2 of 6: The Men

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: The start of the family vacation to Rurobo was like a dream, beautiful weather,

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: white sand beaches and the epitome of relaxation.

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Iván, Max, Dominique and Aunt Pat settle into the La Cabana resort.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: They're all looking forward to starting their vacation and enjoying the amenities

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_00]: the resort has to offer.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Max and Dominique spent time at the pool swimming and having a great time

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: during the first few days of the trip.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: They even befriended a few other families and their children who are also staying at the resort.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: While at the resort, when evening, Max tells Iván he wants to play pool

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: and she just happens to walk past the front desk and notice a man in his 30s getting pool balls from the concierge.

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: She approaches him and asks if the resort has a pool table

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and he states that they do and that it's on the second floor lobby.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Little does Iván know this encounter will change the course of her family's lives.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: This is episode 2, The Men.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Because the goal is to have the FBI reactivate Max's case and for the sake of protecting Iván and Dominique

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: we'll be using alius names to refer to these two men.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's refer to the older man as senior and the younger man as junior.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: The next evening, after Iván's initial encounter with Junior, Iván takes Max to the second floor lobby to play pool.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: There they find Junior playing pool with his father, senior.

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: The two men strike up a conversation with Iván and Max,

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: an asked if Max wanted to play a game with Junior.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of people up there playing pool, nothing strange about him joining us or playing pool.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_01]: They played pool all night long, the little girl played pool with us.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_01]: It was just I always hate when I say that because people like,

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_01]: oh you're son of a play pool with this older guy.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_01]: You know what it was not just my son,

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_01]: this little girl was playing pool, everybody's taking turns playing pool,

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_01]: not a big deal, Pat and I are not playing pool, we're just there watching and talking.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's evaluate the dynamic of this father's and duo

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: and the story that these men told Iván as to why they were vacationing in a roulette together.

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_00]: As Max has played the game with Junior, senior continues his conversation with Iván,

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: explaining that he was a lawyer from Chicago

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: and went into detail about the reason for his vacation.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: You see, Senior adopted Junior when he was a teenager,

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and apparently it was a milestone they cherished and celebrated.

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Iván thought the dynamic between the two was a little strange considering Junior was a 36 year old grown man.

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Yet Senior talked about him as though he was a child,

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: but she didn't think too much of it after continuing her conversation with Senior.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: The two continue talking about their families and Iván tells Senior that they're visiting the island after coping with the loss of her husband,

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: just 18 months before.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And ironically, Senior tells Iván that he recently lost his wife as well, earlier in the year.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The two seemed happy to connect, considering they had something in common.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: As Max and Junior continue to play pool, they start discussing cars and motorcycles since Junior told him he was a mechanic.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So naturally having that in common, they became fast friends.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Iván also thought it would be good for Senior and Aunt Pat to connect because they were both similar in age and were both single.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Since the families had fun that night, they made plans to meet up the next day.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_00]: They meet up again at the pool tables the next evening,

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and Max and Junior play another couple of games together.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Iván and Senior continue friendly conversation and share their plans for the following day.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Iván says that her family has plans to go pair a sailing.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Senior then asks Iván if he and Junior can join them.

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And she agrees.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So you think you make it educated opinion of somebody that didn't think a lawyer from a Chicago was going to be strange or danger?

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So we did. We spent the day went on pair a sailing the next day,

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_01]: and all that was fine, Pat went, Dominique Max I, the two of them.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: One very important detail to include here is while Max and Junior are having conversation during their games of pool,

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Junior tells Max that he lost his mother when he was very young.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Now this is interesting because it completely conflicts with what Senior tells Iván while they're talking.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: That is wife just passed away earlier that year.

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_00]: These are clear signs of grooming.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: The men are sharing similar interests and experiences with the family,

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and now inserting themselves into the plans that Iván Max, Dominique and Pat have for the rest of their trip.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's also important to keep in mind that this was a very vulnerable time for the family,

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and it made them an easy target for these men to take advantage of.

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_00]: The next day the family meets up at the pool at 10 a.m. to go pair a sailing.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: They make arrangements through sunshine water sports,

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_00]: and meet with the guide that takes them out pair a sailing.

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: During the ride the guide takes them out to a sandbar about three miles from shore.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: After the trip the families returned to the resort and have dinner together.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: They talk about other things to do, and Max mentions that sunshine water sports runs out jet skis,

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: and that he would love to go on a ride.

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_00]: As we know Max is very skilled in the water, and is experienced with jet skis.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Junior mentions that he would love to go as well, so they run out the jet skis and take the allotted 45 minute ride.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: During the ride they make the trip out to the same sandbar that they visited earlier during their parasailing trip,

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_00]: and they return safely.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: When the two return though, Ivan finds out that they made the trip to the sandbar,

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: and reprimanded Max for going out that far.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Max wanted to go on a jet ski, so Junior and Max went on a jet ski together,

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_01]: which you know, two in the waters better than one.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't going to go on the jet ski, so they went, they came back, they said they went to the sandbar,

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_01]: and it was definitely too far. They were never supposed to go to that sandbar.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So when they came back, I had discipline math like you know, you went too far, blah, blah, blah, blah,

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_01]: and that was that. They was the end of that day.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Little does Ivan and Max know. This won't be the last time Max visits that sandbar.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And now these men know of a far enough remote area that they can take Max.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: This ride will be the last time anyone ever sees Max de Vries.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to revisit that fateful day in episode 3, the investigation.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_00]: That episode is available right now.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure to follow us on social media at unseantruthpodcast and visit unseantruthpodcast.com

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_00]: for more case information.