Have you ever met someone who seemed ordinary—someone who just blended into the background, went to work, carried on conversations, and lived a normal life? But then you found out that the person had a dark, shocking history? That was James Hicks.

Today’s story is about a man whose name became linked to a series of disappearances that haunted Maine for decades. One by one, women in his life vanished. A wife. A girlfriend. A woman he had recently met. Each disappearance left behind grieving families and growing suspicions. Yet for years, nothing could be proven. The women were gone, the evidence was scarce, and Hicks always seemed to have an explanation.

Join us for James Hicks and his Trail of Missing Women. Secrets do have a way of eventually coming to light. As investigators revisited old cases and followed new leads, a disturbing pattern began to emerge. The deeper they investigated Hicks’s past, the more they uncovered a trail of deception, manipulation, and violence stretching back decades. What started as missing-person cases would eventually reveal a much darker story.

In this episode, we’ll unravel the life of James Hicks, examine the women who crossed his path and never came home, and follow the twists and turns that finally exposed the truth. This is a story about buried secrets, unanswered questions, and a man who thought he had gotten away with murder. Until he didn’t.

Sources

Police Probe for any link between confessed killer, unsolved homicides, The Portland Press Herald, 10/17/2000. Retrieved 6/18/2026.

Tragedy in the North Woods by Trudy Irene Scee