Having been a fan of Unsolved Mysteries since the age of 8, I too am unhappy UM has been dropped to one showing a week on Lifetime. I noticed that right before UM left afternoons/weeknights, Lifetime was airing quite a few mysteries from 1989 and 1990, which are some of my favorites. I found the show to be best between 1988 and 1993, as the mysteries seemed to change after 1993. Furthermore, the addition of Keely Shaye-Smith seemed to detract from the show and Stack. Hopefully A&E (or another network) will pick up the show and bring back some of the older episodes. If it's any consolation, I recall Lifetime cutting back on the show before, only to bring it back more often.

Possibly some can help with my vague memories of mysteries on the show, all of which I saw in reruns. I'd be interested in information on these cases, when they aired (looked on episode guide to no avail) and if anyone has videos of these they might be willing to sell.

Man, with beard, goes for walk in woods somewhere out west and is never seen again. I saw this late one night on Lifetime in 1994.

Young student drives through Alaska and Canada, bringing on suspicious hitchhiker. Student then disappears (or were remains found?) and car is found on fire in Canada. Rerun seen in May 1999 late at night on Lifetime.

Shipwreck (in Pacific?) leaves a number of men adrift, only one of whom survives through a huge styrofoam container that he stays in for many harrowing days. He also witnesses a huge tanker possibly taking on his shipmates, who are never seen again. However, family members of missing shipmates receive calls in foreign languages which they believe is information about missing shipmates. This, I believe, was also shown late at night on Lifetime in May 1999, possibly on same mystery as student driver in Alaska.

Former alcoholic in small town (who later ran at least on AA group) disappears in car with strange group of men. Can't remember when I last saw this one, but it made reruns on Lifetime more than once.

Originally posted by Anonymous1
Young student drives through Alaska and Canada, bringing on suspicious hitchhiker. Student then disappears (or were remains found?) and car is found on fire in Canada.

I remember that one....

Somewhere in British Columbia the hitchhiker went into a small restaurant. The two women in there who were mother and daughter got very spooked over this man. They just a bad feeling about him. He paid for his meal with Canadian money, then left. The college student had stopped in that same town to get a few things. As he began driving off the hitchhiker appraoched him and made him stop. The two left together. Later he put the car on the side of the road and flagged down some people who took him to their house. I believe he spent the night there. The next morning while the 3 of them were having breakfast something was mentioned that seemed to unsettle the hitchhiker. He pulled out two wallets, then took American money out of one and gave it to the couple. Then he left.

I don't remember anything more about the car. I can't remember if he ever returned to it, if he had it towed or if it was ever set on fire. They did find the college student dead a short time later.

It's been a while since I saw that episode. I hope I'm right about most of it.