19 Best Kidnapping Podcasts to Listen to (2026)

Josh Baker enters a dangerous world of fear, greed and betrayal as he sets out to uncover the truth behind one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time - the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice.Josh - creator of two of the BBC's most award-winning and widely listened-to investigative podcasts, I'm Not a Monster and The Shamima Begum Story - returns for his most ambitious chapter yet, in a major new series from BBC Radio 4 and NPR's Embedded.This is not the retelling of a closed case. It is a real-time investigation into a disappearance that has remained unsolved for more than a decade, conducted in close contact with Austin's family.What started out as a personal effort to help a mother find her son has turned into a multi-year journalistic investigation stretching from the corridors of power in Washington DC to the depths of the Syrian security state.Austin Tice is a journalist, law student and former Marine officer, who vanished in Syria in 2012. Since then, competing stories have emerged about his fate. In some, he is alive - held in a cell and waiting to be rescued. In others, he was smuggled out of Syria and hidden away. In the darkest versions, he died long ago.His disappearance has reached the highest levels of power - from presidents to popes - yet remarkably little is known about what happened to him.Investigative journalists Josh Baker and Sara Obeidat begin following Austin's trail long before the fall of the Syrian regime. Then everything changes. The regime collapses, and the black box of Syria's intelligence state opens. Sources step forward, unprecedented leaks arrive and doors to secret bases that had been sealed for years open. Josh and Sara speak to spies, search secret prisons and track down alleged war criminals in hiding, uncovering information that has never been made public and making discoveries that generate international headlines. The audience follows every breakthrough as the investigation closes in on those who may know the truth - while Syria is transformed and powerful interests compete to shape what happens next.Some claim Austin was working for the CIA. Others say he was simply a young journalist trying to make his name in war reporting.His fate has become entangled in secret negotiations and geopolitical power struggles that are still unfolding. At the centre of it all is his mother, Debra Tice, who has never stopped searching for her son.There are people who know exactly what happened to Austin.Some of them do not want the truth to come out.So where is Austin Tice? more

In 2012, a woman was found with her hands bound in the Mojave Desert. She led authorities to a grisly crime scene where a barbaric attack had taken place. This moment marked the beginning of an international manhunt and a sting operation that turned a once-devoted wife into an informant.Authorities zeroed in on the so-called mastermind behind the attack: Hossein Nayeri, a charming man who had ties to the emerging medical marijuana industry in California. Told with police tapes, secretly recorded informant calls and footage of a prison break, 'Devil in the Desert' unravels a crime so brutal that it still haunts investigators today.Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now.   Terms apply. more

Nearly 15 years ago, a young nursing student named Holly Bobo disappeared from her home in rural Tennessee. A few years later, her remains are found — not far from where she went missing. This becomes one of the biggest cases in Tennessee history, culminating in a bizarre legal battle after a key witness admits to lying on the stand. Even after suspects go to prison for her death, the question remains for some: What happened to Holly Bobo?Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit ⁠apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now.   Terms apply. more

COLD is a narrative podcast series focused on missing persons cases. Investigative journalist and host Dave Cawley takes on a single story with each season. Season 1: Susan Powell Case Files , the Cold journey begins with Dave's investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Susan Powell… and the man with the most to gain from her death. Season 2: Justice for Joyce Yost delves into the details of a murder-for-hire plot and attempts to find justice for Joyce a woman who bravely reported her kidnapping and rape only to vanish without a trace. Season 3: The Search for Sheree follows two suspects in the 1985 disappearance of Sheree Warren while examining the dangerous escalation of domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Cold team seeks to answer the question: what really happened to Sheree Warren? Season 4: Blamed on Bundy - The Disappearance of Nancy Baird Brant Baird can barely remember his mom, Nancy Perry Baird. She vanished in 1975, when Brant was just 4. For nearly 50 years, Brant lived under the belief serial killer Ted Bundy abducted and murdered Nancy. That changed when COLD picked up Nancy's case. Now, the daughters of a former cop are confronting a dark shadow from their past. And Brant is left to ask, ' if Ted Bundy didn't kill Nancy Baird, then who?' Created and Produced by KSL Podcasts more

On the 12th of September 2014, three-year-old William Tyrrell disappeared from the yard of his foster grandmother's house in the quiet town of Kendall, New South Wales.A search and rescue mission soon became an investigation into his likely abduction, but who took him?Was the kidnapping planned or an opportunistic crime? Are we any closer to knowing what happened to William today than we were almost five years ago?10 News First's Lia Harris and Natarsha Belling go through the entire story and strive to answer the question…Where's William Tyrrell? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. more

In October 1989, a 10-year old girl went missing after school in a Cleveland suburb. The kidnapping and murder of Amy Mihaljevic is one of the area's most high-profile cases ever. And it's been 30 years since she was killed. On the anniversary of her disappearance, we look at the investigation and how new evidence could shed light on this cold case. 'Amy Should Be Forty' is 5-part podcast from WKYC in Cleveland and VAULT Studios. more

In rural Ohio, a kidnapped woman risks her life by calling 911 with her captor's phone. After she is rescued, investigators turn their attention to her kidnapper: a man named Shawn Grate. As detectives interview Grate, they realize that he may be behind the disappearances of multiple missing women in the area. Could they be face to face with a serial killer? A six-part series from 20/20 and ABC Audio, hosted by John Quiñones. New episodes Tuesdays. Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now. Terms apply. more

Hosted by famed abduction survivor turned advocate Elizabeth Smart, The Survivor Files is a true crime podcast featuring firsthand accounts from ordinary people who were thrust into impossible circumstances. Targeted by serial killers, held-hostage, stalked, attacked, and controlled their stories reveal what survival really looks like. Guided by Elizabeth's uniquely personal perspective, each conversation explores the choices, instincts, and strength that helped survivors make it out alive and rebuild their lives. more

Mysteries, DNA, and the Search for Who We Really Are. The Fronczak Files is a gripping podcast that delves deep into the investigation of the abduction of Paul Fronczak, the abandonment of Jack Rosenthal, and the disappearance of Jack's twin sister Jill. This true crime podcast takes you on a rollercoaster ride through Paul's experiences, searching for his family and uncovering new mysteries along the way. In April 1964, a woman disguised as a nurse walked into a Chicago hospital room and took a one-day-old infant from the arms of a young mother named Dora Fronczak. That day, Chicago police kicked off the biggest manhunt in the city's history in an effort to find the kidnapped 'Baby Fronczak.' Weeks passed without any sign of the kidnapper or the infant. Two years after the kidnapping, the case went cold… Co-hosted by Paul Jack Fronczak and Tracey Hastings, Season 1 pulls you into the decades-long search for answers, identity, and justice. No theories. No holding back. Just the raw, unfiltered truth - told straight from the source. www.thefronczakfiles.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefronczakfiles TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thefronczakfiles Facebook: https://facebook.com/thefronczakfiles Threads: https://threads.net/@thefronczakfiles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. more

It was one the largest abductions in U.S. history. On July 15, 1976, a school bus carrying 26 schoolchildren ages 5 to 14 and their driver vanished without a trace in the tiny farming community of Chowchilla, California. As a frantic search for them began, the young, terrified hostages and their 55-year-old bus driver found themselves trapped in a scene that seemed like something straight out of a horror movie.Their unlikely captors, three directionless young men from affluent families, planned the kidnapping for more than 18 months in the hopes of getting 'easy money.'In 'Nightmare in Chowchilla,' we untangle a controversy that has dogged this case for decades: Who was the real hero in the Chowchilla kidnapping? The bus driver who received all the acclaim in the days following their escape, or a 14-year-old boy who hatched a plan that ultimately saved the lives of 27 people. Senior correspondent Claudia Cowan travels throughout California to get firsthand accounts from the people who lived through this horrendous crime, including several of the survivors and their parents, the sheriff who feverishly looked for the abductors, a TV news producer who covered the story and a prosecutor who has worked on the case.  And in our podcast exclusives, we reunite two survivors who haven't seen each other since that fateful day as well as reveal a message from one of the captors.  more

Veteran reporter Joe Nocera investigates a 94-year-old crime that deserves a second look: the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. more

Criminal defense attorney Dana McLendon III and neuropsychologist Dr. Katie Spirko examine the tragic true story of the abduction and murder of Holly Bobo. more

A 25-year-old estate agent disappears in 1992 on a routine house viewing in the West Midlands. Andy Whittaker and criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw look back on all the twists in this sinister story with a mixture of contemporary interviews, audio drama and BBC archive. There's graphic descriptions of violence. For details of help and support in the UK, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline.Michael Sams is played by Anthony Lewis.Julie Dart is played by Joanne Moore.Producer: Andy Whittaker.Online Producer: Rachael Smith.Executive Editor, BBC Radio Nottingham: Chris Pegg.Executive Producer: Kathryn Morrison. more

A kidnapped child whispers dark secrets from his past into a cassette tape in a language no one around him understands. Decades later, that lost cassette tape resurfaces and reveals the terrifying truth that he's not the person everyone thinks he is. What happens when the life you made collides with the life you lost? Stop Rewind: The Lost Boy tells the true story of Taj, a child in India who was taken from his family and sent to an adoptive family half a world away. Taj never forgot who he really was or that he was taken. But without the language or tools to return, and with no one who understood his story, the details faded, and Taj's past was quietly boxed away .Told through rare original recordings, immersive sound design and unforgettable first-person testimony, Stop Rewind is a story of a stolen childhood, the quest for truth, the triumph of love and the long road to belonging.This ten part series is published weekly on Mondays, but all episodes available early and ad -free to subscribers on Apple Podcasts. more

How do you know you're lost, if you don't even know you're missing?The remarkable story of Melissa Highsmith being found 51 years after being kidnapped as a baby made global headlines, but the shocking details of what actually happened to her and the family that never stopped looking for her has never been fully told until now.Melissa Highsmith was abducted as a 21-month-old girl from her Fort Worth, Texas home on August 23, 1971 by a mysterious babysitter. In a stunning turn of events, Melissa would finally be reunited with her biological family so many years later.Award-winning podcasters Sean Kipe and Jason Hoch bring Melissa's exclusive story and explosive new details to the 51-year kidnapping saga.BABY: The Melissa Highsmith Story is a 7-episode limited podcast series and is a production of Particle Entertainment and Wavland. more

On March 13, 2012, Jennifer Hurst was walking her dog through her front yard at dusk. A figure emerged from the darkness: 'This is a gun, b----. Do what I say or I will f------ kill you.'This is the chilling story of her kidnapping and survival. It's a story that travels from Ohio's Amish country to Ohio's prisons to uncover how addiction can ricochet through families. And it's a story about how the best intentions can curdle into tragedy. Above all, it's a mystery: why, a decade later, can the woman at the heart of this story not stop re-telling it? more

For decades, was a man hiding in plain sight? In Waterbury, Connecticut, a house on Blake Street seemed like just like any home, maybe a little unkept, but nothing too out of the ordinary. But in 2024, everything changed when a fire—and a stunning allegation—brought national attention to a home few had questioned. A Waterbury man we'll refer to as 'S' now claims he was held captive for 20 years by his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan. Prosecutors say the abuse began when he was a child and continued for decades, unseen and unheard. Sullivan, however, says he was allowed to roam the house and denies allegations that she held him captive. This podcast unpacks the case episode by episode: the early warning signs, the reports that raised red flags, what investigators say they discovered inside the house, and the moment authorities say the truth finally emerged. Through court documents, exclusive interviews, firsthand accounts, and expert insight, we examine not only what happened—or what may have happened—but how a person can allegedly disappear while still living in a neighborhood full of people. And as the legal process moves forward, one question remains: What will this case look like in the court room when it goes to trial? This is Decades Unseen: The Waterbury Captivity Case by NBC Connecticut. more

Abduction: Victim to Survivor is a place for honest stories, compassionate conversations, and hope. The podcast explores how parental abduction and custodial conflict shape the lives of children, families, and entire communities—and what it takes to move from surviving to healing. Drawing from her own experience of family abduction, host Abby welcomes child survivors, adult survivors, searching family members, advocates, experts, and professionals to the microphone. Each episode makes space for voices too often unheard, brings understanding to a deeply misunderstood crime, and reminds listeners that no one should have to navigate its aftermath alone. Our mission is to challenge the dangerous belief that a child must be safe simply because they are with a parent. We raise awareness, share trusted guidance, and offer connection and hope to searching parents, adults who were abducted as children, and families finding their way forward. more

One ordinary day almost a decade ago, John Beckenridge abducted his stepson, Mike, from school and vanished.Police investigated for four years, but with no proof of what happened, asked a court to make sense of the crime.That court heard dozens of hours of evidence, and tried to determine how a marriage breakdown became a manhunt and then a mystery.As well as a kidnapping, the story includes cryptic phone messages, a car plunging from an 80-metre cliff and allegations of secret bank accounts, criminal accomplices and illegal border crossings.We'll take you inside the courtroom as two opposing theories are put to the test. Are John and Mike alive or dead?From Stuff Audio, New Zealand's leader in true crime podcasts, and The Press newspaper, this is the story of a calculating man with a dark past, the 11-year-old boy he controlled and the distraught mother left behind.Podcasts like this take lots of time and resources to produce, which is why we're asking you to subscribe to The Lost Boy. Subscribe to Stuff Extra on Apple podcasts, or by Clicking here. You'll get exclusive ad-free access to the remaining episodes instantly, for about the price of a cup of coffee, and in doing so you'll be supporting our gutsy, independent journalism.CREDITSScripted, hosted and produced by Michael Wright and Shannon RedstallSound design, audio editing and mixing by John RopihaVisual design: Aaron WoodProducer: Jen BlackExecutive producer: Chris ReedSpecial thanks to Kamala Hayman and Wei Shao from The Press; Laura Heathcote, Elmo Johnstone, and Matt SlaughterWarning: The Lost Boy podcast contains strong language, content that may be distressing and references to self-harm and suicide. If you or anyone you know needs help, call or text 1737 for free assistance, 24 hours a day. more