Sarah At-A-Glance
Sarah Cailean is a former police officer and detective now working as an independent consultant for cold case homicides and disappearances, specializing in cases involving serial predators.
She is also known for her CNN/HLN documentary, Hell in the Heartland. Sarah was a crime correspondent for major prime time shows, contributes to numerous true crime podcasts, and produces documentaries about current cases.
In addition to her work with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigating the agency's cold case homicides, Sarah hosts a series of true crime lecture events all over the country. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Iowa City, and Waco Texas - most recently on a project with Chip and Joanna Gaines' leadership team.
Sarah works and researches with the legendary first-generation profilers of the FBI, including Dr. Ann Burgess.
Sarah is a regular contributor on cable news programs, including Cuomo. Her new podcast, Why Can’t We Talk About Amanda’s Mom? premieres on Investigation Discovery on February 22, 2023. Find it wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Decades of experience.
A former police officer and sex crimes detective with a decade of service in federal and municipal law enforcement agencies, Sarah Cailean, also served as co-creator, executive producer, and host of the four-part docu-series Hell in the Heartland: What Happened to Ashley and Lauria on HLN/CNN. She was a correspondent for HLN and contributes regularly to programming and investigative specials, as a consultant on breaking or ongoing cases in the news. Sarah has been a featured consultant and commentator on numerous true crime podcasts, including Wondery’s ManSlaughter and Rabia Chaudry’s Undisclosed.
Sarah is currently serving as an investigator for the Mobile County (AL) Sheriff’s Office major crimes squad investigating the agency's cold case homicides. Sarah is also a team investigator for the Cold Case Foundation, the nation’s premier non-profit investigative consultancy group founded and led by the FBI’s original BSU profilers, and was recently inducted as an investigative member of the internationally renowned Vidocq Society.
In January of 2021, Sarah became a founding member of a collaborative research study bringing together Boston College, the University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University exploring the relationships between law enforcement agencies and civilian experts from various fields in achieving greater solve rates in violent crime cases. In addition to Sarah, the project is led by Dr. Charon Burda, head of the doctoral psychiatric nursing program at UMD, Dr. Michelle Patch, a leading expert in strangulation violence response, Dr. Victor Petreca, assistant professor at the Boston College William Connell School of Nursing, and Dr. Ann Burgess, creator of the science behind criminal profiling of serial killers and the nation’s foremost expert in serial violence and rape trauma for more than forty years. The team is currently accepting case partnerships from law enforcement agencies.
Sarah began her law enforcement career in 1998 with the National Park Service. In 2001 she transitioned to municipal/state level policing, and trained at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. An alumna of Tiffin University, she studied both Criminal Justice Administration and Criminal Behavior, with a specialization in serial sexual predators and serial killers. Her master's thesis work involves the escalation of sociopathic predatory behavior and training patrol-level officers and small department detectives to recognize these behavior patterns more effectively. During her time as a commissioned officer, she became certified as an instructor for both the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy and the National Ranger Training Institute (a federal police academy for the Department of the Interior), teaching new officers areas that include Domestic Violence Response, Dynamic Building Searches, and Firearms Training. Sarah holds additional certification for advanced training in Urban Defensive Rifle Tactics, and Advanced Vehicle Crash Investigation.
While working at the Groveport (OH) Police Department, Sarah served as a key member of an investigative task force with a focus on online sexual predators that target juveniles. The bureau's work over a one year period netted dozens of online predators and boasted a 100% conviction rate at its conclusion.
QUESTIONS + ANSWERS
What is a Criminal Behavorist?
My role in an investigation is to analyze scenes and suspects to help determine how the crime took place, and who might be most likely to have committed it based on behavior patterns exhibited.
What made you interested in solving cold cases and wrongful convictions?
Where do you call home?
I want you to speak to my company/group/school for Diversity Equality and Inclusion (DEI), is that something you do?
Where can I find your citations and research?
Cite your sources and pay your artists, these are words to live by! You can find current citations and resources here. Have additional questions? Send a note.