October 13, 1982. Morro Bay, California. The decomposed body of 43-year old Dian Harlin is discovered in a stand of trees next to a beach and she has been strangled to death with a leash belonging to one of her dogs. It turns out that Dian’s eccentric 47-year old husband, Hugh Harlin, had failed to report her missing for eleven days and since the couple was known for having a turbulent relationship, Hugh becomes a potential suspect in his wife’s murder. Four years later, Hugh inexplicably vanishes without a trace after his abandoned pick-up truck is discovered by the side of the highway. Investigators are unable to determine if Hugh’s disappearance is connected to Dian’s murder, but both cases are never solved.
May 3, 1992. Polk County, Florida. After attending a rodeo, 31-year old Larry Costine and his 26-year old girlfriend, Melissa Jo Sermons, return to Larry’s mobile home. Larry’s nude body is eventually discovered inside the trailer and since he was shot four times and Jo has gone missing, investigators initially suspect that Jo killed Larry and went on the run. However, two decades later, law enforcement announces that they now believe Jo was a victim and was murdered by the same person who shot Larry. While Jo’s ex-boyfriend is considered to be the prime suspect, there is not enough evidence to charge him with the crime and Jo is never found.
On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover two unsolved mysteries in which one half of a couple was murdered while the other half went missing.
Additional Reading:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/hugh-harlin/
https://charleyproject.org/case/hugh-frederick-harlin
https://www.newspapers.com/image/808583090/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/808464923/
https://unsolved.com/gallery/larry-costine/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Larry_Costine
https://www.newspapers.com/image/339386848/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/339518288/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/339522597/
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2013/07/06/deland-man-a-suspect-in-1992-killing-womans-disappearance/30632866007/
https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2014/08/09/1992-costine-slaying-case-suddenly/8187709007/
https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2014/08/30/suspect-indicted-on-perjury-charge/26984190007/
https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2014/09/11/bail-set-at-5-000/8191605007/
“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 doing a weekly livestream show on Vokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.
“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon UK” at the Tower Bridge, Leonardo Royal Hotel & Spa in London on June 10-11, 2023, as well as “Crimecon” at the World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida on September 22-24, 2023. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD23”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.co.uk or https://www.crimecon.com.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 343 – The Austin Yogurt Shop Murders (Part 2)
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 342 – The Austin Yogurt Shop Murders (Part 1)
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 341 – Carol Ann Cole
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 340 – The Lost Boys of Hannibal
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 339 – Charles Horvath
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 338 – Jay Given
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 337 – Carolyn Eaton
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 336 – Omar Laparra
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 335 – Nancy Snow
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 334 – Chad Langford
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 333 – Alonzo Brooks
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 332 – Adam Hecht
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 331 – Jean Bradley
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 330 – The Fowler Twins
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 329 – Lola Celli
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 328 – The Florence Salon Murders
The Trail Went Cold – Bonus Episode – Deadly Devotion: Motherhood & Mayhem
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 327 – Lucia Kai Roberts
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 326 – John Cheek & Gordon Collins
The Trail Went Cold – Episode 325 – Sarah Skiba, Paul Skiba, and Lorenzo Chivers
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