Chance Encounters

When a Russian-born American citizen named Ilya Beloozerov is gunned down by the FBI in 2024, the authorities refuse to say why they’d killed him. CNN’s Isabelle Chapman embarks on a sprawling investigation that takes her from the Mississippi parking lot where he died to Washington, D.C. to unravel the mystery: Why did Ilya abruptly leave his family and his job and head for the border with laptops and cash? Why is there still no official explanation of his death? And maybe most importantly: Was Ilya a spy? 

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Great Escapes is a series about how sometimes travel doesn't go as planned, and how those moments often lead to the best stories. From a daring rescue atop the highest mountain in the Alps, to the moment two American tourists realized they were trapped inside a centuries-old Scottish castle.

Read along with the third episode at cnn.com/travel.

We'd love to hear your feedback on this episode. Let us know what you think by contacting CNN Travel via the contact form embedded in our articles.

Writer & Narrator: Francesca Street

Producer: Dan Bloom

Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig

Editor: David Allan

Global Editor, CNN Travel: Barry Neild

VP, Digital Franchises: Robert Boyle

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Great Escapes is a series about how sometimes travel doesn't go as planned, and how those moments often lead to the best stories. From a daring rescue atop the highest mountain in the Alps, to the moment two American tourists realized they were trapped inside a centuries-old Scottish castle.

Read along with the second episode at cnn.com/travel.

We'd love to hear your feedback on this episode. Let us know what you think by contacting CNN Travel via the contact form embedded in our articles.

Writer & Narrator: Francesca Street

Producer: Dan Bloom

Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig

Editor: David Allan

Global Editor, CNN Travel: Barry Neild

VP, Digital Franchises: Robert Boyle

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 Great Escapes is a series about how sometimes travel doesn't go as planned, and how those moments often lead to the best stories. From a daring rescue atop the highest mountain in the Alps, to the moment two American tourists realized they were trapped inside a centuries-old Scottish castle.

Read along with the first episode here.

You can find the series in written audio and video formats by visiting cnn.com/travel. We'd love to hear your feedback on this episode. Let us know what you think by contacting CNN Travel via the contact form embedded in our articles.

Writer & Narrator: Francesca Street

Producer: Dan Bloom

Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig

Editor: David Allan

Global Editor, CNN Travel: Barry Neild

VP, Digital Franchises: Robert Boyle

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American Kerri Cunningham fell for Brit Dirk Stevens when they met as teenagers on vacation. They were each other’s first love but lived on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Then almost three decades later, they unexpectedly reunited.

Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street

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Episode photo: iStock/Getty Images

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Hunter Smith was working the gate, John Lihas was working the flight. The two had a five-minute conversation that set in motion an unexpected travel love story that’s still going strong today.

Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street

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Episode photo:  iStock/Getty Images

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American Southerner Vickie Moretz didn’t know what “standby” meant when she booked a cheap flight to London in 1982. Just before takeoff, she was rushed onboard and seated beside Graham Kidner—a 22-year-old Brit. That last-minute seat sparked a connection that’s lasted over 40 years.

Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street

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Episode photo credit: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

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Bob Parsons was an American yacht captain. Beverly Carriveau was a Canadian librarian. One summer in Mazatlán, Mexico, a “thunderbolt" passed between them, and their lives were never the same again.

Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street

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American hiker Andrew McGowan and Taiwanese student Shallen Yu spent one glorious day together eating ice cream, stargazing and bonding over peach cobbler in Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2013. They were determined to be together against the odds.

Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street

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Episode photo: Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images

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American Catherine Tondelli won a trip to Rome, Italy in the summer of 1999. On her first night, she threw three coins in the city's Trevi Fountain and came to face-to-face with her future husband, Italian local Fausto Mezzana. Here’s how a vacation romance turned into a love story spanning 25 years and counting.

Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street

Share your Chance Encounter with CNN

Episode Photo: Steve Christo/Corbis via Getty Images

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