Mysteries and Histories

FROM THE VAULT | In the late 20th century, a chilling pattern emerged in Ireland. Young women vanished without warning from a small geographic area stretching across the east of the country. leaving behind few clues, no bodies, and families desperate for answers. The region would come to be known as the Irish Vanishing Triangle.

In August 2010, experienced cave diver Ben McDaniels entered the depths of Florida’s Vortex Spring and was never seen again. What began as a routine dive quickly spiralled into one of the most baffling missing-person cases in modern adventure history. Despite extensive search efforts by elite recovery teams, no trace of Ben was ever found - not even in a place where escape seemed impossible.

In 2000, 23-year-old Leah Roberts packed up her Jeep and set out on what seemed to be a spontaneous road trip across the American Northwest. Searching for meaning after loss, Leah told no one exactly where she was going - or why. Nine days later, her SUV was discovered wrecked and abandoned deep in the forests near Bellingham, Washington, sparking one of the most perplexing missing-person investigations of the decade.

Aileen Wuornos is one of the most polarising figures in American true crime; a woman whose life story is as tragic as the crimes that made her infamous. In the early 1990s, Wuornos claimed the lives of several men along Florida’s highways, becoming one of the nation’s most widely known female serial offenders. But behind the headlines was a life marked by trauma, instability, and a desperate struggle to survive.

In 1935, a quiet English town was rocked by one of the most notorious forensic cases in British history. When dismembered remains were discovered in a ravine near the Scottish border, investigators confronted a mystery that seemed impossible to untangle - until groundbreaking science changed everything. In this episode, we delve into the story of Dr. Buck Ruxton, the respected physician whose carefully maintained façade hid a violent undercurrent. Through innovative detective work, early forensic anthropology, and a nationwide investigation, the truth behind the Ruxton murders reshaped criminal science to this day.