June 28, 2004. Newberry Springs, California. After experiencing a rough six months living in California, 30-year old April Pitzer makes plans to return to her home state of Arkansas to live with her mother, but before she can make the trip, she vanishes without explanation. Shortly before she went missing, April had crossed paths with the wife of a man who had gone to prison years earlier after she testified as an informant in a federal drug case, leading April to fear that her life might be in danger. A year-and-a-half later, some of April’s personal belongings are found scattered in a remote mining area of the Mojave Desert, but even though a number of abandoned mine shafts are searched and some sketchy local residents are looked at as potential suspects, no trace of April is ever found. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the tragic story of April Pitzer, who went missing after finding herself trapped in a dangerous situation.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department at (760) 256-4838.

Additional Reading:

https://charleyproject.org/case/april-beth-pitzer

https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/april-beth-pitzer

https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/family-still-struggles-10-years-after-disappearance-of-daughter/91-287109683

https://www.4029tv.com/article/clarksville-april-pitzer-missing/28234648

https://disappearedblog.com/april-pitzer/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/749698824/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/750159395/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1234363678/

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/unfoundpodcast/episodes/2017-07-21T10_43_21-07_00

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.