The Next Call Introduces: The Jaclyn Ferland-Smith Case

March 16, 2026·38 min·3 clips

Costa Rican investigators told Jackie's parents to leave Sebastian's house immediately, then told Gordon that police believed Sebastian was involved in Jackie's disappearance.

It begins with an interruption. A Bookends promo about Chris Hadfield and Final Orbit slips into a dog, shoes by the door, and a request to talk about Jacqueline. The mood changes fast. David Ridgen is in Costa Rica, checking on translation, thanking people with care, and edging toward a disappearance many people say they heard about. He takes his time. Before he knocks on a door in the evening, he explains that a good interview depends on how you make the approach. Luck has to be invited. That little pause tells you plenty about the method: patience first, contact second, and no sense that anyone owes him access. Then a public YouTube record comes in. A September 5, 2021 Pepito Live video is described as a call for help from the expat community. Jacqueline becomes Jackie there. Eve Mallette introduces Sebastian Ferland and says Jacqueline Smith Ferland has been missing since August 17. Sebastian answers in fragments. He says she had been under too much stress, that paranoia followed, and that other things made it worse. The excerpt keeps its hands off the verdict. His account stays his account, and Ridgen's narration lets the uncertainty sit there. There is no neat answer yet. Just a tiny, lush country, a missing woman, and people trying to find words for fear. The feed then opens back out, pointing listeners toward Someone Knows Something, past investigations, and the second episode waiting after this introduction.

As heard by us

A careful missing-person case built on place, testimony, and restraint.

The episode begins in Costa Rica and follows David Ridgen as he tries to reconstruct the disappearance of a Canadian woman through interviews, translation, and local accounts of what people heard, saw, or know.

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Why you'd press play

A quiet doorway into the disappearance of Jacqueline Furlan Smith in Costa Rica, told through interviews and careful reporting.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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