Ep 22. Frozen in Time/Little Girl Lost

In the 22nd episode of Cold Case Files season 1, titled "Frozen in Time/Little Girl Lost," two cold cases are explored: one involving a father and son who disappeared while hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the other the disappearance and murder of a young girl in Wisconsin.

The first segment, "Frozen in Time," recounts the harrowing story of Tom Young and his son Keith, who set out on a hiking trip in the mountains in late October 1980 and were never heard from again. The investigative team retraces the pair's footsteps and interviews family members, friends, and park rangers who were on duty at the time.

Despite an extensive search operation involving hundreds of search and rescue personnel and several helicopters, no signs of Tom and Keith could be found, and it was assumed that they had succumbed to the harsh conditions of the mountain wilderness. However, years later, some hikers stumbled upon bones and other remains that were later confirmed to belong to the missing father and son.

The Cold Case Files team sets out to determine what happened to Tom and Keith, and interviews the lead investigator on the case at the time, who confesses that he and his team may have made critical errors in the search operation that may have resulted in the Youngs' deaths. The team also investigates a potential suspect who had a history of violence and may have had motive to harm the Youngs.

The second segment, "Little Girl Lost," looks into the disappearance and murder of 9-year-old Kelly Ann Prosser, who vanished while walking home from school in 1982. The investigation was hampered by a number of factors, including the fact that Kelly's body was not discovered until more than a year after her disappearance, and that the initial lead investigator had been fired from the police force for misconduct.

The Cold Case Files team interviews Kelly's family members, former classmates, and law enforcement officials who were involved in the case, and unravels a list of potential suspects who were in the area at the time of Kelly's disappearance. The team also explores the possibility that Kelly may have been killed as part of a larger pattern of child abductions and killings in the region.

As both cases wind to a close, the Cold Case Files team highlights the importance of never giving up the search for missing loved ones, and the importance of continuing to investigate cases even years after they go cold.