9. The Fall Guys

9. The Fall Guys

Author: Western Sound and Pushkin Industries July 10, 2023 Duration: 34:31

Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson are on assignment for Surfer magazine. Their task? Find Miki Dora. When they do, he’s living in a campervan in the South of France, surfing perfect empty waves. And waiting for his next recruits. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


The story of Mitrice Richardson's disappearance begins at a Malibu restaurant in 2009, but it opens a door into a much deeper and more unsettling reality. Lost Hills: Dark Canyon, a podcast from Western Sound and Pushkin Industries, uses that single, tragic case as a starting point to investigate the stark contrasts that define this iconic California coastline. This isn't just a true crime story; it's a documentary series that peels back the glamorous veneer of billionaires and celebrities to examine the systemic shadows and forgotten corners that exist just off the Pacific Coast Highway. Listeners will hear a meticulous examination of the night Mitrice was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at the Lost Hills Station and then released into the darkness, vanishing without a trace. The narrative follows the desperate search that unfolded over the ensuing eleven months, but it also expands to ask broader questions about accountability, perception, and what a community chooses to see-or ignore. Each episode of this podcast builds a haunting portrait of a place where paradise and peril intersect, weaving together personal tragedy with larger themes of society and culture. The reporting is persistent and layered, offering a sobering look at how easily someone can fall through the cracks, even in one of the world's most watched and wealthiest enclaves.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 65

Lost Hills: Dark Canyon
Podcast Episodes
Episode 8: The Finish Line from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:04
A reunion between two retired detectives brings new focus to the Aujay investigation, just as Hayley and Betsy find out about another tragedy in the Punchbowl area. When a woman and her father are shot dead in deputy Eng…
Episode 7: The Trial from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:33
While the DEA showers Hager in accolades, the LASD turns against him. But Hager fights back, and drags the department’s dirty secrets out into open court. Betsy and Hayley go through thousands of pages of court documents…
Episode 6: The Big Takedown from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:55
Brandenburg is taken off the Aujay case, but the LASD can’t stop Hager and the federal task force. With the help of wiretaps, informants, and 18 months of investigation, the team pulls off one of the largest drug stings…
Episode 5: The Legend of Bigfoot from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:08
Decades before Jon Aujay’s disappearance, the Devil’s Punchbowl was infamous for something else: Bigfoot sightings. Sasquatch became a known boogeyman in the area. But beneath the folklore lies something real —- a local…
Episode 4: Outlaw Country from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:40
As Detective Brandenburg follows leads in the Aujay case, he finds himself with an unlikely ally. A young buck narcotics detective named Darren Hager, who’s trying to dismantle a meth syndicate run by a local biker gang.…
Episode 3: Tweaker Talk from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:48
At the time of Jon Aujay’s disappearance, California is under siege by a meth epidemic and the Antelope Valley is the epicenter. So when investigators receive tips that Aujay was killed after stumbling upon a meth lab, i…
Episode 2: An Unreasonable Act from Valley of Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:43
After deputy Jon Aujay disappears, the sheriff’s department claims he was suicidal — pointing to marital troubles and erratic behavior in the weeks before he vanished. But the LASD’s official story doesn’t square with wh…
Important Lost Hills - Dark Canyon Update [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:13
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department listened to our podcast and now they’re asking us some new questions — and answering some of ours. Are they ready to reopen the investigation into Mitrice’s death? See omnystud…
12. Dig Two Graves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:24
Dana lays out all the evidence, and we await results from forensic testing. We reconnect with Mitrice’s loved ones, as they celebrate what would have been her 39th birthday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform…
11. The Suitcase [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:47
A round of cold calls yields brand new information tying the Person of Interest to Mitrice. We return to the fort in the woods, and make a startling discovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.