Introducing Valley of Shadows: The Devil’s Punchbowl

About this episode

The episode introduces a new true crime podcast exploring the mysterious disappearance of Deputy Jon Aujay in California's Devil’s Punchbowl park.

Valley of Shadows is a new true crime podcast that digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Aujay set out for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park — and never came back. Aujay has yet to be found. The Sheriff’s Department rules Aujay’s disappearance a suicide, but friends, family, and fellow deputies insist the story doesn’t add up. Instead, they believe Aujay may have stumbled into the Mojave Desert’s criminal underworld — where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, journalists Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd explore one of Southern California’s most mysterious missing person cases. In Valley of Shadows, they ask: What is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hiding? Find Valley of Shadows wherever you get podcasts.

People in this episode

Guests: Hayley Fox, Betsy Shepherd

Topics covered

• true crime
• missing persons
• forensic psychology
• law enforcement
• criminal underworld

Keywords

• true crime
• Jon Aujay
• missing person
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• Mojave Desert
• biker gangs
• methamphetamine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Valley of Shadows

Places: California, Devil’s Punchbowl, Mojave Desert