April 26, 1970. East Pikeland Township, Pennsylvania. While on a weekend camping trip with his Boy Scout troop, eleven-year old Terry Bowers is discovered dead inside his sleeping bag after having been stabbed four times during the early morning hours. Even though Terry was sleeping outside and there were nearly 30 other people at the campsite, no one reported seeing or hearing anything unusual and the murder weapon cannot be found. An extensive investigation turns up some leads, but no solid suspects, so Terry’s murder is never solved and the motive for the crime remains unclear. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore the death of Terry Bowers, one of the most perplexing child murders you’ll ever find.
If you have any information about this case, please contact the Embreeville station of the Pennsylvania State Police at (610) 486-6280 or Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (1-800-472-8477).
Additional Reading:
https://6abc.com/post/47-years-later-boy-scouts-death-remains-a-mystery/1917203/
https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-clues-emerge-1970-boy-scout-murder-its-still-mystery-20121205.html
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/hp/news_update/20121205_Scouts___perversion_files_.html
https://www.dailylocal.com/2017/04/21/update-reward-fund-now-at-51000-in-darby-boy-scouts-unsolved-murder-in-1970/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/184980133/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/176220027/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/176225072/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/198240054/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/198240158/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/198240163/
https://vimeo.com/reviews/ff8cd0e7-43b7-49fb-b653-6c2bed451d9e/videos/354919148
https://twistedpodcast.libsyn.com/episode-225-murder-of-terry-bowers
https://twistedpodcast.libsyn.com/episode-226-murder-of-terry-bowers-part-2
“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at AdvocacyCon, which is taking place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 11-13, 2026. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAILCOLD10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.
“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.
