When someone goes missing, time doesn’t stop — but the world often moves on. For families, every day without answers becomes a kind of waiting room, where hope and grief exist side by side. We’ve covered hundreds of cases on this podcast, and we try to offer follow ups whenever we can, because the person’s story doesn’t end when our episode does. This week, we’re revisiting four cases that we’ve previously covered: Chance Englebert, Mary Johnson, Sage Smith, and Trudy Appleby, because in 2025, each of these cases saw significant developments. Some brought long-awaited answers, while others brought more painful questions. All of them remind us why it’s so important to keep these stories alive.

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On this day in 1988, 34-year-old Joan Yarbrough Bernal was supposed to be hitting the road with her husband and children for a holiday trip from Joliet, Illinois, to Texas. Instead, she vanished without a trace—and was never seen again.

Her husband, Gilbert “Gil” Bernal, has long claimed that Joan walked away from her life during the road trip. But Joan’s children and investigators believe the truth is much darker—and that Joan may never have made it out of Joliet.

In this episode, we trace Joan’s story: her life as a devoted mother of five, the troubling history of domestic abuse in her home, and the suspicious timeline of events surrounding her disappearance. We explore the initial 1993 murder charge against Gil that was later dropped, and how, decades later, the case has been revived with new forensic efforts and national attention thanks to Cold Justice.

Thirty-seven years on, Joan’s body has never been found, and no one has been held accountable. But her children—and cold case detectives—still haven’t stopped searching for the truth.

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On December 11, 1994, 4-year-old D’Wan Sims, went with his mother Dwanna Harris to do some Christmas shopping at the Wonderland Mall in Livonia, Michigan. According to Dwanna, they arrived around 1:45 PM and entered through the Target store at the mall. D’Wan followed his mother around the mall until one horrible moment when Dwanna realized her son was no longer by her side.

A massive search ensued, but there was no sign of the little boy. As the investigation intensified, Livonia police began to wonder, “was D’Wan ever at the mall in the first place?” Now, over thirty years later, investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what happened on that cold December day, and hoping to finally find D’Wan.

If you have information about the disappearance of D’Wan Sims, please contact the Livonia Police Department at 734-466-2470.

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