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The Trail Went Cold

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 340 - The Lost Boys of Hannibal

The Trail Went Cold

Robin Warder

Tv & Film, True Crime

4.5 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2023

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

May 10, 1967. Hannibal, Missouri. 13-year old Joey Hoag, his 11-year old brother Billy Hoag, and their 14-year old friend Craig Dowell leave their homes to explore some caves, but never return. Even though a massive search effort is conducted of all the caves in the area, they fail to turn up any trace of the boys or evidence of what happened to them. Over the years, there is speculation that a construction project caused Joey, Billy and Craig to become trapped in a cave or that they may have been abducted and murdered by an unknown third party, but there is no conclusive evidence to support any scenario. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the tragic unsolved disappearance of three children who have become known as “The Lost Boys of Hannibal”. If you have any information about this case, please contact the Hannibal Police Department at (573) 221-0987. Additional Reading: “The Lost Boys Hannibal: Inside America’s Largest Cave Search” by John Wingate https://charleyproject.org/case/joel-hoag https://charleyproject.org/case/william-hoag https://charleyproject.org/case/edwin-craig-dowell https://www.hannibal.net/archive/article/45-years-missing/article_5162c8af-6be6-5bb1-87ca-1d70fb968204.html https://www.hannibal.net/archive/article/new-book-suggests-serial-killers-involvement-in-missing-boys-case/article_d172b27c-4f97-5011-981a-933565939cac.html https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/after-45-years-mystery-surrounding-missing-boys-remains/article_9989615f-21c9-53b0-8a32-e296941d7bf3.html https://fox2now.com/news/true-crime/where-are-hannibals-lost-boys-a-cave-and-55-years-of-questions/ https://www.hannibal.net/lost-boys-of-hannibal-podcast-spurs-new-discoveries/article_13a79550-b8d7-11eb-9f10-3b6f2e91ceb3.html https://khqa.com/news/local/new-leads-in-search-for-lost-boys-of-hannibal https://www.komu.com/news/the-story-of-three-boys-lost-in-hannibal-cave-remains-a-mystery/article_c038b2f8-7de6-591f-8357-d8ce76f5ddc8.html https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2021-05-19/a-half-century-since-they-disappeared-the-lost-boys-of-hannibal-still-prompt-questions “Lost Boys of Hannibal” Podcast This episode of “The Trail Went Cold” is brought to you by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh.com/50wentcold and use code “50wentcold” for 50% off plus free shipping. “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” at the World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida on September 22-24, 2023. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to the event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD23”, by visiting https://www.crimecon.com. “The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Austin, Texas on August 25-27, 2023. To get a 15 % discount on the purchase of tickets, please our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

Transcript

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0:00.0

We would like to send out a special thanks to HelloFresh America's number one meal kit

0:05.0

for sponsoring this episode.

0:07.0

Go to HelloFresh.com slash 50 went cold and use code 50 went cold for 50% off plus free

0:14.0

shipping.

0:15.0

Enjoy the episode.

0:18.0

May 10, 1967.

0:20.0

Hannibal, Missouri.

0:23.0

13-year-old Joey Hogue, his 11-year-old brother Billy Hogue and their 14-year-old friend Craig

0:28.5

Gowell, leave their homes to explore some caves but never return.

0:33.5

Even though a massive search effort is conducted of all the caves in the area, they fail to

0:38.0

turn up any trace of the boys or any evidence of what happened to them.

0:42.5

Over the years, there is speculation that a construction project caused Joey, Billy and

0:47.2

Craig to become trapped in a cave, or that they may have been abducted and murdered

0:51.2

by an unknown third party, but the lost boys of Hannibal are never found.

0:56.5

After that, the trail went cold.

1:26.5

Hello everyone and welcome to our latest episode of The Trail Went Cold.

1:40.5

I'm your host Robin Warner, and this week we're going to be covering a case involving three

1:45.2

missing children, the 1967 disappearances of Joey Hogue, Billy Hogue and Craig Gowell

1:52.0

better known as the lost boys of Hannibal.

1:55.5

That voice you just heard narrating our intro was Christine True, the latest winner of

1:59.8

our most recent trail went cold, listen or voice over contest, so thank you very much Christine.

2:05.5

This is a recurring monthly contest which we've been carrying on for six years now, so

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