When a Boston woman travels to Philadelphia, she's excited to explore the city while her husband attends a work conference.

After disappearing without a trace, her remains are later inexplicably found in distant North Carolina woods,

with evidence of foul play, leaving investigators with a profoundly puzzling mystery in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Thanks for listening to Last Seen Alive.

I'm your host, Leah, crime analyst by day and true crime storyteller by night.

I'm his host, Scott.

Judy Smith was last seen alive on April 10, 1997.

A professional nurse from the Boston area, she just arrived in Philadelphia for a conference. Not for her own work, though. Rather, her husband, Jeff, a corporate lawyer,

would be attending. Judy's plan was to keep him company in the evenings and spend her days

exploring all the historical sites and attractions that Billy had to offer on her own.

The start to the trip had been a little rocky.

When Judy and Jeff had arrived at the airport the day before,

Judy had realized too late that she'd forgotten her ID, which she needed to board the plane.

Because of this, she'd had to go home, get it, and take a later flight.

Meanwhile, Jeff had reluctantly departed on the originally scheduled flight alone.

Judy did make it, though, arriving hours later than Jeff with a bouquet of flowers for him as an apology for the missed flight.

They spent the night at the conference hotel together, and the next morning, Judy got ready for a day of sightseeing while Jeff prepared for the first day of the conference hotel together and the next morning Judy got ready for a day of sight

seeing while Jeff prepared for the first day of the conference. The day would be filled with panels

and sessions on topics of interest to corporate lawyers like Jeff, but after hours, everyone would

have a chance to ease up on the business talk and let their hair down at a party. Judy had two

iconic Philly attractions on her

two C list for that day, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, and she figured she had enough

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