How the search for a missing deputy uncovered the Mojave Desert's meth epidemic, the outlaw bikers supplying it, and the corrupt police force covering it up.
On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jon Aujay went for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park. A long-distance runner and former military, Aujay felt at home in the rocky terrain, but when he didn’t return home by nightfall, his wife reported him missing. Nearly 30 years later, Aujay has yet to be found and the mystery surrounding his disappearance has only deepened.
Some say Aujay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there. But there’s another theory that many of Aujay’s friends and LASD colleagues are convinced is true… that he was the victim of foul play, and that his own department is covering it up.
Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd dig into what the sheriff’s department has kept hidden all these years.
Told over 8 episodes, Valley of Shadows follows the hairpin turns of the Aujay case, and breaks new ground in the search to uncover what really happened to the missing deputy. New episodes release on Mondays.
Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/valley-of-shadows/id1858046983) or at Pushkin.fm/plus (http://pushkin.fm/plus). Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/4JqqPNYDkyAHVFFEv7pEeq).
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Episode 8: The Finish Line
Detectives investigate suspicious deaths and alleged corruption within the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, uncovering a pattern of buried cases and questionable rulings in the Aujay investigation.
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Episode 7: The Trial
Betsy and Hayley investigate the LASD's secrets as DEA agent Hager fights back against departmental betrayal during a trial.
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Episode 6: The Big Takedown
Law enforcement officials execute a large drug sting in Antelope Valley, capturing a key witness in the Aujay case after an 18-month investigation.
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Episode 5: The Legend of Bigfoot
Detectives Brandenburg and Hager investigate Deputy Rick Engels' connection to the Aujay case, revealing a surprising link between Bigfoot folklore and real-life fear in the Devil's Punchbowl.
26 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Episode 4: Outlaw Country
Detective Brandenburg and narcotics detective Darren Hager uncover a disturbing connection between a biker gang, a disappearance, and law enforcement in this interview episode.
19 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Episode 3: Tweaker Talk
Betsy and Hayley investigate Jon Aujay's disappearance, uncovering a meth epidemic and Homicide Detective Larry Brandenburg's pursuit of leads dismissed by others.
12 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Episode 2: An Unreasonable Act
This episode investigates the suspicious disappearance of Deputy Jon Aujay, exploring conflicting accounts of his final days and the possibility of murder.
12 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Episode 1: The Devil’s Punchbowl
Deputy Jon Aujay is former military, an ultramarathon runner, and a part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s elite SWAT unit, so when he fails to return home from a run in Antelope Valley’s Devil’s Punchbowl…no one knows what to think. The sheriff’s department launches a widespread search for him, but finds no trace. Theories of accident, suicide, and desertion swirl, but Aujay’s former boss — retired CaptainMike Bauer — is convinced there’s something darker at play.
Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here (https://lnk.to/VOSsoundtrack).
Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/valley-of-shadows/id1858046983) or at Pushkin.fm/plus (http://pushkin.fm/plus).
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
5 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Introducing Valley of Shadows: Corruption in California’s Mojave Desert
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jon Aujay disappeared nearly 30 years ago in a remote part of the Mojave Desert. Investigative reporters Betsy Shepherd and Hayley Fox dig into why Aujay’s former department may never want him found. In the process, the hosts uncover vestiges of the Wild West in a small California town, where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law.
Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/valley-of-shadows/id1858046983) or at Pushkin.fm/plus (http://pushkin.fm/plus).
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
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