On December 3, 1989, five-year-old Melissa Brannen attended a Christmas party with her mother at their apartment complex in northern Virginia. Surrounded by neighbors, holiday decorations, and families celebrating the season, no one could have imagined that Melissa would disappear without a trace.

What began as an ordinary holiday gathering quickly became one of the most haunting child abduction cases in American history.

In this episode, LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith examine the heartbreaking disappearance of Melissa Brannen, a little girl who vanished after briefly returning to a crowded party to get a snack. Despite an extensive search involving law enforcement, military personnel, and hundreds of volunteers, Melissa was never found.

The investigation soon focused on apartment maintenance worker Caleb Daniel Hughes. Witness statements, forensic evidence, and suspicious behavior led to his conviction for abduction with intent to defile. Yet even after decades, one devastating question remains unanswered:

Where is Melissa Brannen?

More than thirty-five years later, Melissa's family still lives without the answers they deserve. Her case remains a painful reminder that some of the most terrifying crimes happen in places where we feel safest.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Melissa Brannen's disappearance from a crowded Christmas party in 1989

• The massive search effort that followed

• The investigation into Caleb Daniel Hughes

• The forensic evidence presented at trial

• The challenges prosecutors faced without a body

• The emotional toll of unresolved child disappearances

• The lasting impact this case had on parents across America

This episode contains discussions of child abduction, sexual violence involving a minor, and crimes against children. Listener discretion is advised.

If you have information regarding Melissa Brannen's disappearance, please contact law enforcement or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Because every girl deserves justice.

Hosted by Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey

Learn more about our advocacy work at All the Lost Girls: allthelostgirls.org

For this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith examine the troubling death of Isabelle Sam, a forty-four-year-old Indigenous woman who was found deceased inside an SUV in Juneau, Alaska, in January 2023.

Authorities ruled Isabelle’s death accidental, citing combined drug intoxication involving fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and alcohol. But the circumstances surrounding her final hours have continued to raise deeply uncomfortable questions.

According to reports, Isabelle was not alone prior to her death. Concerns surrounding witness accounts, the timeline of events, delays in intervention, and the reported existence of a forensic sexual assault examination have left many people unsettled by the official narrative surrounding the case.

In this episode, LaDonna and Amy explore the known timeline, the larger crisis involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the way addiction can alter public empathy toward victims, and the difficult questions that still linger in the aftermath of Isabelle’s death.

This episode contains discussions involving addiction, death, and violence and may be difficult for some listeners.

If you have information related to the death of Isabelle Sam, please contact law enforcement in Juneau, Alaska.

The Lost Girls Podcast is independently produced. We do not monetize this podcast through subscriptions or paywalls because we believe these stories — and the advocacy surrounding them — should remain accessible to everyone.

Tonight on Lost Girls, hosted by LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith, we are bringing you the story of Bonnie Three Irons—a Native American mother whose life was taken in 2017, and whose case still sits without answers.

Bonnie’s body was found near the Wolf Mountains on the Crow Reservation in Montana, a place that should have held familiarity and safety, not violence and loss. She was more than a name in a case file. She was a mother to her son, Faron Enemy Hunter III, and she was deeply loved by her family, including her mother, Jennifer White Bear, who continues to search for the truth about what happened to her daughter.

This case is not just about one woman. It exists within a larger, deeply troubling pattern—the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Cases like Bonnie’s are too often overlooked, under-investigated, or allowed to go cold without the urgency they deserve. Behind every one of these cases is a family waiting, a story unfinished, and a life that mattered.

Tonight, we are going to talk about Bonnie. About who she was. About what we know. And about what still hasn’t been answered.

Because someone knows what happened to her.

And it’s time that silence is broken.

In late November 2015, 21-year-old Megan Renee Foglesong was last seen in Alden, Kansas. By the time anyone realized she was missing, weeks had already passed—and critical evidence was gone.

Megan’s case is layered with red flags: a volatile relationship, a final message placing her at a man’s home, and a chilling warning she gave friends—if anything ever happened to her, they should know where to look.

In this episode, hosts LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith walk through the timeline, the missed opportunities, and the disturbing events that followed—events that only deepen the question: what really happened to Megan Foglesong?

More than a decade later, her disappearance remains unsolved. And the truth is still out there.

This episode of Lost Girls, hosted by LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith, focuses on the disappearance of 32-year-old Madison Renae Allen, who was last seen on November 29, 2023, near Ash Street in Zachary, Louisiana. Described as 5’2”, approximately 115 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, Madison has several distinctive tattoos, including “Allen” with a bow on her wrist, angel wings on her back, and detailed markings across her thigh and torso.

According to her family, it is completely out of character for Madison to go without contact, raising serious concern about her well-being. In this episode, LaDonna and Amy examine what is known about Madison’s last known movements, highlight the identifying details that could help bring her home, and underscore the urgency of keeping her name in the public eye.

If you have any information about Madison Renae Allen’s whereabouts, please contact the Zachary Police Department at 225-654-9393 or Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP.

On July 17, 2017, 24-year-old Brianna Jayde Vibert was last seen in Flint Township.

Surveillance footage from a gas station shows her anxious—possibly panicked—with visible injuries to her arm. In the early morning hours, she accepted a ride from a man in a red Pontiac Aztek. Over the next few hours, she would appear at multiple locations—disoriented, unsteady, and clearly in distress.

Then, she vanished.

Her phone was left behind. Her purse was later found in a ditch near her home. And Brianna—who was a mother of four—has never been heard from again.

In this episode of The Lost Girls, Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey walk through the final known hours of Brianna’s life, the people she encountered, and the troubling gaps that remain. They also examine the circumstances surrounding her relationships, her past, and the question that still lingers:

Was Brianna Jayde Vibert running from something—or did she cross paths with someone she couldn’t escape?

Her story didn’t end that night.

It simply disappeared.

On December 6, 1997, 33-year-old LaVon Jo Miller was last seen in Marmaduke, a small town where people believe they know one another—and where disappearances are supposed to be rare.

According to her husband, LaVon returned home that day after visiting a friend. At some point, he fell asleep on the couch. When he woke up, she was gone. He would later say he never saw her again. In the days that followed, someone reportedly came back to the home and took money and clothing. What happened in those missing hours—and in the days after—remains unclear.

LaVon left behind two children. Her life, by all outward appearances, simply stopped. Years later, when her husband died in 2011, her name was not mentioned in his obituary.

In this episode of The Lost Girls, Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey examine the details that don’t sit right. They walk through the timeline, the silence, and the questions that have lingered for nearly three decades. Was this a voluntary disappearance, or something far more troubling? Who returned to that home—and why?

On in 1990, fourteen-year-old Rachel Hurley set out on what should have been a simple walk back to her mother. Just hours earlier, she had been laughing with friends on a boat near Jupiter Inlet—a carefree afternoon that felt like any other.

But somewhere between Dubois Park and Carlin Park, everything changed.

When Rachel’s friends stopped briefly, she ran ahead alone, less than a mile from where her mother was waiting. It was a decision any teenager might make without a second thought. She never made it to their meeting spot.

By nightfall, the search had begun. What unfolded next would leave a family shattered and a community searching for answers that, more than three decades later, still haven’t come.

In this episode, LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith walk through the final known moments of Rachel’s life, the small, ordinary choices that led to an unthinkable outcome, and the enduring weight of a case that remains unsolved. They explore how quickly normal can turn into tragedy—and why Rachel’s story still matters today.

If you were in Jupiter, Florida in March of 1990, or remember anything—no matter how small—please contact local law enforcement or Crime Stoppers. One detail could make the difference.

Because Rachel Hurley deserved to make it home.

And we will keep saying her name—because every girl deserves justice.