Case Files · No. 1 · Wick County cold case 86-1019

The Homecoming Queen

She left the dance at 11:30. Forty years later, her crown turned up in a time capsule.

$15USD · the complete case

Instant PDF download

Buy the case file

A gift? The download includes a printable gift card and a case folder label.

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Difficulty 2 of 5

Easy: fair and quick, no detective experience needed

group

1-6 players

made for two

schedule

90-120 minutes

at your own pace

41 pages

Letter or A4 (39 pp), B&W fine

mail

3 sealed envelopes

one question each

fact_check

Answer checker

3 hints per question

folder_open

39 documents

1986 file + 2026 evidence

PG-13: a death, a cover-up, teenage drinking. No sexual content, no gore. All people and places are made up.

The case

What's in the file

October 1986. Jenny Marsh, 18, is crowned homecoming queen at Cedar Bend High in a small Indiana farm town. At 11:30 she walks out of the dance, still wearing her tiara, and is never seen again. Her car turns up at the bus stop with a note on the seat. The sheriff decides she ran away to Chicago.

October 2026. At the 40th homecoming game, the class of '87 opens the time capsule it welded shut the week Jenny vanished. Under the lining is her tiara.

The Cold Case Unit reopens the file and sends it to you: the original 1986 reports, statements and logbooks, and what the detective has found this week. Nobody tells you which pages matter.

check_circleThe 1986 file: typewritten police reports, witness statements, the night custodian's logbook, a register tape, a bus company trip sheet, a hand-drawn town map, the local paper and a yearbook page
check_circleThe 2026 investigation: the detective's memos, lab reports, interview transcripts and evidence sheets, in two sealed envelopes
check_circleA working board to track suspects and the timeline
check_circleThe Final File: the whole story, a score page with detective ranks, and offline answers
check_circleExtras: a printable gift card and a case folder label
check_circleLetter and A4 versions

Look inside

Real pages from the case

The Homecoming Queen: real printed pages from the case file on a desk — Real pages from the case file, printed at home: the 1986 paper, the missing poster, the yearbook, the 2026 news story, the detective's memo and the first sealed envelope.

The Cedar Bend Ledger, Thursday, October 23, 1986

The 2026 news story that reopened the case

How it works

Three envelopes, three questions

STEP 1folder_open

Open the file

Print the case: reports, statements, logs, newspapers, photos. Read the detective's memo first.

STEP 2fact_check

Answer on the case page

Agree on an answer to the first question and type it on the case page, from any phone.

STEP 3mail

Open the next envelope

Right answer: open the next sealed envelope, with new evidence and a new question. Three envelopes, then the whole story and your score.

Questions

How many people can play? expand_more

One to six. The cases are made for two people at a kitchen table, and work just as well solo or with a few friends sharing the pages.

How long does a case take? expand_more

About 90 minutes to two hours, at your own pace. You can stop between envelopes and pick it up another night.

Do I have to print it? expand_more

Printing is best: you'll want to spread the documents out side by side. Black and white is fine, Letter or A4. You can also play from a tablet or laptop.

Do we need the internet? expand_more

Only to check your answers and get hints on the case page, from any phone. No signal? The answers are printed upside down at the back of the Final File.

How hard is it? expand_more

Every case shows a difficulty from 1 to 5. Level 1 is a great first case; level 5 is for seasoned detectives. Hints on the case page get anyone unstuck.

Is it scary? expand_more

No gore and nothing graphic. It's a real murder case, so expect a death, a cover-up and some 1980s teenage drinking. PG-13.

Can I give it as a gift? expand_more

Yes. The download includes a printable gift card to put in an envelope and a label for a manila folder, so the printed case looks like the real thing.