Skeleton Key Chronicles

21 hours ago

47 years ago this month, 19-year-old Gwenn Marie Story left Cincinnati hoping to find the biological father she had never met. It would be the last trip she ever took.

Gwenn traveled west during the summer of 1979 with two unidentified men. On August 14th 1979, she was found deceased near Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard at the former site of the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and Casino. When investigators interviewed witnesses, they learned that about an hour earlier, Gwenn had been seen entering a nearby liquor store with an unidentified man. A clerk described him as about six feet tall, thin, and "wearing a mustache" that appeared to be a different color than his hair. It's unkown whether this was a fake mustache or naturally grown. A composite sketch was created, but he was never identified.

When the two men Gwenn had traveled with eventually returned to Cincinnati, they reportedly told her family they had left her behind in Las Vegas. For decades, that was the only explanation anyone had.

Then in late 2023, forensic genetic genealogy finally gave "Sahara Sue Doe" her name back. After 44 years, she was identified as Gwenn Marie Story. During the decades she remained unidentified, forensic artist Carl Koppelman's facial reconstruction helped keep her case in the public eye. With her identity restored, investigators renewed their focus on the people she traveled with and the circumstances surrounding her final days.

Nearly five decades later, investigators are still trying to piece together exactly what happened after Gwenn arrived in Las Vegas. They continue asking anyone with information about Gwenn, the two men she traveled with, or the unidentified man seen with her to contact the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Because Gwenn was from Cincinnati, investigators have also said they are particularly interested in hearing from anyone in the area who may remember the two men she traveled with.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

1 day ago

Kayla Berg was only weeks away from her 16th birthday when she disappeared on August 11th, 2009. She left her father's home in Antigo, Wisconsin that evening to meet her boyfriend, 19-year-old Miguel Marrero. She had gotten a ride from Kevin Kielcheski, a longtime friend of her older brother. After stopping by McDonald's, Kielcheski dropped Kayla off in the driveway of that home on East Wausau Avenue where she expected to meet Miguel. She never made it home.

At first, no one realized she was missing. Because Kayla split her time between both her parents' homes and rarely spent much of her day at the house, each parent believed she was staying with the other. Because of this miscommunication, six days passed before her family realized something was wrong and reported her missing, leaving detectives to reconstruct Kayla's final known movements nearly a week after she disappeared.

As detectives retraced Kayla's final known movements, they learned she and Kevin Kielcheski had stopped at a McDonald's before arriving in Wausau, where Kayla briefly spoke with a friend who was working. Kielcheski told investigators he later dropped her off in the driveway of a home on East Wausau Avenue, where she planned to meet Miguel Marrero. Marrero, however, told investigators he wasn't even there that night. Investigators also determined the home where she was dropped off was vacant at the time.

Over the years, detectives interviewed family members, friends and others connected to the case, searched the area, examined Kielcheski's vehicle and followed countless leads, but none have explained what happened to Kayla. Then, in 2016, her disappearance was back in the news after a bizarre online video led some viewers to believe the young woman shown resembled Kayla. Police tracked down the people who created the video and determined it had been "staged" years earlier and had no connection to her disappearance.

Nearly 17 years have passed since Kayla disappeared that August evening, yet the question of what happened after she stepped out of Kevin Kielcheski's vehicle remains unanswered. Her disappearance is still an active investigation, and her family is still waiting for the answers they've been seeking since 2009.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

2 days ago

JonBenét Ramsey would have turned 36 today, and nearly 30 years after her passing, one of the biggest questions surrounding her case is whether today's advanced DNA technology will ever be fully utilized to help find answers. Much of that discussion centers on investigative genetic genealogy, the same type of DNA technology that has helped generate new leads in cold cases across the country.

Many forensic experts have urged investigators to use the technology on any remaining usable evidence in JonBenét's case. Among them is David Mittelman, CEO of forensic genomics company Othram, who said, "If suitable evidence remains, applying this technology is a fairly straightforward effort that could produce meaningful new leads."

JonBenét's father, John Ramsey, has continued urging officials to pursue additional DNA testing, while Colorado's cold case team has said it is reviewing new leads and re-examining case files compiled by a longtime investigator. Ramsey has even said, "We have been begging the police to work with one of these labs, but we don't know if they will do it." As for the Boulder District Attorney's Office, they said investigators are actively exploring advanced DNA testing capabilities through independent laboratories as the investigation continues.

John Ramsey's calls for independent testing grew even louder following revelations involving former Colorado forensic analyst Yvonne "Missy" Woods. Woods, who worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for decades, pleaded guilty this week to felony charges tied to misconduct involving DNA casework in unrelated investigations.

Authorities have not said Woods had any involvement in the JonBenét Ramsey investigation. Even so, the revelations renewed calls from John Ramsey and others for outside testing using the latest technology.

Now that nearly three decades have passed, the key to solving one of America's most enduring mysteries may not be finding new evidence. It may be making full use of the technology available to examine the evidence investigators already have.

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