Page 15 - PPIAC Newsletter Apr-May 2022

City Canvassing
Utilizing information captured during the forensic analysis of Abiodun’s cellphone and laptop, we were able to
create a timeline of the places he visited in Managua and the surrounding areas. We canvassed multiple hotels,
bars, shops, and other nightlife areas of interest that his timeline indicated that he had gone to. We found multiple
people who had met or seen him, including some who confirmed Abiodun’s interest in ayahuasca, but uncovered
no evidence or leads as to his then-current whereabouts. One hotel manager seemed like he was not telling us
everything, and we later returned to him and convinced him to provide us the names, dates of birth, nationalities,
and passport numbers of two girls who were with Abiodun on the day of his disappearance. We were able to later
contact these girls via Facebook, and it turns out they were the ones who reported him missing on the day of his
disappearance. They also confirmed that they had done unsupervised ayahuasca with Abiodun that morning prior
to him going out on the lake on his own. They tried to convince him to stay, but he refused.

The NNP
On the last day of our investigation, we went to the NNP. We deliberately waited until the end of our time in
Nicaragua in case they told us at that point to stay out of the investigation. As the NNP had only produced a single-
page report to the State Department, we visited the closest station, which is where the author of the report,
Lieutenant Garcia, had been stationed. They told us that he’d been transferred to police headquarters in Managua.
We attempted to obtain additional documentation from the investigation, but we were told that only Lieutenant
Garcia could provide this, but that it was unlikely that we would be allowed to enter NNP headquarters. We
contacted the US State Department in Nicaragua, who arranged with the Sub-Director General of the NNP to allow
us in when we arrived. We drove to the headquarters and another Lieutenant came out and refused to allow us
entry. We explained that we had confirmation from the Sub-Director General and the US Embassy that we were to
be allowed entry into the headquarters in order to interview Lieutenant Garcia, but the Lieutenant at the gate
refused. We asked instead if we could just be provided the full record of the investigation, and were referred to
the “Auxilio General,” which is their records department. The Lieutenant radioed ahead for us, and we drove
there. When we arrived, however, we were told that civilians were not allowed access to those records. By this
point we realized that we were being given the deliberate runaround. As a last-ditch effort, we went back to the
local police station and dropped the Sub-Director General’s name. This got us an audience with the chief of that
station. He let us into his office but posted two guards on the inside of the door. It was very tense, and it became
at that point uncertain if they were going to let us leave. However, he did answer some of our questions. He told
us he was unaware of an investigation into a missing person on Apoyo Lagoon, and that he was unaware of the
joint operation between the NNP and the Nicaraguan Navy. This is likely to be a lie, as Lieutenant Garcia reported
to the chief of that station during the time of the investigation. He then told us that “these matters are best
handled by professionals, and that it would be better for us if we returned to the United States”. He backpedaled a
bit on his warning when we informed him of the background of the two investigators with me (FBI and DEA) and
that we were there with the knowledge of the State Department, but the message had already been received and
we decided to leave.

Conclusion
While we were not able to locate Abiodun or determine his condition, we were able to find multiple witnesses of
Abiodun engaging in risky behavior before his disappearance, including doing ayahuasca prior to going out on the
lake, refusing a life vest, and standing up while paddling in a kayak during or right before a storm. In our report, the
tentative conclusion was that it was most likely that Abiodun unfortunately drowned in Apoyo Lagoon, and that
because of the depth of the lake, the body never resurfaced. The family had hoped we’d be able to retrieve
Abiodun from Nicaragua, and this was disappointing for them. However, it was also helpful for them because it
provided closure for them, despite the numerous social media claims of sighting Abiodun later, and they were able
to start moving on with their lives. Approximately a year later they contacted us to thank us again for our
assistance.