Arizona’s Family Investigates

The pandemic brought a dramatic increase in the number of people visiting Arizona’s most remote wild spaces. As a result, federal land managers are working to make it easier to visit these far-flung vistas and mountain ranges. Is there a downside to this? Are we loving our pubic lands to death? Morgan Loew and Amy Cutler hear from Scott Brady of The Overland Journal, as well as Laiken Jordahl from the Center for Biological Diversity, and Gilbert Zermeno, a producer and photographer, who’s visited hundreds of Arizona’s wildest places.

Arizona's Family Investigates takes you behind the months-long investigation that found people asking for money at Phoenix intersections may be linked to a larger group doing the same thing in other cities nationwide.

Once removed from certain cities, red light, and speed enforcement cameras will be returning to streets in Phoenix and Tempe. But in cities and towns that have kept these devices -- are they making a difference? 

Rent prices have soared over recent years in Phoenix and across Arizona. Our investigative team looks into what is to blame and why prices have settled so high. We also hear from Arizona's Attorney General who is taking action against a company that "artificially sets" rent prices on behalf of the largest landlords in the state.

The Arizona's Family Investigates team spent months looking at crashes in the Valley, finding Phoenix is #1 for deadly crashes and pedestrian deaths. We looked at why that is and what the City is doing about it. 

Our investigative team looks at the available data, compares descriptions of news events to our video record, and speaks to experts and critics about the Department of Justice investigation into the Phoenix Police Department. Our investigation finds mischaracterizations, misstatements and errors of fact, and raises the question of whether the DOJ report’s conclusions are accurate.

Alicia Navarro went missing from Glendale at age 14 back in 2019. For years, no one knew where she was. Suddenly, in July 2023, she walked into a police station in Montana near the Canadian border asking to be taken off the missing persons list. How did she get there? Who may have taken her there? Who had she been staying with? Amy Cutler and Jason Barry discuss the developing details of this case that has captivated the nation.

Morgan Loew and Kris Pickel discuss the Phantom Killer case and address final questions about William Huff.

William Huff answers questions about why he murdered two young girls 54 years ago. But his brother says the explanations and the motivations the Phantom offers are disingenuous.

William Huff’s new neighbors react to the news that a child killer has moved in next door. Meantime, a forensic psychiatrist weighs in on whether someone who committed heinous crimes 50 years ago is still dangerous today. And Huff is caught with a young girl in his apartment.

50 years after the murders of Cindy Clelland and Jennelle Haines, their families work to prevent The Phantom from getting released from prison. When their efforts fail, they alert the media. And the leaders of the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency struggle to justify their decision to let a serial killer out of prison.

Morgan Loew and Kris Pickel break down what has happened so far in the Phantom Killer case. This episode includes insight from behind-the-scenes. It will prepare listeners for the next chapter, which moves forward in time 50 years from the time of the murders.

The Army mobilizes a massive search after another child disappears. Meantime, the Sierra Vista Police chief is certain he knows the identity of the killer. And a spelling error in the Phantom’s letter holds the key to the case.

Investigators race against the clock to identify the Phantom. The police chief zeros in on a troubled teenager, but one big misstep causes investigators to overlook the killer. Meantime, the Phantom’s own letters shed light on what motivated him to kill Cindy Clelland.

The killer sends a letter to the police, threatening to strike again and referring to himself as “The Phantom.” Meantime, an army of investigators hunt for an old man driving sedan. And the police chief senses something familiar about the murder of Cindy Clelland.

The year was 1967 in small town USA. Children were used to the freedom to play in the streets, playgrounds and fields of Sierra Vista, Arizona. But all that changed one spring day, when a blonde-haired, brown-eyed little girl disappeared. What followed was a search involving hundreds of police officers, sheriff’s deputies and soldiers from a nearby Army post. It ended with a gruesome discovery and a mysterious letter from someone who called himself “The Phantom.”

True Crime Arizona: The Phantom Killer is a limited series that examines the gruesome murders that terrified a small town 50 years ago. Investigative reporter Morgan Loew spent four years researching the case, interviewing family members of the victims, investigators, members of the killer’s family – and the killer himself. The podcast takes listeners back to the summer of 1967, when one little girl after another disappeared in Sierra Vista, Arizona and the police received a letter written by someone who called himself “The Phantom.” The story continues today, as the killer sheds new light on why he did what he did – all those years ago.