Overview of Prepare for Landing: Part 1
This episode of Up and Vanished in the Midnight Sun revisits the disappearance of Joseph Balderas in Nome, Alaska, and challenges the official “Mile 44 / bear attack” narrative. Host Payne Lindsey argues that the case was quickly anchored to a shaky truck sighting, then reinforced by inconsistent witness statements, family ties to investigators, and a rushed search conclusion that Joseph was likely killed by a bear. The episode focuses on how the timeline changed over time and why the investigation may have been misdirected from the start.
Core Case Summary
Who Joseph Balderas was
- Joseph Balderas was in Nome for work in June 2016.
- He was engaged to Megan Ryder in Juneau and planning to get married.
- Friends and coworkers described him as charismatic, smart, and future-focused.
- No major red flags surfaced in early background research on him.
Last confirmed movements
- Friday, June 24, 2016: the last reliable day Joseph was seen.
- After that, he stopped responding to calls and texts.
- By Monday, June 27, he was reported missing.
- The investigation quickly centered on a blue Dodge Dakota truck and a location known as Mile 44 outside Nome.
Why the Case Becomes So Controversial
The Mile 44 truck sighting
The episode argues that the entire case pivoted on a highly unstable witness account:
- Alaska State Trooper Sergeant Charles Cross said he saw Joseph’s truck at Mile 44.
- Depending on the report, the sighting occurred on:
- Saturday, June 25
- Sunday, June 26
- or both
- The time of the sighting also shifts across reports:
- early afternoon
- 8:00 p.m.
- 8:30 p.m.
- Payne highlights that the same sighting appears in multiple versions across official records, making the timeline look unreliable.
The bear theory
- On the first day of the search, investigators reportedly found a torn plaid jacket near the truck.
- Troopers initially treated it as possible bear damage and even brought shotguns by helicopter in case they encountered a bear.
- But the episode notes:
- the jacket had no blood on it
- Joseph’s family said it was not his
- the official report later suggested it may have fallen off a snow machine in winter
- The episode argues that the bear conclusion was being written in before the evidence actually supported it.
Major Inconsistencies Highlighted
Sergeant Charles Cross
Payne focuses heavily on Cross because he was both:
- a witness to the truck sighting, and
- part of the law enforcement response
Problems noted in the episode:
- The day of the sighting changes across reports.
- The second sighting sometimes disappears.
- When asked later, Cross seemed unsure and said he would need to review the report.
- Payne presents this as a major red flag because the “cleanest” and most important sighting should have been the most reliable.
Alex Gray’s account
Alex, another important witness, also appears to have shifting recollections:
- In early messages, he seemed to say he saw the truck on Sunday night.
- Later, investigators recorded versions of his story placing the sighting on Saturday, or even on multiple times across Saturday and Sunday.
- Payne then speaks directly with Alex and his girlfriend, who say they saw the truck on Saturday night or Sunday evening, but deny seeing any giant bear.
- The episode suggests the “bear” detail may have been added to fit the official narrative rather than from clear memory.
Christine Pascoya’s account
Christine is presented as another key witness whose recollections changed:
- Her first-hand account places part of the weekend on Saturday.
- Other people, especially Bonnie Pascoya, reportedly shifted that same window into Sunday.
- Payne suggests this helped build a neat chain:
- house
- beach
- family camp
- Mile 44
- But the episode argues that the chain depends on dates being moved around to fit the theory.
Kirk and Bonnie Pascoya
- The episode raises concerns about family members being both witnesses and connected to law enforcement.
- It suggests there were too many personal relationships in the investigation.
- Kirk later appears uncertain about whether a vehicle he saw was on Saturday or Sunday.
- Payne uses this to argue that the truck narrative may have been shaped by memory drift, pressure, or something more deliberate.
The Phone Evidence
Christine’s phone reset
- Christine says her phone was disabled after her brother entered the wrong password.
- She later restored it as a new phone, which erased much of the weekend’s data.
What the recovered logs showed
- Once investigators got the real phone logs, they saw Christine repeatedly contacting the same number:
- once on Friday night
- and several times through Saturday
- The number belonged to Tom Vaden.
Why Tom Vaden matters
- The episode treats Tom Vaden as a suspiciously unexplained contact.
- A later interview suggests Vaden may have been tied to Rotary and medical training, but the connection still feels unexplained.
- Payne uses this to imply there may have been more going on around Joseph’s disappearance than the public story suggests.
Main Takeaways
- The episode strongly questions the official Mile 44 narrative.
- The investigation appears to have been built on inconsistent witness statements and a rapidly adopted bear theory.
- The same truck sighting is recorded in contradictory ways across reports.
- Family members, friends, and investigators were closely intertwined, creating potential conflicts of interest.
- Phone records and witness interviews suggest there may have been more activity around Joseph’s final weekend than the official story accounts for.
- Payne’s central argument is that Joseph likely did not drive himself to Mile 44, and that someone else may have been involved in moving the truck.
What the Episode Sets Up Next
- The host ends by suggesting:
- the truck did not move itself
- someone had to have driven it
- and at least one other person likely knew more than they admitted
- Part 2 is teased as the continuation of the season finale, promising deeper scrutiny of the people connected to Joseph’s final hours.