Marlena Childress Pt. One

April 16, 1987. Union City, Tennessee. Four-year old Marlena Childress vanishes from her front yard after her mother, Pamela Bailey, claims she saw a red car driving away from their house. Two months later, Pam confesses that she accidentally killed Marlena and tossed her body into the Obion River. Pam soon recants her confession and claims it was coerced and since Marlena’s body cannot be found and there is no other evidence to implicate Pam, she is not indicted for her daughter’s death. Over the next several years, there would be a number of twists and turns, including some seemingly credible eyewitness sightings to suggest Marlena is still alive, and Pam would also face legal trouble for another violent crime involving her children. Was Pam responsible for her daughter’s disappearance, or was Marlena actually abducted? On this week’s episode of “The Path Went Chilly”, we examine a very controversial and divisive missing children’s case which has yet to find a resolution.

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Additional Reading:

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Marlena_Childresshttp://charleyproject.org/case/marlena-danyele-childress

https://www.nwtntoday.com/2012/04/12/cold-case-investigation-to-focus-on-disappearance/

Welcome to The Path Went Chilly where Robin Warder from The Trail Went Cold will discuss his favorite cases with friends Dr. Jules from Riddle Me That! True Crime and Criminologist Dr. Ashley Wellman. This will be a deep dive and a fresh perspective, join us as we descend deeper down the rabbit hole & examine these unsolved cases with compassionate consideration towards the families left behind.

• No. of episodes: 231
• Latest episode: 2025-06-12
• True Crime

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