缺失：达雷尔·“布巴”·约翰逊 Sr.

大家好，犯罪爱好者们。

Hi, Crime Junkies.

我是布里特。

It's Brit.

我最喜欢这个社区的一点，就是我们非常重视以正确的方式讲述正确的故事。

One of the things I love the most about this community is how much we care about telling the right stories in the right way.

这正是《Dark Down East》的核心所在。

That's exactly what Dark Down East is all about.

调查记者凯莉·洛深入挖掘新英格兰地区的陈年旧案和失踪人口案件，与家庭和社区紧密合作，为真相发声。

Investigative journalist Kylie Lowe digs into cold cases and missing persons from New England, working closely with families and communities to advocate for the truth.

如果我们一样关心正义，那么这个播客一定值得你加入播放列表。

If you care about justice the way we do, this podcast belongs in your queue.

现在就去你常用的播客平台收听《Dark Down East》吧。

Listen to Dark Down East now wherever you get your podcasts.

大家好，犯罪爱好者们。

Hi, Crime Junkies.

我是主持人艾什莉·弗劳尔斯，今天我独自一人为您讲述一个发生在2024年的奇特失踪案。

I'm your host, Ashley Flowers, and I'm writing solo today to bring you a story about a very strange disappearance that took place in the 2024.

一名男子在人多热闹的露营地和一大群人在一起，某晚进入帐篷睡觉，但第二天早上却消失了。

A man who was with a big group at a busy campsite goes into his tent to sleep one night, and by morning, he's just gone.

最初人们猜测他可能是自己走开了，或者只是继续前行了。

The initial assumptions that maybe he walked away, maybe he just kept going.

这正是警方很快接受的理论。

That's the theory police appeared to accept pretty fast.

但一年半过去了，依然没有找到他离开的原因。

But over a year and a half later, there's still no reason why.

没有找到钱包，没有手机，也没有任何物理痕迹表明这个人去了哪里。

There's no recovered wallet, no cell phone, no physical trace of where this man went.

只有一个线索可能暗示他根本就没有离开。

Just one clue that might suggest he never left at all.

这就是达雷尔·布巴·约翰逊 Sr. 的故事。

This is the story of Darrel Bubba Johnson Sr.

今天是2024年6月29日，星期六，下午时分，新墨西哥州警察乔纳森·冈萨雷斯抵达意识湖州立公园。

It's Saturday, 06/29/2024, just afternoon, when New Mexico State Police officer Jonathan Gonzalez arrives at Conscious Lake State Park.

沙漠中风很大，他正与一群露营者会面，这些人刚刚报告说他们的朋友

It's windy out in the desert where he's meeting a crew of campers who just reported a friend of theirs

失踪了。

missing.

是

Are

是你打的电话吗？

you the one that called?

是你打电话报的警吗？

Did you call?

他正在与一小群露营者交谈，其中包括被称为艾莉的亚历杭德拉·迪亚兹、她的女儿瓦内萨和罗克珊，以及罗克珊的丈夫乔治。

He's talking to a small group of campers that appears to include Alejandra Diaz, who goes by Ali, her daughters Vanessa and Roxanne, and Roxanne's husband, George.

是罗克珊报告了他们失踪的朋友。

It was Roxanne who made the report about their missing friend.

她提到他们的露营团体有三十多人。

And in it, she mentions 30 plus people in their camping party.

但根据报告，当冈萨雷斯到达时，他注意到只有这四个人在与他们交谈。

But according to the report, when Gonzalez arrives, these are the only four from their group that he notes speaking with.

我们后来联系了其中一些人，比如阿里，她说其他人，包括和他们在一起的她的男友厄尼，都在寻找布巴。

Now we spoke to a couple of these same people, like Ali, and she said that everyone else, including her boyfriend who was with them, Ernie, was out searching for Bubba.

现在，这四个人讲述的故事开始塑造整个事件的轮廓。

Now the story that these four give starts shaping everything.

他们告诉警官，这位失踪男子是他们的家庭朋友，67岁的达雷尔·约翰逊 Sr。

They tell the officer that the missing man's a family friend, 67 year old Darrel Johnson Sr.

大家都叫他布巴。

Known as Bubba.

他从居住的亚利桑那州凤凰城驱车九小时来到新墨西哥州，和范妮莎一起于前一天星期五抵达，为罗克珊庆祝生日。

He made the nine hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona, where he lives, to New Mexico with Vanessa, arriving the day before on Friday to celebrate Roxanne's birthday.

这是一场盛大的家庭聚会。

Now this was a big family friendly event.

我的意思是，罗珊娜说派对上大多数都是18岁以下的孩子。

I mean, Roxanne says most of the party were kids under the age of 18.

而且整个星期五那天，大家都玩得很开心。

And everyone was having a great time all day Friday.

在晚上11点到午夜之间的某个时候，艾莉说她在巴布亚睡觉前去帐篷里看过他。

And somewhere between 11PM and midnight, Ali says that she checked on Bubba in his tent before he went to sleep.

他说自己一切都好。

He said he was all good.

但到了早上7点，她醒来后发现巴布亚不见了。

But then by 7AM, once she was up, Bubba's not there.

而且不是那种收拾好东西自己离开的情况，他的包还留在范妮莎的车里，而且他根本不可能不带她走，因为开车的是她。

And not like he had packed up and left, his bag's still in Vanessa's car, and he couldn't have left without her anyway because she's the one who drove.

但根据艾莉的说法，他的手机和钱包也不见了，就像他平时随身携带的所有东西一样。

But according to Ali, his phone and wallet were gone too, like all the stuff he normally had on him.

所以一开始，他们以为他可能只是去上厕所，或者出去散了个步。

So at first, they thought that maybe he just went to find the bathroom or maybe he took a walk.

但几个小时后，他们最终报告他失踪了。

But after a few hours pass, they end up reporting him missing.

他会这样突然离开吗？

Does he take off like this?

不会。

No.

我的意思是，他偶尔会自己走回家，因为他跟我住在一起。

I mean, he walks home every now and then because he lives with me.

但那是在亚利桑那，不是在这儿。

But that's in Arizona, not out here.

不会。

No.

这儿没人管你。

You don't have nobody here.

在这儿。

Here.

这正是我们在找他的原因。

That's what we're, like, looking for him.

我们到处找过，有找到他吗？

We went around and Did you find him?

没有。

No.

这就是问题所在。

We're that's the thing.

这个区域地形非常非常险峻，他不可能无缘无故走到荒郊野外去。

Like, this area is really, really rough terrain, so it's kinda awkward for him just to walk off in the middle of nowhere.

他为什么会突然离开？

Why would he take off all of a sudden?

你们当时没有

You guys weren't

在想办法弄清楚。

trying to figure out.

你和他发生过争执什么的吗？

You didn't get into it with him or anything?

没有。

No.

真的没有？

No?

那是我妈妈最好的朋友。

That's my my mom's best friend.

冈萨雷斯问了关于饮酒、服药，或者任何可能影响紧急程度的事情。

Gonzalez asked about drinking, medication, anything that would change the urgency.

他们说没有。

And they say no.

巴巴不喝酒。

Bubba doesn't drink.

这一点被提到了不止一次。

And this comes up more than once.

他们非常坚决。

They're adamant.

当时还有其他人喝酒，但根据Ally的说法，一切都没有失控或类似的情况。

Now there were other people drinking, but according to Ally, nothing was out of control or anything.

不过她提到，她的男朋友Ernie喝的可能比她希望的要多一点。

Though she does mention that her boyfriend Ernie may have been drinking a little more than she would have liked.

所以，总之，我当时就说，我们得戒酒。

So anyways, I was like, we need to stop drinking.

然后Bubba问：他让你不高兴了吗？

And then Bubba says, did he upset you?

我说：没有。

I was like, no.

他只是需要戒酒。

He just needs to stop drinking.

他没事的，因为我不希望他让你不高兴，你知道的，然后我跟他说了这些，他可能会因此不高兴。

He's alright because I wouldn't want him to upset you, you know, and then might have got upset because I told him, you know, that.

当我们的记者麦迪逊与艾莉交谈时，她说由于埃尼的饮酒，他们之间可能有些问题。

When our reporter Madison spoke with Ally, she said that there may have been something going on between her and Ernie because of his drinking.

但不管是什么，那并不是一场爆发，甚至与巴布无关。

But whatever it was, it wasn't a blow up, and it didn't even involve Bubba.

她说，最多巴布可能只是因为艾莉不开心而感到不安，仅此而已。

She said at most Bubba might have been upset just because Ally was upset, but that's it.

据她所说，性格温和的巴布根本没有参与任何她会称之为争吵的事情，更不用说实际的冲突了。

According to her, soft spoken Bubba wasn't involved in anything that she would even label as an argument, let alone an actual altercation.

因此，在接到这份报告后的十五分钟内，冈萨雷斯就已经开始围绕一个解释打转了。

So within fifteen minutes of responding to this report, Gonzalez is already circling around an explanation.

好吧，到目前为止，听起来他可能只是随便走开了，直接从这里溜走了。

Well, at this point, it sounds like he might have just wandered off and hitched right out of here.

所以目前，我们要发布一份关于他的通缉令。

So at this point, we're gonna put out a BOLO for him.

我的意思是，我们只能这么做。

I mean, that's all we can do.

好的。

Okay.

因为如果他还在附近，他们早就发现他了。

Because if he was around here, they would have spotted him.

我觉得他说得对。

I think he's right about that.

根据你来自国家的哪个地区，听到‘露营’你可能会想到树木和森林，但这个露营地地势平坦，一眼望不到边，那天早上没人看到布巴。

Depending on what part of the country you're from, you might hear camping and think trees and forests, but this campground's mostly flat, almost as far as the eye can see, and no one sees Bubba, at least not that morning.

但有人在艾莉向他在帐篷里道晚安之后，前一天晚上见过布巴。

But someone had seen Bubba the night before, after Ali said goodnight to him in his tent.

有一个露营位在它南边两格，那人说凌晨12点半，布巴走过来向他们借手电筒。

There is this campsite that was two spots south who says that at 12:30AM, Bubba walked up to them and asked to borrow a flashlight.

他没说为什么需要，或者要做什么，但他们借给了他，然后看着他沿着附近湖岸继续往南走。

He didn't say why or what he needed it for, but they loaned him one, and then they watched him continue to walk south along the shoreline of the nearby lake.

但在你认为他掉进湖里之前，让我告诉你两件事。

But before you go thinking he fell in, let me tell you two things.

认识布巴的露营者坚持说，他绝不会靠近水边。

The campers who knew Bubba insist that he would never go near the water.

他不喜欢水。

He's not a fan.

比如，以前他们想让他去划船，他直接说：不，绝对不去。

Like, when they tried getting him to go out on a boat before, he was like, nope.

在这片干地上就挺好。

All good right here on dry land.

第二，尽管布巴一开始沿着湖岸向南走，但那些借给他手电筒的露营者看到他转过身，往北走回自己的营地。

And number two, even though Bubba started walking south down the shoreline of the lake, those same campers who loaned him the flashlight watched him turn around and head back north toward his own camp.

现在他们说，他当时看起来像是喝醉了，或者受到了什么药物影响。

Now they say that he seemed drunk or under the influence of something.

但同样，所有人都说布巴从不喝酒也不吸毒。

But again, everyone says that Bubba doesn't drink or do drugs.

了解布巴的朋友建议冈萨雷斯，也许这些人并不熟悉布巴平时说话的方式。

The friends who knew Bubba suggested to Gonzalez that maybe these people just weren't familiar with how Bubba normally spoke.

不。

No.

因为他说话声音很低，几乎像是在嘟囔。

Because he talks really low, almost like he mumbles.

另一个相邻的露营地也证实，他们看到了同样的短暂互动，以及布巴朝自己营地走回去的情景。

Another neighboring campsite confirms that they saw the same brief interaction and Bubba walking back toward his own camp.

然后呢？

But then what?

营地里的人当时都还没睡。

People at the camp were still up.

我的意思是，那正是盛夏时节。

I mean, it was like peak summer.

很多人还围坐在篝火旁聊天，玩得很开心。

Lots of people were still sitting around the campfires talking, having a good time.

布巴回去的时候，没人看见他吗？

Did Bubba make it back without anyone seeing him?

还是他只是带着手电筒，继续在漆黑的夜里漫无目的地游荡？

Or had he just kept wandering off into the pitch black night with his flashlight?

两种情况都有可能。

It could be both.

也许达雷尔已经悄悄回到了帐篷，然后像最初推测的那样，第二天早上出去散步了。

Maybe Darrel had made it back to his tent unnoticed and then gone out for a walk in the morning like they first assumed.

我的意思是，当局收到的一个线索看起来还挺可信的。

I mean, one tip that authorities got made that seem kinda credible.

一位拖着船的男子说，他在周六早上6点37分左右看到一名黑人男子沿着104号公路行走，他穿着红色衬衫和蓝色牛仔裤。

A man towing a boat says that he saw a black man walking along Highway 104 around 06:37AM on Saturday, and this guy was wearing a red shirt and blue jeans.

根据这个目击地点来看，他从露营地走过来大约有20英里。

Now based on where this sighting was, it would have been about a 20 mile walk from the campsite.

这听起来挺靠谱的，因为根据他朋友的陈述以及周五露营时拍到的布巴最后一张照片，这名男子所穿的衣服与布巴当时穿的一致。

And it kinda sounded legit because based on his friend's statements and the last known picture taken of Bubba while camping on Friday, the clothes that this man was wearing matched what Bubba had on.

但这个人还提到了一件事。

But this man had one more thing.

他提着一个蓝色的沃尔玛购物袋。

He was carrying a blue Walmart bag.

罗克珊不记得他们是否带了这样的袋子。

Now Roxanne couldn't remember if they had brought any with them or not.

但如果他们没带，那布巴去沃尔玛就毫无道理了。

But if they didn't, it doesn't make sense that Bubba would have gone to a Walmart.

我的意思是，最近的沃尔玛也超过两小时车程。

I mean, the closest one was over two hours away.

但一旦高速公路104出现，焦点就迅速转移了。

But it seems like once Highway 104 enters the picture, the focus switches fast.

冈萨雷斯开始说，布巴肯定只是离开了露营地，走到路上，然后一直往前走。

And Gonzalez starts talking like Bubba for sure just walked off the campgrounds, campgrounds, reached the road, and just kept going.

谜题解开了。

Mystery solved.

但同一天，警方确认，高速公路上的那个人是别人，一个当地知名的年轻男子。

But that same day, police determined that the man on Highway 104 was someone else, a younger guy who was known in the area.

我们的记者麦迪逊甚至找到了目击者，以确保没有在翻译过程中遗漏任何细节，她确认说，是的，他们看到的是另一个人。

Our reporter Madison even tracked down the witness just to be extra sure that nothing was lost in translation, and she confirmed, yeah, they saw a different person.

纯粹的巧合。

Total coincidence.

但在警方尚未排除布巴就是104号公路上那个走路的人之前，已经发生了一件重要的事。

But even in the short time before they rule Bubba out as being this guy walking on Highway 104, something important has already happened.

这种‘离开’理论基本上得到了强化，当警方打电话通知布巴家人他失踪的消息时，这一观点在警员心中再次被强化。

This walk away theory's basically been reinforced, and it's reinforced again in officers' minds when they call in to notify Bubba's family of his disappearance.

他们首先联系了布巴的儿子达雷尔·约翰逊 Jr.，他当时在凤凰城。

They first talked to Bubba's son, Darrel Johnson junior, who is back in Phoenix.

儿子说，如果她惹恼了他，他就会离开。

Saw the son said if she would have pissed him off, he would have taken off.

他所说的‘她’指的是布巴的女友艾莉。

The she he's referring to is Bubba's girlfriend, Ali.

现在，达雷尔 Jr. 告诉我们，当他跟警察这么说时，警察惊讶地说：‘哇哦。'

Now Darrel Junior told us that when he said that to the officer, the officer was like, woah.

哇哦。

Woah.

哇哦。

Woah.

等等。

Wait.

你什么意思，女朋友？

What do you mean girlfriend?

每个人都撒过谎，但当一个谎言变成了一种生活、一场运动、一场阴谋时，会发生什么？

Everyone's told a lie, but what happens when one lie becomes a life, a movement, a conspiracy?

我是《变色龙》的主持人乔什·迪恩，我揭开了那些极其亲密且令人信服的欺骗与骗局的真实故事，它们甚至骗过了最亲近的人。

I'm Josh Dean, host of Chameleon, and I uncover true stories of deception scams so intimate and convincing, they fooled the people closest to them.

这些不是陌生人。

These aren't strangers.

他们是恋人、朋友和值得信赖的盟友。

They're lovers, friends, and trusted allies.

因为最危险的骗局并不像犯罪，它们感觉非常个人化。

Because the most dangerous cons don't feel like crimes, they feel personal.

在您收听播客的任何平台收听《变色龙》。

Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.

显然，警官已经从艾莉本人那里得知她正在和厄尼约会。

Obviously, officer had already been told by Allie herself that she's dating Ernie.

布巴只是个朋友，但达雷尔·小弟不这么认为。

Bubba is just a friend, but not according to Darrel Junior.

这是他第一次听说这个叫厄尼的家伙。

This was the first time he was hearing about this other guy, Ernie.

在那一刻，他说他感觉自己被精神操控了。

In that moment, he says he felt like he was being gaslit.

意思是，我爸爸和艾莉并不是那种关系？

Like, what do you mean my dad wasn't with Ali in that way?

他说他见过他们之间的短信，甚至听过一些对话，让人觉得情况并非如此。

He says he'd seen text messages between the two, even heard conversations that made it seem otherwise.

这一切对达雷尔小弟来说都毫无道理。

None of this was making sense to Darrel Junior.

别管小巷那些事了。

Never mind the alley stuff.

他父亲没有提前告诉他或他的妹妹杰娜自己要出远门，这真的很奇怪，因为通常情况下，如果他要外出，都会让达雷尔小弟帮忙照看他的狗穆芬。

His dad hadn't given him or his sister, Jaina, a heads up that he was going out of town, which was really odd because normally he would ask Darrel Junior to take care of his dog, Muffin, if he's gonna be away.

但他表示，他一直没收到父亲的消息，所以这简直是个考验。

But he says that he hadn't heard from his dad, so this is kind of the test.

达雷尔小弟挂断与警方的电话后，便请朋友去查看穆芬的情况。

When Darrel Junior gets off the phone with authorities, he asks friends to go by and check on Muffin.

现在狗没事。

Now the dog's fine.

巴巴留了一些食物和水，但不够支撑一次长途旅行。

Bubba had left some food out and water, but not enough for a longer trip.

因此，在接到州警察电话后一小时内，达雷尔小弟和家人就开车从凤凰城直奔新墨西哥，连夜赶路。

So within an hour of getting the call from the state police, Darrel Junior and his family get in the car and they drive straight through the night from Phoenix to New Mexico.

在开车途中，一个念头不断萦绕在他们心头。

And as they drove, there was a thought that kept nagging at them.

为什么他们是从州警察那里听说布巴失踪的，而不是从艾莉那里？

Why had they heard about Bubba's disappearance from state police and not from Ali?

我的意思是，达雷尔·小弟经常载布巴去艾莉家，所以她应该有他的电话号码。

I mean, Darrel Junior would give Bubba rides to and from Ali's house all the time, so she shoulda had his number.

而且听起来她确实有他的号码，因为当麦迪逊和艾莉交谈时，她说她记得自己早就给他打过电话了。

And it sounds like she did have his number because when Madison talked to Ally, she said she thought that she did call him early on.

但达雷尔·小弟坚持说那不对。

But Darrel Junior insists that's wrong.

剧透一下，这不会是他们两人最后一次意见不合。

And spoiler alert, that won't be the last thing that these two disagree on.

现在，达雷尔·小弟一路坚持开了九个小时的车。

Now Darrel Junior powers through the nine hour drive.

他没有停下来住酒店之类的。

He doesn't stop at a hotel or anything.

他直接开到了露营地，周日凌晨两点左右到的。

Just goes straight to the campsite and gets there at, like, 02:00 in the morning on Sunday.

他说，沙漠里那种地方简直诡异极了，他开车到那儿时，发现帐篷都不见了。

And he said that it was downright eerie there in the desert because he rolled up and he said the tents were gone.

车也不见了。

The cars were gone.

和布巴最后确认在一起的那些人，他说一个都没看到。

The people who were with Bubba during his last confirmed hours, he says he doesn't see them anywhere.

他站在那里，凝视着黑暗，突然明白了。

And standing there, staring out into the darkness, it hits him.

最后见过布巴的人不在这里，无法回答他的问题，他感到一种深深的恐惧——他可能永远都不会知道父亲发生了什么。

The people who last saw Bubba aren't there to answer his questions, and he gets this sinking fear that he might never know what happened to his dad.

如果你问阿里和罗克珊，就像我们做的那样，他们会说他们当时还在那儿，凌晨两点没走，直到周日下午晚些时候才离开露营地。

Now if you ask Ali and Roxanne like we did, they say that they would have still been there at 2AM, that they didn't leave the campsite until later on Sunday afternoon.

但我很难想象，达雷尔·小弟怎么会没看到他们。

But it's hard for me to imagine how Darrel Junior could have missed them.

无论如何，没有人争议他们在周日中午前就已经消失了，距离他们的好友被报告失踪仅过了一天。

Either way, no one disputes that they were definitely gone by midday Sunday, just one day after their good family friend was reported missing.

而达雷尔·小弟听到的借口基本上是：所有人都得回去上班了。

And the excuse Darrel Junior heard was basically that everyone had to get back to work.

抱歉。

Sorry.

不过，达雷尔·小弟还是在新墨西哥州待了几周，以便当局进行徒步、ATV和无人机搜索。

Darrel Junior stays in New Mexico, though, for a few weeks as authorities conduct some searches on foot, on ATVs, with a drone.

甚至还有船在湖面上搜寻。

Boats even go out on the lake.

但始终没有发现布巴的踪迹，也没有找到他的衣物、钱包、借走的手电筒或手机。

There is just no sign of Bubba or his clothing or the wallet or the flashlight he borrowed or his phone.

但他们确实通过他的手机获得了一条线索。

But they did use his phone to get one clue.

就在布巴失踪时，当局成功定位了他手机最后一次信号的位置和时间，但结果令人困惑。

Right when Bubba went missing, authorities were able to pinpoint when and around where his missing phone last pinged, and the results were confusing.

他们能确定，这部手机最后一次信号是在周六下午2点23分，位于露营地附近。

They could tell that it last pinged somewhere near the campsite Saturday afternoon at 02:23PM.

我的意思是，这距离罗克珊报告布巴失踪已经过去了两个半小时。

I mean, this is two and a half hours after Roxanne even called to report Bubba missing.

于是他们去露营地附近寻找这部手机，但始终没能找到，而且它似乎再也没有被重新开启过。

Now they go and try and find this phone around the campsite, but they have never been able to locate it, and it doesn't appear to have ever been turned back on again.

那这意味着什么？

So what does that mean?

是露营地有人拿走了它吗？

Did someone at the campsite have it?

是布巴在失踪前把它掉在某个地方了吗？

Did Bubba just drop it somewhere before he disappeared?

我的脑海中浮现过一种情景，我觉得这能很好地解释这个故事中的许多线索。

I mean, there is this one scenario that has played out in my mind that I think makes a lot of the puzzle pieces in this story fit.

有些人猜测，也许布巴去找露营地的洗手间时迷路了。

Some people have suggested maybe Bubba went looking for the campsite bathrooms and got lost.

但我们在跟很多认识布巴的人交谈后，他们说：也许吧，但说实话，布巴这种人根本不会介意找个僻静的地方在大自然里解决一下。

But after we talked to a lot of people who knew Bubba, they were like, maybe, but honestly, Bubba's the kind of guy that would have no problem just like finding a secluded area and popping a squat out in nature.

那如果他真的这么做了呢？

So what if he did that?

如果他在某个时候去上厕所，后来才发现找不到手机了呢？

What if he, at some point, went to the bathroom and then eventually realized that he can't find his phone?

他四处寻找，发现天太黑根本没法找，于是停下来向邻近的露营地借手电筒。

He goes looking, realizes it's too dark to even search, so he stops and asks a neighboring campsite for a flashlight.

这能解释为什么他先朝一个方向走，然后又转身往另一个方向走。

It would explain why he walked off in one direction, then turned around and walked in the other.

他在找什么东西吗？

Is he looking for something?

他迷路了吗？

Did he get lost?

他是否不小心掉进了湖里，然后无法爬出来？

Did he somehow go into the lake accidentally and was unable to get out?

我们听说布巴不会游泳，所以这种情况非常有可能。

We were told that Bubba couldn't swim, so that's very possible.

后来，一位名叫路易斯·卡洛斯的私家侦探和一位名叫克丽丝特尔·古铁雷斯的记者开始深入调查这个案件，出现了一个非常有趣的情况。

Now one very interesting thing that came up later after a PI named Luis Carlos and a journalist named Crystal Gutierrez started digging into this case.

他们说，他们追踪了那个最后手机信号的坐标，发现它位于水中。

They said they followed the coordinates tied to that last phone ping, and they say that it maps out to be in the water.

我们知道手机信号并不总是精确的。

Now we know phone pings aren't always precise.

基站数据可能不太靠谱。

Tower data can be meh.

但如果手机真的掉进了水里，那就引发了一些问题。

But if the phone really did end up in the water, that raises questions.

我不知道这一点是否能完全排除，因为直到今天，据我们所知，还没有任何潜水员到湖里寻找过布巴或他的物品。

Now I don't know if this can be ruled out completely because to this day, as far as we know, there have never been any divers out there in the lake to look for Bubba or his belongings.

但所有熟悉这个湖的人都告诉我们同样的事情。

But people familiar with this lake all told us the same thing.

在许多情况下，如果有人落水，最终还是会浮出水面。

In many cases, if someone goes into the water, they will eventually resurface.

因为很遗憾，这种事以前在这儿发生过。

Because sadly, this kind of thing has happened there before.

人们在这个区域可能会失踪。

People can go missing in this area.

但一个人如果真的掉进湖里，却完全消失，连一片衣服或尸体都没有浮上来，这种情况极其罕见。

But it's really rare for someone to vanish completely without leaving anything, like even bits of clothing behind or without their body floating up to the surface if they really went into the lake.

而这正是布巴失踪如此令人不安的原因。

And that is what makes Bubba's disappearance so unsettling.

最终，达雷尔·小不得不独自回家，没有父亲，也没有答案，但他心中充满了疑问。

Eventually, Darrel Junior has to return home without his father and without any answers, but he does have a lot of questions.

第一个疑问是：为什么艾莉告诉警察布巴不是她的男朋友？那个叫厄尼的人又是谁？

First of which is why Ali's telling police Bubba isn't her boyfriend, and where did this guy Ernie come from?

如果布巴当时在场，而艾莉和她的男朋友在一起，那么当家人看到行车记录仪的录像时，为什么布巴的帐篷里会有两个睡袋？

And if Bubba came along and Ali was there with her boyfriend, then why does he see two sleeping bags in Bubba's tent when the family got access to the body cam footage?

现在，冈萨雷斯通过电话试图弄清楚这个奇怪的三角恋究竟是怎么回事，因为阿里已经返回了凤凰城。

Now Gonzales tries to clear up whatever this weird love triangle thing is by phone since Ali had gone back to Phoenix.

这是那段对话的一部分。

And here's part of that conversation.

不是。

No.

达雷尔是我的朋友。

Darrel's my friend.

厄尼是我的男朋友。

Ernie is my boyfriend.

他已经做我男朋友十三年了。

He's been my boyfriend for thirteen years.

那为什么达雷尔 Jr. 说你和他爸爸在约会呢？

So how come, Darrel Junior saying that that's that you and your his dad were dating?

不是。

No.

我们从未约会过。

We have never dated.

他和我住在一起。

He lives with me.

小巴巴的父亲和我住在一起。

Bubba senior lives with me.

他过去两年一直和我住在一起。

He's lived with me for the last two years.

那为什么家人一直说你和达雷尔是男女朋友？

Well, how come the family keeps saying that that's that you and Darrel were boyfriend and girlfriend?

不是。

No.

我们不是。

We're not.

我们认识大约四十年了。

We've known each other for about forty years.

他和我住在一起。

He lives here with me.

好的。

Okay.

所以他不是你的男朋友？

So he wasn't your boyfriend?

不是。

No.

达雷尔，巴伯从来不是我的男朋友。

Darrel, Bubba has never been my boyfriend.

我从未和他有过任何类似那样的关系。

I have never had any kind of any kind of relationship like that with him.

巴伯最好的朋友托尼告诉我们，巴伯把艾莉介绍给他时，说是自己的女朋友，而不是朋友或室友。

Bubba's best friend Tony told us that Bubba introduced Ali to him as his girlfriend, not as a friend or as a roommate.

但艾莉在这点上一直很坚定，无论是之前与冈萨雷斯通话时，还是现在麦迪逊找她谈时也是如此。

But Ali stood firm on this one, then on the call with Gonzalez, and even now when Madison talked to her too.

她说巴巴就像家人一样，但自从她认识他以来，他们从未有过任何亲密关系。

She said that Bubba is like family, but that they'd never been intimate in all the years that she'd known him.

当被问及人们提供的相反说法时，她说她无法解释巴巴为何会对别人说那些话。

And when presented with all the things people told us to the contrary, she said she can't speak for why Bubba would tell people anything different.

她说也许人们只是因为他们住在一起，就默认他们是一对。

She said maybe people just assumed they were together because they lived together.

但她坚称巴巴知道她和厄尼在一起，当他们约会时，厄尼会留在她家过夜，而那时巴巴也住在那里。

But she claims that Bubba knew she was with Ernie, that Ernie would spend the night at her house when they were dating while Bubba was living there.

所以她并没有刻意隐瞒巴巴和厄尼之间的关系，也没有阻止他们互相接触。

So it wasn't like she was even keeping Bubba from Ernie and Ernie from Bubba.

而且显然，他们彼此相处得很融洽。

And apparently, they were cool with each other.

当她的女儿罗克珊讲述周五事件时，她未经 prompting 就告诉麦迪逊，他们甚至给了巴巴好几个睡袋，因为他只有帐篷。

And while her daughter Roxanne was talking through the events of Friday, she told Madison unprompted that they'd even given Bubba several sleeping bags since all he had was a tent.

所以，也许监控录像中出现的两个睡袋根本没什么特别含义。

So maybe there was nothing to the two sleeping bags on the body cam footage.

也许这一切根本就没什么。

Maybe there was nothing to any of this.

每个人都撒过谎，但当一个谎言变成了一种生活、一场运动、一场阴谋时，会发生什么？

Everyone's told a lie, but what happens when one lie becomes a life, a movement, a conspiracy?

我是《变色龙》的主持人乔什·迪恩，我揭露那些亲密而令人信服的欺骗骗局，连最亲近的人都被蒙在鼓里。

I'm Josh Dean, host of Chameleon, and I uncover true stories of deception scams so intimate and convincing, they fooled the people closest to them.

这些人不是陌生人。

These aren't strangers.

他们是恋人、朋友和值得信赖的伙伴。

They're lovers, friends, and trusted allies.

因为最危险的骗局并不像犯罪，它们感觉上很私人。

Because the most dangerous cons don't feel like crimes, they feel personal.

在您收听播客的平台搜索并收听《变色龙》。

Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.

根据托尼的说法，听起来似乎有什么事情一直在暗中酝酿。

According to Tony, it sounds like something might have been bubbling under the surface.

他告诉麦迪逊，在布巴失踪前几个月，布巴曾因在艾莉家与厄尼发生某种不愉快的互动后给托尼打过电话。

He told Madison that months before Bubba went missing, Bubba had called Tony after some kind of uncomfortable interaction involving Ernie at Ally's house.

托尼说这并不是一场肢体冲突之类的事件。

Tony says this was not a physical fight or anything.

但厄尼出现了，布巴觉得被冒犯了，于是就离开了。

But like Ernie had showed up, Bubba felt disrespected, so he left.

从那以后，托尼说布巴开始以不同的方式看待他和艾莉的关系。

And after that, Tony says that Bubba started seeing his relationship with Ally differently.

他开始觉得自己在情感上和经济上都被利用了。

He started feeling used emotionally and financially.

要听懂每个人的故事并把所有线索拼凑起来可能很难，但也许它们确实能对上。

It might seem hard to hear everyone's story and make the pieces fit together, but maybe they do.

无论布巴和艾莉之间的关系是什么，显然他都知道厄尼的存在，而且这两个人似乎能和平相处。

Whatever Bubba's arrangement with Ali was, it seems he clearly did know about Ernie, and it seems like the two men could hang around one another and be cool.

我这里并没有轻信任何人的说法。

And I'm not taking anyone's word here.

有一张照片，是巴巴、艾莉和厄尼三个人，上个星期五一起坐在露营椅上微笑着合影。

There is a picture of Bubba, Allie, and Ernie, just the three of them, hanging out in camping chairs together smiling that last Friday.

这实际上是最后一张已知的照片

This is actually the last known picture

了

of

巴巴。

Bubba.

但别忘了艾莉对冈萨雷斯说过，厄尼当时在喝酒。

But remember what Allie said to Gonzales, that Ernie was drinking.

这让她很不开心，也许这让巴巴也感到不快。

It was making her upset, and maybe that made Bubba upset.

我们弄到了艾莉的一个女儿和巴巴的侄女之间的Facebook聊天记录，这些信息与此相符。

We got our hands on Facebook messages between one of Ali's daughters and Bubba's niece, and those messages echo that.

我打算让一位配音演员朗读其中一条。

I'm gonna have a voice actor read one of them.

有人说那天发生了争执。

Some are saying there was an argument.

巴伯非常保护我妈妈。

Bubba is very protective of my mom.

前一天晚上，巴伯和我唯一聊到的就是，他不喜欢我妈妈的男朋友喝醉后跟她说话的样子。

The only thing Bubba and I talked about the night before was he didn't like how my mom's boyfriend gets drunk and talks to her.

太幼稚了。

Very childish.

没有虐待行为。

Nothing abusive.

我告诉他别担心，如果那男朋友闹事，我们都会去提醒他。

I told him not to worry, that if the boyfriend acted up, we'd all tell him something.

他告诉我，你知道的，我不能容忍任何男人不尊重女性，尤其是你妈妈。

He told me, you know, I don't go for any man to disrespect a female, especially your mom.

所有人都认为，如果真发生了争执，巴伯可能会选择离开。

Everyone seems to agree that if an argument happened, Bubba might have removed himself.

他可能会去散个步。

He might go for a walk.

所以也许事情就是这样发生的。

So maybe that's what happened.

但这个问题在于，这并不是任何人的说法。

The problem with this, though, is that's not anyone's story.

没有人说他们之间发生了争执，然后他出去散步了。

No one is saying that there was some kind of beef and he went on a walk.

每个人都说没有发生争吵。

Everyone is saying that there was no fight.

露营地里没有人说看到他离开。

No one at the campsite says they saw him leave.

他们说他进了帐篷，接下来他们就知道他不见了。

They say he went into his tent, and the next thing they know, he's just gone.

Bubba 可能是走开了然后迷路了，但他的家人总觉得他们没有听到完整的故事。

It's possible that Bubba walked off and got lost, but his family can't shake the feeling that they're just not getting the whole story.

有些地方不对劲，而且他们并不是唯一有这种感觉的人。

Something feels off, and they aren't the only ones who feel that way.

我们的记者采访了一位名叫西塞莉的女士。

Our reporter spoke to a woman named Cicely.

她在公园附近有一栋湖边别墅，那个周末她就在那里。

She has a lake house near the park, and she was there that same weekend.

她有一个有趣的故事要讲。

She had an interesting story to tell.

她说，在布巴失踪大约一周后，她遇到了一小群人，他们正在寻找布巴的踪迹。

She says that about a week after Bubba went missing, she ran into a small crew who was out looking for signs of him.

那是艾莉、她的女儿罗克珊，以及罗克珊的丈夫乔治。

It was Ali, her daughter Roxanne, and Roxanne's husband, George.

他们当时开车四处询问是否有人见过布巴。

Now they were driving around asking if anyone had seen Bubba.

西塞莉并没有提供什么有用的信息，但在交谈中，出现了一个关键细节。

And Cicely didn't have any helpful info, but in the conversation, one critical thing came up.

她问了一些类似的问题，比如，你知道的，他是不是去上厕所或者散个步什么的，至少随身带着手机吗？

She was asking something like, oh, well, you know, if he walked away to use the bathroom or take a walk or something, like, did he at least have his phone on him?

这时，西莉亚说，他们告诉她，布巴不可能带着手机，因为他们的手机已经在帐篷里找到了。

And that's when Sicily says that they told her Bubba wouldn't have had his phone because they'd found his phone in his tent.

但我们手头的记录却恰恰相反。

But in the records we have, it's the opposite story.

我的意思是，我们知道他的手机在周六下午2点23分，在营地附近有过信号。

I mean, we know his phone ping Saturday afternoon at 02:23PM near the camp area.

但根据所有记录和人们的官方说法，布巴的手机从未被找到。

But according to all the records and people's official stories, Bubba's phone was never recovered.

但当时西莉亚并不知道这一点。

Now, Cicely didn't know that at the time.

但即使没有这个信息，她还是告诉我们的团队，那种感觉就是不对劲。

But even without that knowledge, she told our team that the vibes were just off.

太不对劲了，以至于她说她回到屋里，告诉丈夫她觉得这个叫布巴的人出事了。

So off that she says she went back inside and told her husband she felt like something bad had happened to this Bubba guy.

我们问过阿里这件事，她否认了。

Now we asked Ali about this, and she denies this.

她说没有。

Says no.

他们从未说过找到了手机，也从未拥有过它。

They never said they found a phone, never had it in their possession.

罗克珊说这一定是个误会。

Roxanne says this had to be a misunderstanding.

也许他们只是在解释，警方说手机最后一次信号出现在露营地附近，所以手机可能还在那里某个地方，并不是他们真的找到了它。

Like, maybe they'd been explaining that the police said the phone last pinged near the campsite, so maybe it was still there somewhere, not that they had actually found it themselves.

现在还有另一个目击报告，我也很难理解。

Now there is one more witness sighting that I am struggling to make sense of too.

这个线索是在布巴失踪一年后提供的，来自一对住在104号公路旁的夫妇。

The tip came, like, a year after Bubba went missing, and it was from a couple who lives off Highway 104.

我们亲自去见了他们，他们说，在布巴失踪的那个周六晚上八点或九点左右，他们从商店回家时，看到一个穿着白色T恤（不是红色）的黑人男子，就在他们即将转弯停车的路边。

Now we went and spoke to them directly, and they say that the Saturday that Bubba was reported missing around eight or 09:00 at night, they were driving home from the store when they saw a black man in a white T shirt, not a red one, on the side of the road right where they were coming to a stop before their turn.

引人注目的不仅是他出现在某个偏远地区，或者他是他们镇上罕见的黑人——因为这个镇上主要居住着西班牙裔人口。

What stood out wasn't just that he was there in some remote area or that he was one of the only black men they'd seen in their town, which was predominantly full of a Hispanic population.

关键是，这个男人看起来非常害怕。

It was how scared this man looked.

他们说，他正在对马路对面的一辆车做出反应，可能是一辆跑车。

They say that he was reacting to a car on the other side of the road, possibly some kind of sports car.

有趣的是，丈夫记得那辆车是红色的，而妻子则认为可能是金属色，比如银色或金色。

And it's interesting because the husband remembers his car being red while the wife thinks it was maybe metallic, like a silver or gold.

人类的思维竟然能这样，真是不可思议。

And it's like wild how the human mind can do that.

对吧？

Right?

但无论如何，妻子告诉我们，在她看来，车里的人似乎想让这个男人靠近，诱使他上车跟他们走。

But either way, the wife told us that in her mind, it felt like the people in the car were trying to get this man to come closer, to get him in the car to go with them.

但她也承认，她并没有真正看到车里的人，也没听到任何确切的话。

But she also admits that she didn't actually see who was inside the car or hear any exact words.

那只是她在那个短暂而黑暗的瞬间所感受到的印象。

That was just the impression she got in that, like, quick, dark moment.

后来当她看到布巴的失踪人员照片时，她才确信那个男人看起来就像他，年龄和整体特征都很相似。

Now when she later saw Bubba's missing person photo, that's when she felt sure that the man she saw looked like him, similar age in everything.

但如果那个人真是布巴，这意味著什么？

But what does this mean if it was Bubba?

露营地的人是报告他失踪的人。

The people at the campground are the ones who reported him missing.

如果他们在警察和其他人搜寻时找到了他，你认为他们会告诉所有人，取消搜寻吧。

If they would have found him while police and other people were out there looking, you'd think they would have told everyone, called off the search.

所以如果这个人真是布巴，那我必须说，试图让他上车的人并不是他那一伙的。

So if this was Bubba, I think you would have to say that the people trying to get him in the car weren't from his group.

对我来说，这就只剩下两种可能。

So to me, that leaves two possibilities.

第一种可能是，这个人根本不是布巴。

One, that this wasn't Bubba.