Deadly Destinations: Into the Wild

July 26, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In the spring of 2010, a 23-year-old American named Aubrey Sacco set out alone on a trek through Nepal’s Langtang Valley, high in the Himalayas. She was an experienced traveler, a recent University of Colorado graduate who had spent five months crossing Asia, staying with local families, and staying in near-constant contact with her parents back home. On paper, the Langtang trek was moderate risk—a popular, days-long route north of Kathmandu that trekkers complete all the time. She didn’t hire a guide. She didn’t join a group. She just went. Her last email home arrived around April 20 or 21. The last confirmed sighting of her was on April 22 at a lodge called Lama Hotel, not far past an Army checkpoint. She was carrying a bright lime green backpack. After that day, no one saw her again.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:45) **Introduction: The Allure and Danger of the Wild** - Vanessa sets the thematic stage, framing wilderness as both a source of freedom and a place where danger is amplified by isolation.
2 (04:33) **Case 1: Aubrey Sacco – The Vanishing in the Himalayas** - The story begins with 23-year-old Aubrey Sacco, a recent graduate who disappeared while solo trekking in Nepal in April 2010.
3 (07:31) **The Search and Shifting Stories** - Aubrey’s father, Paul, flew to Nepal to join a massive private search effort that found no trace of her, not even her bright green backpack.
4 (10:14) **Two Possibilities: Accident or Foul Play** - Aubrey’s family is left with two theories: an accidental fall into a river or foul play, with suspicion falling on a nearby Nepali Army checkpoint.
5 (12:10) **A False Confession and a Devastating Dead End** - In 2013, the family received a call that police had arrested a man who confessed to murdering Aubrey, but the confession quickly unraveled.
6 (14:44) **Case 2: Ivan Milat – The Backpacker Murders** - A content warning is issued for serial murder and sexual violence before Vanessa introduces the story of Ivan Milat.
7 (17:28) **The Breakthrough: A Survivor’s Testimony** - The manhunt went cold until a British backpacker, Paul Onions, came forward after seeing news coverage of the bodies.

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Show Notes

Three people sought refuge in remote wilderness — and never made it home safely. A young American woman vanished without a trace in Nepal's Himalayas, a serial killer preyed on hitchhikers along an Australian highway, and two men were murdered deep in the Amazon for exposing illegal activity. This is episode 3 of Deadly Destinations, a special four-part series on Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes hosted by Vanessa Richardson. Four exotic locations that should have been a dream vacation, but ended in a nightmare. New episodes drop every Sunday, and all four are available now, ad-free, on Crime House Plus. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page.

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