The Last Trip8 Touko 2025

76: Valerie De La Valdene: Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands

She was known as “Shark Girl” - a fearless underwater photographer who swam with predators most of us only dare to watch on TV.
At 48, Valerie de la Valdene had it all: a career that earned her a spot in the Women Divers Hall of Fame, features on Shark Week, a culinary education under a world-renowned chef, and the kind of wealth that came with a prestigious family name.
But in June 2014, Valerie was found dead in the Galapagos Islands - a single gunshot wound to the left temple.
Authorities called it a suicide. But the scene? It told a different story.
And when you follow the trail of strange details and unanswered questions, it begins to look a lot less like self-destruction… and a lot more like murder.
Listen as we dive into the Galápagos Islands, the case of Valerie de la Valdene, and how to stay alive on vacation.

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Listen to this week's podcast recommendation, Weird True Crime
https://weirdtruecrime.com/

Theme Music by Roger Allen Dexter

Sources:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4679860/American-woman-s-family-goes-Galapagos-probe-death.html

https://www.bradenton.com/news/state/article160395929.html

https://www.wdhof.org/members/valerie-valdene

https://www.sharks.org/blog/blogs/ocean-log/valerie-elaine-de-la-valdene-1966-2014

https://wetpixel.com/articles/rip-valerie-de-la-valdene

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article4827450.html

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/tallahassee/name/valerie-valdene-obituary?id=17009121

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/in-galapagos-a-case-of-su_b_6529550

https://www.change.org/p/rafael-correa-government-of-ecuador-who-killed-of-countess-valerie-elaine-de-la-valdene-an-american-with-usa-passport-no-442549467-and-msc-doctor-in-criminology-cameraman-submarine-aficionada-volunteer-and-philanthropist-domiciled-for-25-years-in-the

https://shootingsportsman.com/guy-de-la-valdene-1944-2023/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuyKbZh5USQ

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