Volume 3 of ‘unsolved Mysteries’ is as Creepy and Perplexing as Ever!

By Willie Neal Last updated Nov 29, 2022

Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, I watched Unsolved Mysteries every week to witness new cases of murder, kidnappings, UFOs, ghost stories, and any other type of story that was recounted. I was prepared to be terrified by a fresh odd occurrence that would leave me scratching my head, trying to figure it out as soon as I heard the theme music and Robert Stack’s unmistakable voice.

As an adult and true-crime fan, I was overjoyed when the show returned to Netflix in 2020. The third volume of Unsolved Mysteries will be available for streaming on October 18, and this collection of nine perplexing stories seems the most like the series I grew up with.

I used to watch Unsolved Mysteries every week in the 1980s and early 1990s to see new cases of murder, kidnappings, UFOs, ghost stories, and any other type of story that was told. As soon as I heard the theme music and Robert Stack’s distinctive voice, I was prepared to be horrified by a new strange occurrence that would leave me scratching my head, trying to figure it out.

I was pleased as an adult and true-crime lover when the program returned to Netflix in 2020. On October 18, the third volume of Unsolved Mysteries will be available for streaming, and this collection of nine baffling stories appears to be the most like the series I grew up with.

The first episode of Unsolved Mysteries Volume 3 makes it clear that there will be no easy answers this season. “Mystery at Mile Marker 45” appears to be a simple case at first glance. Tiffany Valiante, a young athletic lady about to begin her freshman year of college, is killed by a train four miles from her house. The New Jersey Transit Authority ruled that it was clearly a suicide, because why would an 18-year-old be on the railroad tracks in the middle of nowhere after 11 p.m.? You suppose the case is on Unsolved Mysteries because her family naturally does not want to believe she would commit suicide. But hold on, there’s more.

She was apparently not wearing shoes or shorts when she was hit by the train. Her mother (not the investigators) eventually discovered her shoes at the side of the road, miles from the railroad lines and miles from her home. Her feet exhibited no traces of having gone barefoot to the train tracks — no mud or grime, no splinters, no bruises — and her shoes appeared to be brand new. Furthermore, despite extensive searches of the region, the shorts were never recovered.

It makes you wonder whether there’s more to this than a late-night suicide attempt. And that’s just to get started. The more you discover about this case, the more you question whether her parents are correct and foul play is involved.

The death in Episode 7, “Body in the Bay,” was initially declared a suicide. Its situation is considerably more perplexing. Patrick Mullins goes missing after putting his boat out on the river near his house one evening. Days later, his boat is discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, unmanned and out of gas, many miles from his home dock.

To add to the mystery, his body is later discovered in a different area, with a shotgun wound to the head and rope wrapped around his torso and attached to an anchor. What’s odder is that there was no blood in the boat, so how did Patrick shoot himself in the head in his boat? Not to mention that a gun was never recovered, and shooting oneself at close range with a shotgun would have been extremely awkward.

The emphasis on the strange and inexplicable is one of the key aspects that brings back memories of the original Unsolved Mysteries with Volume 3. This season, three episodes — “Something in the Sky,” “Paranormal Rangers,” and “The Ghost in Apartment 14” — contains inexplicable stories ranging from UFOs to hauntings to Bigfoot and Navajo Skinwalkers.

“Something in the Sky,” tells the story of a UFO sighting in Michigan in March 1993, which was reported by over 300 persons. It’s easy to dismiss claims of seeing a UFO, but the sheer number of people who saw this one is very remarkable. If it wasn’t aliens, they clearly observed an unidentified flying object, which is the very definition of a UFO.

“Paranormal Rangers” was possibly the most terrifying episode in Volume 3. Going in, I didn’t expect to believe claims of a Bigfoot-like creature on the Navajo Reservation, but the facts presented made me question whether a 9-foot-tall hairy creature could actually be roaming the Navajo deserts. There have been around 30 sightings, which isn’t as many as the UFO in Michigan, but it’s also a more sparsely populated area.

If you think it’s silly, watch “Paranormal Rangers” and then tell me it’s silly. Furthermore, fans of The X-Files will certainly enjoy the “Paranormal Rangers” episode, as these two Navajo Rangers were sent to investigate mysterious incidents on the reservation.

“The Ghost in Apartment 14” begins as a ghost story, but sometime in the middle, it becomes an unsolved murder mystery as well. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, this narrative will enthrall you — and, to be honest, will probably make you squirm a little. Who can say? Someday, the spirit might be able to help solve the riddle.

If I had one issue, it would be that on old-school Unsolved Mysteries, there would be updates at the end of the narrative telling you that this person had been arrested, or that what was considered to be a UFO had been explained, or that some kind of closure had been reached.

Despite the fact that the show has a website where you may contribute tips or share your own unsolved mystery, there is no indication of any updates on cases from prior seasons. There are a few cases from the prior two volumes that have resonated with me, and I’d love to hear if there have been any updates on any of them. However, it is possible that all of these crimes will go unresolved.