Dateline: Secrets Uncovered has a new episode tonight on Oxygen. The feature is Footprints in the Snow, centered on the long-running case of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews from Greeley, Colorado. The hour revisits the search, the discovery of her remains, the suspect who drew attention for years, and the final courtroom outcome.
The schedule today is a daylong run of season 8 installments from 10 am through 7 pm ET, then the new Dateline: Secrets Uncovered at 8 pm ET, followed by two more encore hours at 10 pm and 11 pm ET.

New episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
Footprints in the Snow is a re-edited presentation built from the parent Dateline NBC reporting on Jonelle Matthews. The original two-hour Dateline story aired on February 17, 2023, and tracked the investigation from her 1984 disappearance to the modern breaks that followed. The Secrets Uncovered cut brings the case back with added context and a tighter timeline for Oxygen viewers.
Case details of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered new episode
Jonelle Matthews vanished on December 20, 1984, after a school choir event. She was dropped off at home around 8:15 pm. When her father returned later that night, she was gone. Investigators found shoeprints in the snow around the house and signs that someone tried to rake them over. Those early clues set off a wide search that stretched well beyond Colorado.

The case received national attention, including mention by President Ronald Reagan the following spring, and her photo appeared in the milk-carton campaign of the era. According to The Washington Post, the story remained active in public memory even as leads faded.
The break arrived in July 2019 when workers laying a pipeline southeast of Greeley discovered remains later confirmed as Jonelle’s. The coroner ruled a gunshot wound to the head. Local coverage and wire reports documented the find and identification, marking the end of a 34-year mystery over her whereabouts. According to the Associated Press, DNA confirmed the identity and shifted the case from missing child to homicide.
Attention then turned to Steven Pankey, a former resident who had repeatedly placed himself around the case through the years. A Weld County grand jury indicted him in October 2020 on murder and kidnapping charges.

A 2021 trial ended with a mistrial on the major counts, but the case returned to court and produced a verdict in 2022. A jury found Pankey guilty of kidnapping and felony murder on October 31, 2022. He received a sentence of 20 years to life and is serving time in Colorado. According to Reuters, the conviction closed the criminal chapter nearly four decades after Jonelle disappeared.
Where to watch Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
The new episode Footprints in the Snow airs on Oxygen at 8:00 pm ET for live TV viewers. Marathon episodes air on the same channel throughout the day.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is also available for streaming on fuboTV, YouTube TV, NBC, and Oxygen’s platforms. Availability can vary by plan and region.
Below is Oxygen’s Dateline: Secrets Uncovered lineup for Wednesday, September 3, with start times across U.S. time zones:
Stay tuned for more updates.
Also read: The brutal death of Angela Craig - A detailed case overview