For this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith examine the troubling death of Isabelle Sam, a forty-four-year-old Indigenous woman who was found deceased inside an SUV in Juneau, Alaska, in January 2023.

Authorities ruled Isabelle’s death accidental, citing combined drug intoxication involving fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and alcohol. But the circumstances surrounding her final hours have continued to raise deeply uncomfortable questions.

According to reports, Isabelle was not alone prior to her death. Concerns surrounding witness accounts, the timeline of events, delays in intervention, and the reported existence of a forensic sexual assault examination have left many people unsettled by the official narrative surrounding the case.

In this episode, LaDonna and Amy explore the known timeline, the larger crisis involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the way addiction can alter public empathy toward victims, and the difficult questions that still linger in the aftermath of Isabelle’s death.

This episode contains discussions involving addiction, death, and violence and may be difficult for some listeners.

If you have information related to the death of Isabelle Sam, please contact law enforcement in Juneau, Alaska.

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