Page 13 - PPIAC Newsletter Apr-May 2022

• Pocket knife
• Bandanas (the sweating was real)
• Poncho
• Headlamp and flashlight
• Extra batteries
• Gloves
• Hot-weather non-cotton long-sleeved/legged clothing
• Waterproof dry bags
• Bug spray
• Sunscreen
• Regular clothes
• Toiletries/hygiene products
• Small field notebook and multiple pens/pencils
• Cash
• Copies of the NNP police report
• Copies of photos and the missing person poster

I brought much more than that, not knowing what I would face, but really those were all I ended up needing.

Plan of Investigation
Prior to travel, it is important to lay out a plan of investigation. Perhaps you will not be able to accomplish
everything you planned, but it is important to do this before you leave so that you’re not wasting valuable in-
country time trying to figure out what you’re going to do next. (We were only scheduled to be in Nicaragua for five
days unless additional time was really needed to complete the investigation.) Since you’ll see below what we did, I
won’t list our plan here.

Field Investigation
Our driver picked us up from the airport and immediately drove us to the hostel Abiodun had last known to be at
while in Nicaragua.

Hostel Canvassing
This is where his belongings were found. We interviewed the hostel owners, as well as waiters, bartenders, and
guests. Many of them knew who we were and were willing to provide information (we had to buy a drink or two),
but none of them knew where Abiodun was or where he went. However, we were able to review CCTV footage
that showed that Abiodun had in fact gone out on the lake that day in a kayak, by himself, with no life vest. The
general assumption people had was that he had drowned, but when we asked why they thought that the majority
of them stated that it was because the NNP had so actively searched the water of the lake. We did obtain one lead
though, which was that there were several small indigenous fishing communities around the lake, and that there
may have been witnesses among that population.

The Lake
The lake itself is a famous lake in Nicaragua, the Apoyo Lagoon. It is a volcanic crater lake, and exceedingly deep
and large. At its deepest point, it is 574 feet deep, and occupies 7.5 square miles. We spoke to the lifeguard who
had been on duty at the time Abiodun went out, who reported to us that he had offered a life vest to Abiodun
multiple times, but that Abiodun had refused and told him that he knew how to swim. The lifeguard noted that
Abiodun brought nothing with him when he went out in the kayak. We asked the lifeguard about taking a boat on
the lake, as we wanted to identify some of the areas indicated on the NNP’s map and get a sense of the size of the
lake itself. The lifeguard told us that no one was allowed on the lake at that time, as the Nicaraguan Navy had not