Crime Junkie - MISSING: Allison and Marie-Josée Benitez

Episode Date: July 24, 2023

When a beautiful young woman and her mother go missing, all eyes turn to the strange behavior of her father. And when he crumbles under the scrutiny, a lifetime of secrets make their way to the surface.If you or anyone you know is thinking about suicide, emotional support can be reached by calling or texting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Did you know you can listen to this episode ad-free? Join the Fan Club! Visit https://crimejunkieapp.com/library/ to view the current membership options and policies.Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit: https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/missing-allison-marie-josee-benitez/ Don’t miss out on all things Crime Junkie!Instagram: @crimejunkiepodcast | @audiochuckTwitter: @CrimeJunkiePod | @audiochuckTikTok: @crimejunkiepodcastFacebook: /CrimeJunkiePodcast | /audiochuckllcCrime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. Instagram: @ashleyflowers | @britprawatTwitter: @Ash_Flowers | @britprawatTikTok: @ashleyflowerscrimejunkieFacebook: /AshleyFlowers.AFYou can join Ashley’s community by texting [phone] to stay up to date on what's new!

Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. And quick disclaimer today, we have a story out of France. And I will tell you that all of our sources, all the source material are in French that we had to translate. So I'm not, you're not going to hear them cited within the episode, but as always, we're going to link out to them in the show notes.

Otherwise, I don't think you would even hear the episode. There's so long and so complicated and less so you never forget. Jacques-Wise. Jacques-Wise, French is not our strong suit, folks. No, no. No, no. But I didn't want that to stop us from telling this story because it's an important one that I want you to hear.

It's about secrets. The price we pay to have them and the price we pay to have them, and the price we pay to keep them. This is the story of Allison and Marie-Joseph Benitez. It's a summer evening in 2013, and Cindy Philippiac, an organizer for the regional French beauty pageant, Ms. Roussillon, is a little concerned when she doesn't see 19-year-old Alison Benichez among the girls filing in for the Monday prep meeting. A former winner herself, Cindy, knows how committed her girls are to the contest, which is less than a month away now.

And this pageant is a big deal. The winner will compete for the title of Miss Frampt. And Allison is one of Cindy's fiercest competitors, so Cindy can't help but notice her absence, especially since Allison had checked in the day before to confirm what time they were meeting that day. As the minutes ticked by and there's still no sign of her, even the other contestants start to worry. And I mean, they've all been preparing for this thing for months, and yeah, they're competitors,

but they've also become friends. Allison would not be a no-show, not to this, even if she was just going to be like 5 or 10 minutes late, she would have reached out. And she easily could reach out, because she's a teenager, you know, and her cell phone is practically attached to her body. Okay, but she's a teenager. Cell phone fixation or not? Teenagers aren't really known to be the most reliable humans on the planet, or the most punctual.

True, but this is an important day, like I said. I mean, honestly, at this point, every day is an important day. It's already the middle of July, and the pageant is coming up on August 11. And not only that, but everyone knows that Alison's mom, Mauricio Zay, is nearly as excited for the pageant as Alison is. Because, duh, pageant moms are like an elite class. Right. And they haven't heard from either of them.

So it's not just Allison, it's her mom too. However, even though this seems like an important time that they would never ever miss, not everyone knows every part of your life, right? I mean, we see a fraction of the real day to day that people go through, often a fraction of who they really are as a whole. So everyone there might not have known that Marie-Josee had taken off out of the blue before. In fact, that's actually what her oldest daughter Lydia thinks is

going on at this very moment. You see, she had gotten a text from her mom the evening before, and the Google translation of that quote says, I made a difficult decision, but it's better this way. I'm going to to lose with Allison. I love you, call dad. And she met her stepdad, Francisco, who had been in her life since she was like 11, like her dad. Yeah, so Francisco is Lydia's stepdad and Allison's biological father? Right.

Now this text might be weird to some and it is definitely a little vague, but Lydia has seen her mom just take off before. I mean, just a few weeks ago, she had taken off for four days and before that she'd taken off for as many as 10 days at a time. But most of this taking off had been happening since she and Francisco separated around two years ago.

So Lydia thinks she does this, maybe to keep Francisco on his toes. Also, they all still live together. So I get wanting some space. Space is a very least. I don't know if I'd ever be home by trust to be honest. It's a complicated setup. She's actually going to be moving out in just a couple of months, and Allison is going to go with her because they're super tight. And Francisco had even agreed

to pay for the new place, which he could afford, because he has a super successful job basically in the French Foreign Legion, which is a branch of the French army, so it makes sense that he'll be helping them out financially. But until then, another last minute trip doesn't seem all that unexpected. And everyone knows how close Alison is with her mom, so it makes sense that they be together, even maybe with all this pageant stuff going on. So when she kind of pieced out before, had Alison gone with her, like would that be pretty common for them to both kind of go away together?

So that is a good question and something that I actually wondered but none of the source material I have says one way or another, like if she had gone before, if this was the first time, but still whatever the situation was, this time her going with her didn't seem

out of the ordinary. Like I said, the two of them were Super close. It's a level I can only hope to attain with Josie like Allison's social media pages are filled with her mom writing these wonderful things for her daughter to you know Just how much she loves her how proud she is and then Allison writes back saying she's proud of her mom She even calls her Mamunette Demore and I think it roughly translates to mommy of love or mommy My love which is now going to be the next word I teach Josie like F English its whole aim

Okay, but that still doesn't explain why Allison wouldn't have mentioned this trip to anyone from the pageant That is fair. You're right. It doesn't So does Lydia know that they're missing all of this? I kind of feel like we have two groups of people here who are aware that they're missing but in completely different circumstances. Well, that's the thing. Lydia lives in Bizier, which is about an hour north of Perpignon, where her family is. And I mean, she's like a fully grown adult with her own life, you know? So I don't think she, when you say they all know she's missing, I don't think she considers them missing, and she's not super keyed into

Allison's day to day pageant schedule, the whole prep meeting, no show, no call, whatever thing. I don't think that's on her radar. So in relation to those locations, where's To lose exactly where they said they were going? Well, part of these beautiful pictures I endlessly got lost in, it is this gorgeous city a little under three hours away by car. Oh, that's not a running away forever trip. That's like a hop skip, and I jump even a day or a weekend kind of thing. That's me driving to your house.

Yeah, and especially because Europe has amazing public transport. You could, you know, take the train, no big deal. Okay, so it's not too far, beautiful, all great, but why to lose? Well, they both love that area, to the point where they've talked about getting jobs there. So even though they don't have family or anything there that's like a real solid connection,

the more Lydia mulls it over, the more kind of makes sense that that's where they would take off to for some kind of trip or more, or whatever. Oh, yeah, jobs there sounds like moving there. So it sounds like maybe Lydia's not thinking this is just a little weekend trip. She's thinking they could have left left. Well still at night at this point, I don't think so. I think maybe she's thinking they decided to visit before pulling the trigger on a really

big move. Especially again, if they needed a break. And actually, I say that thinking she knows things came to a head between her mom and her stepdad, so she thinks that this was the outcome of that. Oh, the outcome of what? Well, apparently, Allison had found private messages between Francisco and a woman in Barcelona, like romantic messages? Oh.

When she confronted him, Francisco tried to reassure her that it was no big deal, but he had confided in Lydia that he was in love big time. I guess I don't get it. What's the big deal then if they've been separated for two years and she and Allison are moving out? Well, I'm kind of spitballing here, but I think it could be a couple of things. I mean, they've been separated for two years and she and Allison are moving out. Well, I'm kind of spitballing here, but I think it could be a couple of things.

I mean, they've been separated for two years, but like I said, they're just now making the move to live apart. So maybe it wasn't all that clean of a break, you know, it's totally possible that the intention was to try and work on things during the separation, or maybe they just agreed not to see other people while they were still under the same roof,

just out of respect for one another? I don't know, but either way, Lydia doesn't worry when she gets that text message on July 14th because she has all this back history. And she doesn't worry on July 15th or 16th when she doesn't hear any updates. But eventually she does try to call and to text. And these new communications aren't getting any kind of response, not from her mom or her sister. And the same can be said for Lydia's other sister, Roxanne.

In fact, she didn't even know they were traveling or off the radar. But eventually both sisters check Alison's social media and they find that her pages have gone dark. And like you said earlier, she's a teenager. Teenagers don't go dark on social media, at least not by choice. Right. And I assume they've reached out to Francisco by now. What's his read on the whole situation? Is he worried? Isn't that the question? I mean, it seems like no, because he says that him and his estranged wife had gotten into an argument about bills, and she told him the same thing that she had texted Lydia that she announced and we're going to go to to lose.

They'd even packed up a suitcase or two on their way out. But by July 22nd, Francisco's changing his tune a bit. By this time, he's worried enough to actually make a visit to the police department. Although he doesn't stay long or accomplish much. Like, he's not even there longer than 10 minutes. And based on what I could gather, police aren't too interested in taking a report at this time because, I mean, both women are adults. But again, how hard did he really try? He's only there for 10 minutes, Max? Well, yeah, but we also don't know how hard

the cops are pushing back saying they weren't gonna follow your report. Maybe he kinda saw it as like, I'm never gonna get anywhere with this anyway. Yeah, I'm gonna spend my time elsewhere. Maybe. But trip or no trip? By July 25th, 11 full days of no one hearing a word

from either woman, Lydia drags Francisco to the police station again. She makes sure a report gets filed this time around. And like right off the bat, when police start looking into things, they notice some inconsistencies. One of those inconsistencies was about how worried Francisco was and when. Like Francisco tells them that he was worried right away, basically from the 15th on, says he even tried to search for them on his own,

which I'm pretty sure is news to Lydia. And then Allison's best friend comes forward and tells investigators that he'd stop by their apartment looking for Allison on either the 16th or 17th. So again, after he says he's worried and looking for them, and when this friend stops by, Francisco had told him not to worry because they're in to lose, they turned off their phones, everything's probably fine. So he's all worried in searching on the 15th, but he's telling this kid the very next day or so that nothing's wrong, and he knows exactly where they are?

Yeah, and obviously both can't be true. Right. And at the same time, investigators are figuring out some other concerning things. Like not only have neither of the women used their phones since the 14th and There's no sign of them on the internet or social media But they also haven't touched their bank accounts Is there traveling without spending a single dollar doesn't add up right and the whole idea of them traveling Actually doesn't make much sense either because the family car is with Francisco.

And either woman have licenses anyway. When investigators check the CCTV footage at the train station, they're not on it. There isn't any record of them taking any form of public transportation to, to lose, or anywhere. Ashley, what are you talking about? It all makes sense. Of course they haven't spent anybody traveling. These two must have freaking walked to lose or anywhere. Ashley, what are you talking about? It all makes sense. Of course they haven't spent anybody traveling. These two must have freaking walked to lose.

I mean, honestly, it's the only option that makes Francisco's story make sense. Nothing is adding up. And at the end of July, investigators put out a national broadcast asking the public for help, finding the women. And right away, a few tips do filter in, possible sightings of both of them, I think.

But investigators' initial hopes are dashed when they turn out to be false leads. So on August 1st, they finally turn their attention to the family apartment for a search. Forensic texts comb through the place for like five hours. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I've been stuck on this It took till August first to look at the apartment. Yes, so They go missing on the 15th week we think and

Francisco is just being in the apartment hanging out Being worried then suddenly not being worried and being worried again, for over two weeks before investigators even take a look at the place? Yeah, you're not- yes, there is this huge gap where they're not taking a look around at all. And I know it sounds suspicious, or it sounds like time was lost, but I don't know if it mattered that they waited, because as far as like evidence of a crime scene goes, when they do this like five-hour-long

search two weeks later, they don't find any evidence of foul play. Okay, but to me, that's all the more reason it does matter. I mean, saying nothing's there now. Again, 18 freaking days later, does not mean there was always nothing there. Yeah, and you're right. And listen, what they're saying isn't that. They're not saying all good here, nothing happened here. Okay.

Really what they're saying is that they haven't ruled anything in or out or any one in or out. I mean, they're still open to the possibility of a voluntary disappearance, but they are still considering some form of foul play. By August 4, Francisco seems like he is just crumbling, which becomes super clear when a video of him is posted online that day. And just FYI, I'm a little unclear whether Francisco himself posted this video or whether

it was shared with the media outlet that then posted it, but either way, in it, he's speaking directly to the camera, openly weeping. I'm actually going to play a little bit of the clip for all of you, and obviously most of us won't be able to understand the words he's saying, but I want you, it's more the emotion I want you to get, because he is clearly distressed. And in the video, he is declaring his unconditional love for his daughter and says that he's hoping for the safe return of both his daughter and his wife. And he also refers to all of the pressure that he's under, saying that despite his best efforts to hold on, he's on the verge of exploding. I'm a little bit confused because it's been three weeks since I've been here.

And my daughter has been doing this for a long time. She's not giving us news and she's doing it as it is possible. She's not giving us any. Oh my God, you weren't kidding. He's like falling apart. Even in a language I don't understand, I feel like you can still feel all of that emotion. Falling apart is exactly the right term to use.

And he never puts himself back together because on the morning of August 5th, the very next day, his warrant officer, where he works, Bynes Francisco's body in the barracks. Binds Francisco's body in the barracks. He died by suicide between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. that Monday. And with this discovery, the video from the day before starts seeming like something of a suicide note. Yeah, especially like you said with the translation of it being like on the verge of exploding trying to hold himself together. Saying that she loves his daughter. Yeah, yeah, it's heavy stuff. And it also introduces some troubling questions like, yeah, it seemed like he was being sincere in his video. And I do, I think he was being sincere, but the question becomes sincere about what?

Sincerely devastated by the disappearance of his wife and daughter, or sincerely guilt stricken by the knowledge of how they disappeared. And this is really when investigators change their tune publicly. Whatever discretion they've been exercising up to this point regarding their suspicions of Francisco, it's pretty quickly set aside. At a press conference that same day, the deputy prosecutor acknowledges that the women probably aren't alive. And he indicates that the chances of any sort of voluntary disappearance on their part are rapidly diminishing. And he goes even further, acknowledging that it's quote, difficult to accuse a dead person.

But he's also doing little to hide the fact that that's quote, difficult to accuse a dead person. But he's also doing little to hide the fact that that's what he's doing. Now that Francisco's gone, basically there are only real possible witness to the women's disappearances. Investigators decide to seize Francisco's cell phone and laptop, as well as to take another look at the family's apartment. While those items are being analyzed, they also establish a national tip line, because they're having a really hard time finding witnesses who can either confirm or

dispute elements of Francisco's story. And I think that's in part just due to the time of year it is, because July and August are the months that a lot of French people go on extended vacation, so a lot of people who live in this area are out of town while all of this is going down. I gotta say, Europeans are onto something with the whole month long vacation thing. Listen, I want to want that so badly and you know this, but I'm quite literally allergic to vacation. So, I might actually be like taken out by the plague if I was to go out that long. Yeah, that'd be dangerous for you. Agreed. Anyway, even with France being in its peak season

at this point, investigators eventually track down some neighbors of the family who confirm overhearing frequent arguments coming from their apartment, which we kind of already knew, right? I mean, we know they're separated. Francisco even said that they left after an argument that they'd had. Right, that's true.

This really isn't new information. Although it does tend to support the conclusions that investigators are already reaching. And the next tip that they get makes them certain that they're on the right track. Because it turns out this isn't the first time a woman closely associated with Francisco has disappeared under highly suspicious circumstances. They get this tip from a man named Claude, but really, Claude is calling on behalf of his four teenage kids, who he had had with a woman named Simone de Oliveira Alviz. Because when Francisco's face flashed across their television, Claude and Simone's kids

couldn't believe what they were seeing, or rather they couldn't believe who they were seeing. You see, back in 2004, nearly a decade before Allison and Marijose went missing. Forty-something-year-old Francisco had been stationed in the French city of Neme, and although he was very much married at the time and a father to Allison who was around 10 years old, he insisted to Simone, this 28-year-old Brazilian mother of four that he was single and childless. And having no reason to disbelieve him, Simone and Francisco began this passionate affair and things got kinda serious.

I mean, serious enough that she introduced him to her kids. And based on what they tell investigators, he hadn't just met them. He'd practically acted as a stepfather to them for months. Right up until the day their mother vanished without a trace. According to Simone's sister, it was when Simone found out about his whole other family that she disappeared. And not just that. Again, according to the sister, Simone might have even been pregnant.

And it's not like no one noticed when she went missing back then. I mean, she had four kids, so authorities opened an investigation into her disappearance, but it doesn't seem like it got very far before it went cold. All investigators were really able to determine was that Simone and Francisco had gotten into some kind of argument, and on the evening of November 29, 2004, she had texted him to say that she was leaving, and she wasn't coming back, and then poof, she was gone. So this guy didn't even come up with a new story? She texted him? I mean, it worked pretty well the first time,

because investigators got nowhere. Either they thought she really left, or maybe they had suspicions that they couldn't prove? I don't know. Basically, a couple of years after her disappearance, her case had pretty much been abandoned. No one was digging into it. But now, in 2013,

another woman connected to Francisco has sent this big text that she's leaving, and basically has fallen off the face of the earth. Then he takes his own life, just as police are starting to like squeeze on him. So yeah, maybe it's time to reopen that 2004 case, and they do. Now it's also around this time that they get results back from Francisco's electronics. And right away, they're pretty interested in a call he made just prior to ending his life. It was two a woman in Spain named Maria Teresa. Is this the woman he was seeing before, the one that Alison had found communications with?

Yes, same woman. Literally, it was about to follow up on that. Like, I was wondering if they ever tracked her down and talked to her to see if she'd do anything? I get the impression they didn't know anything about her before they found the records of this call. Which is kind of weird, like again, I don't know if they're not talking to Lydia, it's a little muddy, and again, might be getting lost in the translation as well

but either way they know who about her now they track her down and she tells them that not long after the two women had quote-unquote left she had a romantic rendezvous with Francisco at the family apartment. Hmm, how long is not long? Less than a week. I mean, I think she was there on July 19th. Jesus Christ, we keep it classy, Francisco. If I remember correctly, that was before they were even reported missing, right? Right.

And that is an important point, because as far as I can tell, Maria Teresa had no reason to think anything was a miss when she was there. But there was something that she didn't fully appreciate at the time that now she's thinking might be important. She tells investigators that she had noticed something disturbing. You see, when she was there, the apartment had this terrible smell. Without the necessary context, she didn't really question Francisco when he told her that the smell was nothing to worry about. Just the smell of the neighbor's garbage, wafting in through the

bathroom window. The closed bathroom window. Yeah, it's totally that. So hearing all of this, investigators are thinking that the smell wasn't trash, duh. And the woman's bodies aren't in the apartment by now. I mean, they know that they looked through the apartment, but could they have been on July 19th or in the days leading up to it? Which we would have known if they didn't take nearly 20 days to even look at the apartment.

Well again, I mean, they weren't reported missing like even at that 19 times. So no one would have known to even go there on an official basis, but you do wonder. I mean, like if the smell lingered, if there was something to be found on day 11 when he was dragged to report them missing, maybe they were still there, maybe there was something to find then, rather than waiting till day 18 or whatever. I don't know.

And was Lydia ever in the house during this time? Did she smell anything or think anything was off? This is so frustrating, but I don't know. I can only assume, yes, since we know she was in town on the 25th to go to the police department with Francisco, but I can't say for sure, so if she saw or smelled anything off in the apartment, I don't know. Now around this time, investigators expand their search efforts from the family home to include the facilities Francisco had access to while working with a French foreign Legion. Because it's not like he just had your run of the mill office job. He had access to living quarters and stuff.

And when they start poking around in those areas and interviewing colleagues from the barracks, they realize that he had been doing some bizarre things in the days after his wife and daughter disappeared. Like for one, they track down a witness who says that he helped Francisco transfer bizarre things in the days after his wife and daughter disappeared. Like for one, they track down a witness who says that he helped Francisco transport a freezer from the family's home to the barracks on July 17th. Seemingly out of nowhere, Francisco had decided he wanted to donate this freezer to the French Foreign Legion.

You know, as one suddenly wants to do when one's family is missing. So we have this colleague come to the family's apartment to help him move this thing. And the, the sky notice a smell in the apartment? Well, actually, that's a great question. But something that again, the source material doesn't say anything about. But what they do mention is something else that he noticed. He noticed while he was there that a sink was clogged with this thick bread liquid. And did he ask why? I don't think so, but keep in mind this is all happening before the women were reported missing. So he just made a mental note of it, probably not even super consciously,

and then went about helping Francisco move this freezer. And when they get the freezer out to the barracks, Francisco decided it needed a deep cleaning, which the point you made earlier seems like a strange priority for him to have at the time, especially in retrospect. Mm-hmm. And if that isn't chilling enough, like a strange priority for him to have at the time, especially in retrospect. And if that isn't chilling enough, another soldier comes forward and tells them

he'd encountered Francisco washing what looked like bloodstained sheets and a floor mat at the barracks in the same timeframe. And no, I don't know exactly what this floor mat is, possibly a floor rug, but again, translation issues. I would I do know is this guy did ask, like, what the heck is going on? And Francisco's response was, quote,

I thought meat, huh? I mean, yeah, so I got, like, no, it's just no. That's not a dance. No, I think some form was there, right? You're trying to explain your blood, and who's thawing meat on like a rug or a mat or like, no, it doesn't make sense. That's she?

No. So obviously when investigators hear this, they know that they need to check out this freezer. See what might have been left behind in it. And when they go, it's still there, and they secure it, they run tests, and what they find are traces of Alison's blood deposited within it. His daughter's blood. Investigators find additional traces of DNA, definitely Alison's, and possibly

also Marie-Josez. And that was in a washing machine at the barracks that Francisco was known to use. When another French foreign legion colleague comes forward in early September and tells investigators that he'd seen Francisco washing his hands in the bathroom at the barracks and that the sink was stained with red marks, well I probably don't need to tell you what everyone assumes he'd been washing off his hands. So is there any hope about finding the women alive at this point or Or has this basically become a mission to recover their remains for the investigators? Remains. I mean, I don't think they've been super optimistic for a while, but once these traces of DNA are discovered, they know.

And actually, this is when the case is officially reclassified as a homicide investigation. And this is at the beginning of September. But what about the remains? I mean, even with all this evidence, does any of it help investigators narrow down where to begin to look for? Not to mention actually find their remains? Well, I mean, the freezer and the DNA stuff doesn't, but other stuff might, because using Geolocation on his devices and reconstructing the GPS data on his car,

they determined that Francisco drove to this specific area a little over 30 minutes away in the days following the women's disappearance. It was to this nearby resort town of Lucat and he didn't just drive there once. He drove there like three separate times all between the 14 and the 17th of July. Oh, so by September 10, they've got search teams out

at a couple of the town's water treatment plants, as well as in some nearby pine forests and foothills. So you said they were thinking it was like the 14th to 17th or between them? Honestly, with the smells of I kind of thought it'd be later. Yeah, that's what they're thinking. And I don't have like the other data from the smells of, I kinda thought it'd be later. Yeah, that's what they're thinking, and I don't have, like, the other data from the car GPS, but maybe it shows that he didn't really travel anywhere after that.

And I mean, we know that his girlfriend was at the apartment with him by the 19, so that could be part of it, too. Because remember, she smelled this weird smell, but she didn't see anything. But either way, they're pretty sure the women's remains were dumped in that chunk of time, from the 14th to the 17th. Okay, but then what's the smell in the 19th? I think the insinuation is maybe just lingering odor

from whatever happened to the women in that apartment. But you're right, I mean, I can't quite wrap my head around the time frame. Like, to me, the way the date is. It's not lining up quite right, I can't quite wrap my head around the time frame. To me, the way the date is not lining up quite right. Not perfectly, but I think we're probably missing some pieces. But either way, within just days, by September 12, the search is put on pause. It seems like there's only one organization in the country that's got a limited number of cadaver dogs.

There's eight or so, and the dogs get called to another mission. So it's not until the 24th that they're back at those water treatment plants this time with dive teams. And I have to tell you this job, whatever the divers are doing, it sounds intense. Because I don't think they're just diving in water. According to what One Outlet reported, an engineer familiar with this project says that they're just diving in water. According to a one-outlet reported, an engineer familiar with this project said that they're diving into aeration basins full of something like, quote, molasses, at least in texture

and density. That sounds incredibly unpleasant, to say the least. But the same engineer suggests that the swampiness of the liquid might actually work if they find anything to investigators benefit because it would likely slow down any kind of decomposition. And yet, investigators don't find any sign of the women's remains. Not in the erasian basins or in the nearby bodies of water, not in the foothills or in the pine forest, and by October 30th, the

search is officially called off. So where the f*** are they? They don't know. They should have been here, or they thought they should have been here. But clearly, a piece of the puzzle is missing. Or maybe it's all there, and they're just actually missing the women because of this molasses that they're diving in. Now there is talk at some point of revisiting the water treatment plants the next summer of possibly even having them

drain just to be sure, but from what I can tell these plans run into some kind of technical issues and they're just not pursued and the case goes pretty cold. And it stays cold until September of 2016. not pursued, and the case goes pretty cold. And it stays cold until September of 2016. That's when Marijose's brother, Eric, approaches investigators with a new lead. He had been contacted on social media by a woman who had been vacationing on the beach near Lubakores, another coastal town close to Perpinyon, where the family lived. And this was back in the summer of 2014. And she was shocked when her dog dug up what appeared

to be human bones. Now to be clear, another source says that he found these bones in April 2015, so I'm not totally sure what's up with that or why she didn't report it like then either way though Investigators descend on this beach in 2016 and they excavate the spot where the bones had been found and Shockingly they do find more bones and for just a few hopeful days. It seems like maybe Finally days, it seems like maybe, finally. Mauricio Zay and Alison's remains had been found. But it's a crushing blow when the analysis of the bones comes back just a few days later and concludes that the remains were of an animal, not any human.

And that is where things stand to this day. The secrets Francisco took to his grave all those years ago in 2013 remain buried with him. I mean there have been theories over the years. Eric even had one back in 2015 that he thought investigators failed to explore. He thought that maybe the women never came out of that apartment building, dead or alive. Because apparently in the apartment building that they lived in there's this crawl space under the building's garage that contains an old septic tank filled with sand, and he

thought that the women's remains could be in that. And it's hard for me to wrap my mind around it exactly, but he was pretty convinced at the time. I mean, so much so that his lawyer filed a formal request for the area to be searched, although they were all ignored. Though I will say if this was the case, maybe this, to me, is one of the only things that explains the like timeline and the smell, right? Like you would still smell it, but eventually it would stop smelling. I don't know, like it's possible. Now like I said, they never ended up searching it. Apparently it's super difficult

to access and police say that even Francisco wouldn't have been able to without leaving some kind of trace behind. But at least for a time some suspected that with his military training he just might have found a way. Now as far as I can tell nothing ever came of Simone's reopened investigation. ever came of Simone's reopened investigation. To this day, neither Simone's family, nor Marie-Josee and Alison's families have any idea what happened to them. So now, all anyone can do is wait and hope. Hope that with time and with patience,

long-buried secrets will find their way to the surface once again. Francisco's death was devastating to this case, because it left a void where justice should be. You can find all the source material for our episode at crimejunkiepodcast.com. And you can follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. 1 ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ � Crime Junkie is an audio check production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?