July 11, 2006. Snohomish County, Washington. 56-year old Mary Cooper and her 27-year old daughter, Susanna Stodden, leave their homes in Seattle in order to go hiking on the Pinnacle Lake Trail over 60 miles away. Later that day, Mary and Susanna’s bodies are found alongside the trail after they have both been shot in the head and even though some of their clothing was removed, neither of them were sexually assaulted. For years, Mary’s husband is looked at as a potential suspect before he is officially ruled out, but even though a partial male DNA profile is eventually found under Susanna’s fingernails, it has not been matched to anyone. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a double homicide known as the “Pinnacle Lake Murders” which has gone unsolved for nearly 20 years. In addition, we’ll also discuss the unsolved murders of 25-year old Patricia Dixon and her five-year old daughter, Amanda Dixon, who also lived in the Seattle area and were both shot to death inside their motel room in Anaheim, California during a vacation to Disneyland in March 1984.
If you have have any information about the murders of Mary Cooper and Susanna Stodden, please contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office at (425) 388-3845. If you have any information about the murders of Patricia and Amanda Dixon, please contact the Anaheim Police Department at (714) 765-1900.
Additional Reading:
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1031381492/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1031411442/
https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Slain-hikers-were-avid-about-outdoors-1208909.php
https://www.heraldnet.com/2016/07/10/murder-case-is-cold-but-memory-still-burns/
https://www.heraldnet.com/2007/07/10/a-year-later-no-suspects-in-slaying-of-2-hikers/
https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/one-mans-relentless-search-for-killer-in-its-18th-year/281-5d26dcb4-a3e5-4bcf-b8e4-dba203f30a2e
https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/man-cleared-as-suspect-more-than-10-years-after-wife-daughter-murdered-on-hiking-trail
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20061013/hikerdeath13m/trail-killings-hundreds-of-tips-leading-nowhere
https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/unsolved/19-years-snohomish-county-trail-murders-unsolved-northwest-mary-cooper-susanna-stodden/281-358cebaf-b8d9-48b1-ae7c-7b1893eaa107
https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/mary-cooper-susanna-stodden-unsolved-snohomish-county-murder/281-cf04d027-bb9e-4332-8572-f528fdff87b3
https://podcasts.happyscribe.com/the-deck/mary-cooper-susanna-stodden-ace-of-hearts-washington
https://www.wta.org/news/magazine/magazine/1207.pdf
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/29/Suspect-sought-in-mother-and-daughter-murders-near-Disneyland/5791449384400/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/401262837/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/808583079/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1076995204/
“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.
