1 00:00:15,356 --> 00:00:22,436 Speaker 1: Bushkin, Malcolm. Here, I want to tell you about a 2 00:00:22,476 --> 00:00:26,436 Speaker 1: man named John Ajay. He was a Los Angeles County 3 00:00:26,436 --> 00:00:31,396 Speaker 1: Sheriff's deputy, an ultra marathon runner, a survivalist, and someone 4 00:00:31,436 --> 00:00:33,396 Speaker 1: who had made a study of how to stay alive 5 00:00:33,676 --> 00:00:37,356 Speaker 1: in punishing terrain. And one day he went for a 6 00:00:37,436 --> 00:00:40,276 Speaker 1: run in a place called the Devil's Punch Bowl in 7 00:00:40,316 --> 00:00:43,676 Speaker 1: the high Desert of Los Angeles, and he never came back. 8 00:00:44,636 --> 00:00:48,076 Speaker 1: Some say Aja is just another missing hiker claimed by 9 00:00:48,116 --> 00:00:53,356 Speaker 1: the inhospitable landscape of the southern California Desert. Some say 10 00:00:53,556 --> 00:00:56,276 Speaker 1: he took his own life out there. But there's another 11 00:00:56,396 --> 00:00:59,516 Speaker 1: theory that many of Ajay's friends and colleagues are convinced 12 00:00:59,636 --> 00:01:03,156 Speaker 1: is true. That he was the victim of foul play 13 00:01:03,716 --> 00:01:07,716 Speaker 1: and his own department is covering it up. Hosted by 14 00:01:07,796 --> 00:01:12,956 Speaker 1: journalist Haley Fox and Betsy Shepherd, Valley of Shadows explores 15 00:01:13,076 --> 00:01:17,916 Speaker 1: Age's unsolved disappearance and the stench of corruption that's followed 16 00:01:17,916 --> 00:01:23,636 Speaker 1: the case for nearly thirty years. Through exclusive interviews, revealing 17 00:01:23,636 --> 00:01:28,316 Speaker 1: wiretaps and buried police files, Haley and Betsy enter into 18 00:01:28,356 --> 00:01:33,316 Speaker 1: the criminal underworld of Outlaw Biker gang's meth production and 19 00:01:33,396 --> 00:01:38,476 Speaker 1: crooked cops in southern California's Mojave Desert, exploring one of 20 00:01:38,516 --> 00:01:43,516 Speaker 1: the state's most mysterious missing persons cases. You're about to 21 00:01:43,516 --> 00:01:45,876 Speaker 1: hear a preview from the show. If you enjoy it, 22 00:01:46,156 --> 00:01:50,076 Speaker 1: you can find Value of Shadows wherever you get your podcasts. 23 00:01:52,196 --> 00:01:54,916 Speaker 2: This series includes content that may not be suitable for 24 00:01:54,956 --> 00:01:57,716 Speaker 2: all listeners. Listener discretion is advised. 25 00:02:00,036 --> 00:02:02,476 Speaker 3: So it's okay, yeah, I'll turn it down this a 26 00:02:02,516 --> 00:02:04,236 Speaker 3: little bit, because sometimes you get animated. 27 00:02:04,996 --> 00:02:07,156 Speaker 4: I get pissed off, pissed off old cop. 28 00:02:08,236 --> 00:02:10,516 Speaker 5: This pissed off oul cop is Mike Bauer. 29 00:02:11,676 --> 00:02:14,556 Speaker 6: Okay, my name is Mike Bauer, retired Captain LA Sheriff. 30 00:02:14,716 --> 00:02:17,916 Speaker 6: I retired in two thousand and two. My last assignment 31 00:02:17,996 --> 00:02:20,956 Speaker 6: was Major Crimes Bureau, Detective Division, LA Sheriff. 32 00:02:22,156 --> 00:02:24,916 Speaker 5: Bower spent thirty three years climbing the ranks of the 33 00:02:24,956 --> 00:02:28,276 Speaker 5: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. And he looks the part 34 00:02:28,316 --> 00:02:31,596 Speaker 5: of a retired captain. His white hair and mustache are 35 00:02:31,636 --> 00:02:35,076 Speaker 5: neatly groomed, and his eyes were permanently fixed, and a 36 00:02:35,116 --> 00:02:37,756 Speaker 5: look that says, do not fuck up on my watch. 37 00:02:38,636 --> 00:02:40,636 Speaker 5: And he's pissed off because of something that happened to 38 00:02:40,636 --> 00:02:43,716 Speaker 5: one of his guys on his squad back in the 39 00:02:43,716 --> 00:02:48,916 Speaker 5: summer of nineteen ninety eight. June eleventh started off like 40 00:02:48,916 --> 00:02:52,916 Speaker 5: a normal day in Los Angeles, June gloom and bad traffic. 41 00:02:54,196 --> 00:02:56,276 Speaker 6: I got up early out of Long Beach and hitded 42 00:02:56,356 --> 00:02:59,636 Speaker 6: up the six zero five and into East La. Our 43 00:02:59,676 --> 00:03:00,596 Speaker 6: office in East LA. 44 00:03:01,556 --> 00:03:03,916 Speaker 5: Bauer was doing paperwork when a call came into the 45 00:03:03,916 --> 00:03:06,956 Speaker 5: front desk. The receptionist answered. 46 00:03:07,636 --> 00:03:09,556 Speaker 6: Then she hung up and she comes down to get 47 00:03:09,556 --> 00:03:12,756 Speaker 6: a cup of coffee across the hall, and I said, hey, 48 00:03:12,796 --> 00:03:15,396 Speaker 6: who was that? It was? John Auj. 49 00:03:16,996 --> 00:03:19,956 Speaker 5: John AJ was a thirty eight year old canine cop 50 00:03:20,516 --> 00:03:23,196 Speaker 5: and he was calling to inquire about an upcoming job assignment. 51 00:03:24,356 --> 00:03:26,356 Speaker 6: I said, well, I've been trying to get hold him, 52 00:03:26,836 --> 00:03:29,996 Speaker 6: and she says, oh, well, maybe he'll call back. 53 00:03:31,516 --> 00:03:32,516 Speaker 4: He never called back. 54 00:03:35,316 --> 00:03:37,876 Speaker 5: John Aj was working for the unit Bower headed up 55 00:03:37,876 --> 00:03:43,116 Speaker 5: at the time, the Special Enforcement Bureau or SEB for short. 56 00:03:43,276 --> 00:03:47,676 Speaker 6: Which consists of seven or eight SWAT teams, and the 57 00:03:47,716 --> 00:03:52,556 Speaker 6: SWAT teams were involved in tactical responses to high risk 58 00:03:52,596 --> 00:03:53,836 Speaker 6: situations in the field. 59 00:03:55,116 --> 00:04:00,716 Speaker 5: SEB handled things like active shooter situations, hostage negotiations, search 60 00:04:00,756 --> 00:04:04,476 Speaker 5: and rescue, it was a job that attracted adrenaline junkies 61 00:04:04,636 --> 00:04:08,396 Speaker 5: like Aj. He was an Army paratrooper and a survivalist. 62 00:04:09,196 --> 00:04:12,636 Speaker 5: Those military skills, along with his buzz cut and square build, 63 00:04:13,156 --> 00:04:15,236 Speaker 5: made him a shoe in for the Sheriff's Department. 64 00:04:16,196 --> 00:04:19,076 Speaker 6: He was in the Army in Special Forces. He was 65 00:04:19,116 --> 00:04:22,716 Speaker 6: working at the elite unit of the department. I have 66 00:04:22,796 --> 00:04:25,316 Speaker 6: to call him a loaner, but he was an elite 67 00:04:25,396 --> 00:04:30,356 Speaker 6: loaner because the guy was doing fifty mile runs. He 68 00:04:30,476 --> 00:04:31,236 Speaker 6: was an animal. 69 00:04:34,796 --> 00:04:37,396 Speaker 5: Auj got his kicks by going on long runs through 70 00:04:37,396 --> 00:04:41,396 Speaker 5: California's back country. He go out deep into the wilderness 71 00:04:41,436 --> 00:04:45,596 Speaker 5: to conquer the only obstacle course that still challenged him. 72 00:04:45,916 --> 00:04:48,436 Speaker 5: And that's how Auj was spending his day off. On 73 00:04:48,516 --> 00:04:52,076 Speaker 5: June eleventh, nineteen ninety eight, he woke up, put on 74 00:04:52,156 --> 00:04:54,996 Speaker 5: his running gear and drove to one of his favorite parks, 75 00:04:55,716 --> 00:04:59,276 Speaker 5: the Devil's Punch Bowl. It's a rugged canyon where the 76 00:04:59,316 --> 00:05:02,916 Speaker 5: Angelus National Forest, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the Mojave 77 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:11,756 Speaker 5: Desert all converge. Auj entered the park just before noon, 78 00:05:12,116 --> 00:05:14,876 Speaker 5: used a payphone to call into the Sheriff's Department, and 79 00:05:14,916 --> 00:05:19,556 Speaker 5: then he took off running. He never listened to any music, 80 00:05:20,116 --> 00:05:22,516 Speaker 5: just the sounds of nature as he jogged along a 81 00:05:22,556 --> 00:05:26,076 Speaker 5: maze of switchbacks and up a nearly ten thousand foot mountain. 82 00:05:27,556 --> 00:05:30,876 Speaker 5: By early evening, he looped back towards the parking lot, 83 00:05:32,036 --> 00:05:34,876 Speaker 5: but as the sun began to set, the shadows of 84 00:05:34,956 --> 00:05:38,996 Speaker 5: trees and rocks grew until night engulfed the park. 85 00:05:46,196 --> 00:05:50,476 Speaker 6: That evening, I got a phone call saying that Wog 86 00:05:50,636 --> 00:05:54,756 Speaker 6: is missing, that he didn't come back to his vehicle, 87 00:05:55,596 --> 00:05:58,116 Speaker 6: and that they were going to start some more extensive 88 00:05:58,156 --> 00:06:01,236 Speaker 6: searching for him. 89 00:06:01,516 --> 00:06:04,316 Speaker 7: It's an all out manhunt for John Aujay. Every search 90 00:06:04,356 --> 00:06:06,476 Speaker 7: and rescue team in La County has been called in 91 00:06:06,476 --> 00:06:09,196 Speaker 7: to help the thirty eight year old when hiking Thursday 92 00:06:09,196 --> 00:06:12,036 Speaker 7: in a rugged section of the Angelos National Forest known 93 00:06:12,076 --> 00:06:15,676 Speaker 7: as Double Punch Bowls Park. It's a beautiful but dangerous area, 94 00:06:15,836 --> 00:06:18,836 Speaker 7: an area where it may be extremely difficult to find 95 00:06:18,876 --> 00:06:19,276 Speaker 7: all Jay. 96 00:06:20,316 --> 00:06:24,236 Speaker 5: It's a pretty unique situation. The Sheriff's department is called 97 00:06:24,236 --> 00:06:26,916 Speaker 5: in to look for a missing hiker who's one of 98 00:06:26,956 --> 00:06:30,116 Speaker 5: their own. So the search and rescue team sent out 99 00:06:30,156 --> 00:06:33,316 Speaker 5: to look for Aj consists of his friends and colleagues. 100 00:06:34,196 --> 00:06:36,756 Speaker 8: We took our teams out and deployed in two man 101 00:06:36,996 --> 00:06:39,516 Speaker 8: teams over the edges of the trails into the little 102 00:06:39,716 --> 00:06:42,516 Speaker 8: nooks and crannies and the gullies that he could have 103 00:06:42,516 --> 00:06:43,516 Speaker 8: slipped and fallen into. 104 00:06:44,876 --> 00:06:48,636 Speaker 5: But searchers find no trace of aj. It was as 105 00:06:48,676 --> 00:06:52,316 Speaker 5: if he just vanished into thin air. And now, nearly 106 00:06:52,356 --> 00:06:55,876 Speaker 5: thirty years later, the deputy is still missing. 107 00:07:01,676 --> 00:07:03,116 Speaker 6: I guess I'll open a box. 108 00:07:05,036 --> 00:07:08,076 Speaker 5: All that remains from Auj's life is packed into five 109 00:07:08,196 --> 00:07:12,796 Speaker 5: cardboard boxes. The items are wrapped in plastic and Bower 110 00:07:12,836 --> 00:07:16,316 Speaker 5: wears gloves as he combs through them. 111 00:07:16,436 --> 00:07:20,996 Speaker 6: This is John's work jacket, and it's an SEB jacket 112 00:07:21,036 --> 00:07:24,276 Speaker 6: with his name embroidered on it, and Bossco his dog. 113 00:07:24,996 --> 00:07:29,476 Speaker 5: Now Bower's preserving Auja's belongings for future developments in the case. 114 00:07:30,036 --> 00:07:32,836 Speaker 6: Okay, so here's his running shoes with his name on 115 00:07:32,876 --> 00:07:36,996 Speaker 6: the back. Those should have some DNA in them. 116 00:07:37,636 --> 00:07:40,956 Speaker 5: The artifacts also tell us who Auja was. There's a 117 00:07:40,956 --> 00:07:45,436 Speaker 5: photocollage full of happy memories him and his high school 118 00:07:45,436 --> 00:07:48,756 Speaker 5: sweetheart Dub on their wedding day, a birthday party for 119 00:07:48,796 --> 00:07:52,036 Speaker 5: their daughter Chloe, who was just five when he disappeared, 120 00:07:52,716 --> 00:07:56,276 Speaker 5: and puppy picks of Bosco Auj's department issued K nine 121 00:07:57,556 --> 00:08:00,756 Speaker 5: and next to these snapshots of domestic life, there's a 122 00:08:00,796 --> 00:08:06,076 Speaker 5: steel ballistics helmet intended to stop rifle rounds, trophies for marksmanship, 123 00:08:06,636 --> 00:08:12,196 Speaker 5: army fatigues, you know, tough stuff. Auja moved at a 124 00:08:12,236 --> 00:08:15,636 Speaker 5: fast clip, trying to balance the competing demands of home 125 00:08:15,796 --> 00:08:19,196 Speaker 5: and work, but his life came to an abrupt and 126 00:08:19,316 --> 00:08:20,236 Speaker 5: puzzling end. 127 00:08:21,676 --> 00:08:26,276 Speaker 6: A death certificate says cause a death unknown manner, a 128 00:08:26,316 --> 00:08:30,076 Speaker 6: death unknown no body. 129 00:08:30,516 --> 00:08:34,036 Speaker 5: The deputy's body has never been found, which raises a 130 00:08:34,036 --> 00:08:38,516 Speaker 5: lot of questions for Mike Bauer and a survivalist getting 131 00:08:38,556 --> 00:08:43,596 Speaker 5: lost in the woods another big question mark. Over time, 132 00:08:43,716 --> 00:08:46,236 Speaker 5: the mystery of it all has turned into something else, 133 00:08:46,996 --> 00:08:52,076 Speaker 5: deep and unsettling, suspicion about the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 134 00:08:53,116 --> 00:08:55,636 Speaker 6: The only law enforcement agency in this country that I 135 00:08:55,676 --> 00:08:58,516 Speaker 6: know of, and I've looked around, who has a missing 136 00:08:58,556 --> 00:09:03,436 Speaker 6: deputy sheriff and doesn't seem to care. What the hell happened? 137 00:09:03,996 --> 00:09:07,276 Speaker 6: What's the answer? Who's motivated to find the answer? 138 00:09:09,276 --> 00:09:12,676 Speaker 5: And that's my cue. When Mike Bauer first told me 139 00:09:12,716 --> 00:09:16,556 Speaker 5: about Auja, I thought an unsolved disappearance involving a cop 140 00:09:17,276 --> 00:09:21,116 Speaker 5: that's unusual. But when he started talking about the Sheriff's Department, 141 00:09:21,436 --> 00:09:25,676 Speaker 5: his department, that's when I locked in. Because you'd expect 142 00:09:25,676 --> 00:09:28,716 Speaker 5: the La County Sheriff's Department to turn over every stone 143 00:09:28,756 --> 00:09:32,236 Speaker 5: to find their guy. So the claiming that the LASD 144 00:09:32,356 --> 00:09:35,916 Speaker 5: may have an interest in not solving the case, now 145 00:09:36,076 --> 00:09:40,756 Speaker 5: that's a story. So I called up my friend Hailey Fox. 146 00:09:41,756 --> 00:09:44,756 Speaker 5: Like me, she's an investigative journalist and she knows a 147 00:09:44,796 --> 00:09:48,276 Speaker 5: lot about the Sheriff's department because she's reported on it 148 00:09:48,316 --> 00:09:49,036 Speaker 5: for many years. 149 00:09:49,676 --> 00:09:53,676 Speaker 2: Hey, Betsy, Hey dear, I'm good. I'm ready. 150 00:09:53,996 --> 00:09:54,956 Speaker 4: Yeah, I got to do this. 151 00:09:55,316 --> 00:09:58,116 Speaker 2: It's about time. I'm a little road trip adventure. 152 00:09:59,036 --> 00:10:00,036 Speaker 9: All right, let's do it. 153 00:10:01,836 --> 00:10:04,756 Speaker 5: We've teamed up on stories before and decided to get 154 00:10:04,756 --> 00:10:08,236 Speaker 5: the band back together to fin answers about this missing 155 00:10:08,276 --> 00:10:12,156 Speaker 5: deputy and to take on the largest sheriff's department in 156 00:10:12,196 --> 00:10:12,836 Speaker 5: the country. 157 00:10:13,396 --> 00:10:15,876 Speaker 10: There's a code of silence in law enforcement. You break 158 00:10:15,876 --> 00:10:18,236 Speaker 10: that code of silence, you're done. 159 00:10:18,516 --> 00:10:20,756 Speaker 4: Hey, if don't fucking kill a Copponberry, it's what they're 160 00:10:20,756 --> 00:10:21,236 Speaker 4: gonna do to me. 161 00:10:21,796 --> 00:10:27,396 Speaker 6: It's an obstruction of justice of a very large scale. 162 00:10:28,156 --> 00:10:32,396 Speaker 2: I'm Betsy Shepherd, I'm Haley Fox, and this is Valley 163 00:10:32,436 --> 00:10:36,916 Speaker 2: of Shadows, a show about crime and corruption in California's 164 00:10:36,996 --> 00:10:53,516 Speaker 2: High Desert. Episode one, the Devil's Punch Bowl. Betsy and 165 00:10:53,556 --> 00:10:56,276 Speaker 2: I are making the trek from downtown Los Angeles to 166 00:10:56,316 --> 00:11:00,396 Speaker 2: the Antelope Valley that's the desert area north of La 167 00:11:00,476 --> 00:11:04,916 Speaker 2: where Deputy Auj disappeared. The drives about sixty miles, but 168 00:11:05,236 --> 00:11:07,156 Speaker 2: it takes an hour and a half to two hours 169 00:11:07,196 --> 00:11:11,116 Speaker 2: because of the mountainous terrain, so you actually have to 170 00:11:11,156 --> 00:11:14,476 Speaker 2: take We gotta go north. Yeah, we're gonna go north, 171 00:11:14,596 --> 00:11:17,556 Speaker 2: but this is La Dude. We gotta go south one, 172 00:11:17,596 --> 00:11:20,716 Speaker 2: the south, five, north, fourteen and then I think there's 173 00:11:20,716 --> 00:11:23,316 Speaker 2: a one thirty eighth throat in there, but nothing's a. 174 00:11:23,236 --> 00:11:26,596 Speaker 4: Street shot spoken like a true Angelino. 175 00:11:28,476 --> 00:11:31,516 Speaker 2: I was born and raised in La County, Go Dodgers, 176 00:11:32,196 --> 00:11:36,836 Speaker 2: but this part of it feels worlds away. The Antelope Valley, 177 00:11:36,916 --> 00:11:39,796 Speaker 2: or the AV as it's sometimes called, is a three 178 00:11:39,796 --> 00:11:43,556 Speaker 2: thousand square mile stretch of the Mojave, but this part 179 00:11:43,596 --> 00:11:46,116 Speaker 2: of the High Desert doesn't have the same allure and 180 00:11:46,276 --> 00:11:50,516 Speaker 2: vibingess as places like Joshua Tree. Instead, the Avy is 181 00:11:50,596 --> 00:11:55,076 Speaker 2: mostly empty space dotted with defence plants, bedroom communities, and 182 00:11:55,116 --> 00:11:56,196 Speaker 2: tumbleweed towns. 183 00:11:57,596 --> 00:11:58,796 Speaker 4: So a lot of just like. 184 00:12:00,396 --> 00:12:03,396 Speaker 5: Trailers kind of just park down in the desert. 185 00:12:05,556 --> 00:12:11,196 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean power lines and scrubbrush. Our story takes 186 00:12:11,236 --> 00:12:14,996 Speaker 2: place in and around Pair Blossom, California. It has a 187 00:12:15,036 --> 00:12:18,236 Speaker 2: population of fifteen hundred and it's where the Devil's Punch 188 00:12:18,236 --> 00:12:22,476 Speaker 2: bowls located. Driving through it, Betsy gets a case of 189 00:12:22,516 --> 00:12:23,076 Speaker 2: deja vu. 190 00:12:23,956 --> 00:12:26,076 Speaker 3: I had anxiety coming to places like this because it 191 00:12:26,076 --> 00:12:27,836 Speaker 3: reminds me of like a town and I grow up 192 00:12:27,836 --> 00:12:31,356 Speaker 3: and there's just. 193 00:12:29,796 --> 00:12:31,996 Speaker 5: Just like I feel the oppressive weight of boredom. 194 00:12:32,156 --> 00:12:32,676 Speaker 11: Oh really. 195 00:12:35,156 --> 00:12:38,156 Speaker 5: I moved to La several years ago from South Louisiana. 196 00:12:39,156 --> 00:12:41,476 Speaker 5: I had never been to Anelo Valley before, but it 197 00:12:41,516 --> 00:12:44,556 Speaker 5: was immediately familiar to me because if you were to 198 00:12:44,556 --> 00:12:47,956 Speaker 5: replace desert with swamp, this region would look a lot 199 00:12:47,996 --> 00:12:50,836 Speaker 5: like the small town I'm from. It's rural and kind 200 00:12:50,836 --> 00:12:54,396 Speaker 5: of run down. There's more landscape than real estate, lots 201 00:12:54,436 --> 00:12:57,796 Speaker 5: of pickup trucks in town. Life seems like a thing 202 00:12:57,836 --> 00:12:58,796 Speaker 5: of the past. 203 00:12:59,756 --> 00:13:00,396 Speaker 9: We got. 204 00:13:01,916 --> 00:13:07,796 Speaker 5: An abandoned motel, what's this, Oh like an abandoned old 205 00:13:08,196 --> 00:13:14,916 Speaker 5: restaurant call and people getting gas to presumably be all 206 00:13:14,956 --> 00:13:16,316 Speaker 5: their way. 207 00:13:17,156 --> 00:13:18,996 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think the three gas stations in 208 00:13:18,996 --> 00:13:20,036 Speaker 2: a row tell the story. 209 00:13:22,556 --> 00:13:24,876 Speaker 5: But the closer we get to the Devil's Punch Bowl 210 00:13:24,876 --> 00:13:29,636 Speaker 5: where auj was last spotted, and other worldly landscape appears, 211 00:13:30,116 --> 00:13:33,796 Speaker 5: full of spiky Joshua trees and sandstone columns. 212 00:13:35,516 --> 00:13:37,276 Speaker 2: It's actually really beautiful out here. 213 00:13:37,276 --> 00:13:38,596 Speaker 1: It's not expected to light. 214 00:13:39,476 --> 00:13:42,516 Speaker 2: Are you looking at these huge rocks jutting out of 215 00:13:42,556 --> 00:13:45,756 Speaker 2: the ground and like they're making all those crazy shadows? 216 00:13:45,876 --> 00:13:48,076 Speaker 2: For seeing anything like them? I haven't either. 217 00:13:49,396 --> 00:13:51,356 Speaker 3: I feel like I've been an old Western movie, you know, 218 00:13:51,476 --> 00:13:56,036 Speaker 3: like we're He's got this like wide epic landscape shots. 219 00:13:55,916 --> 00:13:58,796 Speaker 2: Total endless horizons, totally endless horizons. 220 00:13:58,836 --> 00:14:01,716 Speaker 5: I can see why John aj likes to come out here. 221 00:14:02,036 --> 00:14:10,876 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty pretty impig Okay, we are pulling into 222 00:14:10,916 --> 00:14:14,076 Speaker 2: the Devil's Punch Bowl County Park parking lot. 223 00:14:15,076 --> 00:14:15,756 Speaker 9: Here we are. 224 00:14:20,076 --> 00:14:23,116 Speaker 2: We've come here to retrace John Aujay's last known steps 225 00:14:24,076 --> 00:14:27,476 Speaker 2: and to meet with ranger Jack Farley. He was working 226 00:14:27,516 --> 00:14:29,796 Speaker 2: on the punch Bowl the day the deputy disappeared. 227 00:14:33,116 --> 00:14:36,276 Speaker 12: Hi are you? But are you Jack Farley? 228 00:14:36,276 --> 00:14:36,676 Speaker 13: By chance? 229 00:14:36,756 --> 00:14:37,236 Speaker 11: I am. 230 00:14:39,036 --> 00:14:39,396 Speaker 13: Betsy. 231 00:14:40,116 --> 00:14:43,676 Speaker 5: This is my reporting partner, Haley. 232 00:14:42,636 --> 00:14:45,836 Speaker 2: To thank you for meeting us out here. Yes, Jack 233 00:14:45,916 --> 00:14:48,996 Speaker 2: Farley's retired now, but for thirty five years he was 234 00:14:49,036 --> 00:14:50,596 Speaker 2: assigned to work the punch Bowl. 235 00:14:51,916 --> 00:14:53,036 Speaker 5: What a cool job. 236 00:14:54,156 --> 00:14:54,716 Speaker 12: Great for me? 237 00:14:55,356 --> 00:14:57,276 Speaker 11: Yeah, it was awesome, good job. 238 00:14:58,476 --> 00:15:00,556 Speaker 2: It was Farley's job to keep an eye on things, 239 00:15:00,756 --> 00:15:04,276 Speaker 2: to tend the grounds and patrol the area. So he 240 00:15:04,396 --> 00:15:06,956 Speaker 2: noticed when auj became a regular at the punch Bowl, 241 00:15:07,436 --> 00:15:11,036 Speaker 2: and he clocked Aujay's regular parking space the one closest 242 00:15:11,076 --> 00:15:11,876 Speaker 2: to the trailhead. 243 00:15:12,796 --> 00:15:14,956 Speaker 11: So I can remember seeing him sitting in the back 244 00:15:14,956 --> 00:15:18,316 Speaker 11: of his truck when you get done with a run 245 00:15:19,076 --> 00:15:21,636 Speaker 11: in the mountains. So when I'd walk out into the 246 00:15:21,676 --> 00:15:23,756 Speaker 11: parking lot, I'd see him sitting out there and ask 247 00:15:23,836 --> 00:15:24,796 Speaker 11: him about his run. 248 00:15:26,156 --> 00:15:29,476 Speaker 2: Farley remembers that the day all Jay disappeared, his white 249 00:15:29,556 --> 00:15:32,396 Speaker 2: Ford F one fifty truck was parked in that very 250 00:15:32,436 --> 00:15:36,236 Speaker 2: same spot, surrounded on all sides by wilderness. 251 00:15:37,276 --> 00:15:39,836 Speaker 3: One thing that impresses us so much about this area 252 00:15:40,076 --> 00:15:43,236 Speaker 3: is that you have a desert landscape on one side, 253 00:15:43,316 --> 00:15:45,796 Speaker 3: you have mountains and forests on the other, and then 254 00:15:45,876 --> 00:15:50,036 Speaker 3: in between it's these really cool rock formations. 255 00:15:50,716 --> 00:15:54,956 Speaker 11: Right, it's all uplifted from earthquake activity. Oh wow, that's 256 00:15:54,996 --> 00:15:58,676 Speaker 11: a punch Bowl fault, and that runs parallel with the mountains. 257 00:15:59,196 --> 00:16:00,996 Speaker 11: And then when you came up to here, you cross 258 00:16:01,036 --> 00:16:03,716 Speaker 11: the San Andreas Fault, which of course the big one 259 00:16:03,716 --> 00:16:07,476 Speaker 11: that runs through California, several faults in the area. It 260 00:16:07,516 --> 00:16:09,836 Speaker 11: took all this sand that was laid down on flat 261 00:16:10,236 --> 00:16:13,596 Speaker 11: by streams and tilted up in the vertical relief. 262 00:16:13,956 --> 00:16:16,036 Speaker 5: And it creates a bull shape. 263 00:16:16,196 --> 00:16:19,396 Speaker 11: You can see a definite bull shape coming around like this. 264 00:16:19,516 --> 00:16:21,116 Speaker 11: So that's where it got the punch Bowl name. 265 00:16:22,516 --> 00:16:25,156 Speaker 2: We're not totally sure about the devil part of it, though. 266 00:16:27,236 --> 00:16:30,956 Speaker 2: According to local lore, early homesteaders saw grinning devil in 267 00:16:30,996 --> 00:16:34,756 Speaker 2: the rock formations. We didn't see satan in the rock face, 268 00:16:35,316 --> 00:16:38,556 Speaker 2: but we did see something else thanks to a county 269 00:16:38,596 --> 00:16:40,436 Speaker 2: park employee named Dave Numar. 270 00:16:41,876 --> 00:16:45,156 Speaker 9: See this right where the shadow ends, there's that big 271 00:16:45,236 --> 00:16:48,156 Speaker 9: rock kind of all by itself. If you look, it's 272 00:16:48,196 --> 00:16:50,596 Speaker 9: like a forehead is facing us and there's a nose 273 00:16:50,636 --> 00:16:51,156 Speaker 9: pointing stream. 274 00:16:51,236 --> 00:16:52,476 Speaker 10: It looks like George Washington. 275 00:16:52,556 --> 00:16:54,556 Speaker 9: Yeah, it's a natural not rest. 276 00:16:54,636 --> 00:16:55,756 Speaker 1: More cool. 277 00:16:56,476 --> 00:16:59,116 Speaker 9: So there's all kinds of faces out here because it's like, oh, 278 00:16:59,156 --> 00:17:02,316 Speaker 9: if our brains are programmed to see patterns. 279 00:17:02,996 --> 00:17:06,036 Speaker 2: Pattern recognition is why we see gods and goddesses in 280 00:17:06,076 --> 00:17:09,676 Speaker 2: the stars and the man in the moon. Also a 281 00:17:09,756 --> 00:17:13,316 Speaker 2: key part of criminal investigations, a way to turn information 282 00:17:13,596 --> 00:17:16,916 Speaker 2: into a story. And that's why we've come to the 283 00:17:16,956 --> 00:17:19,596 Speaker 2: Devil's punch Bowl to see if we can make sense 284 00:17:19,676 --> 00:17:24,716 Speaker 2: of what happened on June eleventh, nineteen ninety eight. So 285 00:17:24,756 --> 00:17:26,916 Speaker 2: we pull out a map we printed from the internet 286 00:17:27,156 --> 00:17:31,156 Speaker 2: because we're prepared journalists and elder millennials, and we present 287 00:17:31,196 --> 00:17:32,436 Speaker 2: it to Ranger Farltly. 288 00:17:33,756 --> 00:17:34,916 Speaker 3: Let me show you what it looks like. 289 00:17:36,556 --> 00:17:38,236 Speaker 11: Yeah, line will definitely better. 290 00:17:38,316 --> 00:17:39,996 Speaker 2: It's definitely get us lost in. 291 00:17:41,796 --> 00:17:41,996 Speaker 6: God. 292 00:17:43,676 --> 00:17:46,836 Speaker 2: Farley proves his outdoor prowess by whipping out some real 293 00:17:46,876 --> 00:17:51,636 Speaker 2: maps of the area to help orient us to our surroundings. 294 00:17:51,636 --> 00:17:52,996 Speaker 11: Okay, here's the Devil's Punt. 295 00:17:53,156 --> 00:17:58,676 Speaker 4: Okay, and there's Burkharp Tree all right. 296 00:17:58,716 --> 00:18:02,556 Speaker 11: There goes over toward Devil's Chairs, so that'd be just 297 00:18:02,636 --> 00:18:05,196 Speaker 11: to the east, goes to south Fork. 298 00:18:06,916 --> 00:18:10,356 Speaker 2: One witness reported seeing Auj and the picnic tables at 299 00:18:10,356 --> 00:18:14,476 Speaker 2: the main trailhead sometime before noon. This witness was a 300 00:18:14,516 --> 00:18:16,996 Speaker 2: local teacher there on a field trip with a bunch 301 00:18:17,036 --> 00:18:20,556 Speaker 2: of elementary school kids. Auj stopped to talk to him. 302 00:18:20,756 --> 00:18:23,236 Speaker 2: He pointed to a jagged mountain in the distance, Mount 303 00:18:23,276 --> 00:18:26,036 Speaker 2: Baden Powell, and said that's where he was headed. 304 00:18:27,036 --> 00:18:30,836 Speaker 11: So the high mountain behind the telephone pole over there, Yeah, 305 00:18:30,836 --> 00:18:34,916 Speaker 11: that's Baden powellin that's where he would go sometimes. How 306 00:18:34,996 --> 00:18:37,276 Speaker 11: tall of the mountain, jeez, that is one of the 307 00:18:37,356 --> 00:18:40,076 Speaker 11: higher ones. Let me think ten thousand ten, I mean 308 00:18:40,116 --> 00:18:41,076 Speaker 11: in this range. 309 00:18:41,356 --> 00:18:45,116 Speaker 5: And he would run from here to that mountain all 310 00:18:45,116 --> 00:18:46,556 Speaker 5: the way over there and then run up it. 311 00:18:47,236 --> 00:18:50,156 Speaker 11: Yeah, he'd run over there, and then there're sitchbacks all 312 00:18:50,196 --> 00:18:51,596 Speaker 11: the way to the top of that mountain. 313 00:18:53,036 --> 00:18:56,356 Speaker 2: Auj was spotted again later in the day, when multiple 314 00:18:56,396 --> 00:18:59,196 Speaker 2: witnesses say they saw him jogging through a campground just 315 00:18:59,356 --> 00:19:02,356 Speaker 2: north of the mountain in the direction of the punch 316 00:19:02,396 --> 00:19:06,116 Speaker 2: Bowl parking lot. But when Farley left his post at 317 00:19:06,116 --> 00:19:09,596 Speaker 2: five PM, Auj's truck was still parked in the lot, 318 00:19:10,396 --> 00:19:13,396 Speaker 2: and it stayed parked there as the evening bloomed over 319 00:19:13,436 --> 00:19:18,596 Speaker 2: the desert, and then close to midnight, Aujy's wife called 320 00:19:18,636 --> 00:19:20,956 Speaker 2: the sheriff station to report him missing. 321 00:19:48,996 --> 00:19:52,916 Speaker 5: As June eleventh, nineteen ninety eight, years its end, Debbie 322 00:19:52,916 --> 00:19:57,876 Speaker 5: Aujay becomes increasingly panicked because her husband, Deputy John Ajay 323 00:19:58,116 --> 00:20:00,556 Speaker 5: told her he'd be home around dark, and by now 324 00:20:00,596 --> 00:20:03,396 Speaker 5: he's several hours late. So she dials up one of 325 00:20:03,436 --> 00:20:05,316 Speaker 5: the sheriff stations where Aujay worked. 326 00:20:06,396 --> 00:20:10,156 Speaker 14: The call comes into the desk and it's from Debbie 327 00:20:10,236 --> 00:20:13,516 Speaker 14: and it says, hey, my husband, who's a deputy, he 328 00:20:13,596 --> 00:20:16,076 Speaker 14: went for a run and he didn't come home. 329 00:20:17,116 --> 00:20:20,476 Speaker 5: Vince Burton was a sergeant in the Antelope Valley. He 330 00:20:20,596 --> 00:20:23,636 Speaker 5: was also Auja's colleague and friend. So he gets on 331 00:20:23,676 --> 00:20:24,596 Speaker 5: the phone with Debbie. 332 00:20:25,916 --> 00:20:27,436 Speaker 4: She was just upset. 333 00:20:27,756 --> 00:20:28,836 Speaker 12: She was crying. 334 00:20:29,636 --> 00:20:31,916 Speaker 4: She was obviously very concerned. 335 00:20:32,316 --> 00:20:35,196 Speaker 14: I just I said, okay, Debbie, we're sending people up there, 336 00:20:35,436 --> 00:20:37,116 Speaker 14: you know, keep you posted. 337 00:20:38,316 --> 00:20:41,156 Speaker 5: Patrol deputies high tail it to the punch bowl, where 338 00:20:41,156 --> 00:20:45,156 Speaker 5: they find Auj's truck, but no Auj. They think maybe 339 00:20:45,196 --> 00:20:47,956 Speaker 5: he got injured, slipped and fell for how to run 340 00:20:47,956 --> 00:20:52,476 Speaker 5: in with some wildlife. So Burton dispatches Search and Rescue 341 00:20:52,476 --> 00:20:55,596 Speaker 5: to the site and he calls in their coordinator, Dave Soer, 342 00:20:55,836 --> 00:20:57,796 Speaker 5: to discuss Auj's likely route. 343 00:20:58,876 --> 00:21:01,956 Speaker 14: And Dave comes in and we pull up a map 344 00:21:02,036 --> 00:21:05,276 Speaker 14: of the area and I told him at that time, 345 00:21:05,316 --> 00:21:09,596 Speaker 14: I said, you know, John's a runner, and he goes, yeah, 346 00:21:09,636 --> 00:21:12,556 Speaker 14: and I said, no, he's a long distance running He's 347 00:21:12,556 --> 00:21:13,596 Speaker 14: an ultra marathoner. 348 00:21:14,156 --> 00:21:14,916 Speaker 4: He's like what. 349 00:21:16,836 --> 00:21:21,636 Speaker 5: Ultra marathoners are running extremists who power through long distances. 350 00:21:22,676 --> 00:21:25,236 Speaker 5: In fact, Auj was scheduled to compete in a one 351 00:21:25,316 --> 00:21:28,836 Speaker 5: hundred mile run the week after he went missing, so 352 00:21:28,916 --> 00:21:31,596 Speaker 5: responders have a hard time wrapping their heads around the 353 00:21:31,676 --> 00:21:32,636 Speaker 5: scale of the search. 354 00:21:33,756 --> 00:21:36,116 Speaker 12: I gave him the best information I could give him. 355 00:21:36,156 --> 00:21:38,796 Speaker 12: You know, don't start your grid pattern so small. 356 00:21:39,836 --> 00:21:42,876 Speaker 5: This is Randy Meggerdley. He was a patrolled deputy for 357 00:21:42,916 --> 00:21:46,756 Speaker 5: the Sheriff's Department and one of Auj's running buddies. He 358 00:21:46,836 --> 00:21:50,516 Speaker 5: reiterates to the command post that Auj was a beast. 359 00:21:51,076 --> 00:21:54,836 Speaker 12: You're running goat trails is basically what I categorize them as. 360 00:21:55,036 --> 00:21:56,596 Speaker 4: What do you mean by that goat trails? 361 00:21:56,916 --> 00:22:01,436 Speaker 12: Well, they're just megshift trails. Sometimes they'll be covered with snow, 362 00:22:01,796 --> 00:22:05,996 Speaker 12: sometimes they'll be covered with mud, crossing rivers. I mean, 363 00:22:06,636 --> 00:22:09,076 Speaker 12: it's crazy what kind of stuff that we were doing. 364 00:22:10,276 --> 00:22:12,836 Speaker 12: There was one that we did. It was hand over 365 00:22:13,036 --> 00:22:15,556 Speaker 12: foot trying to get up this mountain. 366 00:22:15,996 --> 00:22:16,516 Speaker 4: Wow. 367 00:22:17,076 --> 00:22:21,396 Speaker 5: And so part of the activity was figuring out how 368 00:22:21,436 --> 00:22:21,916 Speaker 5: to get to. 369 00:22:21,876 --> 00:22:22,436 Speaker 4: The end of it. 370 00:22:23,076 --> 00:22:24,516 Speaker 12: Yeah, and one piece. 371 00:22:26,156 --> 00:22:30,156 Speaker 5: Hearing Meggerdy talk about ultra marathoners, it sounds like they 372 00:22:30,196 --> 00:22:34,916 Speaker 5: have no off switch. So maybe Auj just overdid it. 373 00:22:36,236 --> 00:22:41,756 Speaker 12: Your brain does some wonky stuff when you're dehydrated, and 374 00:22:41,796 --> 00:22:43,796 Speaker 12: they thought maybe he got on a trail and he 375 00:22:43,956 --> 00:22:47,076 Speaker 12: was doing the forest gump just kept running. 376 00:22:48,316 --> 00:22:51,236 Speaker 5: That's a theory that Auj was doing the forest gump 377 00:22:51,276 --> 00:22:54,796 Speaker 5: and just kept running and got himself into a tailspin 378 00:22:54,836 --> 00:22:59,196 Speaker 5: of dehydration. Responders take note and fan out across the 379 00:22:59,236 --> 00:22:59,796 Speaker 5: search grid. 380 00:23:00,596 --> 00:23:02,036 Speaker 11: I was nice to him, I said, do you know, 381 00:23:02,116 --> 00:23:04,236 Speaker 11: I know the area pretty well if you guys want help? 382 00:23:04,716 --> 00:23:06,756 Speaker 5: Ranger Jack Farley again, and the. 383 00:23:06,796 --> 00:23:09,716 Speaker 11: Guy goes, now, we're search and rescue pretty much know 384 00:23:09,716 --> 00:23:10,636 Speaker 11: what we're doing, you know. 385 00:23:10,796 --> 00:23:13,516 Speaker 4: So I go okay, okay. 386 00:23:14,636 --> 00:23:17,596 Speaker 5: But it doesn't take long for the pros realize they're 387 00:23:17,596 --> 00:23:18,716 Speaker 5: in over their heads. 388 00:23:19,356 --> 00:23:21,356 Speaker 11: So then they're going, hey, are you the guy that 389 00:23:21,476 --> 00:23:23,396 Speaker 11: knows the area? You know, maybe you could give us 390 00:23:23,396 --> 00:23:24,036 Speaker 11: a little help. 391 00:23:25,036 --> 00:23:28,076 Speaker 5: So Farley leads a few groups of deputies and bloodhounds 392 00:23:28,196 --> 00:23:29,716 Speaker 5: down the local trails. 393 00:23:30,196 --> 00:23:33,156 Speaker 11: At one time thought they caught a scent and it 394 00:23:33,196 --> 00:23:35,996 Speaker 11: went up on the trail going toward the Burkehart Trail 395 00:23:36,036 --> 00:23:38,716 Speaker 11: and we had talked about someone saying they heard a gunshot. 396 00:23:39,396 --> 00:23:42,516 Speaker 11: You can't see the house from here, but it's like 397 00:23:43,236 --> 00:23:45,556 Speaker 11: a half mile below the trail up there where the 398 00:23:45,556 --> 00:23:46,676 Speaker 11: people lived that said. 399 00:23:46,516 --> 00:23:51,236 Speaker 5: They heard that the dogs pick up a scent, possibly Aujay's, 400 00:23:51,716 --> 00:23:55,276 Speaker 5: on a trail that's near a local resident. That guy 401 00:23:55,356 --> 00:23:58,076 Speaker 5: reported the searchers that he heard a single gunshot at 402 00:23:58,116 --> 00:24:02,316 Speaker 5: sunset the day Auja vanished. It's a detail the Sheriff's 403 00:24:02,316 --> 00:24:04,396 Speaker 5: department registers as a potential clue. 404 00:24:05,516 --> 00:24:08,076 Speaker 11: So I took a group of deputies over there and 405 00:24:08,116 --> 00:24:10,796 Speaker 11: we went out really rugged wooded canyon. 406 00:24:11,316 --> 00:24:15,876 Speaker 5: They didn't find anything, but searchers do spot some footprints 407 00:24:15,876 --> 00:24:18,436 Speaker 5: on the mountain where auj told people he was going. 408 00:24:19,396 --> 00:24:22,756 Speaker 5: So Auja's captain, Mike Bauer, takes to the skies to 409 00:24:22,796 --> 00:24:23,596 Speaker 5: see where they lead. 410 00:24:24,996 --> 00:24:26,956 Speaker 6: And that was the first time I ever stepped out 411 00:24:26,956 --> 00:24:30,476 Speaker 6: of a huge helicopter on the side of a mountain 412 00:24:31,476 --> 00:24:35,636 Speaker 6: with one skid touching, And then that helicopter flew off 413 00:24:35,996 --> 00:24:39,596 Speaker 6: while we examined the openings of Big Horn Mine to 414 00:24:39,636 --> 00:24:41,716 Speaker 6: see whether or not it had been broken into. 415 00:24:42,876 --> 00:24:44,956 Speaker 5: Big Horn is a mine on top of the mountain 416 00:24:45,276 --> 00:24:48,316 Speaker 5: leftover from the gold rush days. Its entrance has been 417 00:24:48,356 --> 00:24:51,996 Speaker 5: welded shut to keep out hikers, and when the helicopter lands, 418 00:24:52,236 --> 00:24:56,476 Speaker 5: nineties action movie style Bowers crew finds no signs of 419 00:24:56,516 --> 00:25:01,996 Speaker 5: a break in Aujay's reported missing late Thursday night. By 420 00:25:02,036 --> 00:25:04,996 Speaker 5: the end of the day Sunday, the Sheriff's Department kicks 421 00:25:05,036 --> 00:25:08,516 Speaker 5: things into high gear. They call in the US Army, 422 00:25:08,636 --> 00:25:12,956 Speaker 5: an air force. Along with the LSD heavy hitters, it's 423 00:25:12,996 --> 00:25:17,596 Speaker 5: a specialized squad called Emergency Services Detail or ESD. 424 00:25:19,236 --> 00:25:22,596 Speaker 4: They do search and rescue, underwater search and recovery, and 425 00:25:22,676 --> 00:25:27,276 Speaker 4: they support the special Weapons team with medical skills. 426 00:25:28,516 --> 00:25:31,836 Speaker 5: Dave Rathbin was one of the ESD members sent out 427 00:25:31,836 --> 00:25:32,516 Speaker 5: to search. 428 00:25:32,276 --> 00:25:36,396 Speaker 4: For Aj and the adrenaline that you get from ESD 429 00:25:36,516 --> 00:25:38,876 Speaker 4: is different from any other adrenaline. 430 00:25:40,036 --> 00:25:44,356 Speaker 5: ESD deputies are equipped to handle all types of emergency scenarios. 431 00:25:45,116 --> 00:25:47,996 Speaker 5: But it wasn't just the rocky ledges and wild animals 432 00:25:48,036 --> 00:25:50,876 Speaker 5: they had to worry about here. The area was full 433 00:25:50,956 --> 00:25:54,596 Speaker 5: of all kinds of criminal activity. 434 00:25:55,276 --> 00:25:59,436 Speaker 4: One of the things they told our search teams on 435 00:25:59,596 --> 00:26:05,556 Speaker 4: day one was John may have stumbled into a meth 436 00:26:05,676 --> 00:26:09,476 Speaker 4: lab by accident. So that was told to us when 437 00:26:09,476 --> 00:26:11,916 Speaker 4: we were out searching, and the reason they told us 438 00:26:12,156 --> 00:26:14,236 Speaker 4: is they recommend that we take weapons. 439 00:26:15,476 --> 00:26:17,716 Speaker 5: Rathmann and his team of searchers come to the punch 440 00:26:17,756 --> 00:26:22,396 Speaker 5: Bowl armed and ready for action, because maybe Auj isn't 441 00:26:22,436 --> 00:26:26,756 Speaker 5: lost or injured or running for the hills. Maybe he's 442 00:26:26,796 --> 00:26:30,596 Speaker 5: the victim of foul play. The command post doesn't expand 443 00:26:30,636 --> 00:26:32,956 Speaker 5: on why they thought Auj may have been taken out 444 00:26:32,956 --> 00:26:37,236 Speaker 5: by meth related violence, but to Rathbun this theory doesn't 445 00:26:37,276 --> 00:26:41,316 Speaker 5: sound too far fetched. Because the Anelo Valley is isolated 446 00:26:41,716 --> 00:26:46,396 Speaker 5: outlaws and on account of its size, difficult to police. 447 00:26:47,916 --> 00:26:51,316 Speaker 4: There are a lot of people who just don't want 448 00:26:51,356 --> 00:26:54,356 Speaker 4: to be around other human beings out there, which makes 449 00:26:54,396 --> 00:27:00,436 Speaker 4: them sometimes dangerous. There's people cooking meth. Ah. It was 450 00:27:00,516 --> 00:27:04,196 Speaker 4: a little bit like the Old West in a way. 451 00:27:04,236 --> 00:27:08,316 Speaker 4: I mean, this is a very unusual, strange place. 452 00:27:09,396 --> 00:27:13,156 Speaker 5: And remember that abandoned mine searcher scoped out. Well, it 453 00:27:13,196 --> 00:27:16,716 Speaker 5: turns out they're everywhere and they are a prime location 454 00:27:17,156 --> 00:27:18,196 Speaker 5: for body dumping. 455 00:27:19,596 --> 00:27:23,076 Speaker 4: One of the things ESD did was recover dead bodies 456 00:27:23,116 --> 00:27:24,116 Speaker 4: from mines. 457 00:27:25,036 --> 00:27:28,356 Speaker 5: And it wasn't just the mines. Corpses turn up all 458 00:27:28,396 --> 00:27:29,316 Speaker 5: over these parts. 459 00:27:30,596 --> 00:27:32,476 Speaker 4: You know, if all the dead bodies that were up 460 00:27:32,516 --> 00:27:35,796 Speaker 4: there from being deliberately disposed of, stood up, and once 461 00:27:35,796 --> 00:27:37,116 Speaker 4: they'd be shoulder to shoulder. 462 00:27:39,516 --> 00:27:43,716 Speaker 5: It's a chilling image of the area's darker side. Auj 463 00:27:43,836 --> 00:27:46,676 Speaker 5: would jog from the Devil's Punch Bowl into the Angelus 464 00:27:46,796 --> 00:27:50,196 Speaker 5: National Forest, which has been called the most dangerous national 465 00:27:50,196 --> 00:27:53,876 Speaker 5: forest in America. Around the time of Auji's disappearance, it's 466 00:27:53,996 --> 00:27:56,956 Speaker 5: estimated that two to three dozen corpses turned up in 467 00:27:56,996 --> 00:27:59,796 Speaker 5: the forest every year, and those were just the ones 468 00:27:59,836 --> 00:28:03,796 Speaker 5: that were found. So Rathman understands the danger he faces, 469 00:28:04,436 --> 00:28:07,956 Speaker 5: but pushes on. In search of footprints, you have to. 470 00:28:07,996 --> 00:28:10,916 Speaker 4: Look at the ground and look at bushes that have 471 00:28:10,996 --> 00:28:13,356 Speaker 4: been pushed in. We walked and walked and walked and 472 00:28:13,396 --> 00:28:16,036 Speaker 4: walked and walked and walked, and we generally don't give 473 00:28:16,156 --> 00:28:19,396 Speaker 4: up until it's just ridiculous. 474 00:28:20,716 --> 00:28:25,516 Speaker 2: The search is taxing for Rathban physically and emotionally, because 475 00:28:25,556 --> 00:28:27,636 Speaker 2: he and Auj were friends, and back in the early 476 00:28:27,756 --> 00:28:30,156 Speaker 2: nineties they were even partners. 477 00:28:30,676 --> 00:28:32,836 Speaker 4: If it was me that needed cover, he'd be there. 478 00:28:33,196 --> 00:28:36,836 Speaker 4: Kind didn't even think about it, someone you could definitely 479 00:28:36,836 --> 00:28:37,316 Speaker 4: depend on. 480 00:28:39,076 --> 00:28:41,996 Speaker 2: Rathbin and Auj spent a lot of time driving around together, 481 00:28:42,796 --> 00:28:45,356 Speaker 2: but they didn't sit around riffing like partners in a 482 00:28:45,356 --> 00:28:46,236 Speaker 2: buddy cop movie. 483 00:28:47,516 --> 00:28:51,836 Speaker 4: He was laconic, didn't have a lot to say unless 484 00:28:51,876 --> 00:28:56,556 Speaker 4: you worked on him, and he was always kind of 485 00:28:56,596 --> 00:28:58,636 Speaker 4: severe serious. 486 00:28:59,196 --> 00:29:02,796 Speaker 2: Auj was hardly two dimensional, though he used his dead 487 00:29:02,836 --> 00:29:05,356 Speaker 2: pan personality to mess with people. 488 00:29:06,716 --> 00:29:11,236 Speaker 4: He had this secret sense of humor, but it was 489 00:29:11,276 --> 00:29:14,196 Speaker 4: really hard to tell which card he was playing, the 490 00:29:14,276 --> 00:29:17,516 Speaker 4: funny card or the I'm John and I'm dead serious card. 491 00:29:19,716 --> 00:29:22,556 Speaker 2: One time, Rathbin and Auj had to chase down a suspect. 492 00:29:23,316 --> 00:29:26,076 Speaker 2: Rathbn was driving and he ends up reversing down a 493 00:29:26,076 --> 00:29:29,836 Speaker 2: one way street. They got the guy, but Auj. 494 00:29:29,756 --> 00:29:33,396 Speaker 4: Looked pissed, and he added that Dave, I need to 495 00:29:33,436 --> 00:29:33,916 Speaker 4: talk to you. 496 00:29:35,436 --> 00:29:39,636 Speaker 2: Rathven's gotten pretty good and impersonating John Auj's baritone voice, 497 00:29:40,436 --> 00:29:42,436 Speaker 2: he says he sounded a lot like Lurch from the 498 00:29:42,436 --> 00:29:43,236 Speaker 2: Adams family. 499 00:29:44,316 --> 00:29:48,596 Speaker 4: What you just did was a violation of California state law, 500 00:29:49,596 --> 00:29:51,556 Speaker 4: and if you do something like that again, I'll have 501 00:29:51,596 --> 00:29:55,836 Speaker 4: to write you up. John. We were chasing a suspect, 502 00:29:55,876 --> 00:29:59,276 Speaker 4: and we are law enforcement officers and so we get 503 00:29:59,316 --> 00:30:04,756 Speaker 4: exemptions during those things. That may be true, but it 504 00:30:04,796 --> 00:30:10,476 Speaker 4: was illegal. Is this John being funny? You would not know, 505 00:30:11,076 --> 00:30:12,356 Speaker 4: and he will never let you know. 506 00:30:15,276 --> 00:30:19,756 Speaker 2: Auj was hard to read. In fact, there's even confusion 507 00:30:19,836 --> 00:30:23,756 Speaker 2: over the pronunciation of his last name. His family says Oj, 508 00:30:24,596 --> 00:30:25,876 Speaker 2: but to his friends. 509 00:30:26,316 --> 00:30:29,676 Speaker 4: It was Auj and he never corrected us, and he's 510 00:30:29,676 --> 00:30:30,636 Speaker 4: not very bashful. 511 00:30:32,276 --> 00:30:34,476 Speaker 2: We'll never know why he didn't tell people how to 512 00:30:34,516 --> 00:30:37,956 Speaker 2: pronounce his name, but it seems fitting for someone who 513 00:30:37,996 --> 00:30:42,036 Speaker 2: remains a mystery to so many. Auj was an enigma 514 00:30:42,116 --> 00:30:45,236 Speaker 2: to just about everyone around him, so when he disappeared, 515 00:30:45,436 --> 00:30:49,876 Speaker 2: he became an easy target for conspiracy theories. Stories began 516 00:30:49,956 --> 00:30:53,236 Speaker 2: to circulate that Aujy's alive and well, living in Alaska. 517 00:30:53,596 --> 00:30:56,956 Speaker 2: Others say Mexico. Some say he was recruited by a 518 00:30:56,996 --> 00:31:01,996 Speaker 2: mercenary group or join the CIA. These theories were fueled 519 00:31:01,996 --> 00:31:05,756 Speaker 2: by weird comments aj had made to friends like Dave rathmun. 520 00:31:06,916 --> 00:31:13,356 Speaker 4: Dave, Yes, you guys think you can find people with 521 00:31:13,476 --> 00:31:15,636 Speaker 4: your searches, and you think you're pretty good at it. 522 00:31:15,756 --> 00:31:15,996 Speaker 3: Right. 523 00:31:17,316 --> 00:31:19,876 Speaker 4: I could go on the mountains and you'd never find me. 524 00:31:21,156 --> 00:31:23,476 Speaker 4: And I said, there are people who want to be 525 00:31:23,556 --> 00:31:26,916 Speaker 4: found that we can't find. So I'm not really impressed 526 00:31:26,996 --> 00:31:32,276 Speaker 4: with your with your declaration there if you don't want 527 00:31:32,316 --> 00:31:35,196 Speaker 4: to be found. Pretty sure I wouldn't be able to 528 00:31:35,236 --> 00:31:36,796 Speaker 4: find you, so I agree. 529 00:31:37,396 --> 00:31:40,876 Speaker 2: And of course that conversation takes on extra meaning a 530 00:31:40,996 --> 00:31:43,076 Speaker 2: searchers keep coming up empty handed. 531 00:31:43,996 --> 00:31:47,716 Speaker 4: I participated in that search until my feet were bloody, 532 00:31:48,476 --> 00:31:53,556 Speaker 4: as did several of my peers. But day six they said, 533 00:31:53,596 --> 00:31:56,476 Speaker 4: well shut it down. What do you mean shut it down? 534 00:31:57,796 --> 00:32:00,436 Speaker 4: Who said that? Who gave that order? And shut this 535 00:32:00,476 --> 00:32:01,636 Speaker 4: thing down? What are you talking about? 536 00:32:01,716 --> 00:32:05,716 Speaker 2: Day six, the Sheriff's department folds the search after six 537 00:32:05,836 --> 00:32:09,556 Speaker 2: days and gives a statement to the press. Sergeant Sour, 538 00:32:09,676 --> 00:32:13,636 Speaker 2: one of the deputies overseeing the operation, says, quote, A 539 00:32:13,636 --> 00:32:16,116 Speaker 2: good analogy would be someone coming up to you and 540 00:32:16,156 --> 00:32:18,796 Speaker 2: giving you two to three pieces of a five hundred 541 00:32:18,796 --> 00:32:21,596 Speaker 2: piece puzzle and asking you to guess what the picture is. 542 00:32:22,556 --> 00:32:25,916 Speaker 2: Throw into that a few pieces of an entirely different puzzle, 543 00:32:26,436 --> 00:32:29,276 Speaker 2: and that is what we work with. We might never 544 00:32:29,276 --> 00:32:31,116 Speaker 2: get it right. End quote. 545 00:32:32,116 --> 00:32:34,956 Speaker 4: You want to trust the department that they're doing the 546 00:32:35,036 --> 00:32:38,196 Speaker 4: right thing, But no one asked us if we should 547 00:32:38,196 --> 00:32:41,436 Speaker 4: shut it down. If I'm the search and rescue guy, 548 00:32:42,596 --> 00:32:45,356 Speaker 4: and my partners are search and rescue guys, and the 549 00:32:45,356 --> 00:32:48,436 Speaker 4: helicopter pilots have been on hundreds of searches. Why are 550 00:32:48,476 --> 00:32:50,956 Speaker 4: we asking them what they think and their input? 551 00:32:52,116 --> 00:32:55,636 Speaker 2: Rathman says searches for missing hikers typically last seven to 552 00:32:55,676 --> 00:32:59,756 Speaker 2: fourteen days, depending on the viability of the person. Paul 553 00:32:59,836 --> 00:33:03,196 Speaker 2: Jay was not your typical hiker, and given his personal 554 00:33:03,236 --> 00:33:06,836 Speaker 2: and professional connection to the Sheriff's Department, it seems like 555 00:33:06,876 --> 00:33:09,516 Speaker 2: the LASD would go the extra mile to find it. 556 00:33:10,516 --> 00:33:14,076 Speaker 4: So it's six days you cancel a search for somebody 557 00:33:14,076 --> 00:33:17,356 Speaker 4: who can run fifty or one hundred miles in the wilderness, 558 00:33:18,476 --> 00:33:21,556 Speaker 4: really knows the wilderness as good or better than anybody 559 00:33:21,636 --> 00:33:24,196 Speaker 4: in ESD. They just set it down. Why are you 560 00:33:24,196 --> 00:33:24,876 Speaker 4: setting it down? 561 00:33:26,276 --> 00:33:29,916 Speaker 2: The Sheriff's Department tells the public that Aujay disappeared without 562 00:33:29,916 --> 00:33:33,156 Speaker 2: a trace and that they're ending the search because they're 563 00:33:33,156 --> 00:33:37,116 Speaker 2: just spinning their wheels. But behind the scenes, they're telling 564 00:33:37,236 --> 00:33:38,596 Speaker 2: a very different story. 565 00:33:39,676 --> 00:34:00,916 Speaker 13: Well, they say that they decided he committed suicide. 566 00:34:09,476 --> 00:34:12,956 Speaker 5: LASD reports claaning that Auj was distraught over his failing 567 00:34:12,956 --> 00:34:15,356 Speaker 5: marriage and took his own life in the punch bowl. 568 00:34:16,516 --> 00:34:19,476 Speaker 5: That gunshot the area resident heard that could have been 569 00:34:19,476 --> 00:34:21,996 Speaker 5: the sound of Auj just putting an end to it all. 570 00:34:23,236 --> 00:34:26,476 Speaker 5: But the Sheriff's department makes that determination. Without a body. 571 00:34:27,076 --> 00:34:31,476 Speaker 5: They don't find any remains, blood, bullets, or a suicide note. 572 00:34:32,116 --> 00:34:32,516 Speaker 4: Nothing. 573 00:34:33,596 --> 00:34:35,436 Speaker 5: The only thing they think they may have found of 574 00:34:35,436 --> 00:34:38,356 Speaker 5: Aujay's was an energy bar wrapper left on one of 575 00:34:38,396 --> 00:34:41,636 Speaker 5: the trails. From what we can tell, there's not a 576 00:34:41,676 --> 00:34:44,956 Speaker 5: lot pointing to suicide, so we reach out to Aujay's 577 00:34:44,956 --> 00:34:47,036 Speaker 5: colleagues and friends to get their thoughts. 578 00:34:47,996 --> 00:34:51,596 Speaker 15: He was obviously down, he was obviously upset, but was 579 00:34:51,676 --> 00:34:53,116 Speaker 15: it enough to commit suicide? 580 00:34:54,356 --> 00:34:57,436 Speaker 5: Sergeant Vince Burden is still on the fence. On the 581 00:34:57,476 --> 00:35:00,796 Speaker 5: one hand, Aj did appear torn up over his marital problems. 582 00:35:01,516 --> 00:35:03,516 Speaker 5: On the other he seemed to be coping. 583 00:35:04,476 --> 00:35:08,116 Speaker 15: Would you be telling me about your ultra marathon if 584 00:35:08,116 --> 00:35:10,516 Speaker 15: you were just going to end at all? Would you 585 00:35:10,596 --> 00:35:13,516 Speaker 15: even be planning to go run at the punch Bowl, 586 00:35:13,556 --> 00:35:15,076 Speaker 15: which is an ugly area? Anyway? 587 00:35:15,876 --> 00:35:18,196 Speaker 5: For fact checking purposes, we want to make clear the 588 00:35:18,236 --> 00:35:21,836 Speaker 5: punch Bowl is not ugly, But go on, Vince. 589 00:35:22,196 --> 00:35:24,436 Speaker 15: None of that made sense to me. With the suicide. 590 00:35:25,556 --> 00:35:30,956 Speaker 5: Frady's running buddy, Randy Meggerley, there's no question playing simple. 591 00:35:31,236 --> 00:35:32,396 Speaker 4: I think he killed himself. 592 00:35:32,716 --> 00:35:34,276 Speaker 12: That's the only way I can explain it. 593 00:35:35,116 --> 00:35:38,716 Speaker 5: Because he says Auj was acting strangely, even more strangely 594 00:35:38,756 --> 00:35:41,316 Speaker 5: than usual in the weeks before his disappearance. 595 00:35:42,116 --> 00:35:45,076 Speaker 12: He says, you know, there's a bunch of caves and 596 00:35:45,116 --> 00:35:49,436 Speaker 12: stuff out here, you can pretty much disappear, I think 597 00:35:49,636 --> 00:35:52,316 Speaker 12: was the word that he used, and nobody would ever 598 00:35:52,356 --> 00:35:52,836 Speaker 12: find yet. 599 00:35:54,276 --> 00:35:57,876 Speaker 5: Auj said similar things to Dave Rathman, but he didn't 600 00:35:57,876 --> 00:35:59,836 Speaker 5: put a lot of stock into any of the statements 601 00:36:00,436 --> 00:36:03,236 Speaker 5: because he says, Aujay is just a weird guy. 602 00:36:04,476 --> 00:36:08,076 Speaker 4: Our unit was next to a big, giant duck pond, 603 00:36:08,116 --> 00:36:10,156 Speaker 4: and one of the ways we used to make jokes 604 00:36:10,156 --> 00:36:12,276 Speaker 4: about each other is kind of like, where do you 605 00:36:12,316 --> 00:36:15,916 Speaker 4: fit in the duck pond? John was an I don't 606 00:36:16,116 --> 00:36:18,756 Speaker 4: malign him, but he was one of the oddest ducks 607 00:36:18,756 --> 00:36:21,396 Speaker 4: in the punk which is good, right. You need him, 608 00:36:21,556 --> 00:36:23,396 Speaker 4: you don't want everybody swim in the. 609 00:36:23,356 --> 00:36:28,916 Speaker 5: Same Initially, Rathmin was open to the possibility of suicide, 610 00:36:29,436 --> 00:36:33,636 Speaker 5: but he's become increasingly skeptical over time because if Aja 611 00:36:33,796 --> 00:36:37,236 Speaker 5: had killed himself, he thinks his body or some trace 612 00:36:37,236 --> 00:36:40,716 Speaker 5: of him would have turned up by now. So Auji's 613 00:36:40,716 --> 00:36:44,076 Speaker 5: colleagues are divided on what happened to him. It's kind 614 00:36:44,076 --> 00:36:45,916 Speaker 5: of like those faces seen in the rocks at the 615 00:36:45,956 --> 00:36:50,316 Speaker 5: Devil's punch Bowl. Same details but interpreted in different ways. 616 00:36:51,756 --> 00:36:55,236 Speaker 5: And that makes sense because we feel conflicted about it too. 617 00:36:56,236 --> 00:36:59,876 Speaker 5: Auja did say some eerie things about disappearing, but this 618 00:36:59,996 --> 00:37:03,476 Speaker 5: disappearing act would be pretty hard to pull off. I mean, 619 00:37:03,516 --> 00:37:06,076 Speaker 5: how could he have buried himself and stay buried for 620 00:37:06,156 --> 00:37:12,076 Speaker 5: almost three decades? Rathmin asked the Sheriff's department to explain 621 00:37:12,156 --> 00:37:12,516 Speaker 5: that one. 622 00:37:13,396 --> 00:37:16,036 Speaker 4: Okay, so well, we think he might have sat on 623 00:37:16,116 --> 00:37:19,116 Speaker 4: the edge of one of those minds and blown himself 624 00:37:19,156 --> 00:37:24,916 Speaker 4: into the mind thinking, okay, we are really stretching now 625 00:37:25,156 --> 00:37:30,836 Speaker 4: for an explanation as to whine we can't find him. 626 00:37:30,876 --> 00:37:36,316 Speaker 6: I didn't accept it. Just common sense told me you 627 00:37:36,396 --> 00:37:39,316 Speaker 6: probably ought to see whether there's any evidence of self infliction. 628 00:37:41,116 --> 00:37:44,796 Speaker 2: Pissed off old cop Mike Bauer is evangelical in his 629 00:37:44,876 --> 00:37:49,276 Speaker 2: belief that the suicide theory is bullshit, because he says 630 00:37:49,636 --> 00:37:53,636 Speaker 2: the Sheriff's Department didn't arrive at this conclusion, they led 631 00:37:53,676 --> 00:37:57,396 Speaker 2: with it, and that poisoned the investigation from the start. 632 00:37:58,676 --> 00:38:01,636 Speaker 2: Bower says that as early as day three, an LASD 633 00:38:01,756 --> 00:38:05,916 Speaker 2: official was pushing the suicide narrative during search team briefings. 634 00:38:06,396 --> 00:38:10,276 Speaker 2: To Bauer, this was equivalent to telling search to let up. 635 00:38:11,716 --> 00:38:15,516 Speaker 6: I took that person outside, and I said, what in 636 00:38:15,556 --> 00:38:18,476 Speaker 6: the hell did you say that for? How could you 637 00:38:18,556 --> 00:38:20,196 Speaker 6: possibly know that at this point? 638 00:38:21,076 --> 00:38:21,636 Speaker 4: How could you. 639 00:38:21,636 --> 00:38:25,556 Speaker 6: Possibly discourage them to search for somebody that worked for you. 640 00:38:26,956 --> 00:38:30,436 Speaker 2: The Sheriff's department was even sharing this theory with the press. 641 00:38:30,876 --> 00:38:33,516 Speaker 8: We haven't ruled out the possibility of suicide, but we 642 00:38:33,556 --> 00:38:35,676 Speaker 8: don't have any evidence to support that. That's what he 643 00:38:35,716 --> 00:38:36,316 Speaker 8: came here to do. 644 00:38:37,596 --> 00:38:40,636 Speaker 2: Now are things that's irresponsible to promote the suicide theory 645 00:38:40,676 --> 00:38:43,636 Speaker 2: without a high degree of certainty. So he prodded the 646 00:38:43,636 --> 00:38:45,236 Speaker 2: department to keep investigating. 647 00:38:46,156 --> 00:38:51,116 Speaker 6: I kept contacting homicide and saying something's wrong. I'm telling 648 00:38:51,156 --> 00:38:52,916 Speaker 6: you there's a problem. 649 00:38:53,316 --> 00:38:55,636 Speaker 2: But he says, the department ignored the case to such 650 00:38:55,636 --> 00:38:58,716 Speaker 2: an extent that he began to question their motives. 651 00:38:59,396 --> 00:39:02,436 Speaker 6: Nobody was in charge of it, and nobody wanted any 652 00:39:02,476 --> 00:39:05,756 Speaker 6: of it once they saw how stinky it was getting. 653 00:39:10,276 --> 00:39:14,076 Speaker 5: Randy Meggridley represents the other end of the spectrum, so 654 00:39:14,076 --> 00:39:16,756 Speaker 5: we ask him what he thinks about the possibility of 655 00:39:16,796 --> 00:39:17,436 Speaker 5: foul play. 656 00:39:18,476 --> 00:39:21,156 Speaker 12: I refer to myself as a mushroom they just feed 657 00:39:21,196 --> 00:39:23,076 Speaker 12: me a little bit of poop every once in a while. 658 00:39:23,436 --> 00:39:25,756 Speaker 12: I wasn't in the know on that whole thing. 659 00:39:26,396 --> 00:39:28,596 Speaker 5: I've never heard the mushroom poop bataphor before. 660 00:39:28,916 --> 00:39:30,996 Speaker 12: Yeah, yeah, you seed you a little bit of poopy, 661 00:39:31,596 --> 00:39:32,556 Speaker 12: you grow a little bit. 662 00:39:35,156 --> 00:39:38,396 Speaker 5: At first, the mushroom poop analogy went way over my head. 663 00:39:38,996 --> 00:39:41,716 Speaker 5: It sounded like a Southern expression. My mom just forgot 664 00:39:41,756 --> 00:39:44,836 Speaker 5: to teach me. But then it clicked while I was 665 00:39:44,876 --> 00:39:48,756 Speaker 5: watching The Departed, the Martin Scorsese movie about corruption within 666 00:39:48,796 --> 00:39:50,156 Speaker 5: the Boston Police Department. 667 00:39:50,916 --> 00:39:53,796 Speaker 10: My theory, Unfeeds is they're like mushrooms, feed him shit 668 00:39:53,836 --> 00:39:54,596 Speaker 10: and keep them in the dock. 669 00:39:56,116 --> 00:39:58,636 Speaker 5: I think what Meggridley is saying is that he doesn't 670 00:39:58,676 --> 00:40:01,156 Speaker 5: ask a lot of questions because he prefers to be 671 00:40:01,236 --> 00:40:03,796 Speaker 5: kept in the dark about things that don't concern him 672 00:40:04,596 --> 00:40:07,676 Speaker 5: and who can really blame him? I mean, law enforcement 673 00:40:07,676 --> 00:40:11,516 Speaker 5: agencies are not exactly known for their culture of transparency. 674 00:40:12,676 --> 00:40:16,636 Speaker 4: That file. You'd have to get special, special permission to 675 00:40:16,636 --> 00:40:17,436 Speaker 4: touch that file. 676 00:40:18,636 --> 00:40:22,556 Speaker 5: Dave Rathman, Auji's former partner, says the Sheriff's department is 677 00:40:22,676 --> 00:40:26,676 Speaker 5: unusually protective of the auj case file, and they. 678 00:40:26,596 --> 00:40:30,876 Speaker 4: Don't even like to hear you talking about it. Well, 679 00:40:31,516 --> 00:40:35,436 Speaker 4: to me, that's what you would call a red flag. 680 00:40:37,636 --> 00:40:41,076 Speaker 5: So Rathman asked his buddy, a retired detective working cold 681 00:40:41,076 --> 00:40:44,076 Speaker 5: cases for the Sheriff's apartment, to review the AUJ case. 682 00:40:45,156 --> 00:40:48,796 Speaker 4: Could you maybe grab that case file? And he went, 683 00:40:48,836 --> 00:40:52,156 Speaker 4: oh no. I said, what do you mean, Oh no. 684 00:40:53,276 --> 00:40:55,396 Speaker 4: Why wouldn't you want to take a look at it? 685 00:40:55,516 --> 00:40:57,676 Speaker 4: He said, no, that's a hot potato. No one's allowed 686 00:40:57,676 --> 00:41:00,236 Speaker 4: to touch that. If I start poking around that case, 687 00:41:00,876 --> 00:41:04,756 Speaker 4: they'd let me go. I said, well, that's interesting. Why 688 00:41:04,796 --> 00:41:09,596 Speaker 4: it's a suicide. He said, I don't know. I just 689 00:41:09,756 --> 00:41:12,156 Speaker 4: know that that case can't be touched. 690 00:41:14,156 --> 00:41:17,516 Speaker 5: Those red flags are another reason Rathbin and others just 691 00:41:17,676 --> 00:41:20,436 Speaker 5: can't get behind the party line. 692 00:41:20,716 --> 00:41:23,836 Speaker 4: As my father would say, God bless him. There's something 693 00:41:23,916 --> 00:41:28,316 Speaker 4: rotten in the woodpile and it stinks and I can. 694 00:41:28,196 --> 00:41:34,196 Speaker 5: Smell it, and that brings us back to the poop mushroom. 695 00:41:34,636 --> 00:41:37,876 Speaker 5: It might thrive in darkness, but to me, that's not 696 00:41:37,996 --> 00:41:42,076 Speaker 5: an ideal environment for policing. I mean, the whole concept 697 00:41:42,156 --> 00:41:47,316 Speaker 5: behind law enforcement isn't watchfulized deter crime, right, But who 698 00:41:47,396 --> 00:41:50,556 Speaker 5: is watching the police? There's very little oversight of law 699 00:41:50,636 --> 00:41:54,036 Speaker 5: enforcement agencies, and it's hard to hold them accountable since 700 00:41:54,156 --> 00:41:58,236 Speaker 5: they control the collection and release of information about internal problems. 701 00:41:58,876 --> 00:42:01,636 Speaker 6: The philosophy of the Sheriff's Department is to hide it, 702 00:42:02,436 --> 00:42:04,996 Speaker 6: and the philosophy of government in a lot of respects 703 00:42:05,556 --> 00:42:08,236 Speaker 6: is that way. Now, with the terrible way they handle 704 00:42:08,356 --> 00:42:12,396 Speaker 6: public records quests and stuff, they just basically stonewall you. 705 00:42:12,556 --> 00:42:14,996 Speaker 6: They give you the middle finger. If you're asking for 706 00:42:15,036 --> 00:42:16,796 Speaker 6: something that the public has a right to know. 707 00:42:18,796 --> 00:42:21,996 Speaker 2: Tell me about it, Bauer, we tried with those public 708 00:42:21,996 --> 00:42:26,476 Speaker 2: records requests and got the proverbial middle finger. Without access 709 00:42:26,476 --> 00:42:28,876 Speaker 2: to the information, it's hard for us to know how 710 00:42:28,956 --> 00:42:32,796 Speaker 2: the Sheriff's department handled the Auj case, and we'd remain 711 00:42:32,876 --> 00:42:35,196 Speaker 2: in the dark if it weren't for Mike Bauer and 712 00:42:35,276 --> 00:42:41,716 Speaker 2: other deputies coming forward. Bauer retired in two thousand and 713 00:42:41,756 --> 00:42:44,116 Speaker 2: two and has spent the better part of his retirement 714 00:42:44,236 --> 00:42:49,156 Speaker 2: investigating Auj's disappearance, and he's uncovered what looks like some 715 00:42:49,236 --> 00:42:51,956 Speaker 2: pretty damning information about the Sheriff's Department. 716 00:42:52,916 --> 00:42:53,596 Speaker 4: They lied to me. 717 00:42:53,796 --> 00:42:55,596 Speaker 6: They lied to me, as a fucking captain of the 718 00:42:55,636 --> 00:42:57,956 Speaker 6: fucking sheriff's department, with thirty three years on the job. 719 00:42:58,076 --> 00:43:01,276 Speaker 6: They fucking lie to me while I'm in charge of 720 00:43:01,356 --> 00:43:04,116 Speaker 6: Sheriff's intelligence. They're fucking lying to me about what they're 721 00:43:04,156 --> 00:43:06,756 Speaker 6: doing in homicide to shut this thing up. They don't 722 00:43:06,756 --> 00:43:07,716 Speaker 6: want me involved in it. 723 00:43:09,236 --> 00:43:12,076 Speaker 4: Oh imagine that's how. 724 00:43:11,956 --> 00:43:12,836 Speaker 6: Fancy that is. 725 00:43:14,996 --> 00:43:18,276 Speaker 2: We know that law enforcement has its problems, but they're 726 00:43:18,316 --> 00:43:20,756 Speaker 2: not usually laid out for us by dyed in the 727 00:43:20,796 --> 00:43:24,636 Speaker 2: wool cops, people who know this world from the inside 728 00:43:25,036 --> 00:43:28,516 Speaker 2: and can show us where the bodies are buried. Figuratively speaking, 729 00:43:29,716 --> 00:43:31,516 Speaker 2: we tell Bauer we want to do a deep dive 730 00:43:31,556 --> 00:43:34,596 Speaker 2: on the Aujy case, beginning with his investigation. 731 00:43:36,356 --> 00:43:39,116 Speaker 6: You guys have stumbled into a cluster of shit. 732 00:43:40,716 --> 00:43:43,316 Speaker 2: But he's not as encouraging as we expect him to be, 733 00:43:44,636 --> 00:43:45,716 Speaker 2: and for good reason. 734 00:43:46,676 --> 00:43:49,396 Speaker 5: Do you have any advice for us while looking into 735 00:43:49,476 --> 00:43:50,596 Speaker 5: this disappearance. 736 00:43:52,396 --> 00:43:56,756 Speaker 6: I wouldn't do it alone. In the event somebody did 737 00:43:56,836 --> 00:43:59,516 Speaker 6: decide that you were getting too close to something, you 738 00:43:59,596 --> 00:44:04,196 Speaker 6: will not be found killed. You will simply disappear. 739 00:44:10,516 --> 00:44:13,196 Speaker 2: This season on Valley of Shadows. 740 00:44:13,356 --> 00:44:16,996 Speaker 4: Early on, I let the suicide theory sit at fifty 741 00:44:16,996 --> 00:44:21,636 Speaker 4: to fifty. As I've learned more and more, I'm at 742 00:44:21,676 --> 00:44:27,796 Speaker 4: about ninety five murder five to ten percent suicide. 743 00:44:28,036 --> 00:44:30,596 Speaker 5: They ruler around the drug scene. 744 00:44:31,116 --> 00:44:34,876 Speaker 14: Was that a deputy stumbled onto something he shouldn't of 745 00:44:35,676 --> 00:44:36,996 Speaker 14: and he was taken care of. 746 00:44:37,836 --> 00:44:39,916 Speaker 4: I'm here, it's fill on the street minute, Augie. 747 00:44:40,236 --> 00:44:41,236 Speaker 5: He didn't kid suicide. 748 00:44:41,236 --> 00:44:41,956 Speaker 12: He was murdered. 749 00:44:42,076 --> 00:44:44,716 Speaker 4: I'm hearing for more more in person, and I started 750 00:44:44,716 --> 00:44:47,356 Speaker 4: hearing some rumors that there was a. 751 00:44:47,316 --> 00:44:52,036 Speaker 14: Gun, and yet there's no indication that gun was ever 752 00:44:52,036 --> 00:44:52,956 Speaker 14: booked into evidence. 753 00:44:53,476 --> 00:44:55,236 Speaker 10: If you rat it or they thought you were gonna 754 00:44:55,316 --> 00:44:59,796 Speaker 10: rat it wasn't. Hey, don't do that ever again. You're done. 755 00:45:00,076 --> 00:45:02,156 Speaker 10: They got rid of you. So that's where the murders 756 00:45:02,156 --> 00:45:02,476 Speaker 10: came in. 757 00:45:03,196 --> 00:45:06,516 Speaker 2: He was describing with his hands and his arms and 758 00:45:06,556 --> 00:45:09,076 Speaker 2: his whole body where this cap was buried at. 759 00:45:09,916 --> 00:45:12,556 Speaker 6: In other words, it's not safe, not because of criminals, 760 00:45:12,876 --> 00:45:15,636 Speaker 6: it's not safe because of law enforcement. And there's nothing 761 00:45:15,636 --> 00:45:16,196 Speaker 6: worse than that. 762 00:45:17,076 --> 00:45:19,156 Speaker 2: Hey, dude, we're getting like pretty far out in the 763 00:45:19,196 --> 00:45:20,996 Speaker 2: middle of nowhere and no one knows we're out here. 764 00:45:21,756 --> 00:45:23,196 Speaker 4: You've got to be careful where you go and who 765 00:45:23,236 --> 00:45:23,716 Speaker 4: you talk to. 766 00:45:44,636 --> 00:45:47,476 Speaker 2: If you have any information or tips related to the 767 00:45:47,476 --> 00:45:52,196 Speaker 2: disappearance of John auj please call two one three two six, 768 00:45:52,356 --> 00:45:57,636 Speaker 2: two nine, eight eight nine or email Shadows at pushkin 769 00:45:58,036 --> 00:46:02,716 Speaker 2: dot Fm. Valley of Shadows is reported, written and produced 770 00:46:02,916 --> 00:46:07,556 Speaker 2: by us Haley Fox and Betsy Sheppard. Our editor is 771 00:46:07,596 --> 00:46:12,956 Speaker 2: Diane Hodson Oecutive producers are Jacob Smith and Alexandra Garreton. 772 00:46:13,596 --> 00:46:17,756 Speaker 2: Original music by Jake Gorsky, Ray Lynch, Mike Jersich, and 773 00:46:17,876 --> 00:46:22,876 Speaker 2: Hayden Gardner. Sound designed by Jake Gorsky, fact checking by 774 00:46:22,876 --> 00:46:28,236 Speaker 2: Onica Robbins. Additional production support by Sonia Gerwick and our 775 00:46:28,276 --> 00:46:31,756 Speaker 2: show art was designed by Sean Karney and Betsy Sheppard. 776 00:46:32,636 --> 00:46:36,876 Speaker 2: Special thanks to Nick White for show art photography. Additional 777 00:46:36,916 --> 00:46:41,476 Speaker 2: thanks to Jeremy Tao. Valley of Shadows is a production 778 00:46:41,636 --> 00:46:45,996 Speaker 2: of Pushkin Industries. To find more Pushkin podcasts, listen on 779 00:46:46,076 --> 00:46:49,636 Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 780 00:46:49,676 --> 00:46:54,396 Speaker 2: podcasts from Type two fun. We're Haley and Betsy. See 781 00:46:54,436 --> 00:46:55,036 Speaker 2: you next week.