A B.C. podcast is being credited with a tipster coming forward in a missing person’s case.
In August, the True North True Crime podcast covered the disappearance of 17-year-old Jodi Henrickson.
The teen vanished after a house party on Bowen Island in 2009 and was last seen with her 19-year-old ex-boyfriend, Gavin Arnott.
At the time, he was prohibited from being in her company.
No charges have been laid in the case and Henrickson has never been found. However, after the podcast covered Henrickson’s case in a two-part series, someone came forward with information that may prove to be crucial.
“We were initially floored that a tip came forward as a result of our episode alongside (documentary filmmaker) Jenni Baynham and Peter Cross, a retired IHIT investigator,” podcaster Caitlin Duffy said.
“It’s beyond our wildest dreams that somebody would come forward.”
Husband and fellow podcast host, Graeme, said they encourage their listeners to be active true crime listeners.
“So when we have an opportunity like this where someone will come forward and hopefully be providing that last piece of information that’s going to give answers to a family who’s been long-suffering, it really makes all of the work that we put in worthwhile and all of the stories we tell, knowing that they are now resonating with people to the point where they’re willing to come forward with information that has been long withheld.”
Over the weekend, IHIT confirmed it was contacted by Baynham’s film crew working on a documentary about the missing teenager.
IHIT said the crew was searching on Bowen Island in the hopes of potentially finding evidence.
“As a result of their search, the film crew contacted IHIT to report what they believed to be potential evidence,” the organization said in a release on Wednesday.
“IHIT investigators attended the area and conducted an additional search.”
They have not provided any further details about what was found or what the next steps will be.
Graeme said they hoped their podcast would allow listeners to see Henrickson as a young girl with a bright future ahead of her when she went missing.
“The person who heard this episode realized that the information that they were holding onto wasn’t information about a troubled teen or a runaway,” he said.
“The information that they had was about a 17-year-old girl who was the victim of intimate partner violence and who is presumed to be a suspicious death.”
The content of the clip has not been disclosed.