The Vanishing Point: Episode 3, The Wild West

Point, a new series from the Up and Vanish team. This podcast is absolutely free, but

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or a small town. And that's the case on reservations too. As our team spoke to people

in and around Hoopa, the so-called end of the road seemed to have a reputation of being

the place where outliers live. But it was time for our team to see this place for themselves.

frequented and the spot her family believes she disappeared from. There isn't much here

except for a few trailers, an old building, and the river.

of her disappearance and that she told him about plans to float downriver. Though the

behavior wouldn't be unusual of Emily, some Hoopa residents are suspicious of Frank.

Allie Hossler for the paper. My name's Laura.

Okay.

And she walked around naked a few times and that never did ever bother me.

she carried on a normal conversation. But she was on a mission. She wanted to get to Appa.

direction. She could have said, hey, can you take me to Appa? And I would have found a

way to get her there. But she didn't ask. But I believe she's still around here. Not

in this form of life. But wondering why no one's come forward to say, hey, I've done

something to him or I seen him last or something. No one's getting involved in things like this

no more. Rather hide or not say nothing. Me, I don't care. I'm 65 years old. I don't

care no more.

and other belongings scattered on every surface. Despite the rumors, Frank himself seems

unintimidating. He has a worn look about him, the type of eyes that seem like they've

weathered a challenge or two. Limping a bit from an injured ankle, he wears a boot on

his left leg.

see how you can just come up and miss it.

his cooperation with law enforcement.

things that is not even true. Then I heard everybody say, yeah, she's buried underneath

here in his house. And he's got her somewhere, this and that. And how stupid is that? So

I got a hold of the sergeant. So I told him that you have more law come down to my house

anytime, look around, whatever. Yeah, I have nothing to hide. What people say about me,

it's all bullshit.

good guy.

with respect, treat them like a human being. And then when you see them again, they're

not motherfucking you. They're like, I ain't doing no wrong.

As O'Rourke mentioned, after a series of arrests, he's quite familiar with Frank. In

fact, a few days prior to our visit, Frank had been released from Sempervirens, the primary

mental health facility serving the area.

Although rumors still swirl, Frank was never a suspect. In fact, he was interviewed three

times by law enforcement, and his account remained consistent. And the fact is, Frank

might have been the last person to see Emily, but without a time or date confirmation, Pequan

Bridge remains her last verified location.

As for our team, they perceive Frank as forthcoming, at least during their visit. He even spoke

openly about his lifelong struggle with substance abuse. Still, the overarching mystery persists.

What became of Emily Risling that fateful October day?

Ali Hosler from the Two Rivers Tribune suspects that the river holds clues.

to recover them, to either launch a boat and go recover them themselves, or even people

will wait at the mouth of the Klamath and wait there for their loved one to get washed out.

My brother actually drowned in the river in 2013. He was running from police, and that's

sort of a common thing where people will jump in the river to evade police in a pursuit.

And he did that, and he didn't make it out.

So, I know of at least three other people around my age that did the same thing. A lot

of them make it, and some of them don't. I think that's just the general fear of police.

There's an overall fear of certain officers not treating people fairly. You know, there's

been cases where people from here have been beaten in jail by correctional officers. There's

also a fear of, if I go to jail, I can't use my drugs. I don't have access to drugs like

I did before. So, when you're an addict and your addiction's taking over your life, avoid

jail at all costs, because you have to either find drugs in jail or you have to clean up.

And not everyone wants to clean up.

abuse may have played a role. And if it did, she wouldn't be alone. According to the

CDPH Overdose Dashboard, the area encompassing Hoopa Valley reports an opioid death rate

eight times the state average. And Ali says it's not only the folks struggling with addiction

whose lives are in peril. The spouses, the kids, the parents, the friends, the community,

nothing and no one seems immune.

To better understand where this crisis began, we spoke with Humboldt County Sheriff William

Hansel.

it goes to psilocybin, mushrooms, and methamphetamine. Heroin was huge, cocaine, and now fentanyl.

And a lot of people say, well, you have a lot of people that looks like are suffering

from either being addicted to drugs and becoming zombie-like. Is that because of the substance

abuse or is that because of mental illness? I think it's obviously a little bit of both.

We have people that have that dual diagnosis. If they are addicted to drugs, they oftentimes

have some mental illness that's tied to it. Being in a rural jurisdiction in California

does not make us immune to the fentanyl issues. And we've seen a huge number of fentanyl

overdoses here in our county. It has doubled every year for the last three years.

Which is way too much.

We've outfitted all of our deputies with Narcan in hopes that if we come across someone

who is overdosing that we can save their life. And that has happened several times in the

last couple of years.

I believe that there are people that explicitly target people in tribes because sometimes

they're stuck in the reservation or maybe these people are stuck in an addiction or

two. You're looking at people that want to take advantage of the system in place. And

there are cartels, there are gang members, there are people that are anti-government

that hide out on tribal land because they believe that there's some kind of insulation

by living in the tribal community. And the cartels see that they can take advantage of

people by giving them money, giving them drugs, giving them access, buys them time, buys

them opportunities to live amongst members of the tribal community. And when law enforcement

does come, it is a very difficult task. And oftentimes they're shunned. It can become

very dangerous.

County, where Hoopa is located. But health concerns and potential overdoses aren't the

only risks.

and they don't really have a handle on it in terms of policing that area. They never

have.

about some of the more hidden obstacles.

goes hand in hand with outlaw justice. Or just, I already break these laws, I'll break

a couple more.

basically priced a lot of people out of the trade. And then the subsequent boom in marijuana

farming meant supply quickly outpaced demand. It destroyed sellers' economic advantage.

With all of these changes, many struggled to maintain their way of life. In California,

illegal marijuana cultivation continues, and unfortunately, it's gained a reputation for

not treating workers fairly.

to survive. They didn't really have a resume and a skill set to be able to support themselves

in other ways. So many people who were already self-admitted outlaws turned to other areas

of crime. So whether that's maybe selling fentanyl instead of marijuana, or that's stealing

in burglarizing places. Maybe they're just in such a desperate state, they don't really

care anymore about other people. They're just out for themselves and they're addicted now.

So I think there's sort of a belief that if you are a criminal, you can get away with

it easier, longer, and maybe forever in a place like Humboldt County.

I learned pretty early on growing up there that be careful what situations you put yourself in.

Everyone's super territorial and aggressive about it. And that's to say there's not really

lovely, beautiful things and people. There's definitely that, but you could just break

it down by statistics. Something's more likely to happen in some places compared to others,

and that's the reality.

and the illegal growth sometimes hidden on federal land. And there's another startling

years people would go missing, and that was almost an accepted fact. To be fair to the

law enforcement, Native people aren't the only ones that go missing up there and aren't

found and aren't looked for. A lot of people go missing up there, and most of them are

never found. Historically, criminals have sought Indian reservations to hide out on

because they know they're even less likely to be found and arrested if they have warrants

or they're suspected in other cases. So it almost attracts those types of people.

When I was a kid growing up there, and this is just purely like school gossip, but people

would say, oh, Humboldt County is the serial killer capital of the world because people

can hide out there, and there's a million places to hide bodies. It is a very beautiful

place, and it has a lot of healing energy. But yeah, there's people in the shadows that

aren't there for that.

kept surfacing. It was a sign that this was a piece of the puzzle worth investigating

further. But even after we did, so much was still unanswered. We were left with the same

central question. What happened to Emily Risling? Here again is Chief Greg O'Rourke.

I have to be objective and I have to be open-minded to that's a possibility. And without any indicator

of foul play, then the likelihood of that possibility becomes stronger.

the area. They hope that Emily will one day be found.

and not get caught up in the stigma of it. Because when and if it gets to a point where

law enforcement gets involved because of missing or because of a crime, we need to know who

we're dealing with, not who that person was. And I remember telling Emily's mom, is still

having an opportunity to be able to help her people by her message and her story coming

out. And, you know, poor Judy, you know, he cried on that. And, you know, I felt bad,

but it's, you know, also how I see it. And as for Judy Risling?

these are just like any other missing people.

Emily would be out there advocating for this. And so, in a way, it's kind of like her talking

anything else you feel comfortable sharing.

them shared similarities. One of these stories was Sumi Juan's. Like Emily, before she

disappeared, Sumi struggled with mental illness.

I wouldn't live with my dad, and there was just always, like, custody battles. So it's

really hard for me, when I'm asked about my mom, like, it's really hard for me to say,

like, who she was, because I didn't really grow up with her.

we did frequently at races. I was coming out, and I was going to make a new appointment,

and they have this board right when you walk out, and I had seen this poster of her. She

was wearing a white T-shirt. Her hair was in a bun with flyaways, and that was the first

time I'd seen it or heard anything about it. And it said she was missing, like, September

or October. It was kind of just a shock.

Her family had been hopeful that Sumi might turn up, so they'd kept her disappearance

a secret. It was best to not upset Aurelia, they'd reasoned, but their plans had the

opposite effect.

I talked to my dad about it, and he said, well, we were hoping she was going to come

back, so they didn't say anything.

I don't know many details, but I know that she had a really hard life.

in the gaps.

us to have a better life. She essentially just, like, gave us to my dad, but she was

also dealing with, like, her mental health issues, so I get it.

Office on October 29, 2010.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Juan was last seen by family members in early October

or September 2010 at Hoopa Elementary School.

All current information about Juan's case is listed under the unsolved cases on the

Humboldt County's website.

Juan is described as a missing person under suspicious circumstances.

Can you talk a little bit about how your mom's disappearance has impacted you?

When my mom went missing, it felt like nobody was searching for her, like, even her own

tribe. Like, it was very little effort, so it was just disappointing to see.

Like, how it is, like, now, if someone goes missing. I mean, they put out rewards.

They're everywhere. And that wasn't the case.

This is what she had to say.

to see a Hoopa resident who Carpenter suspected was a drug dealer.

I said, what are you doing? You know how they are.

I've never seen her again after that.

In the years that followed Juan's disappearance, Carpenter said a family member of the alleged

drug dealer implied to Carpenter that they knew Juan's whereabouts.

They came to me and said, you want to know something about your daughter?

You have to come and see me, but you have to come by yourself.

Carpenter said, for real? And I didn't go. I never did go.

Carpenter said that she was eventually told that Juan's remains are allegedly under a

cement slab at the home of the alleged drug dealer in Hoopa.

He would never let anybody go there, Carpenter said.

He's been no good his whole life.

disappearance and everything

has ended with murder. And those stories are hard to hear.

And what's even more crazy is that person

who ever did it is probably someone we know. We all know here.

And they're just walking around.

And it's unclear if he was investigated for Sumi's disappearance or

if the talk around town is just gossip.

We don't have any further information on this person, but a press release published by

Humboldt County Sheriff's Office in November of 2010 did indicate

that there may have been potential leads.

Humboldt County Sheriff's detectives are interested in speaking to two people

they believe spent time with Juan near the time of her disappearance.

and Deborah Jealous of him, both of Hoopa.

are suspects in the disappearance.

and Deborah Jealous of him. And while we weren't able to locate Robert,

we found through a public record search that he had been arrested in 2019

during a meth and heroin bust in Hoopa.

We were able to locate information on Deborah Jealous of him.

Sadly, a newspaper article from 2018 states that she passed away

after being found unresponsive in an alleyway.

Our team had an interview scheduled with Sumi's mom,

but when they arrived, she'd changed her mind.

Other family members also declined our interview requests.

Laura has her thoughts on why they may not want to talk.

heading towards a person who was living in Hoopa at the time,

and he was a known drug dealer. And that seems to have been

the last sort of concrete time that anyone saw her.

And it's, you know, there seems to be a lot of rumors, like a lot

of these cases, a lot of rumors from people who live in the community.

Because as far as I'm aware, he was a drug dealer and he may still be,

and I think he has some pretty unsavory connections.

So I don't judge anyone for not wanting to come forward with information,

but there definitely seems to be fear surrounding this particular individual.

it's hard to get away from a person of interest.

When a case goes unsolved for so long, those fears, they fester.

Aurelia is no stranger to this.

I just, as a mom, I became so paranoid.

We were in Sacramento and I was going to take them to the park,

and I drove around for like 30, 40 minutes because I was too scared to get out of the car.

It's like, I'm so vulnerable. If something happens, I can't save both of them.

So it's different. Now anything can happen.

Like, nothing's impossible.

It's crazy because my mom went missing on the reservation,

but this is where I feel the safest.

I don't know if I could really live anywhere else.

a dandelion, half blown away in the wind,

her mother's name above it.

It's a memento, one that honors her mom and reminds her of her spirit.

And it was funny because the tattoo artist, he was like,

oh, I'm going to need to add some white because you're a little dark.

My mom was very dark and my grandma, she's pretty dark too, so it's kind of funny.

like a couple journals of my mom's and one of them said

who she was, I'm Sue Miguel Juan, and she said

I have three beautiful daughters that I love dearly, so I'll probably add that somewhere.

challenges for Aurelia. She's determined to use her

I went through such an angry phase.

When someone would come up missing or anything, I'm like, well, why should I care? They didn't care.

And then I'm like, and that's terrible now that I think about it, but I was just so angry.

And now I'm like, okay, I want to be a part

of whatever they're doing. So I recently

I took this job. I applied for MMIP Advocate.

I want to be able to help individuals impacted by

a family member or a friend who was murdered or

missing. We can help them, assist them to go if they need a place

to stay or just directing them to different resources.

And I am a little nervous with the job because I still deal with

it on a day-to-day basis, so I'm just a little

nervous that it might be too much for me, but I'm going to do it as long as I can.

office, the same one where Aurelia works.

It's an unassuming building right off a tree-lined road.

and Domestic Violence Prevention Program office.

victims. It's a resource that caters to a wide range of needs.

Whether it's escaping dangerous situations or simply finding a calm

secure spot to do laundry, it's a valuable asset to the community.

here with several programs. There's a Medically Assisted

Treatment Program office, there's a medical clinic, there's

a Diabetes Prevention Program office, and then also this

MMIP office is a couple years old, but a fairly new addition.

But the tribe recognized the need to address the

MMIP epidemic here on the reservation and established this office as part of that.

walks down the hallway, a bulletin board in one of the rooms grabs

their attention. It's covered with flyers.

When they get close enough to read the board, they see it's cluttered

with missing posters.

A majority of the cases in our database

the Up & Vantage team dives into a new unsolved case from the

Valley area. That's next time on The Vanishing Point.

Thanks for listening to this episode of The Vanishing Point.

This six-part series is released weekly, absolutely free.

But if you want to listen to it ad-free, subscribe to Tenderfoot Plus

at tenderfootplus.com or on Apple Podcasts.

The Vanishing Point is a production of Tenderfoot TV

in association with Odyssey.

The show is written by Meredith Stedman, Alex Vespistead,

and Jamie Albright, with additional writing assistance by

Selesia Stanton. Executive producers are Donald Albright and myself,

Payne Lindsey. Lead producer is Jamie Albright, along with

Meredith Stedman. Editing by Alex Vespistead.

Additional editing by Sydney Evans. Supervising producer is

Tracy Kaplan. Additional production by Laura Frater and Allie Hossler.

Research by Laura Frater and Taylor Floyd.

Artwork by Byron McCoy. Original music by Makeup

and Vanity Set. Mix by Dayton Cole. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum

and the team at UTA, Beck Media and Marketing, and the Nord Group.

And a special thanks to Greg O'Rourke, the KIDE

91.3 radio station in Hoopa, the Two Rivers Tribune,

and all of the families and community members that spoke to us.

For more podcasts like The Vanishing Point, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite

podcast app, or visit us on our website at tenderfoot.tv.

Thanks for listening.