The Darker Side of Life Podcast

On April 1, 2014, Dutch friends Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers set out to hike a popular trail in Boquete, Panama. The two friends were vacationing together in the small tourist town, finding adventures around Boquete until they would start their volunteering jobs at a local school. When the women didn't return from their hike on the El Pianista trail, a frantic search would uncover more mysteries than answers about what happened to the girls.

Hello there, listeners! You might have thought we dropped off the face of the earth over the last year. But The Darker Side of Life is back with an announcement and some changes going forward. 

On December 2, 2010, Phoebe Handsjuk spent a day home at the apartment she shared with her boyfriend in Melbourne, Australia. It had been a rough week for her. By the end of the day, Phoebe's body would be found in a lower level garbage room of the apartment building, where investigators say she managed to fit down an extremely narrow garbage chute from the 12th floor. Officials ruled her death a suicide, but Phoebe's family has questions regarding the suspicious nature of her death and the lack of policework done to investigate properly. 

You might think the only thing going on at Denver International Airport is people heading out on vacation. Think again. Because when it comes to DIA, there might be more going on than meets the eye. 

In May of 2014, Georgia couple Russell and Shirley Dermond were invited to a party at a friend's house, but failed to show up. Days later, friends became worried after no contact was made with the couple, both in their 80s, since then. When someone went to check on them, they found Russell's decapitated body in the garage and Shirley was missing. What happened on that day is still a mystery and one of Putnam County's most baffling cold cases.

It's a cold, desolate place. Not many people go there. But it's natural beauty and potential for science make it an almost haven for some people. However, for the lucky few that get to go, rigorous physical and psychological testing is often required. They sometimes spend months on end in darkness and isolation, with only a few other humans around for thousands of miles. And sometimes mysterious things happen, or crime - this week were talking about what it's like living on Antarctica.

On December 9, 2019, Whakaari, an active volcano off the coast of New Zealand, erupted. This was not like other eruptions from Whakaari. A popular tourist destination for adventurers, 47 people were on the volcano at the time of eruption. The aftermath was devastating to all involved. 

It was supposed to be a fun spring break trip - in 1989, Mark Kilroy and his friends from college went to South Padre Island, Texas, to party and have fun. During a short trip across the border into Mexico one night, Mark got separated from his friends - and was never seen alive again. His family and friends suffered an excruciating 4-week search for Mark, until his body was found on a Mexican ranch - along with evidence of a cult that practiced human sacrifice. 

Welcome to Helltown, Ohio! It's now your average ghost town from the Wild West. Boston, Ohio was once home to a thriving  community until they were told they no longer owned their homes and were forced to leave. What moved in to what became known as Helltown would give anyone chills.