Island Crime

Laura Palmer / Frequency Podcast Network

Season 6: ‘Sweethearts’ examines the unsolved cases of three teenage girls who were murdered in Victoria, Canada between 1990 and 1991. Season 5: ‘Whiskey Creek’ is the untold story of a Halloween night massacre. Season 4: ‘Finding Amber’ follows the case of a Port Alberni woman who disappeared on July 8, 2022. Season 3: ‘Missing Michael’ is the story of Michael Dunahee, a little boy from Victoria, BC, who vanished from a playground in 1991 at the age of 4. Season 2: ‘Gone Boys’ follows the mystery of men who have gone missing in recent years on Vancouver Island. Season 1: ‘Where is Lisa?’ digs into the disappearance of 21-year-old Lisa Marie Young. read less

Our Editor's Take

Island Crime is a true crime podcast that explores cold cases and missing persons on Vancouver Island. The island is off Canada's Pacific coast, and it is where a 21-year-old woman vanished in 2002. Lisa Marie Young's disappearance is the focus of the podcast's first season. On the podcast, listeners follow several baffling, heartbreaking, and illuminating stories. The podcast is victim-centric and highlights the pain, struggles, and hope of those left behind. It brings unexpected attention to victims' stories, leading to new revelations. The show presents them in the context of who they were, their legacies, families, and community.

Laura Palmer, Island Crime's host, is a former CBC radio producer. The award-winning host has years of experience on TV and radio. With the podcast, her original intent was to pay tribute to Lisa. That noble cause has since expanded into something even bigger. The host explored other cold cases after the initial podcast series about Lisa. The second season, called Gone Boys, is about the disappearance of several men on the island.

In season three, Laura chronicles and investigates the disappearances of Michael Dunahee. The four-year-old has been missing for decades. In season four, Amber Alberni, who vanished in 2022, became the podcast's focus. The fifth season explores the murder of three people in Whiskey Creek.

Laura speaks to many people connected to the victims and cases each season of Island Crime. She also speaks to people who live in or have a connection to the location of the crimes or disappearances. Many people she interviews have never gone on record about the cases until speaking to Laura. Some of the interviews reveal little-known information about the victims and crimes.

Island Crime is thorough, captivating, and informative. It's not a podcast that sensationalizes stories. Instead, its quest is to bring the truth to the fore. Laura tells many underreported stories, making the podcast a worthwhile listen.

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Season 1: Where is Lisa?

Season 1: Where is Lisa?

On a long weekend in the summer of 2002, Lisa Marie Young went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. There were big changes ahead; a move to a new apartment, a fresh start on a career with big dreams of becoming a sportscaster. But that night, Lisa got into a red jaguar with a young … Continue reading "Season 1: Where is Lisa?"

Season 6

Coming Soon: Season Six, Sweethearts

Coming Soon: Season Six, Sweethearts

The year is 1990 and within about 12 months three teenage girls will be murdered in Victoria, B.C., Canada. Before they were found dead, all three girls were lured into sex trafficking with promises of love and money. Today, it's been more than thirty years since they were killed, and their killer, or killers, have never been found. Island Crime Season 6: Sweethearts exposes the stigma surrounding their deaths and asks whether time and technology can finally bring justice for their families. New episodes coming April 2024.

For three decades, Rhonda has wondered why someone killed her high school friend Kimberly Gallup. Kimberly was a girl who loved the Kansas City Chiefs and Bon Jovi. Her death has a lasting impact on all who knew her. Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S6 E2 After the Fair

S6 E2 After the Fair

Cheri Lynn Smith spends her days reading the bible and writing to her parents. Before she's killed, Cheri is lured away from her Regina home by a sex trafficker posing as her boyfriend. Not long after, a horseback rider finds her body in the underbrush outside of Victoria, B.C., Canada.Thank you to Cheri's parents for permitting me to use the audio from their interview on 'Listen Up TV' -and to host Lorna Dueck for agreeing to make the audio available to Island Crime. Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S6 E3 The Girl in Polka Dot Tights

S6 E3 The Girl in Polka Dot Tights

Melissa Nicholson’s badly beaten body is found on the side of the road. Newspapers at the time describe her as "teen hooker #3", but her family only remembers her big smile, sparkly personality, and honey-coloured hair. The 17-year-old is last seen on the Victoria stroll.Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S6 E4 The Stroll

S6 E4 The Stroll

Cheri, Kimberly and Melissa were all last seen on the stroll in downtown Victoria. The activities of the area starkly contrast the elegant image Victoria is trying to sell tourists. It becomes a fertile hunting ground for predators.Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S6 E5 Boyfriends

S6 E5 Boyfriends

The men close to Cheri, Melissa and Kimberly, at the time of their deaths, are all potential suspects. Boyfriends, pimps, and sex traffickers, could any of them have wanted the girls gone?Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

When Melissa, Cheri and Kimberly were killed in Victoria, there may have been four serial killers preying on sex trade workers and sexually exploited youth on the coast. Who are these predators, and what has been done to exclude them from the cases on the island?Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

The 'teen hooker’ headlines are symbolic of the very real stigma and victim blaming involved in the cases of Cheri, Melissa and Kimberly. What role did the shaming of sexually exploited youth play in the murders, the investigations and how the media told their stories?Signs someone you know could be being sex trafficked.Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

Experts say Investigative Genetic Genealogy, also known as IGG, is showing incredible promise in solving cold cases abroad. But the technology is not yet commonly used in Canada. Could Cheri, Melissa and Kimberly’s cases one day be solved through IGG? And what’s preventing law enforcement from using it more frequently in Canada?Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S6 E9 Following the Trail

S6 E9 Following the Trail

In the immediate aftermath of the original Sweetheart series, the Island Crime inbox is flooded with new leads, fresh tips and reactions from those who knew and loved Kimberly Gallup, Melissa Nicholson and Cheri Lynn Smith.

S6 E10 Ride or Die

S6 E10 Ride or Die

After the original series drops, new information surfaces about Kimberly Gallup's case; fresh leads and questions from people close to Kimberly in time and place.

Shelley Wright was Cheri Lynn Smith's best friend. After the first episodes drop, she gets in touch. In this episode, Shelley shares a loving view of her teenage friend and provides insight into Cheri's world before and after Cheri is sex trafficked.

Talking True Crime with David Ridgen

Talking True Crime with David Ridgen

An interview with 'Someone Knows Something' host David Ridgen about true crime podcasting and his new season of SKS - The Christine Harron Case.SPOILER ALERT: David goes into some detail about his new season.

A game-changing development in crime investigations is being underused in Canada, experts say

A game-changing development in crime investigations is being underused in Canada, experts say

Investigative genetic genealogy has been hailed as the biggest breakthrough in investigations since the fingerprint. And yet only a handful of police forces in Canada are using it. Why? And what will it take to address the challenges of moving forward?

Season 5

Coming Soon: Whiskey Creek

Coming Soon: Whiskey Creek

On Halloween night in 2020, a mass shooting took place near the resort community of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. Three people are found dead in a make-shift encampment deep in the woods. Beside them, four dead dogs and a burned-out trailer. Now, more than two years on, the case is at a standstill. Island Crime Season 5: Whiskey Creek explores the secrecy and fear surrounding the shootings.New episodes coming May 9.

S5 E1 Fireworks

S5 E1 Fireworks

It's Halloween Night 2020. Neighbours hear loud noises coming from the bush. They assume the sounds are fireworks marking late night festivities. The next afternoon a dirt biker stumbles across a scene straight out of a Hollywood drama. Burned out vehicles, three dead bodies, four dead dogs and, incredibly, a survivor. Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S5 E2 Trouble Comes to Town

S5 E2 Trouble Comes to Town

Fresh out of jail and with nowhere to go, Shawn McGrath lands in a trailer in Whiskey Creek. That's when problems in the community begin. His encampment in the woods is a magnet for the young and vulnerable. How far will the community go to protect their own?Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

A Vancouver Island mother believes her son may have been held hostage at Whiskey Creek. In her eyes, he is an innocent victim in an act of vigilantism. But he has never been named publicly as one of the victims. What will his mom do in order to seek justice for her boy? Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.

S5 E4 The Survivor

S5 E4 The Survivor

Today, the lone survivor of the Whiskey Creek massacre lives in fear that those responsible for the slaughter are still planning to finish him off. After the attack, he fled to the mainland, warned never to return. But now he wants to come home. Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.For more information about subscriptions visit: https://frequencypodcastnetwork.com/subscriptions/

Two weeks before the Whiskey Creek shootings, a young woman’s body is found on a nearby highway. The 22-year-old knew the Whiskey Creek victims and spent time there. Is her death somehow connected?Subscribe to Island Crime Plus for early access to episodes, all ad-free.For more information about subscriptions visit: https://frequencypodcastnetwork.com/subscriptions/