Earth’s lush terrain and shining seas can hide tales of adventures gone terribly wrong. Some people have met mysterious, ill-fated ends. With little evidence and just a few fragmented clues, the trail to truth eventually runs cold.
Travel Channel’s new eight-episode series, Lost in the Wild, premieres Sunday, December 29 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. In it, veteran explorers J.J. Kelley and Kinga Philipps re-investigate perplexing cases and venture into the perilous unknown in search of answers.
Mystery and Adventure Combine
In each one-hour episode, filmmaker and explorer J.J. Kelley and journalist Kinga Philipps retrace the harrowing steps of adventurers whose journeys took an unexpected turn for the worse. They pick up where the official investigation ended. The duo sets off on foot to follow the path they believe will lead them to answers. Along the way, they interview witnesses and locals.
From trekking deep in the Amazon jungle in search of idealists looking for a lost city, to climbing a treacherous mountain in Africa where dozens have vanished, the duo combine their wilderness and sleuthing skills to navigate their way toward the truth. Along the way they’re confronted with risky and uncertain situations. They also test their own limits to investigate missed clues and find new evidence behind these baffling cases.
“I’ve spent my life documenting the underbelly of the world, and the truth is always a few layers deep,” said Kelley. “The answers to these stories may lie far off the beaten path, in a place where others didn’t think – or dare – to look before. And that’s where Kinga and I are headed.”
“As a journalist and avid explorer, I readily dive headfirst into uncharted territory and take the unmarked road in order to reach new grounds,” notes Philipps. “Between our investigative nature, wilderness expertise and relentless determination, J.J. and I will go as far as we can to find closure.”
Series Premiere Episode
In the series premiere, Kelley and Philipps journey deep into the Panamanian jungle. They hope to solve the mystery of what happened to Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers, two young Dutch women who disappeared on a hiking trail in 2014.
Braving torrential rains and impenetrable darkness, they venture off the map in search of answers. Following in the women’s footsteps, they match their photos and phone records as they go. They find –and attempt to cross– the perilous cable bridge the Panamanian government says the women fell from. They also speak with the indigenous couple who discovered Lisanne’s backpack in a small local village. Finally, their investigation culminates in an exclusive, explosive interview with a forensic pathologist, and the evidence he shares blows the lid off the “official” story.
Additional Episodes
“Amazon’s Atlantis” – Premieres Sunday, January 5 at 11 p.m. ET/PT
Kinga Philipps and J.J. Kelley follow in the footsteps of three adventurers who went missing while searching for the fabled city of Akakor. Trekking deep in the Amazon jungle, they consult a local tribe about the existence of Akakor and its mysterious people. The pair discovers an abandoned village which is overrun by vicious predators and examine the scene of a crime that still remains unsolved. In an exclusive first, they interrogate the man at the center of it all – an enigmatic tour guide named Tatunca Nara, who claims to be Akakor’s chieftain.
“Secrets to Die For” – Premieres Sunday, January 12 at 11 p.m. ET/PT
Kinga Philipps and J.J. Kelley investigate the disappearances of Tom Young and Keith Reinhard – two men who disappeared mere months apart in the same mountains above Silver Plume, Colorado. Was it just coincidence? Could they have been victims of a vicious animal attack or a serial killer? Or could they actually have stumbled upon a darker secret – important enough to kill for? The pair consults local law enforcement, friends of the missing and a psychic medium for answers.
“Murder in Shangri-La” – Premieres Sunday, January 19 at 11 p.m. ET/PT
Kinga Philipps and J.J. Kelley investigate the mysterious disappearance of adventurer and social media star Justin Alexander, who in 2016 ventured into India’s fabled “Valley of Death” and never returned. The pair attempts to track down Justin’s porter, who may be the only person alive that knows what really happened to him. They uncover a never-released recording that challenges the official narrative and secure an interview with a holy man who reveals shocking information about Justin’s guide. Ultimately, they confront a terrible truth about how one man’s zest for life may have led him to his untimely death.
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Philipps and Kelley will be going to some dangerous places. It sounds like a fascinating show.
This looks awesome. Thanks for the heads up, Court!
Welcome!