S10 E3: Ex-Patriota

Summary

Someone Knows Something – Season 10, Episode 3: Ex-Patriota

Date: March 23, 2026
Host & Investigator: David Ridgen (CBC)

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Episode Overview

This episode continues the investigation into the disappearance of Jacqueline (Jackie) Furlan Smith in Playa del Coco, Costa Rica. Host David Ridgen dives deeper into the aftermath of her vanishing, the relationship and actions of her husband, Sebastian, the involvement of his new partner Lorraine, and the reactions and recollections of neighbors, friends, and local authorities. Central themes include community suspicion, inconsistencies in stories about Jackie’s disappearance, and the struggles to uncover reliable evidence against a backdrop of grief, rumor, and fear.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Accounts of Disturbance and Domestic Strife

• Neighbor’s Testimony:
  • A neighbor recalls hearing a woman screaming for help in the house Jackie and Sebastian shared, involving another neighbor and security guard but with altercations ceasing before anyone could intervene. (01:07–02:20)
  • When investigated, Jackie and Sebastian would act as though nothing had happened.
  • Memorable quote:
    • Neighbor 1: “Help, help, help, help. So I’m going out and I know, obviously, what’s that?” (01:33)

2. Sebastian’s New Relationship and Local Perception

• Sebastian and Lorraine:

  • Lorraine Franco, Sebastian’s Canadian girlfriend, recounts meeting him after Jackie’s disappearance and how their relationship became public. (03:05–08:45)
  • They undertook a dramatic scooter journey from Canada to Costa Rica, which caught local and online attention, culminating in a motorcycle magazine article that omitted Sebastian’s prior marriage or Jackie’s disappearance, painting him as a longtime bachelor.
  • Lorraine expresses concern about the story's portrayal:
    • Quote:
      • Lorraine Franco: “I read the story after it published and I went, ‘oh, shit.’ …if I was her family, I’d read that story and want to throw up and want to strangle you. Because it makes you come off as this gallivanting bachelor…” (07:12)
  • Lorraine had to reassure her family about Sebastian’s innocence amidst “serial killer” rumors sparked by internet searches.

• Lorraine’s Loyalty and Narrative:

  • Lorraine firmly believes in Sebastian’s innocence:
    • “He is extremely loyal, he’s extremely dedicated. Everything about his history, Jackie, it makes sense, and he has not given his side of the story.” (10:12)
  • She emphasizes Sebastian’s devotion and the toll the incident has taken.

3. Police Investigation and Surveillance Gaps

• Sebastian’s Account:
  • Police (OIJ) searched the house and yard, used sniffer dogs, and examined surveillance footage, but found nothing of interest. (12:19–15:29)
  • Sebastian blames technical failures on the poor quality security system, claiming he didn’t have access to the relevant footage, as only Jackie had the password.
  • Sebastian on search thoroughness:
    • “...when you find something in Ancient Egypt that’s like 6,000 years old, they know if there was blood somewhere, like, they can smell it with like a dog… they even dog… cops obviously, they see, like freshly moved dirt.” (15:08)

4. Community-Led Search Efforts

• Volunteer Search Orchestration:
  • Jackie’s friend, Krista, organized volunteer searches by land and sea, including drones and a professional team from a rescue organization called 'Open.' Despite extensive efforts, nothing was found—no belongings, no trace. (16:17–19:56)
  • The official search spanned three weeks but ended with no result and dwindling support.
  • Krista mentions Sebastian did not participate in the physical search but assisted as a driver and logistical support, while Sebastian claims to have been highly involved, citing exhaustion:
    • Sebastian: “We were like, basically 15, 16 hours, like a day… Like, by the end, okay, like, myself, I was like, I just can’t do that anymore. I’m gonna die.” (20:33)

5. Forensic Uncertainty and Allegations

• Concerns About the House and Car:
  • Jackie's parents noticed potentially odd cleaning behavior in Sebastian, including a mop and chlorine, but admit the use of bleach isn’t inherently suspicious. (21:45–22:03)
• Discussion of Blood in the Car:
  • Neighbor Alejandro claims authorities found blood in Sebastian’s car, which, combined with a refusal to share footage, led to his suspicions. (29:02)
  • Krista's friend provides indirect confirmation: police did cut out a section of the car seat after her dog indicated something, but no results were provided. (30:58–31:47)
  • Sebastian insists police cleared all sites and dismisses rumors around burning debris as misinterpretation of his burning wood from a decayed garden with dogs present during investigations. (32:03)

6. Local Rumors and Fear

• Neighbor Alejandro:
  • Shares vivid suspicions regarding Sebastian’s backyard, mentioning that his dogs were drawn to one area and that vultures appeared over the property.
  • States: “He continued burning things on top of it, but there was something burned underneath, and you could see birds all over…” (27:57)
  • He claims to have confronted Sebastian with a shotgun due to these fears, which Sebastian denies ever happened. (30:09)

7. Gate Guards’ Observations

• Timeline:
  • Gate guard Michael observed Jackie driving her car into the development, possibly around 6:30 or 7pm (date uncertain, but possibly matching last known movements). No one saw her leave, but a taxi was seen departing some time later with an unidentified person inside. (36:26–39:06)
  • Guards say Sebastian did not immediately notify them of Jackie’s disappearance; they learned from police days later. (33:39)
  • Another incident shared: Michael witnessed Jackie hitting Sebastian on the back while they rode a scooter together—showing potential volatility in the relationship. (40:05–41:15)

8. Surveillance Footage Shortfalls

• Neighbor Ramay Aldana:
  • Her cameras did not record any definitive evidence of Jackie leaving on the nights in question.
  • The last certain visual is Jackie’s car returning on the 15th, not her actual person. (42:11–43:14)
  • Ramay believes there was “foul play” and dismisses the idea Jackie just walked away. (43:14)

9. Sebastian’s View on What Happened

• Confronted directly, Sebastian denies any involvement in Jackie’s disappearance and expresses frustration that nothing he says can change public opinion.
• He speculates Jackie may have deliberately gone for a last swim in the ocean, reflecting her mental health struggles:
  • “She loved the ocean. So she probably went for a swim, like. Like planning on swimming until she cannot come back.” (44:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lorraine Franco (on public perception):
  "We don't want to have that legacy following us everywhere we go... And I read the story after it published and I went, oh, shit. And I said, you gotta call that guy and ask him to correct that line." (07:12)

• Sebastian (on investigation):
  “Dogs are that good. They even dog… they smell everything… (the police) dug everything.” (15:08, 32:03)

• Neighbor Alejandro (on backyard suspicions):
  “The dogs, as soon as I open the gate, would go to the… last part of the garden… He continued burning things… and you could see birds all over until I got scared and … started going around the house with a shotgun.” (27:57)

• Krista’s friend (on blood in car):
  “During the search… my little dog… was digging furiously at it and sniffing it… police did end up cutting a spot out of the back seat of the vehicle.” (30:58)

• Gate Guard Michael (on sighting):
  “He say that day he saw her about… 6 stories [6:30], coming in the gate. In her car?… She waved.” (36:26–36:44)

• Ramay Aldana (on neighborhood suspicion):
  “I think there was foul play. I really think so. I don’t think she just walked away like, this is what they were saying, that she just walked away. No way.” (43:14)

• Sebastian (on public judgment):
  “I did not kill her, obviously. Yes. So. But who am I to convince anyone? … So even if I say something in their head, it’s gonna be to prove that it’s not me…” (43:59)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:07–02:20] Neighbor recounts screams for help from Jackie’s house
• [03:05–08:45] Details of Sebastian’s new relationship with Lorraine and local gossip
• [12:19–15:29] Sebastian’s account of the police investigation and surveillance footage gaps
• [16:17–19:56] Community-led search efforts, organization by Krista, and search methods
• [20:01–22:03] Questions surrounding Sebastian's participation and home cleaning questions
• [27:57–30:39] Neighbor Alejandro’s suspicions and confrontation with Sebastian
• [30:58–32:38] Krista's friend and Sebastian discuss the car seat blood spot and burning garden materials
• [36:26–39:06] Gate guards describe the last sighting of Jackie and a possible taxi departure
• [42:11–43:14] Review of available surveillance footage with neighbor Ramay
• [43:59–45:04] Sebastian discusses what he thinks happened to Jackie and confronts speculation

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

The episode carries a somber, contemplative tone. David Ridgen carefully presents competing perspectives—between Sebastian’s ongoing protestation of innocence, the suspicion fueled by local rumors and small bits of evidence, and the utter absence of physical proof or resolution. Ridgen remains objective, neither definitively incriminating nor absolving Sebastian. The overall picture is one of heartbreak, distrust, and unanswered questions, with the investigation mired in a thicket of rumor, hearsay, and the limitations of memory and evidence.

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For Listeners

This episode offers a detailed, empathetic exploration of those closest to Jackie, the small Costa Rican community around her, and the tangled web of perceptions and facts complicating the case. It’s a critical entry in the ongoing search for the truth about Jackie’s disappearance, highlighting the emotional toll on all involved and the challenges facing investigators.

If you haven’t listened, this summary provides a rich outline of what’s new, unresolved, and still haunting about Jackie Furlan Smith’s disappearance.

Transcript

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[David Ridgeon]

This is a CBC podcast.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

The following episode contains difficult subject matter, including references to suicide. Please take care while listening. The man I am speaking to is one of Sebastian and Jackie Furlan's immediate neighbors in playa del Coco.

[Neighbor 1]

Two or three weeks ago, she disappeared. I'm working probably at 10 or 11 in the morning, and I was listening her asking for help. Well, a woman, I listen to women asking for help. She was screaming for help,

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

saying, hell, just, that's it.

[Neighbor 1]

Help, help, help, help. So I'm going out and I know, obviously, what's that?

[Sebastian]

That house.

[Neighbor 1]

So I talked with the security guy from the condominium and asked him, hey, man, somebody's screaming for help, asking for help. So he told me, okay, I don't, I, I know where is it? So we came that house because. And he told me, man, every time it's the same, they're fighting. So we went there and we don't see anything and stop.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

So the screaming woman was Jackie, the other voice, her husband Sebastian. When investigated during similar loud altercations, the shouting would end and Jackie and Sebastian would later emerge from their house as if nothing had happened.

[Neighbor 1]

Yeah.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

When you went over, did you see anything?

[Neighbor 1]

No, no, just the screaming.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

I'm David Ridgeon and this is season 10 of Someone Knows Something. The Jacqueline Furlan smith case. Episode 3 Expatriota.

[Lorraine Franco]

Yeah, like, if you're trying to report a human story, the human story is like, this has been really difficult on Sebastian because it's like, I understand our parents are trying to find her, but we're also trying to move on with our life, Right?

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

About a year after Jackie disappeared, Sebastian drove through Playa Coco on his Vespa with a woman from Canada on the back. A new girlfriend he had met several months before. They'd just driven on the scooter together for 23 days, all the way from Canada. Her name was Lorraine Franco, the same Lorraine who opened the door for me and who is now sitting next to Sebastian in his backyard.

[Lorraine Franco]

I came to Costa Rica. Before meeting me, I came to Costa Rica because I was coming for my own reasons and didn't know Sebastian at all.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

So you first met after Jackie disappeared?

[Sebastian]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Lorraine Franco]

Because I was interested in volunteer work, and I was doing my own, like, six weeks of volunteering around Costa Rica, and then I came to Cocoa to go scuba diving.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Lorraine, who ran a business as a family therapist in Canada, says she first heard about Sebastian from a friend before her trip. This would have been in December 2021, four months after Jackie disappeared.

[Lorraine Franco]

So that friend had been telling me in Canada, you should really meet my friend Sebastian. Like, he's such a nice guy. Obviously, didn't tell me about the big, sad story.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Lorraine came to Costa Rica on a wildlife conservation volunteer trip starting on January 14, 2022. Before she returned home to Canada, she would meet Sebastian in person in Playa del Coco, probably sometime in early February 2022.

[Lorraine Franco]

And when I did meet Sebastian, I thought he was really nice. I left and went back to Canada, and we just became friends, you know, and we just started talking on the phone because I was now back in. He was still in Costa Rica. But then as I got started to talk to Sebastian and date him, it was a lot of us talking on the phone about everything.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Lorraine says she kept communicating with Sebastian by phone, and they eventually became a couple, meeting in person in Canada. And then some plans emerged.

[Lorraine Franco]

Like, obviously, Sebastian's, like, massively into bikes, and he's massively into adventures and fun stuff like that. He had this dream to drive his Vespa that he bought in Canada one day to Costa Rica, and I'm like, yeah, that would be so cool. I never dated anybody who did motorcycles or rode motorcycles, and I have zero experience on a motorcycle. But I'm an adventurous person. We're a new couple, and so, like, let's do this fun adventure.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

And they did driving on Sebastian's scooter from Canada to Costa Rica, a trip that would ultimately lead to both getting matching Vespa tattoos.

[David Ridgeon]

Their dramatic arrival in town drew attention, and some of the online community got buzzing about it and about a magazine article that came out around the same time.

[Lorraine Franco]

One of Sebastian's good friends from Quebec, like, loves motorcycles too, and is friends with a guy who writes for all these motorcycle magazines. So he got wind of our story of us riding a Vespa from Canada. Costa Rica asks if he can interview us. We're like, sure. At this point in our lives, we're just wanting to move on with Our lives. We don't want to be known as the Lorraine and Sebastian. The one, the guy who's like, you know, the possible murderer.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

The article makes no mention of Sebastian's recent past. And there's nothing about Jackie. Curiously, the whole thing is written as if Sebastian has never been to Costa Rica before. And Sebastian is referred to as having been batching it for nearly five years before finding Lorraine and using an underpowered street scooter to brave the wilds of Central America with her. It's Lorraine who provides most of the explanation for this.

[Lorraine Franco]

Like, obviously, we're doing our best to just go through our life and just be Lorraine Sebastian, like the fun couple who are just nice people. We don't want to have that legacy following us everywhere we go. So we didn't tell that guy any of that stuff. So we get interviewed by that guy on the phone and we don't really mention our past, you know. So when he's writing up the story, he's the one that put in there about Sebastian being a bachelor, right? We didn't tell him that he had been single because he was widowed or Cause his wife went missing. Like that's like horrible. Has nothing to do with the bike story. And so we just told him our side of the story. And I read the story after it published and I went, oh, shit. And I said, you gotta call that guy and ask him to correct that line. Cause if I was her family, I'd read that story and want to throw up and want to strangle you. Because it makes you come off as this gallivanting bachelor who's never been to Costa Rica before.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

It makes it sound like he's never

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

been here before too.

[Lorraine Franco]

It just made him sound like, oh, he's like, he's had his bachelor days. And meanwhile I was like, yeah, that's not exactly Sebastian. Sebastian's the guy who was a loving, dedicated, devoted husband of 12 years who lost his wife and she was missing. And he wasn't like this swinging bachelor. That's not why he was single. He was single because he was, in my mind, like, is more widowed.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Lorraine and Sebastian call the author and ask him to change the article. And it is modified, revising out the bachelor reference, but still with no mention of Jackie. As far as I can see, the author has declined to be interviewed.

[David Ridgeon]

I'd like to know why he wrote the article that way.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

I wonder too, what's been going on under this roof since Lorraine arrived. Does Lorraine know anything about Jackie or her disappearance?

[Lorraine Franco]

I didn't really need to know much of the story other than I know my instincts and my intuition. And I also understand mental health. So it is not something that many couples would even stay together for. It's a hard story because, I mean, my family found out that I was dating Sebastian, and, like, we have nothing to hide. But then my aunts and uncles go and just start, like, googling his name and then find out all the stories about him. And then they basically just start freaking out that I'm dating this serial killer and, oh, my God, do you know who you're dating? So then I had to then do damage control and try to, like, help them feel safer, comfortable.

[Sebastian]

Her mom used to work at Lorraine

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

lives here with Sebastian, and he's sitting next to her now. The honest way she discusses these very personal details are striking. And Sebastian doesn't seem to react in the negative. So I think he's heard this before.

[Lorraine Franco]

Obviously, I feel blessed that I get to live here because this is the house that him and his ex wife built together. And I'm like, the person that gets to live here. But I'm okay with that because I feel like I'm part of this story as much as, like, we all have a story that just leads somewhere. And I just, now, this is where I am, and I'm meant to be here, and he's meant to be here, and we're meant to be here. And I'm very, like, comfortable with that knowledge. You know, Alex, Sebastian's a wonderful human right? And he's everything that you would expect. Like, he is extremely loyal, he's extremely dedicated. Everything about his history, Jackie, it makes sense, and he has not given his side of the story. And I keep saying, like, you have every right to defend yourself because you are the person in the story that should be commended, not the one who's thrown under the bus because of the years that you took care of her. Like, this would be inconsistent with the theory of you being the killer, when actually it would have been way easier for you just to have left her, like, for so long. You know, this was not the straw that broke the camel's back. He endured way more like bruises.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

I am drawn to Lorraine's open thoughtfulness and sense of kindness, and I believe that she believes everything she's saying. Colleen and Gordon told me that Sebastian had been speaking to a counselor in Toronto before Jackie disappeared, but both Sebastian and Lorraine assure me that she is not that counselor. Jackie's parents also told me that Jackie was upset that Sebastian was allegedly speaking to an ex girlfriend on the phone as well. And Jackie's perfect girlfriend text on the topic likely refers to this, but I don't think Lorraine is that person either. I do wonder about Lorraine's comment regarding

[David Ridgeon]

the straw that broke the camel's back,

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

but set this aside for now and turn my attention back to Sebastian to find out more about the aftermath of Jackie's disappearance.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

So did police ever come to you? The Sierra Police ever come to you and say that they thought that, you know, you looked suspicious? Did they get you in a room and try to grill you and go through questions?

[Sebastian]

They interviewed me, yeah, for sure, because they came with dogs, obviously, when I reported the everything. Okay. Obviously, that same night, they send. That's called oyota, like the oij here. So those guys came and investigated and searched the whole house from top to bottom. Search the car, the lot around the house, the neighbor's lot. Then they interviewed me for hours. Yeah, and then they came more than once, actually, because every time they were thinking about something, they would come with more questions. Right. And stuff like that.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

So you have a surveillance camera here and it's outside the house?

[Sebastian]

I do, but those are cheap stuff from Costco, so they don't really work well, the pretty much. Okay, You've seen the edge, right? So there's always something that move. So you get, like, thousands of pictures of the edge. The trees, a bird, a spider. And then you walk in front, and it doesn't see you. And Gordon and Colleen actually, like, said like that. Like, I did not share the stuff. Okay. I don't have the password for that. Okay. Because that was, like, Jackie, who had that. Okay. But there's like, like, an investigator who came and get, like, the box, and they check the thing. They say that I'm hiding stuff. No, I'm not. Those guys came and got the box. I still don't have the box back. So, like, they check what was in there. Okay. Regardless of what they see, like, they came back to me and they told me that whoever that was, that there was nothing of interest on the camera.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

They said they were able to see what was on the camera.

[Sebastian]

Yeah, but the cameras are outside, Right. So, like, what they saw is most likely her, like, going out with a bag, like I said. Exactly. At that time.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

I'm trying to connect with the Costa Rican authorities and will hopefully be able to confirm what I'm hearing here.

[Sebastian]

Obviously, they're not gonna say that. Yes, I've been investigated. Yes, they came here with dogs. They smell everything. And just for the record, okay, I'm Just gonna say it, but when you find something in Ancient Egypt that's like 6, 000 years old, they know if there was blood somewhere, like, they can't smell it with, like a dog. Dogs are that good. They even dog. I used to have a beautiful garden there which is, like you said, it's wild now because they dog everywhere, because cops obviously, they see, like freshly moved dirt, like, which is a garden.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

The few documents I have seen say that the OIJ first speak to Sebastian in person on August 19, when he officially reports Jackie missing to police. Then OIJ speaks to Sebastian again the next day on the 20th, this time at the house, but they do not search it. OJ returns again five days after Jackie disappears on Aug. 22 to talk to Sebastian some more and finally conduct a superficial first search of the premises. Nothing unusual seems to have been found on the 22nd. How superficial is a superficial search? In the absence of police, I'll need their files to even begin figuring out what was done or not.

[Krista]

So Sebastian posted on Chit Chat that Jacqueline was missing. And I reached out to him, seeing if there was anything that I could do to help. And right away I organized a search, like with people from our community.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

There were searches across the area undertaken by volunteers soon after Jackie disappeared, organized in large part by Jackie's friend Krista.

[Krista]

We met in Cocoa, and we had designated search areas for different groups and we sent everybody out from there and we conducted that over a couple of days. And then when we. I honestly thought that we would find her right away.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

The ground search organized by Christa started on August 27, 2021. Drones were locally used by Christa and a friend of Sebastian's too. Nothing was found. Two days later, on August 29, 2021, a team of search experts arrived that Krista says she called in.

[Krista]

I contacted a guy I know, Victor, who volunteers with an organization called Open.

[David Ridgeon]

Open, which stands for the Organization for

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

National Emergencies, seems to be a semi professional or at least semi organized search and rescue outfit.

[Krista]

A couple days after that, the team was here on ground, so we had to find lodging and food for them and other gear to support them, like machetes. We ended up getting them rubber boots because these are guys walking through the jungle and snakes are always an issue and, you know, just general search and rescue gear.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

And how many days was a search conducted for Jackie after she disappeared?

[Krista]

I believe it was a full three week period.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

And that was land and see?

[Krista]

Yes.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Did anybody come up with anything? Did they find any remnant of clothing or any item that might have belonged to Jackie or any item at all.

[Krista]

Nothing at all. And these guys were rappelling off cliffs. They found an old wallet that had been sitting, you know, at the bottom of this cliff for it appeared to be a number of years. But there was never a single sign of any belonging of Jacqueline's. We were hoping to find her flip flops or anything.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

And then how was it decided to sort of wrap up the searches?

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Well,

[Krista]

two weeks into the search, Sebastian asked to shut it down. But I was not prepared to give up yet because there were still some areas that needed to to be searched.

[David Ridgeon]

Christa says Sebastian told her that the search was expensive food and accommodation for searchers, but also told Christa that some crew members were trying to scam him.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

There were also some questions being generally raised about the experience level of the searchers, with some talking about ghosts and others using the equivalent of divining rods to douse for Jackie. Community donations for the search dried up as time went on with no progress. The official search lasted three weeks, and on September 19, 2021, it ended with no sign of Jackie.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

And did Sebastian take part in the actual searches himself, to your knowledge?

[Krista]

To my knowledge, no. Like, he wasn't out searching through the bushes and stuff like that. He was, you know, back at the house. He drove the team members to different search areas and would drop them off and so act as a. As a taxi kind of.

[Sebastian]

I was there everywhere all the time.

[David Ridgeon]

I asked Sebastian about the searches and

[Sebastian]

before, like, the cops even, like, did the search and stuff, we were like, basically 15, 16 hours, like a day, like us driving those guys around so they can search like a bigger, like, perimeter around the house. And it lasted like close to three months. Like, by the end, okay, like, myself, I was like, I just can't do that anymore. I'm gonna die. It's that demanding. And it's also when you're doing that, like, you're always like night and day basically talking about that. It's extremely demanding and difficult. Right? Yeah.

[David Ridgeon]

Sebastian says he was on a boat that searched an area at sea where things collected, known as the garbage line. I ask him about some of the local freshwater lagoons and rivers, but he doesn't recall what was searched in that regard. Meanwhile, the OIJ conducts an additional search at Sebastian and Jackie's place on September 6, 2021, almost three weeks after Jackie disappears. Colleen and Gordon Smith three weeks later.

[Colleen or Gordon Smith]

And I thought, well, what are they gonna find? Jackie lived in the house. And another odd thing was Sebastian had a mop with a pail of chlorine in the house, you know, which I thought was a little bit odd. And then he had Colleen to clean the shower, do some stuff, and then we realized we shouldn't have cleaned anything.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Without access to police or the file, I can't say whether or not cleaning the house affected any evidence, and bleach in the bathroom is pretty common, but investigatively, one would want a location to remain as it was on the night someone disappeared from it as much as possible. Three days and certainly three weeks before searches are conducted is a long time.

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[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Hola, buenos dias. Ulises Guevara, the lead OIJ investigator on Jackie's case, told me on a call that I needed to contact his superiors to get any more information. After lots of flack back and forth and getting nothing of value from anyone, superior SKS producer Maria Burgos and I try calling an OIJ office manager Aniela Sirdas is more forthcoming and maybe not so incredibly, tells us that nothing new has been added to Jackie's case file since 2022. And then Agnela offers something else. The name of a key prosecutor, Carmen Evania Pizarro. In Costa Rica. Prosecutors oversee the criminal investigation and evaluate the evidence to look for foul play. So maybe Carmen Evania can help. Jackie's file has been dismissed and archived at the courts, Carmen says. And the upshot of that? Maybe there's a chance we can get our hands on it. We ask if she has Jackie's Cell phone, and she says she does. But getting at that phone or anything else will still take a bit more doing. I've sent a freedom of information request to the Abbotsford B.C. police from Jackie's hometown, whom I know did some work on the case. And there's still a lot more people to talk to here in Costa Rica.

[David Ridgeon (narration / driving)]

Turn right on BEA 151.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Just heading up to the development where Jackie and Sebastian had built their house. Yesterday I talked to Sebastian and his new partner, Lorraine, and today I'm heading back to talk to the neighbors. My GPS is overheating, so I've got to somehow cool this car down so that I can actually get there back

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

to Playa del Coco for more active investigation.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

Nice to meet you.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Nice to meet you. You want. Can we chat or do you want to park or something?

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

No, I was running to come and talk to you. I'm sorry to have you waiting.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

No, no, there's no problem at all. Could we talk a lot away from the idling car?

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

It's gotten dark. And from what I can see, the man who has just driven up to me outside his own house looks like he has just come from a long day at work.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

I'm the neighbor. I live. Yeah, right next to them. We have.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

He's another neighbor of Sebastian and Jackie's who's asked to be anonymous because he fears for his family's safety. And I'm calling him Alejandro. Alejandro moved in with his young family just a few weeks before Jackie disappeared.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

Unfortunately, I didn't get to know Jacqueline too much. She was always really nice. She was always outside. She was always really happy. She was always working on the house, on the garden. She would talk to the kids. She would be very empathetic. She was always smiling, and she was always working really hard. And Sebastian I never talked to because I only talked to. To Jacqueline was, you know, pretty decent. Like, he didn't engage too much. He would be like, outside too. You'd see how they're trying to get onto something with the house together and all that. And that was actually pretty nice to see. And Sebastian was always behind, never talked, and with an angry face.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Alejandro doesn't know why Sebastian and Jackie were fighting or what happened to Jackie, but he does have some theories that include suspicions about Sebastian's backyard after Jackie went missing.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

Why am I very suspicious about behind the backyard? Because I have a lot of dogs, and the dogs, as soon as I open the gate, would go to the. Lets say backside on the right hand side of the, like, last part. Of the garden. There is a place where he had, like, a bunch of logs. And I could let my dogs go out, and my dogs would always go to the exact same place. He continued burning things on top of it, but there was something burned underneath, and you could see birds all over until I got scared and I started going around the house with shotgun.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

What birds were you saying?

[David Ridgeon]

What kind?

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

Soldiers. Pink heads. And they're like, all the time on top of the house.

[David Ridgeon]

On top of the house, all the

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

time on top of the house. My kids are afraid of it. I'm afraid of it. They're always on top of the house.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

I have found one neighbor across the street who says vultures used to appear at their own property too. But nobody else other than Alejandro is able to say they saw vultures at Sebastian's.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

The first ones that came and investigated was Ota. Ota is the Costa Rican, let's say, like, FBI, the. The. The governmental entity that should take charge of all these things. And they were all right in front of his house. And when I passed, I stopped, and they were like, okay, so we can't for sure say it was him, but he has his car hidden inside of his garage, and he has blood all over the front seat of the passenger. And then he is not willing to share the surveillance videos of the house, of the cameras and all that. And I'm like, for sure it was him. It was him.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Alejandro comes off as exaggerated to me, and his conclusions are speculative, though it's obvious that he is actually fearful and suspicious of Sebastian. After speaking to the oij, Alejandro says he became so concerned about Sebastian that he decided to confront him.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

And then next time he comes by, I go with the shotgun again, and I knock on the door and I tell him, motherfucker, I see you close to my house, a fucking kill you.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

You went over with your shotgun.

[Alejandro (Neighbor)]

Oh, yeah, it's not legal. I don't care. Really. I don't give a.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Taking a shotgun into any situation seems like the best way to accelerate it in the wrong direction.

[David Ridgeon]

Sebastian says this interaction never happened, but if it did, I'm not sure I

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

fully understand Alejandro's decision to confront Sebastian in this way.

[David Ridgeon]

There's also no way of knowing what he was actually told by oij.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

If anything, Krista adds even more nuance by telling me a story that offers some more potential detail about blood in the car

[Krista's friend]

during the search. My husband and I got in the car to go for breakfast one morning while all the guys were out searching, and I have my little dog with me. And she actually pointed a small spot in the back seat and was digging furiously at it and sniffing it. Now, during the search with the oi hotas dog, they did end up cutting a spot out of the back seat of the vehicle. And when I was in the back seat, it was covered with a vehicle cover, you know, like a seat cover.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Okay.

[Krista's friend]

And they kept cutting out a spot, but I don't know whatever happened with that.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Okay, and how do you know that the police cut that spot out?

[Krista's friend]

Sebastian told me.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

He told you. Okay. And did he ever say anything about

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

results, or did you ask him particularly about results of that?

[Krista's friend]

He said that he didn't know what the results were.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Colleen and Gordon also say they saw Sebastian burning things in the days following Jackie's disappearance. But Sebastian says the police cleared him.

[Sebastian]

They dug everything. And that brings me to another accusation I got. Because that garden was made of wood frame and stuff. So after it got all destroyed. Sorry. I got really depressed and stopped actually using it. So instead of letting it grow a while, like, I use all the wood that was there and burn it for days on the neighbor's lot. Then it got me accused that, oh, like he burned the body. Just stupidness after stupidness, if you want. So, yes, dogs came here and clear me, clear the car, cleared the house,

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

cleared a lot, cleared him, the house, the lot, and the car. I'd still like to see what happened with the seat cover. I wonder how old it was, why it was put on top of the original cover, and why both Christa's dog and the police dog might have alerted to it.

[Alonzo (Gate guard)]

Hi, sir. You can hear me?

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Yes. Is this Alonzo?

[Alonzo (Gate guard)]

Yeah, that's me.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

And nice to meet you.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

All right.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Nice to meet you. Thank you so much.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Alonzo, the gate guard, Gordon and Colleen mentioned to me that he might have seen something on the day Jackie disappeared. He wants to work on his English on the call, even though I say he can speak Spanish.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Do you remember seeing Jacqueline on the day she disappeared?

[Alonzo (Gate guard)]

No, My partner, he shot her. And, well, he was in the. In the gates. Right.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Okay. So Alonzo didn't see Jackie that day. It was apparently his partner.

[Alonzo (Gate guard)]

Sir, I want to tell you something. Sebastian, he never told us he was disappeared. That's happening. I think it was Tuesday. So we call Oihota. They come to here, and they asking, you know, about this woman because he disappeared, and blah, blah, blah. And was in that moment, we well received the news she was disappeared. He never told us nothing, sir.

[David Ridgeon]

Sebastian tells me that he expected Jackie to come back that night. So perhaps because of prior experiences of Jackie leaving or him leaving. It might explain why Sebastian didn't immediately raise alarm bells in the community. The guards say that they heard about Jackie disappearing from the police days after she vanished.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Just on my way to the guard house. That's just down the hill from Jackie and Sebastian's place. Hopefully I can speak to Alonzo and his partner about what they say they saw on that day. I spoke to Lonzo on the phone, but I really wanted to talk in person. Just passing the house that Jackie and Sebastian built here. That there's a hedge in front of it now, that wasn't at the time. So it's hard to see the house, to see a garage behind there.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

I make arrangements to meet in person with Alonzo and the other guard, Michael.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Just a little guard house. I think there's three guard houses in total. This is the sort of most active one that I've seen. Some of them are completely inoperative, it seems. Let's see. Hola. Is alonzo here?

[Lorraine Franco]

I mean, alonzo.

[Krista's friend]

Yeah.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Alonzo. Alonzo. Hi. Is this your partner that was here?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Yeah. So he's michael.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Okay. Michael david. Hi, michael. So I want to know what michael saw on the day. It was august 17, 2020.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

So he say that day he saw her about. He said, six stories.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Coming in. Coming in the gate. In her car?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Yeah, in his car.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Her car.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Okay.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Driving in?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Yes.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

She wave or is she happy or did she wave? She waved.

[Sebastian]

See?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Yeah.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Michael says that around 6:30pm Jackie came in, waved at him from her car, and drove on past to her house. Back in 2021, Michael said he couldn't remember whether it was the 16th or 17th when he saw Jackie. And that he saw her drive by a little later around 7 or 7:30pm Michael also said back then that he thinks he saw Jackie drive to her garage and. And that he did not see her leave again. There is another route that you can walk or drive to or from the house. So not seeing Jackie or the car pass again just means past Michael at the guardhouse. But Michael does see something else pass by. Michael says that later on he saw a taxi drive past the guard house.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

And he saw somebody behind the scene back in the taxi. But he's not sure if it was her or.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Okay.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Another person.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Okay, and what time was that taxi? Do you remember the time?

[Alonzo (Gate guard)]

You don't remember?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

No, no, no.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Late, late, late. Or like many hours later or just

[Michael (Gate guard)]

a couple hours later or minutos. Oh, sorry. One hour he say, yeah, They say in the back, they say was somebody, but.

[Alonzo (Gate guard)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Man or woman?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

He said, only that was somebody in the back of the taxi.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Sebastian said that a neighbor saw a taxi on the night Jackie disappeared as well. I wonder if it's the same sighting.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

So the taxi, you must have known the taxi driver because there's very few taxi drivers. Right. Did he recognize the taxi driver?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

No, no, he don't remember. Well, he remember was a taxi. Yeah.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Red. Red taxi, though.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Was a red taxi.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

It was a red taxi.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Okay.

[David Ridgeon]

Seeing Jackie come past in her car between 6:30pm and 7:30pm on either the 16th or 17th seems a reliable sighting to me. If on the 17th, it matches roughly with the approximate surf store receipt timings of when Jackie would have been returning from there. Michael says he saw Jackie drive in from the Hermosa direction, which would have been the shorter distance to arrive from the surf shop. Not seeing Jackie leave, and then seeing a taxi go by with a person in the back. But he doesn't know who is less exact.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Has he ever talked to Sebastian, ever? Oh, okay. And did you ever see them fighting or arguing or any kind of interaction between them?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

One time the neighbor called him because the neighbor heard somebody was screaming in the house. When he go there to see what happened. The Sebastian. He called Sebastian, but he did not answer. So. But he said Sebastian was washing the dish and. Or something in the. In the kitchen.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Okay, and have you ever seen them arguing or fighting? Did you?

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Yeah, they haven't. I don't know what kind of problem with the people. She was building the house. And I remember I was here exactly. And there was grass and friend in the. They having a little scooter. And she was screaming and hitting him in the back. Because she was in the back. She was hitting him in the back? Yeah. And she was hitting him in the back.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

Oh, Jacqueline was hitting.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

She was hitting with his hand in the back to Sebastian. He was. She was. I don't know, she was fighting or something.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

She was hitting Sebastian.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Yes, she was.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

The surveillance cameras, did you ever see anything on any surveillance camera here that showed Jacqueline leaving?

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

No.

[Michael (Gate guard)]

Sebastian, you know, in the house is. They have camera. When I heard. I heard that version one day ask, you know, to see the camera. He say, oh, Jacqueline have the passport. She know everything about this. I don't have control. Yeah,

[David Ridgeon (narration / driving)]

I really went through my cameras, but. Because we have security cameras at the house.

[David Ridgeon]

But someone does have some footage from around the time Jackie disappeared.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

A neighbor across the street named Ramay

[David Ridgeon]

Aldana in fact, Ramay says that in 2021, she was the only neighbor in the immediate area who had security cameras.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

So nobody has a shot of Jackie leaving the house, let alone leaving the house with a bag like Sebastian told me. We pore through the footage Ramae sends, but because her camera is aimed closer to her house, not every car or motion event seems to trigger it. There are no recordings of Jackie or Sebastian on August 16th or 17th. There is a shot of Sebastian on the 18th, around 11:30am on his scooter. And on the 15th, there is a shot of Jackie's car returning home around 7pm it could be surmised that Michael the guard is actually remembering seeing Jackie drive by on the 15th from this evidence because it is similar timing, but impossible to say because whoever is driving the vehicle cannot be seen. Ramae says she has talked to all the neighbors about Jackie, and I ask what she thinks about her disappearance.

[David Ridgeon (narration / driving)]

We're inquisitive. You know, it's right next door. Somebody disappears, is a killer somewhere. So I need to know what's going on. And. And I think there was foul play. I really think so. I don't think she just walked away like, this is what they were saying, that she just walked away. No way. No way.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

No way is an opinion from Ramay, someone who tells me she doesn't know Jackie or Sebastian beyond waving. Still, theories of how no way happens are still fewer and further between than I would like. I wonder what Sebastian himself thinks happened. Has anyone ever asked him?

[Sebastian]

I did not kill her, obviously. Yes. So. But who am I to convince anyone? Like, people want to see me as the guilty and stuff, and whatever I do, they're gonna think it's me. So even if I say something in their head, it's gonna be to prove that it's not me and, like, to try to say something, whatever. And if I say don't say anything, they still think the same thing. So it's basically wasting my life trying to convince those people they want to hate me and they want me as a witness, they will.

[Interviewer (David Ridgeon)]

In thinking about the case and maybe in thinking about Jacqueline, what do you think happened?

[Sebastian]

I'm proud of you. The person know her the most, right? So, like, I would say, since she was, like, really afraid of pain and stuff, but, like, she was, like, tormented and didn't want to live anymore. And it's been like that for quite a while. I would say she. She loved the ocean. So she probably went for a swim, like. Like planning on swimming until she cannot come back

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

until she can't come back. I can't imagine many things that might be harder to do swim past where you know you cannot return at night in an ocean alone. Others have disappeared from the same Costa Rican shoreline, and days later the tide has brought them back. The beach sands have held them. Would there be no sign of Jackie? Other cases have taught me that bodies in water can still start to disarticulate in a surprisingly short time. The fingers, hands and head first, then at the waist. Sharks and other fishes may not consume everything. Could Jackie have died by suicide with the intention that no part of her would be found? Maybe. As I'm sitting with Sebastian, these thoughts go through my mind and I notice on his leg a scar. In the days after Jackie disappeared, other people noticed it too, but at that time it was a new deep gash.

[David Ridgeon]

Someone Knows Something is hosted, written and produced by me, David Ridgeon. The series is also produced by Maria Jose Burgos.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

Sound design by Evan Kelly.

[David Ridgeon]

Natalia Ferguson is our transcriber, Emily Cannell is our digital producer, Chris Oak is our story editor, our executive producer is Cecil Fernandez, Tanya Springer is the senior manager and Arif Noorani is the Director of CBC Podcasts.

[Narrator / Investigator (David Ridgeon)]

You can binge all episodes of Someone

[David Ridgeon]

Knows Something early on the CBC True Crime YouTube channel, or for early and ad free listening, subscribe to the the CBC True Crime Premium channel on Apple Podcasts. Just click on the link in the show description. If you're looking for more CBC True crime, check out uncover from CBC podcasts. There are over 30 seasons to binge listen to right now. Sea of Lies takes you inside the mind of a devious scammer whose trail of destruction crosses continents and decades. Find investigations and more by searching for Uncover wherever you get your podcasts.

[Howie Mandel]

For more cbc podcasts, go to cbc ca podcasts.