Lost and Found

Summary

Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska - Episode: Lost and Found
Hosted by ABC News
Release Date: August 5, 2025

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Introduction

In the remote town of Ketchikan, Alaska, the sudden death of Dr. Eric Garcia—an esteemed local surgeon—sets off a chain of mysterious events. Initially presumed to be a heart attack or suicide, deeper investigations suggest foul play may be involved. This episode, titled "Lost and Found," delves into the complexities surrounding Dr. Garcia's demise, unraveling secrets that paint a different picture of the beloved doctor.

Discovery of Dr. Garcia

On March 27, 2017, Dr. Eric Garcia was found dead in his spacious home. Present in the driveway were several individuals connected to him:

• Don Hink: Dr. Garcia's friend and colleague at the hospital, often referred to as his "work wife."
• Jordan Joplin: A friend from Washington State who had flown in for a welfare check.
• Bob Jackson: A long-time realtor in Ketchikan and friend, responsible for showing Dr. Garcia various properties.

The presence of these individuals raised initial questions about Dr. Garcia's state before his death.

Initial Theories and The Scene

Upon discovering Dr. Garcia's body, police speculated on natural causes due to his medical history. However, subtle clues hinted at a more sinister possibility:

• Evidence Found: A pill bottle containing diazepam (Valium) suggested a potential overdose. Additionally, items like an open package of bacon, a partially burned piece of charcoal, a barbecue grill placed unusually in the doorway, and mysterious purple residue on Dr. Garcia's shirt complicated the scene.

  Narrator [00:42]: "It was a bottle for a prescription sedative. It seemed possible Dr. Garcia had taken too many and overdosed."

Loved ones, however, were skeptical of suicide, believing instead in a medical event as the cause of death.

Friends and Family Insights

Dr. Garcia was known for his affluence and passion for collecting valuable items. He lived alone in a large house, leading some to question if his solitary lifestyle contributed to his untimely death.

• Saul Garcia (Brother): Described the house as lonely and expressed disbelief that his brother would end his life alone.

  Saul Garcia [05:20]: "I was by myself there cleaning, and it was so lonely there."

• Bob Jackson (Realtor and Friend): Highlighted Dr. Garcia's extensive collection of valuables, including high-end watches, coins, rare liquors, and designer items. Bob also noted Dr. Garcia’s meticulous tracking of his investments.

  Bob Jackson [10:10]: "This is one of the things I teased him about. He bought lots of stuff for himself."

Despite his wealth, Dr. Garcia was known to delegate household tasks, often relying on friends like Dawn Hink, his de facto assistant at the hospital, for assistance.

The Mystery of the Missing Smoke Detectors

A pivotal moment in the investigation came when Dr. Garcia's brother, Saul, discovered missing smoke detectors near his brother's house.

• Saul's Discovery: While walking near an overpass, Saul noticed white specks that, upon closer inspection with his phone, appeared to be smoke detectors. He called the police, leading officers to find six smoke detectors scattered in a ravine.

  Saul Garcia [30:48]: "...these look like the smoke detectors."

This discovery was crucial as it suggested someone might have tampered with the house to conceal evidence or create a misleading scene.

The Toxicology Report and New Revelations

The autopsy provided shocking details:

• Cause of Death: A lethal dose of morphine was found in Dr. Garcia's system, but no morphine was present in the house, and there were no injection sites, indicating ingestion rather than injection.

• Additional Findings: Trace amounts of diazepam were detected, and a significant level of carbon monoxide (9%) was present in his blood.

  Eric Mattson [28:12]: "The toxicology report revealed a 9% value of carbon monoxide."

These findings contradicted the initial theory of a heart attack or suicide, pointing towards potential murder.

Investigation Progress and Uncovering Foul Play

With these inconsistencies, Sergeant Eric Mattson took the lead in investigating the case, determined to uncover the truth behind Dr. Garcia's death.

• Unsecured Valuables: Approximately half a million dollars worth of valuables had gone missing from Dr. Garcia's residence. This included gold, silver, alcohol, and other collectibles, which were meticulously collected and tracked by Dr. Garcia.

  Jordan Joplin [18:20]: "We believe that more than a half a million dollars worth of items was stolen from Dr. Garcia's residence."

• Discrepancies in the Scene: The absence of smoke detectors despite signs of charcoal and grilling raised suspicions. The malfunctioning or missing smoke detectors suggested intentional tampering.

  Eric Mattson [26:26]: "If you started a charcoal briquette inside your house, I would wonder why. Maybe some smoke detectors didn't go off."

These elements collectively indicated that Dr. Garcia's death was not accidental but involved deliberate actions to obscure the true cause.

Emerging Suspicions and Secret Relationships

As the investigation deepened, connections to unexpected individuals came to light, including a secret romance and ties to the adult film industry. This introduced a new suspect with a suspicious background, further complicating the case.

• Don Hink's Observations: Expressed growing suspicion and concern over the missing valuables and the circumstances of Dr. Garcia's death.

  Don's Husband, Will [14:10]: "Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips. But I did switch to T Mobile with their new family Freedom offer."

(Note: The above quote appears to be part of an advertisement and may be misattributed in the transcript. For accuracy, it's essential to cross-verify such segments.)

Conclusion

"Lost and Found" intricately weaves the narrative of Dr. Eric Garcia's mysterious death, highlighting inconsistencies in the initial findings and shedding light on his complex personal life. As Sergeant Mattson continues to probe deeper, the case unveils layers of deception, secret relationships, and potential motives that challenge the perception of the respected doctor. The episode leaves listeners on the edge, eager to uncover who might have had the means and motive to orchestrate such a perplexing crime in the serene landscapes of Alaska.

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Notable Quotes:

• Bob Jackson [01:04]: "You can walk right out underneath the tree line and you could walk for hours and, you know, pine cones and trails and probably going to see a black bear at certain times of year eating the fish in the creek."

• Saul Garcia [05:20]: "There's no lights outside, it's so quiet. And inside that house, I just felt the loneliness that, you know, even though I'm married and everything, I just could not imagine him living in there, being so lonely."

• Dawn Hink [13:34]: "It's something that you don't. Normal people don't just give to whoever."

• Eric Mattson [23:02]: "When the officers observed Dr. Garcia deceased, there's a few theories that you come up with. Was it natural? You know, did the doctor have a heart attack?"

• Saul Garcia [30:11]: "Throughout this whole time. I always feel like Eric is very close to me. I always talk to him and said, Eric, you need to help us. We need to get this thing to a resolution. Are we missing something?"

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This summary encapsulates the key elements and discussions from the "Lost and Found" episode of "Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska," providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened to the podcast.

Transcript

[Narrator]

On March 27, 2017, the day police found the body of Dr. Eric Garcia, a handful of people were standing in the driveway outside his house. There was Don Hink, Dr. Garcia's friend and colleague at the hospital, who some called his work wife. Jordan Joplin was there, too. He was a friend from Washington state who'd flown to town that morning for the welfare check on the doctor. Jordan was there with a woman he identified as his girlfriend. And last was Bob Jackson. Bob Jackson had met Eric Garcia several years earlier in his capacity as a realtor.

[Bob Jackson]

The hospital calls us and says, we've got a physician coming to town and we need you to give them a real estate tour.

[Narrator]

Bob gives a lot of these tours. He's been a realtor in Ketchikan for the last 30 years. Being a realtor, Bob knows it's all about location and he's very good at making you want to move here.

[Bob Jackson]

You can walk right out underneath the tree line and you could walk for hours and, you know, pine cones and trails and probably going to see a black bear at certain times of year eating the fish in the creek.

[Narrator]

A good realtor knows how to sell a place. But it's rare to hear a cell that sounds so much like a nature documentary.

[Bob Jackson]

If you're on the waterfront, you'll see seals, you'll see humpback whales. You know when everyone says, you know, it's Alaska and it's the last frontier, this is Alaska, and it's wonderful living here.

[Narrator]

So Bob went and met his new client, a surgeon from the lower 48. There was only one other working surgeon in Ketchikan at the time. So this guy showing up, it potentially doubled the amount of life saving that could happen in town, which is the kind of thing that might make someone a local celebrity. But Bob wanted to make sure that wasn't going to his new client's head.

[Bob Jackson]

I teased him. I don't know why, but I met him And I said, Dr. Schmachter doesn't mean nothing to me. And he said, oh, and. And that was our first conversation.

[Narrator]

That bit of gentle ribbing began a friendship between the wisecracking realtor and the soft spoken surgeon.

[Bob Jackson]

Our whole relationship was that way. I was always silly with him and I had fun with him and he seemed to appreciate it.

[Narrator]

Bob Jackson's new friend was Dr. Eric Garcia. He was a long way from home. He'd grown up in Puerto Rico and his previous job had been in South Texas on along the Rio Grande. But however distant this island in Alaska might have seemed Dr. Garcia had a vision for his new life.

[Bob Jackson]

He knew what he wanted and what he wanted. There wasn't a lot of. He wanted big, and we have a lot of more moderate sized homes.

[Narrator]

Dr. Garcia was an unmarried man living on a surgeon's salary. And the local hospital had recruited him in part by offering him more than he was making in Texas. So if he wanted big, he could have big. One of the first houses Bob Jackson showed Dr. Garcia was on summit terrace, Nestled in the hills above downtown Ketchikan.

[Bob Jackson]

Big, high ceilings in the garage and had a mezzanine in the garage. Lots of bedrooms and big house. Nice house.

[Narrator]

The listing boasted four bedrooms including a quote, expansive master suite with beautiful bath fixtures. Large, well equipped kitchen, pantry, laundry room with sink and a heated two car garage with 10 foot doors. On top of that, Dr. Garcia had plans to add a bar and a walk in sauna. There was also lots of storage space, including a sort of walk in closet nook underneath the first floor stairs. And then there was, was the view.

[Bob Jackson]

If you looked out off his balcony, you could see kind of for infinity. You'd be looking at pinnock island, Gravina island, and out right out into the pacific ocean. I mean, the view from the home is spectacular. I mean, he locked onto it and said, this is it, I'm buying it.

[Narrator]

Dr. Garcia would live in that house for the rest of his life. It was a big house for just one man. But Dr. Garcia kept busy, Working long hours at the hospital. He'd travel, sometimes taking his parents on lavish cruises. At home, he surrounded himself with beautiful objects. Expensive vases from faraway lands, Designer watches and colognes, Bottles of rare liquor, state of the art appliances and electronics. But at the end of most days, it was just him with 3,000 square feet all to himself. After Dr. Garcia died, his brother Saul came to ketchikan. He stayed in the big house on the hill.

[Saul Garcia]

I was by myself there cleaning, and it was so lonely there. There's no lights outside, it's so quiet. And inside that house, I just felt the loneliness that, you know, even though I'm married and everything, I just could not imagine him living in there, being so lonely. Even being there for 20, 30 minutes, it was horrible.

[Narrator]

Was Dr. Eric Garcia lonely? And if so, did this loneliness drive him to find connections outside of Ketchikan?

[Bob Jackson]

Hi, this is Jordan Joplin.

[Narrator]

Jordan Joplin, the friend from Washington state, had called police asking for a welfare check. He said he was worried and hadn't heard from Dr. Garcia in days.

[Bob Jackson]

He Was contemplating suicide. Nobody's heard from him. His parents? Yeah. 10 days since then.

[Eric Mattson]

We, as the police department here had thought that it could have been some type of a suicide.

[Narrator]

Police sergeant Eric Mattson, the officer, had.

[Eric Mattson]

Found some evidence of a pill bottle that was by Dr. Garcia.

[Narrator]

It was a bottle for a prescription sedative. It seemed possible Dr. Garcia had taken too many and overdosed. And like we said in episode one, Police found other things near his body. An open package of bacon, A piece of charcoal, partially burned. A barbecue grill placed in the doorway to the second floor deck. And on Dr. Garcia's shirt, stains left by charcoal dust and some mysterious purple residue. Police say they found the scene odd, but the idea that Dr. Garcia wanted to hurt himself. Some of his loved ones found this very unlikely. It was not where their minds went when they got the news of his death. They had figured it was some sort of medical event. Here's Dr. Garcia's friend dawn hink, speaking to officers at the scene.

[Dawn Hink]

He's had a couple things with his heart. Heart surgery. Almost like a triple bypass.

[Bob Jackson]

Okay.

[Narrator]

Dr. Garcia's brother Saul had the same thought. He remembered a few years earlier when his brother had taken a trip and experienced shortness of breath. When he got back to Ketchikan, doctors were so alarmed that they medivaced him to Washington state for surgery.

[Saul Garcia]

So my first impression is like, oh, maybe, you know, there was an event with his heart to the point that now he passed away.

[Narrator]

But shortly after police found Dr. Garcia's body, they made another discovery, One that opened the door.

[Bob Jackson]

Okay.

[Narrator]

To theories more sinister in nature.

[Eric Mattson]

In my gut, this death didn't appear as to what it looked like.

[Narrator]

From ABC Audio in 2020. I'm Chris Connelly, and this is Cold Blooded Mystery In Alaska, episode two lost and found.

[Bob Jackson]

When I heard that Dr. Garcia had passed away, I went from disbelief to suspicious to angry.

[Narrator]

Bob Jackson, the realtor, had known Eric Garcia for years. And over that time, Bob says he became Dr. Garcia's unofficial maintenance guy. Loved ones say Dr. Garcia was pretty much clueless when it came to home improvement projects. He was more interested in stuff like organizing his coin collection. That made Eric Garcia a little unusual in Ketchikan. This is a small frontier town where rugged self reliance is the norm. But to Eric Garcia's loved ones, that kind of quirk was part of his charm. Sure, he might not know a Phillips from a flathead, but there was something refreshing about that. It was almost endearing. Besides, whatever Eric Garcia lacked in fix it up. Know how he made up for it with his passion for his favorite hobby, collecting.

[Bob Jackson]

This is one of the things I teased him about. He bought lots of stuff for himself. He had many, many watches. Well, I don't know the exact number. Probably about 20 high end watches. And he'd show off his new watch. I got a new watch, take a look at this one. And every time he'd show me one, he would tell me how much it cost. This one was $1,600. This was $2,400. I bought two of these, and they were this much money. He bragged about it, and I ate it up. I loved it that he would brag about his stuff.

[Narrator]

And it wasn't just watches. Eric Garcia collected all sorts of valuables. He was very open about it, and he did it with a kind of obsessive zeal. This collecting began when he was a kid. Here's his brother Saul.

[Saul Garcia]

Coin collecting. My dad also used to coin collect. You know, it could be gold coins or silver coins, gold ingots and stuff like that.

[Narrator]

Eric Garcia's coin collection was vast. Bob Jackson says when Dr. Garcia was buying his house, they went to the bank together to figure out the mortgage. Dr. Garcia asked the teller whether he could borrow against the value of his coin collection, which made Bob wonder, how many coins does this guy have? He soon found out.

[Bob Jackson]

When I moved him from his rental to Dr. Garcia's new house that he purchased. I had a Lincoln aviator, and it sagged the back of my car down. He had so much gold and silver in there with the packaging and all, it was hundreds of pounds. I moved every one of those coins. And, you know, during the court proceedings, they asked if I helped Dr. Garcia do it. I said, no, I didn't help him. I did it. He didn't lift a finger.

[Narrator]

Dr. Garcia was drawn to beautiful things, the finer things. He had an appreciation for that stuff, and he had the money. But also all that money he spent on collectibles. He saw it as an investment, and it was an investment he took seriously. All those watches, the coins, the hundreds of bottles of rare liquor, all of it. Dr. Garcia meticulously tracked how their value was rising or falling. He made spreadsheets, and he would go line by line, item by item, spending hours poring over how much his assets were appreciating. But there was something else about Dr. Eric Garcia's collecting. His loved ones say, yes, Eric always seemed to be unboxing some shiny new object, but he also delighted in giving things away.

[Saul Garcia]

If it was a new coin that came out, he would Order a set. So seven or eight of them. And then what he would do is he would keep one or two for himself. And then whenever he would meet somebody, he'd say, oh, you know, I got this one coin. So he would give them this coin and, and you know, people were, oh, great. I mean, this is awesome. He thought of me. The same thing with the liquor. He had this huge liquor collection. And he would give you a bottle. Bottle, you know, cost 200 bucks or whatever it was. That was his way to connect with people.

[Dawn Hink]

I mean, he had no bounds. He just, you know, hey, you like that? Is that cool? Have it.

[Narrator]

Dawn Hink, Eric's friend and de facto assistant at the hospital.

[Dawn Hink]

And it's a gold nugget. It's an expensive piece of jewelry. It's something that you don't. Normal people don't just give to whoever. A lot of times that just. It struck me as an odd thing. It was like, oh, that could be bad.

[Narrator]

Giving gifts to friends and family is one thing, but don Hincks says Dr. Garcia's gift giving was often pretty indiscriminate. Like he'd give a near perfect stranger some valuable item. And there were other things that friends found worrying. Here's Don's husband, Will.

[Eric Mattson]

We came over to dinner there one time, and directly in front of his front door, he has a small table. And there in the middle of it was a two troy ounce block of gold. I'm like, eric, why is this here? And you know, kind of, he's like, well, it is a rock.

[Bob Jackson]

Like, it is not a rock.

[Eric Mattson]

The pizza delivery guy can see this.

[Narrator]

The price of gold fluctuates. But during the time The Hinks knew Dr. Garcia, 2 ounces of gold was worth at least $2,000. Today, it would be worth about $6,000.

[Dawn Hink]

It just throws red flags, you know, it just, you can, you can collect some unsavory people that way. And that, I think was the scariest part for me.

[Bob Jackson]

He had a kind of a nook under his stairs.

[Narrator]

Bob Jackson, Dr. Garcia's realtor, who became his friend.

[Bob Jackson]

We put some shelves in and we put a schlage deadbolt, a lock on it so that no one could open it, but no one would know what was in there unless he told them. The problem is, I believe Dr. Garcia told everyone what was in there. He was pretty proud of that stuff.

[Narrator]

And so on March 27, 2017, when Bob Jackson was standing in Dr. Garcia's driveway and learned that his friend had died, the contents of that locked closet Were at the top of his mind.

[Bob Jackson]

When I walked up towards Dr. Garcia's house, I saw that there was the police officer, Devon miller.

[Jordan Joplin]

Bob jackson came up to me, and he said he needed to talk to me.

[Narrator]

Bob approached officer Miller in the driveway outside the house Shortly after police had found the body.

[Bob Jackson]

I tried to tell the police that I knew that there was a lot of stuff in the house, Valuable stuff. This house needs to be secured. Yeah, we'll take care of it. I mean, what I'm saying is there's stuff in there that needs to be locked up. Yeah. And they said, don't worry about it. You don't need to worry about it.

[Jordan Joplin]

Mr. Jackson, he's a very passionate person.

[Bob Jackson]

I said, well, we do need to worry about it. I said, plenty. And I said some stuff that I can't say on television, But I was very foul.

[Narrator]

Remember, this was just minutes after police found Dr. Garcia's body. They were a little busy. Some valuables in a closet. It seemed like this could wait. But after some not so gentle prodding from Bob Jackson, officer Devin miller agreed to check the closet under the stairs.

[Jordan Joplin]

I went to a friend of Dr. Garcia's by the name of Jordan joplin.

[Narrator]

Jordan joplin, the friend from Washington state. He was there outside the house with Bob Jackson and dawn hink.

[Jordan Joplin]

And I said, do you have a key to this locked storage unit? And he said that he had a key to everything. And so we had him open up the storage unit.

[Narrator]

Jordan and the officers walked inside while Bob Jackson waited in the driveway.

[Bob Jackson]

A few minutes later, officer Miller, he came out and gestured me with his finger to come on. Come this way. Come on in.

[Narrator]

Bob Jackson stepped inside and made his way across the hardwood floors.

[Bob Jackson]

I walked in the house and went right to the room. And as soon as I opened that door, I knew he had been robbed. I said, everything's gone. It's all gone. There was nothing. Nothing left.

[Eric Mattson]

There were racks and racks that were empty.

[Narrator]

Sergeant Eric mattson.

[Eric Mattson]

The amount of alcohol that would have filled that space was enormous. There was no gold. There was no silver found.

[Narrator]

First, a mysterious death. Now gold, silver, alcohol, watches, and more Gone. And not just hundreds or thousands of dollars worth.

[Jordan Joplin]

We believe that more than a half a million dollars worth of items was stolen from Dr. Garcia's residence.

[Narrator]

To police, this no longer seemed like a typical death investigation. And as they looked closer at the walls and ceiling of Eric Garcia's palatial home, the case became even stranger. Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[Will Hink]

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[Bob Jackson]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[Will Hink]

Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.

[Narrator]

Bon voyage.

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[Narrator]

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[Unknown]

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[Saul Garcia]

If we don't lock them down, it.

[Bob Jackson]

Will be too late.

[Dawn Hink]

What did you do?

[Unknown]

FX's Alien Earth premieres August 12th on FX and Hulu. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are back in Disney's Freakier Friday.

[Narrator]

Yes, Tony, Just one more Friday we switched bodies.

[Will Hink]

I am freaking out right now.

[Dawn Hink]

Let's pause and reframe.

[Unknown]

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[Narrator]

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[Will Hink]

As an old person.

[Narrator]

What do they do?

[Will Hink]

Talk about transitional lenses, home repairs, John.

[Bob Jackson]

Mayer or, you know, Coldplay.

[Unknown]

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[Will Hink]

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[Eric Mattson]

Welcome to the Runway.

[Will Hink]

Heidi Klum returns as host.

[Narrator]

One day you're in and the next day you're out.

[Bob Jackson]

I'm here to show them who's the.

[Will Hink]

Queen with Christian Siriano. I'm excited. And judges Nina Garcia and Law Roach.

[Dawn Hink]

I hated your dress.

[Narrator]

Hate is such a big word.

[Dawn Hink]

It's a shame.

[Bob Jackson]

Short word.

[Dawn Hink]

It's only four letters.

[Will Hink]

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[Unknown]

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[Will Hink]

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[Dawn Hink]

Do I need a lawyer right now?

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[Narrator]

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[Dawn Hink]

I swear to God I'm innocent.

[Unknown]

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[Dawn Hink]

Years I've been been defined by something I didn't do.

[Unknown]

Watch the new Hulu original series the Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox August 20th streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers Terms apply Good.

[Dawn Hink]

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[Will Hink]

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[Narrator]

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[Will Hink]

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[Narrator]

Can'T get enough Hundreds of thousands of dollars in valuables were missing from Dr. Eric Garcia's house. It was a bombshell discovery, but it was not clear what the connection was between Dr. Garcia's death and his missing valuables. Police did not know whether the valuables were stolen from Dr. Garcia or given away by him, or maybe it was something else entirely. No one was sure. What was clear was that this mysterious death had just gotten even stranger.

[Eric Mattson]

There were a lot of question marks that surrounded the doctor's death. In this moment, I was asked to come in and to start to try to answer some of those questions.

[Narrator]

Back in 2017, Eric Matson was a sergeant in the Ketchikan Police Department working in the investigations unit. On March 28, a day after police found Dr. Garcia's body and his valuables missing, Matson went to the house to see if he could make sense of the evidence.

[Eric Mattson]

When the officers observed Dr. Garcia deceased, there's a few theories that you come up with. Was it natural? You know, did the doctor have a heart attack?

[Narrator]

That theory that Dr. Garcia died from a heart attack was quickly ruled out by an autopsy. That left other theories. I mentioned earlier that police found a pill bottle next to Dr. Garcia's body. It was for a prescription made out to him, a sedative called diazepam, better known as Valium. Police took note of that, but a full toxicology report would take weeks to come back. In the meantime, police had to theorize based on what was found in the house. And like we talked about in the last episode, what police found was confusing.

[Eric Mattson]

There were some other things that seemed a little bit odd and out of place.

[Narrator]

For starters, the door to the second floor deck. It was open, propped open with a pillow, and just outside the doorway was a charcoal grill. Across the room, Dr. Garcia had been found dead on a couch with a coffee table alongside it.

[Eric Mattson]

On that coffee Table was a partially burned charcoal briquette.

[Narrator]

Dr. Garcia's white T shirt had a charcoal smudge on it. The shirt also had some mysterious purple staining. The grill and charcoal explain the smell?

[Eric Mattson]

There was a strong, distinct odor to me, and it really smelled like lighter fluid.

[Narrator]

To Sergeant Matson, the whole setup made no sense. Police had found the grill, charcoal and an open pack of bacon. But no barbecue tools and grilling there on that deck, that made even less sense. Like I said, the deck was on the second floor with a view that was basically unobstructed. An unobstructed view looking out means unobstructed wind coming in. And it was March, which in southeast Alaska is a rainy, windy season with highs in the low 40s. Not exactly grilling weather. All this was not necessarily suspicious. After all, loved ones say no one took Eric Garcia to be a seasoned grill master. Was all this just evidence of rookie grilling mistakes? Still, the whole scene struck Sergeant Eric Matson as weird. And as he was poking around the house on the second day of the investigation, something occurred to him.

[Eric Mattson]

If you started a charcoal briquette inside your house, I would wonder why. Maybe some smoke detectors didn't go off.

[Narrator]

Mattson looked up at those high ceilings, and that's when he saw them. Well, the lack of them.

[Eric Mattson]

Every single place that a smoke detector was located or should have been was just the base with a piece of. With the wiring harness essentially sticking out of that. There was not one smoke detector inside that house. They were all missing.

[Narrator]

Police counted six missing smoke detectors. Where they had gone was anybody's guess.

[Eric Mattson]

Having the smoke detectors missing was. Was very, very odd.

[Narrator]

Had Eric Garcia taken them down? If he did, why? And where were they? Police would spend weeks puzzling over these questions. When the toxicology report came back, they found a clue. The toxicology report revealed a few things. Most Significantly, it identified Dr. Garcia's cause of death. A lethal dose of morphine. That was odd because no morphine was found in the house. So where was it? How did it get into Dr. Garcia's system? The autopsy had found no injection site on Dr. Garcia's body. That meant the morphine had to have been swallowed. But that was about all that police could say for sure. Everything else about the morphine was just one more mystery in a case that was full of them. But that wasn't the only significant finding in the toxicology report. It also showed trace amounts of diazepam in Dr. Garcia's blood, which tracked with that pill bottle found at the scene. And the report found something Else that was troubling. Officer Miller.

[Jordan Joplin]

The toxicology report revealed a 9% value of carbon monoxide.

[Narrator]

A 9% value of carbon monoxide. That's more than four times the normal limit. That finding, combined with the charcoal briquette, the oddly placed grill, the smell of lighter fluid, and those missing smoke detectors, it seemed to point towards something ominous. But to Dr. Garcia's loved ones, it also sounded totally out of character.

[Saul Garcia]

My brother getting on a ladder to take it down a smoke detector. That doesn't sound like him. That just didn't add up.

[Narrator]

I mentioned earlier that Dr. Garcia's friends knew him to be less than handy around the house, but it went further than that.

[Dawn Hink]

I would spend a fair amount of time trying to help him organize small things, just little things in his house.

[Narrator]

That's Dawn Hink, Dr. Garcia's friend and co worker. Dawn says colleagues often called her Dr. Garcia's work wife because of the many household tasks he would delegate to her.

[Dawn Hink]

Go set up his artificial Christmas tree, get out the Christmas lights, you know, picking up dry cleaning, you know, making and bringing his lunch.

[Narrator]

Dr. Garcia's loved ones remember a generous man and skilled surgeon who they also say seemed helpless to do basic things for himself. Again, his brother Saul, I think he.

[Saul Garcia]

Just focused on his career so much that, you know, he's not doing anything else. So his house could be on fire. He has to call somebody else to go, hey, can you check on that fire and maybe see if you can call the police or something?

[Narrator]

Shortly after police found his brother's body, Saul Garcia traveled to Ketchikan. He stayed in that lonely house, and he thought about his brother.

[Saul Garcia]

Throughout this whole time. I always feel like Eric is very close to me. I always talk to him and said, eric, you need to help us. We need to get this thing to a resolution. Are we missing something?

[Narrator]

One day, Saul took a walk. He headed down the road into a typical Ketchikan day. Gray skies, wind rustling in the trees. Off in the distance, through a veil of mist, Saul could see mountains. He came to an overpass with a view down into a leafy ravine.

[Saul Garcia]

As I'm walking, you know, over this bridge, my phone rang. So I pulled out my phone, and when I did that, for some reason, it caught my eye that I saw these white specks down there. And, you know, with the zoom on my phone, I took some pictures, increased it, and I said, these look like the smoke detectors.

[Narrator]

Saul called Ketchikan. Police officers descended into the ravine, and strewn among the brush, they found six smoke detectors.

[Eric Mattson]

We collected the smoke detectors. We brought those back to the police department.

[Narrator]

Sergeant Mattson took the smoke detectors to Dr. Garcia's house. He re examined the plastic harnesses on the ceiling, noting their serial numbers.

[Eric Mattson]

Sure enough, we found every smoke detector that was removed from that house and matched them all perfectly with what was missing.

[Narrator]

It certainly looked like someone was trying to get rid of evidence. Saul's chance discovery was a huge step toward uncovering the truth.

[Eric Mattson]

I would say Saul probably felt he was led that day. So, you know, whether people believe in some type of divine intervention or just stray dumb luck, Saul certainly got it that day.

[Narrator]

Police now believed that Dr. Eric Garcia's death involved foul play. And so the search began for a suspect. But as that search unfolded, the private became public, and the Ketchikan police unearthed a relationship that was totally unexpected.

[Dawn Hink]

Who is this joker?

[Jordan Joplin]

He was very secretive.

[Bob Jackson]

He was intoxicating. His physique was very well built and he had a shirt that looked like it was painted on.

[Dawn Hink]

He started making some movies in the adult industry.

[Narrator]

Cold Blooded Mystery in Alaska is a production of ABC Audio and 20 20, hosted by me, Chris Connelly. Produced by Camille Peterson, Shane McKeon and Kiara Powell. Edited by Gianna Palmer. Our supervising producer is Susie Liu. Music and mixing by Evan Viola. Special thanks to Liz Alessi, Katie Dandas, Janice Johnston, Joseph Reed, Gary Wynn, Xander Samaras, Kristanovan, Michelle Margulis, Tom Berman, Sandy Evans and Pat Lalon. Josh Cohan is our director of podcast programming. Laura Mayer is our executive producer.

[Will Hink]

The top stories, biggest headlines, entertainment buzz and viral moments. You give us less than 10 minutes and we'll give you what you need to know. Your new daily must have habit. Start your day with what you need to know. Now streaming on Disney plus.

[Narrator]

Man, look at that return. King, man.

[Bob Jackson]

Oh, wow.

[Narrator]

Emotional King of the hill is back. They got a Bob's in the airport now. Oh, that's Boba world has changed. Dad, Bobby wants to bring that new girl over for dinner. The vegan.

[Will Hink]

What the hell am I supposed to feed her?

[Bob Jackson]

Can't we just put some grass in a bowl?

[Unknown]

From Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.

[Will Hink]

Ready to make some memories, dad?

[Narrator]

Freaking go.

[Unknown]

A Hulu original series King of the Hill. All episodes now streaming on Hulu.