America's Crime Lab: S1E6 - The Mount Everest of Cold Cases Part 1

Hosts: iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
Release Date: August 13, 2025

1. Introduction to the Case

The episode opens with host Aylin Lance Lesser introducing one of Spokane, Washington's most haunting unsolved crimes—the disappearance and murder of nine-year-old Candy Rogers in March 1959. Described by local law enforcement as the "Mount Everest of cold cases," Candy's case has remained unsolved for over six decades, deeply affecting generations in the Spokane community.

Aylin Lance Lesser [00:33]: "For 62 years, no one knew who had taken her and dumped her body in the woods."

2. Candy Rogers' Background and Disappearance

Candy Rogers lived with her mother, Elaine, a high school teacher, and her grandparents, who owned the family grocery store adjacent to their home. Candy was an active member of the Campfire Girls of America, known as the Bluebirds, where she enthusiastically sold mints door-to-door.

On a routine day of selling mints, Candy adhered strictly to her rules: she wouldn't sell before 4 PM and had to be home before dark. However, on this particular evening, despite following her planned route, Candy failed to return home, sparking immediate concern among her family.

Kathryn Fenollosa [01:49]: "People describe Candy as kind of small for her age. She was just shy of four and a half feet tall."

3. The Massive Search Efforts

Responding swiftly, Spokane police initiated a comprehensive search operation. Sergeant Zach Stormant recounted the intense efforts, which included setting up a command post in Doomsday Hill and deploying hundreds of volunteers, military personnel, and law enforcement units to scour the area.

Within hours, mints Candy was selling were found scattered along the streets, indicating her presence in various neighborhoods. Despite these efforts, Candy remained missing as night fell, leading to an expanded search involving over 1,500 individuals, including Marines, Air Force veterans, and postal workers.

David Mittleman [05:07]: "They do a pretty good job tracking the homes where she showed up."

4. Initial Investigation and Suspects

As days passed with no sign of Candy, Sergeant Stormant highlighted the community's determination to find her. Early investigations focused on local suspects, especially convicted sex offenders. However, two potential suspects tragically took their own lives, leaving detectives with limited leads.

Attention then turned to Hugh Morris, a known serial killer who had a history of sexual offenses and murders across multiple states. While Morris was a prime suspect, he denied involvement in Candy's case, and no charges were filed, causing the investigation to stall and the case to go cold.

Aylin Lance Lesser [14:15]: "He was in fact a serial killer, did live in Spokane, and did kill women in Spokane proximate to Candy's death."

5. Cold Case and Preserved Evidence

Despite years of investigation, Candy's case remained unsolved. A pivotal moment came when an investigator prudently preserved Candy's underwear in a glass mason jar, inadvertently preserving crucial evidence. However, initial DNA testing in the early 2000s yielded no matches in federal databases, partly due to the degraded state of the evidence and the limitations of DNA technology at the time.

Aylin Lance Lesser [12:00]: "They can't find any evidence of who may have done this."

6. Advances in DNA Technology and Othram's Involvement

Fast forward to 2018-2019, with significant advancements in DNA technology, Sergeant Stormant revisited Candy's case. Inspired by breakthroughs like the identification of the Golden State Killer, he sought assistance from Othram, a cutting-edge forensic lab led by David and Kristen Mittleman. Despite skepticism from traditional labs regarding the degraded evidence, Othram's expertise in handling challenging DNA samples offered new hope.

Kristen Mittleman [21:33]: "There's like 60 years of investigative work going into figuring out what they can learn from that crime scene, and none of it led to the answer."

7. Genetic Genealogy Breakthroughs

Othram's team meticulously processed Candy's preserved evidence, developing a comprehensive SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) profile despite the limited and degraded DNA. This advanced profiling allowed them to upload the genetic information to specialized genealogy databases, tracing distant relatives and building extensive family trees to identify potential suspects.

Kristen Mittleman [24:51]: "We were able to identify distant relatives that were both genetically related to the sample that we were trying to identify and also consented for being used in a forensic investigation."

8. Contacting Potential Relatives

The genetic genealogy efforts led Othram to focus on a specific family line connected to a juvenile home for boys in Chehalis, Washington. This breakthrough pointed towards three brothers, siblings of John Ray Hoff, whose past included troubling criminal behavior. Although the brothers had all passed away, their living relatives, particularly Kathy Hoff, came into focus.

Sergeant Stormant reached out to Kathy in a sensitive manner, leaving a carefully crafted message to initiate contact without alarming her. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Kathy responded promptly, leading to a crucial meeting at the police station.

David Mittleman [34:31]: "There's going to be a moment in time where you as the cold case detective are the only person in the world that knows who killed that person. This is it."

The episode concludes with the tension of this pivotal meeting, leaving listeners eager for Part 2 to uncover whether this new lead will finally bring closure to Candy Rogers' tragic story.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Aylin Lance Lesser [00:33]: "For 62 years, no one knew who had taken her and dumped her body in the woods."

• Kathryn Fenollosa [01:49]: "People describe Candy as kind of small for her age. She was just shy of four and a half feet tall."

• David Mittleman [05:07]: "They do a pretty good job tracking the homes where she showed up."

• Aylin Lance Lesser [14:15]: "He was in fact a serial killer, did live in Spokane, and did kill women in Spokane proximate to Candy's death."

• Kristen Mittleman [21:33]: "There's like 60 years of investigative work going into figuring out what they can learn from that crime scene, and none of it led to the answer."

• Kristen Mittleman [24:51]: "We were able to identify distant relatives that were both genetically related to the sample that we were trying to identify and also consented for being used in a forensic investigation."

• David Mittleman [34:31]: "There's going to be a moment in time where you as the cold case detective are the only person in the world that knows who killed that person. This is it."

This episode of America's Crime Lab masterfully intertwines historical context, emotional depth, and cutting-edge forensic science to shed light on a decades-old mystery. As the story progresses into Part 2, listeners can anticipate uncovering whether modern technology and unwavering determination can finally bring justice for young Candy Rogers and her grieving family.