Missing in Mexico | Malcom Madsen & Tahnee Shanks

Missing in Mexico | Malcom Madsen & Tahnee Shanks

Author: True Crime Society April 24, 2025 Duration: 52:33
Timestamp to skip the intro and get straight to the case: (10:11)

According to Human Rights Watch, it’s estimated that about 90 per cent of crimes in Mexico are never reported, while a third of reported crimes are never investigated. About 2,600 foreigners have gone missing in Mexico in the past 15 years.

In this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast, we discuss two separate cases of foreigners who have gone missing in Mexico.

  • Canadian man Malcom Madsen was a snowbird who enjoyed traveling to Mexico every year.  Malcolm purchased a home near Puerto Vallarta for his girlfriend Marcela Acosta.  In 2018, the couple were seen on CCTV enjoying a night out at a local bar.   Marcela could be seen putting a substance into Malcom’s drink.  Minutes later, they left the bar and Malcom was unsteady on his feet.   He has not been seen since.  Marcela and two accomplices have been sentenced to over 50 years in prison in relation to Malcom’s disappearance.
  • Australian woman Tahnee Shanks had been living in Mexico for years in 2022.   She and her husband Jorge had been having marriage problems, and she planned to return to Australia with their daughter Adelynn.  The family decided to take one last vacation together.  In May 2022, Adelynn was found wandering alone and barefoot outside a church in Cancun.   Now, almost three years later, both Tahnee and Jorge remain missing.  Is Jorge on the run after killing Tahnee or could they both have been murdered by the Mexican cartel?
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There's a particular chill that runs down your spine when a story feels too close to home, when the details of a case ripple out and touch the ordinary world we all inhabit. True Crime Society, hosted by the team at True Crime Society, digs into that exact space where shocking crimes intersect with our everyday social and cultural fabric. This isn't just a chronological retelling of grim events; it's an exploration of the communities left in the wake of tragedy, the societal conditions that allow certain stories to unfold, and the cultural obsessions that turn real-life pain into public narrative. Each episode carefully examines how a crime influenced, or was influenced by, the world around it-from media frenzies and legal shifts to neighborhood gossip and lasting urban legends. You'll hear deep dives into cases that changed laws, defined decades, or exposed hidden fractures in our systems, all discussed with a focus on context and consequence rather than sheer sensation. Tune into this podcast for a thoughtful, layered perspective that asks not only "what happened," but "why did it happen here, to these people, and what does that tell us about ourselves?" It's for anyone who feels true crime is more than a guilty pleasure-it's a lens on society itself.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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