This podcast is intended for mature audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Several weeks after our search at Lake Lanier, I still havent decided how I feel about not finding anything other than an empty plastic barrel. On one hand, it's unfortunate that this case will continue to drag on in search of answers. On the other hand, I'm not sure I really wanted to bear witness to a grieving mother finding out that her son's remains were pulled from the bottom of a lake. So for now,this is highly suspicious, and it should have been followed up on by investigators. Jessica then tells me something else she remembers. It was something she noticed in the basement of the lake house while waiting for her friend to return from the liquor store and take her home.It was like an area that we were all sitting in, because when we walked down the stairs, one of the girls made the comment, man, it smells like bleach down here.Really?Yeah. They had ripped out all the sheetrock, all of it. There was no carpet. I remember that. There was no carpet. There was no sheet rock. You could tell, like, where there used to be. It creeped me out, you know, like, after all this stuff happened. So I was just kind of, like, really on guard. One is that there used. There was a pool table or something there that used to be in the middle of the room or something, and it wasn't there anymore, is what they were saying. They're like, well, we used to be able to play pool, but we had to. We can't use that pool table or something. We had to take it out. Like, the second that my friend got back, like, we left.Jessica's not sure exactly what lake the house was on, as she had never been there before and hasn't been again in 16 years. Her description of the basement being gutted and smelling like bleach is concerning, as I've heard the same thing about Andy Pickens houseboat and his van. Before they vanished. They as well had been renovated and smelled of bleach right around the time Justin went missing. It's also interesting that she mentioned a pool table in the middle of the room, because Dylan told me that he used to play pool in Andy's basement. Is it possible that Jessica is getting things confused? And it wasn't actually a house on the lake, but perhaps near one? Obviously, Andy Pickens wasn't the only person to have a pool table in his basement. And if the homeowner was renovating and replacing the flooring, they would have obviously had to remove the pool table. So maybe these are just two different houses. But the similarities in the stories I've heard are intriguing. What Jessica volunteers next regarding Justin takes us right back to where we started with Dylan Glass's confession.I have a really good girlfriend of mine. The father of her child got brought in for questioning over this, and he failed his lie detector test. He was worried sick that something was going to happen to him, and she kept asking him, well, what did you do? Tell me, what did you do? Did you have something to do with this? And he would never tell her. I know he did follow his lie detector test, asking about if he had anything to do with Justin's death. And that's not public knowledge.Who'd you hear that from?His baby mama.Are you able to tell me his name?Um, Leon.Jessica is right. Leon was brought in for questioning and took a polygraph, which he, quote, failed miserably, according to investigators notes.I don't know if you can get records, but I can tell you that they have picked Leon up one time, along with Dylan Glass, and took them both at the same time to some. Well, that they thought that he was at. And Dylan kept screaming at him, just tell him where the body's at, man. Just tell him where the body's at. And Leon was like, I don't know what the f. You're talking about.In 2015, after Dylan confessed to police, Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman told me he personally took Dylan and Leon to a remote area called high Shoals, where Justin's remains were thought to be. He told me Dylan pleaded with Leon to tell where Justin was buried, but Leon wouldn't budge.We were out on. In Jones woods, in the middle of nowhere, on a little old bridge over our creek, and I put those two together just like you are, right? Now, I put them face to face, and Dylan looked. The guy. He said, man, give it up. They know. I told him everything. He just sat there and looked. Not a word. Didn't say a word. I've never seen it that thick. I've seen the worst of the worst. Right after buddies, if they think it's gonna save em, but not here. Nobody's saying a word.But Jessica tells me what she heard about Leon after he came home from that outing with the sheriff.Talking about something about. I didn't. I didn't really know him. I didn't know him like that. Something about flashy. That's why I thought maybe a watch. But then when you said the earrings, I'm like, well, maybe he did say, maybe it was the earrings that he was talking about. That's why I think that he failed that lie detector test. And all he kept saying is, you know, was like, well, that can't be the only thing that they arrested for that, because the jury can't use that. And da da da da. They can't do nothing without a body.What Jessica tells me she discussed with Leon's baby mama could turn out to be extremely important, not just for what she heard, but for who was saying it. The baby mama in question turns out to be none other than Heather. The same Heather identified as the woman Justin got into the car with outside of Wild Bill's shortly before he disappeared. She was identified by more than one person by name, using the club's surveillance footage. Leon was also positively identified on camera at the club that night. I want to talk to him. But that thought has come with a stern warning from several people.My only word to you is to do it in broad daylight and be very, very careful. He's not someone that you can just approach like that.Even Sheriff Chapman seemed to give me a friendly reality check when I discussed speaking with people like Leonida.They've killed one. You know, like the old folks say when you ask them, does that dog bite? They say, he's got teeth, ain't he? Same thing here. I don't want you floating in Lakeland there, either.Chapman was half joking with me, but there's also truth in what he says. There's a real warning there. A young man is dead. And whoever did it has gone to great lengths to cover it up. So what would they be willing to do if someone like me started poking around, kicking the hornets nest? It's a reminder that I have to take this seriously, and I can't let my guard down.How willing are you to dive into these waters?It's a good question. How willing am I? But after something I've recently learned, I might not need to dive in the waters again at all, because this investigation into the disappearance of Justin Gaines once again has pivoted, this time in a very serious way.There's a house here in Walton county, county that came up with having Mexicans associated with the cartel living there. This house is as far as the owners of the property, and that as having been connected with the players in the justing Gaines case. There's not really a connection criminally between the people that own the property and Justin Gaines. It's their children. They're out doing their own thing, their own little criminal acts which involve drug trafficking.This cartel story, you know, it's been there the whole time, right. Without anyone really realizing it, which is, I think, why that anonymous call is so important. Because that name, Chino. Chino, as far as you know, is in some way tied to this cartel.Yes.Drowning Creek is an original production of Waveland. I wrote and created the series and the original score. Executive producer is Jason Hoch. Associate producer is Leo Culp. Sound engineering by Shane Freeman special thanks to Erica Wilson and her family. If you have any leads on this case, please contact me at infochncrtaine. And if you love the series, please leave a review and tell your friends. Follow Waveland on Instagram at wavelandmedia for more on this series and upcoming new shows, and you can also find me on social media at seancipe official or@seancipe.com as always, thanks for listening.

this is highly suspicious, and it should have been followed up on by investigators. Jessica then tells me something else she remembers. It was something she noticed in the basement of the lake house while waiting for her friend to return from the liquor store and take her home.

It was like an area that we were all sitting in, because when we walked down the stairs, one of the girls made the comment, man, it smells like bleach down here.

Really?

Yeah. They had ripped out all the sheetrock, all of it. There was no carpet. I remember that. There was no carpet. There was no sheet rock. You could tell, like, where there used to be. It creeped me out, you know, like, after all this stuff happened. So I was just kind of, like, really on guard. One is that there used. There was a pool table or something there that used to be in the middle of the room or something, and it wasn't there anymore, is what they were saying. They're like, well, we used to be able to play pool, but we had to. We can't use that pool table or something. We had to take it out. Like, the second that my friend got back, like, we left.

Jessica's not sure exactly what lake the house was on, as she had never been there before and hasn't been again in 16 years. Her description of the basement being gutted and smelling like bleach is concerning, as I've heard the same thing about Andy Pickens houseboat and his van. Before they vanished. They as well had been renovated and smelled of bleach right around the time Justin went missing. It's also interesting that she mentioned a pool table in the middle of the room, because Dylan told me that he used to play pool in Andy's basement. Is it possible that Jessica is getting things confused? And it wasn't actually a house on the lake, but perhaps near one? Obviously, Andy Pickens wasn't the only person to have a pool table in his basement. And if the homeowner was renovating and replacing the flooring, they would have obviously had to remove the pool table. So maybe these are just two different houses. But the similarities in the stories I've heard are intriguing. What Jessica volunteers next regarding Justin takes us right back to where we started with Dylan Glass's confession.

I have a really good girlfriend of mine. The father of her child got brought in for questioning over this, and he failed his lie detector test. He was worried sick that something was going to happen to him, and she kept asking him, well, what did you do? Tell me, what did you do? Did you have something to do with this? And he would never tell her. I know he did follow his lie detector test, asking about if he had anything to do with Justin's death. And that's not public knowledge.

Who'd you hear that from?

His baby mama.

Are you able to tell me his name?

Um, Leon.

Jessica is right. Leon was brought in for questioning and took a polygraph, which he, quote, failed miserably, according to investigators notes.

I don't know if you can get records, but I can tell you that they have picked Leon up one time, along with Dylan Glass, and took them both at the same time to some. Well, that they thought that he was at. And Dylan kept screaming at him, just tell him where the body's at, man. Just tell him where the body's at. And Leon was like, I don't know what the f. You're talking about.

In 2015, after Dylan confessed to police, Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman told me he personally took Dylan and Leon to a remote area called high Shoals, where Justin's remains were thought to be. He told me Dylan pleaded with Leon to tell where Justin was buried, but Leon wouldn't budge.

We were out on. In Jones woods, in the middle of nowhere, on a little old bridge over our creek, and I put those two together just like you are, right? Now, I put them face to face, and Dylan looked. The guy. He said, man, give it up. They know. I told him everything. He just sat there and looked. Not a word. Didn't say a word. I've never seen it that thick. I've seen the worst of the worst. Right after buddies, if they think it's gonna save em, but not here. Nobody's saying a word.

But Jessica tells me what she heard about Leon after he came home from that outing with the sheriff.

Talking about something about. I didn't. I didn't really know him. I didn't know him like that. Something about flashy. That's why I thought maybe a watch. But then when you said the earrings, I'm like, well, maybe he did say, maybe it was the earrings that he was talking about. That's why I think that he failed that lie detector test. And all he kept saying is, you know, was like, well, that can't be the only thing that they arrested for that, because the jury can't use that. And da da da da. They can't do nothing without a body.

What Jessica tells me she discussed with Leon's baby mama could turn out to be extremely important, not just for what she heard, but for who was saying it. The baby mama in question turns out to be none other than Heather. The same Heather identified as the woman Justin got into the car with outside of Wild Bill's shortly before he disappeared. She was identified by more than one person by name, using the club's surveillance footage. Leon was also positively identified on camera at the club that night. I want to talk to him. But that thought has come with a stern warning from several people.

My only word to you is to do it in broad daylight and be very, very careful. He's not someone that you can just approach like that.

Even Sheriff Chapman seemed to give me a friendly reality check when I discussed speaking with people like Leonida.

They've killed one. You know, like the old folks say when you ask them, does that dog bite? They say, he's got teeth, ain't he? Same thing here. I don't want you floating in Lakeland there, either.

Chapman was half joking with me, but there's also truth in what he says. There's a real warning there. A young man is dead. And whoever did it has gone to great lengths to cover it up. So what would they be willing to do if someone like me started poking around, kicking the hornets nest? It's a reminder that I have to take this seriously, and I can't let my guard down.

How willing are you to dive into these waters?

It's a good question. How willing am I? But after something I've recently learned, I might not need to dive in the waters again at all, because this investigation into the disappearance of Justin Gaines once again has pivoted, this time in a very serious way.

There's a house here in Walton county, county that came up with having Mexicans associated with the cartel living there. This house is as far as the owners of the property, and that as having been connected with the players in the justing Gaines case. There's not really a connection criminally between the people that own the property and Justin Gaines. It's their children. They're out doing their own thing, their own little criminal acts which involve drug trafficking.

This cartel story, you know, it's been there the whole time, right. Without anyone really realizing it, which is, I think, why that anonymous call is so important. Because that name, Chino. Chino, as far as you know, is in some way tied to this cartel.

Yes.

Drowning Creek is an original production of Waveland. I wrote and created the series and the original score. Executive producer is Jason Hoch. Associate producer is Leo Culp. Sound engineering by Shane Freeman special thanks to Erica Wilson and her family. If you have any leads on this case, please contact me at infochncrtaine. And if you love the series, please leave a review and tell your friends. Follow Waveland on Instagram at wavelandmedia for more on this series and upcoming new shows, and you can also find me on social media at seancipe official or@seancipe.com as always, thanks for listening.