Introducing | Valley of Shadows: The Devil’s Punchbowl
The Expert Witness from Uncover
CBC
4.5 • 10.9K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Valley of Shadows from Pushkin is a new true crime podcast that digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Aujay set out for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park — and never came back. Aujay has yet to be found. The Sheriff’s Department rules Aujay’s disappearance a suicide, but friends, family, and fellow deputies insist the story doesn’t add up. Instead, they believe Aujay may have stumbled into the Mojave Desert’s criminal underworld — where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, journalists Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd explore one of Southern California’s most mysterious missing person cases. In Valley of Shadows, they ask: What is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hiding? Find Valley of Shadows wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is a CBC podcast. |
| 0:05.2 | Hey listeners, Betsy Shepard here. |
| 0:07.7 | I'm dropping into your feed to bring you a preview of my new podcast, Valley of Shadows. |
| 0:13.5 | It's about an L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy named John A.J., who went missing in the |
| 0:18.1 | Mojave Desert back in 1998. |
| 0:21.1 | Nearly 30 years later, the Sheriff's department says Aja's disappearance is still a mystery. |
| 0:27.6 | But whistleblowers say the sheriff's department is covering up what happened to the deputy, |
| 0:32.6 | that he was murdered in the desert where meth labs, outlaw biker gangs, and dirty cops go unchecked. |
| 0:40.1 | The show's got it all, and I think you're going to dig it. |
| 0:44.6 | Find Valley of Shadows wherever you listen to your podcasts. |
| 0:48.4 | This series includes content that may not be suitable for all listeners. |
| 0:52.8 | Listener discretion is advised. Is this okay? |
| 0:57.9 | Yeah, I'll turn it down just a little bit because sometimes you get animated. I get pissed off, |
| 1:02.7 | pissed off old cop. This pissed off old cop is Mike Bauer. Okay, my name is Mike Bauer. Retired |
| 1:09.9 | Captain, L.A. Sheriff. I retired in 2002. My last |
| 1:14.0 | assignment was Major Crimes Bureau, Detective Division, L.A. Sheriff. Bauer spent 33 years climbing the ranks |
| 1:21.0 | of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and he looks the part of a retired captain. |
| 1:26.5 | His white hair and mustache are neatly groomed, |
| 1:29.2 | and his eyes were permanently fixed |
| 1:31.1 | and a look that says, |
| 1:32.6 | do not fuck up on my watch. |
| 1:34.9 | And he's pissed off because of something |
... |
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