Up and Vanished - Status: Untraced - E8: Don't Lose Your Hope

Episode Date: July 16, 2024

Keep following the mysterious story of Justin Alexander's disappearance in "Status: Untraced". From the team that brought you Up and Vanished, this is Episode 8 - 'Don't Lose Your Hope'. Binge the full season ad-free, plus get access exclusive content by subscribing to Tenderfoot Plus. Learn more at Tenderfootplus.com. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get ready for Las Vegas style action at BetMGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play the classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat and Roulette. With our ever-growing library of digital slot games, a large selection of online table games and signature BetMGM service, there is no better way to bring the excitement and ambiance of Las Vegas home to you than with BetMGM Casino. Download the BetMGM Casino app today.

BetMGM and GameSense remind you to please play responsibly. BetMGM.com for Ts and Cs, 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.

It started with a backpack at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. A backpack that contained a bomb. While the authorities focused on the wrong suspect, a serial bomber planned his next attacks. Two abortion clinics and a lesbian bar. But this isn't his story. It's a human story. One that I've become entangled with. I saw as soon as I turned the corner, basically someone bleeding out. The victims of these brutal attacks were left to pick up the pieces,

forced to explore the gray areas between right and wrong, life and death. Their once ordinary lives, and mine, changed forever. It kind of gave me a feeling of pending doom. And all the while, our country found itself facing down a long and ugly reckoning with a growing threat. Far right, homegrown, religious terrorism. Listen to Flashpoint starting July 25th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As promised, here is Status Untraced, episode 8. As promised, here is Status Untraced, episode eight.

You're listening to Status Untraced, a production of Tenderfoot TV in association with Odyssey. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals participating in the podcast. This podcast also contains subject matter, which may not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised. Malana is a picturesque town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is secluded and cocooned in its cultural and social fabric. However, amidst that beauty lurks a dark secret. We've heard whispers about this village, Malana. It's here inside the Parvati Valley

and known to produce what many say is the finest hashish in the world. Is it a whole cow's or a whole cow's medium? Creme. Creme. Creme. Creme. Each of the 350 households in Malana produces five kilos of hash.

All of it generates a total income of about 7.8 million US dollars. This gooey substance is highly sought after internationally. A small amount, which sells for $14 locally, will, in Amsterdam, go for at least 250. In India, it's a criminal offense to consume, trade, or grow. But Malana doesn't really abide by country law. It's quite obvious that this activity is illegal. Why hasn't there been any sort of

intervention that has succeeded in this production? This village people there consider themselves to be the descendants of soldiers of Alexander the Great. If you go to buy something there and you cannot touch them, you cannot shake hands, you'll have to leave the money on the counter and they will come and pick it up. So such is their very strict taboo on people to have outside links. But can that be a reason enough for... No, that cannot be the reason. No policeman is allowed to come inside.

And if somebody goes to complain to police, then he has to pay a fine to the panchayat out there. So how does Milana brazenly run a drug trade? Well, it's simple. They don't allow the police in. This story was aired on October 19th, 2016, right when search teams were looking for Justin Alexander. Justin, as we know, was dealing hashish. In fact, he was traveling around with a kilo of it.

Yet, in this entire coverage, there's no mention of him, the foreigners who become involved with the trade, or if the alarming pattern of murdered and missing tourists is tied to it in any way. But the one fact they did cover is bizarre. But the biggest challenge of course, is for the law enforcement authorities to implement the law. Why would law enforcement turn a blind eye

to an illegal drug trade? What's going on here that causes them to blatantly ignore their duties? One way to find out? Pull on the thread. I'm Liam Luxton, and this is Status Untraced. Once a sonic killer of clothes. I'm Liam Luxton, and this is Status Untraced. Episode 8, Don't Lose Your Hope. You guys were involved with the Bruno Muskevich case.

Yeah, Musalik. Since landing in India, I've found the stories we've been tracking have, in a way, shifted. Take for instance, the death of the Baba. What I gathered back in the States isn't lining up with what I've seen here. Alex and I are scratching our heads, second-guessing every statement we've heard, wondering what we are missing. Is there anything we've overlooked? I was the first person from the two of us.

It was just unintentionally that we fell into it. As we've previously mentioned, our guides Kabir and Arshdeep are no strangers to the worlds of missing person cases. With Kabir just in from Delhi, we seize the opportunity to sit down with them both, curious as to what we can learn from the incidents prior to Justin's. Had you guys ever worked on a crime case before? I was involved with one case way back in around the 2000s. That's when a lot of Western people were going missing from the Hampta region in Malik.

— Lots of foreign people, they were killed over there. — During that time, a lot of people got killed, and it was definitely the same group of people, but no witnesses came up. Kabir recalls a slew of horror stories about travelers who have mysteriously ended up missing or dead. And one case stands out. It occurred almost exactly a year prior to Justin's. A friend of mine, a guy from Poland, while he was staying here, he found out that there's somebody, a Polish guy who's gone missing.

So he wanted to see if he could be of any help and he asked me if you can help. Bruno Musielik, a 24-year-old from Poland, was your typical college kid, full of dreams of seeing the world. He graduated and was recruited by the esteemed Ernst & Young as one of a select group of standout candidates. But before he swapped his backpack for a briefcase, Bruno set out on a solo trip to New Delhi in July 2015. He made his way to Manali, a town just outside the Parvati Valley, and hung out there for about a week.

Then, nothing. No one heard from him. His girlfriend, on August 9th, was the last to receive a message. Last communication was with his girlfriend, KC or something. I'm going to Kasol, something like that, and I'll be back in two days or three days. Bruno's father, Piotr, grew worried when he didn't hear from his son. When Bruno missed his flight home, Piotr took action and flew to the valley. I had a chance to speak with Piotr and his friend, Tomas, who expressed frustration with the local law enforcement.

Police in India is completely nothing. No modern equipment, nothing like a police should have, you know. So we were traveling from place to place and tried to collect any other evidences, testimonials, people who may deliver any additional details to this story. The only clue to Bruno's whereabouts was his backpack he left at a Manali guesthouse, a sign, like Justin, that he planned to return. To gather more information, Piotr spread missing person flyers around town, and his efforts led to a pivotal conversation with an eyewitness. And he told me he saw Bruno in Le with two Israeli girls. a pivotal conversation with an eyewitness.

Lle is a high mountain city, north of Kulu. I recognize him, etc. And Bruno was, according to him, was sitting on a sofa. And he described those two Israeli girls. He was asking them directly, I'm from Israel, they said yes, yes. Piotr and Dimas went to extreme lengths to identify these two Israeli girls, including multiple trips to India and a trip to Israel. It led to nothing. Later on, they got a lead from a bus driver

who recognized Bruno's photo. He claimed to have dropped Bruno off in the valley around August 9th, the day of Bruno's last text. The driver said he picked Bruno up from another part of the valley the next day. After that, we didn't find any more traces. So after one and a half month, we came back to Poland. Weeks later, Piotr and Tomasz returned to India for a second trip and found another

eyewitness. This time in New Delhi. This lady recognized Bruno with two guys in Delhi after arrival. Those two guys, they were well known to the police as a drugs dealer and illegal arms sellers. From conversations with his son, Piotr knew that Bruno had been spending time with a New Delhi local named Saluja. He didn't have any background on the guy,

but feared he could be dangerous. Piotr relayed the tip to the police, who launched a coordinated effort to find Saluja and arrest him. We arranged the hearing of Saluja and the police in Manali. They interrogate about the situation we planned. In custody, police demanded Siminder Saluja to reveal the WhatsApp conversations on his phone. Left with no option, Saluja complied.

So he wanted him to carry some hash out from here or something. That was in the text? That was in the text, yeah. Saluja had been guiding Bruno on where to buy and sell drugs. So Bruno bought stuff in Delhi. Acid and stuff. LSD. And stuff like that from Salooja.

How much did he buy? No clue to that. He basically wanted to come to Parvati and use it as recreational. And then Salooja was guiding him. OK, you go to this guy guy and you bring some stuff for me also. They tracked down Saluja's contact.

He was in the ancient village, Malana. The Malana guy said I never met him. He said he called him. He called me, but he never met me. The Malana guy was arrested as well. But with the case having gone cold, both men have since been released from police custody. I think that in this region, they are organizing rave parties, which is music, party, drinking, drugs, all together mixed.

In the Parvati, raves are outdoor soirees attended by hundreds. They're almost entirely unsanctioned and tend to be deep in the woods. In the Parvati, raves are outdoor soirees attended by hundreds. They're almost entirely unsanctioned and tend to be deep in the woods. So this is probably what tempted him to go to this region. And it's why he said he will be back within three days. So we were thinking that maybe they used him for illegal drug trafficking. So we were thinking that maybe they used him for illegal drug trafficking. Years have passed, and Bruno's fate remains a mystery.

No further clues, no leads, just silence. There are eerie overlaps with Justin's case, hashish dealings, dodgy meetups, and then, and nearly the same time of year, they're gone. What it means, if anything, I'm not sure. For Piotr, the search never ended. He still makes trips to the Parvati Valley, hoping to find something, anything,

to bring closure about what happened to his son. Although it breaks my heart, I had to ask, with so few leads to follow, what drives him to keep looking? We need to share the information because I have hope maybe when someone accidentally knows about the case of Bruno and catch a new place, maybe.

This guy who's from the Polish embassy, when we were leaving I called him to say goodbye and he said, hey guys, one guy he went missing for 30 years, he disappeared. Why he was hiding himself, why he disappeared, nobody knows. And now he called me, he wants Polish passport and go back Poland. After 30 years.

So he said, don't lose your hope because some completely unimaginable things may happen. As you may recall, a tourist named Daruv Agarwal recently went missing here. The case caught the attention of a Mumbai news team

who's arrived in the valley to investigate his disappearance. We met with that team. They requested we keep our conversation off record, but before parting ways, one of their members, a local, discreetly pulled me aside. He whispered that he knew things about Bruno, information that wasn't public. And he was open to talk. Get ready for Las Vegas-style action at BetMGM, the king of online casinos.

Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play the classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette. With our ever-growing library of digital slot games, a large selection of online table games, and signature BetMGM service, there is no better way to bring the excitement and ambiance of Las Vegas home to you than with BetMGM Casino. Download the BetMGM Casino app today. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to please play responsibly.

BetMGM.com for Ts and Cs, 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.

Wherever you're going, you better believe American Express will be right there with you. Heading for adventure? agreement with iGaming Ontario. to settle in, enjoy your room upgrade. Wherever you go, we'll go together. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamex. Benefits vary by card, terms apply. The foreign media always say, you know, the Death Valley. I don't call it the Death Valley. I find myself on a dirt path in a secluded forest,

my heart racing with anticipation. There's a whole neighborhood back here, which is only accessible via a rope bridge that hangs over the river. It feels like the kind of place you would go to stay under the radar. Avoid the law. I should be called the Death Valley.

Because these guys are dead, maybe one of them is alive. Maybe he's sitting in some part of are dead, maybe one of them is alive. Maybe he's sitting in some part of the country, maybe in Kerala. You never know. Raj, as we'll call him, requested we meet here. He asked to remain anonymous, but his eagerness to talk poured out

like the sweat on his skin. — What about Dhruv? What do you think? What about Dhruv? We got no clue man. His parents tell us that he was going to lose weight. He thought he would lose 4-5 kgs if he tracks to Kyrgyzstan. That's a very stupid thing to say. Then the next day the parents tell us

please check Malana, maybe some sadhu took him and maybe he gave him drugs. What is he, some child? And same time a boy does no drugs, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink. And he had a flight next day, so does a man come just for one day

to go to Keer Ganga and come back? I find it tough to believe, actually. There's something more to the story which they're hiding. While he claimed to know nothing new about Dhruv Agarwal's case, Raz has promised me some safeguarded clue about Bruno Mushalik. trying to sell him? At Katagla, he got on the bus from there, and then he supposedly came to his party. And nobody knows after that what happened. Maybe he took some LSD. Maybe he fell off the bridge. But I don't think it's easy to fall off the bridge unless somebody pushes you.

This is all word of mouth. Nobody knows what exactly happened. And I got news from a government official, which I cannot name anyone, but saying that he was murdered. When Raz was with the Mumbai News team, he says they poked around at Bruno's case a bit. And an individual they spoke to repeated a similar story. I can't take names because we're not allowed to take the names of the guys who we spoke to. But I spoke to someone.

He told me, Bruno was murdered by a guy called Leo. By, called Leo? Yes, and it was related to drugs. Leo is not an Indian name, and any other details about this guy is a dead end. We don't even know if he actually exists, and the individual who made this accusation isn't responding. to anyone. But, he fucked it up. So the guy refuses to speak now. So there are too many perspectives of it, you know,

like everybody has their own story about Bruno. Who do you believe? Bruno's gone. Everyone has a different story. But with two sources allegedly claiming the same thing, we have to consider, like Justin's case, if murder could be a potential scenario. So I asked Raz, if he had to speculate, why would someone kill Bruno?

You know what? A lot of people from Europe and from the US are carriers of drugs. So there's a five times profit in it. Wow. More than that. So many people do it. And most of the guys are Europeans. OK? Thing is, Paruthi Valley, there's

a place, 100% economy, on drugs. Earlier in the 90s, a lot of foreigners used to come with money. They would go up to buy charas to Malana. Charas is concentrated hashish. And when they would finish buying charas and come down the way back, they would be killed by the same guys who sold them the charas. And the money would be taken back.

These are people who used to disappear. These are nobody who likes the people from Malana. These village people don't like the Malana people. They say they're godly people, okay? There is no proper court or anything. They don't follow the Indian constitution. Because they have their own democracy up there too, correct? Yes, their own democracy.

Yeah. You cannot touch them unless you know them very well. But as an outsider, you cannot even touch them. The mindset is very different. They are friendly if you have money, because they know you come to buy cherries. And then they kill you on the way back down, is what it sounds like.

Not now. Raz said it before, calling his home the Valley of Death doesn't sit right with him. But from what I'm picking up, he's saying the heavy drug scene and undercurrents of Mamana kind of paints a target on the backs of foreigners, thought to be walking around with wads of cash.

To me, that makes sense. And if true, that's a huge issue that can't be ignored. But Raz is also quick to point out it's not that cut and dry. I have a question for you guys, being Americans. I mean, when a foreign tourist comes here, and dry. Come, come smoke up. I mean, I have no issues with smoking up, man. Come on. But the point is, be responsible enough. You cannot shed your responsibility, walk into a jungle drunk or maybe on some chemical

and fall somewhere into a river and expect people, oh, he was murdered. So we do not know what exactly happened to these people. We actually have no clue what happened to these people. We are just assuming. — There's a problem with speculating murder. Why risk everything and kill a foreigner for petty theft? Not saying that it doesn't happen,

but murder over some cash or a bit of drugs seems extreme. So then we come back to why Bruno? Why Justin? Were they simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is there a deeper, darker reason for their disappearances? Has there ever been openly known Israeli, Russian, and Italian mafia operating in this area?

Not openly. Not openly? There's no mafia from the other country at the moment. But you know, the locals, you can't call it mafia, but everyone does it. There's no outside mafia, but everyone calls it mafia. Thinking about what that means,

it's then a more sinister thought grips me. What if tourists aren't targeted by chance, but as part of a calculated plan? Who would profit from their disappearances? — This guy, he's been highlighted by the police, the department and all, as a rescue guy. — Yeah. — We believe from our research and things

that he could be the culprit. The people were missing. You think he's like robbing them and then taking the stuff? He's basically murdering them. by PC Optimum. If you like a curated playlist, why not try a curated grocery list? With Swap and Save, the new feature in the PC Optimum app, you'll get PC Optimum's best price for your grocery items. Simply add products to your shopping list in the app and it'll show you similar items at a lower cost. Add coffee to your list, then swap it for one that's cheaper. Craving chips? The app will suggest some on sale. To get started, just open the app. It's as easy as that.

See the PC Optimum app for details. We were suspect that he didn't search the Bruno, only talk about the searching and did nothing. Korkan is a well-known search and rescuer who we've been told to steer clear of. Bruno's father, before arriving in the valley, hired the search and rescuer who we've been told to steer clear of. Bruno's father, before arriving in the valley, hired the search and rescuer to look for his son,

a decision he now says he heavily regrets. For legal reasons, we've redacted Korkan's real name. The story with B, we pay him maybe $150 or $100 per day to search the Bruno. And he told us he searched the Bruno all the time. Piotr was swayed by Korkan's online portrayal as the most heroic search and rescue operation in the Parvati.

When Piotr and Tomas arrived in India, Korkan met them at the airport and escorted them to areas where he claimed to have explored for the search. At one of these spots, he introduced them to some women who he said assisted the investigation. Tomas, recognizing the women were East Slavic, spoke to them in Russian to confirm these claims. And it was completely different statements

from those people. These ladies, Russian and Ukrainian ladies, they said that they never saw him. He came there for the first time ever. So he's cheating and lying from the very beginning. Piotr immediately pulled the plug on Korkan, opting instead to invest $30,000 in the Israeli private investigation firm,

Magnus International. He was taken aback to later learn that Magnus outsources some of their work to Korkhan. And what's interesting about him, he finds the people who are missing, but only the bodies. But the guy, he have contact with mafia. He know everyone in the valley.

And for me, in my opinion, I'm sure he know what was happening. For me, suspect. Crooked tales surrounding Korkan keep reappearing. Later, Manu and Jagdish stop by our hotel, and Arshdeep translates their story. He is not a technical guy. He has no knowledge about how to do the proper rescue with the equipment and all those things. He's just a name.

Manu recalls a baffling incident involving Korkaan's company. They were hired to recover a body from the river. They first let *** do it. He took four days. He was like doing with the ladder. Then they thought, no, we do it this way, do it that. After four days, they said, okay, you're done now. So should we try? They took three hours to do it.

Once the body was lifted to the road, **** quickly came over there, took a selfie with the body and saying, oh, ****. The search and rescue mission successful. He made a news on that. Has anyone tried to report as being like a fraud of a? No, no, he has very good dealing with the politics

and administration. Jagdish wishes to avoid making any comment about Korkhan on record. He says, I don't want to make a personal comment regarding him because it's not a good idea to do that. But there are lots of rumors about the movement. I ask what rumor they hear most often.

But now it's a rumor that basically what he does, even if the team finds the body, they try to hide it for a few days so that the money is counting. I'll admit, I initially brushed off Korkhan. He wasn't involved in Justin Alexander's case, so I didn't find him relevant. Now I'm not so sure.

These murmurs, hinting he's mixed up in disappearances, is it idle talk or is it real? I can't be sure until I hear his side of things, so I send Korkan a message on Facebook, which I can tell he's seen, but ignored. So I call him. Hello. Hi, Mr. ***. Yes, sir. My name is Liam Lux, and I'm a producer. Hello. Hi, Mr. ***. Yes, sir. My name is Liam Lux and I'm a producer from the US.

I introduced myself to Khor Khan, explained the podcast, and asked for an interview. Are you nearby here in India, sir? Yes, sir. I'm here in Kusul today. Do you want to meet or? Yeah. Yes, sir, I'm here in Kasol today. Yeah, can we meet you tonight? Yeah. And can you come here to the hangout? Better to go there?

Can you get me an better to come here. Better to go there? Can you get me an address to come to? Sure, I sir. Perfect. Alright, we'll see you tonight. Looking forward to it. It's then that I notice Arshdeep pacing the room.

I was saying, no, no, I won't go. How you feel for the wives that you're getting from him? When you guys are alone with him. Oh. Being a local guy, he might be... I set my iPhone to record, so the audio quality isn't stellar here. But what Arshdeep is suggesting is that Alex and I meet Korkan without him. You want to drop this off and get it? is that Alex and I meet Korkhan without him.

— You want to drop us off and stay, like— — No, I want to get a car for me, for you guys. So that's what I feel, because I don't want he to know that, like, someone has been telling, okay, we talk to this, talk to this. It's what you have figured out yourself, so that makes him more comfortable. — Yeah. — What do you think, Alex? — I think that's smart.

I have reservations about conducting this interview without Arshteep. But I get his reasoning. The more of us in the room, and bringing a local with us, the more guarded Korkhan might be. As I think about it further, I consider another possibility. What if I go solo? Minutes before the interview, I pitch it to the team. Kabir, who's against the idea,

reluctantly proposes a safety net, a backup plan to keep tabs on me. You can call us. We can listen to you, the speaker, just to hear the conversation. We can record that. I just got to put it on mute first. Yeah.

You never put it on mute. You got to put it on. We put it on mute. The car is already outside. Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. You alone? Yeah, I'm ready.

OK. The taxi pulls up outside our hotel. An ominous mist hangs thick in the air as I ride through the mountain roads. All right, you got this, Lam. Let's do this. Across the river lies my destination, a three-story brick fortress perched on the mountain's edge.

A rusting lamp flickers above the main entrance. All right, thank you brother. I'll see you soon. A cold wind weeps at my back. Nobody comes outside. So I knock. What's going on guys? I'm guided to a large den with long black leather couches.

In the corner, rises a thin man in a full camouflage jumpsuit. It's him. Korkan. Back at the hotel, Alex and the guys huddle around the phone, listening as I introduce myself. How you doing? How you doing? Good. I'm completely on edge. Because it's me,

Korkan, and six other men I wasn't expecting to be here. There's a lot of people there. Yeah, absolutely. Just great ideas sending him along. Coming up on Status Untraced. All right, listen, I have one last rumor that I need to ask you about. So someone told me that they believe

that you or people on your team are making tourists disappear to create more business. What do you have to say about that? If you have tips or information on the individuals in this podcast, please email us at statusuntraced at gmail.com or leave us a message at 507-407-2833. Status Untraced is a production of Tenderfoot TV in association with Odyssey. I'm your host, Liam Luxton. Executive producers are Alex Vespestead, Donald Albright, and Payne Lindsay. Producers are Meredith Stedman and myself.

Supervising producer is Tracy Kaplan. Consulting producer, Jonathan Skeels. Associate editors are David Basch and Charles Rosner of Get Up Productions. With additional editing by Sydney Evans. Artwork by Trevor Eiler. Original music by Makeup and Vanity Set. Our theme song is Colder Heavens by Blanco White. Mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, Beck Media and Marketing, and the Nord

Group. And also special thanks to Archdeep Sharma and Kabir Sharman. For more podcasts like Status Untraced, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app. Or visit us at tenderfoot.tv. This is Dennis Cooper, host of Culpable. If you're familiar with my work, then you know that I typically investigate and cover cold cases. That's my passion. But this coming Tuesday, July 16th, I'll be treating you to something entirely different. I'll be stepping in to guest host a special episode

of our new daily podcast, This Day in Crime, where we cover the latest crime stories from around the world. You may hear about an unsolved case that's captivating our nation, or you may hear an episode based entirely around Florida men. Anything is on the table. This is a fast hitting and lighthearted approach to true crime. An easy listen each and every day on your drive to and from work

or at the gym or wherever you listen to podcasts. I hope you enjoy my episode of This Day in Crime coming Tuesday, July 16th. And please take a second to subscribe to This Day in Crime so that you never miss out on future episodes.