In the shadow of the world’s largest trees, a midnight encounter between park rangers and an intoxicated camper spirals into a chaotic and violent confrontation. What begins as a routine DUI investigation in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks turns into a desperate struggle for control, pepper spray flying, and a suspect fleeing into the darkness of the Kaweah River

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Big Bend National Park is a place of vast beauty and haunting isolation—where the desert meets the Rio Grande and desolation and silence stretches for miles. But in February 2022, that silence was broken when rangers discovered an abandoned truck deep in the backcountry. Inside were the belongings of a man and his daughter—but no sign of either of them. What followed was a desperate search through one of the harshest landscapes in Texas, uncovering a story of survival, heartbreak, and the thin line between devotion and danger.

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Sources:
https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/missing-dad-daughter-found-in-mexico-weeks-after-going-missing-in-big-bend-national-park-bexar-father-9-year-old-child-alive-well   https://bigbendsentinel.com/2022/05/18/june-trial-date-set-for-hector-flores-jr-man-indicted-on-child-endangerment-charge-after-going-missing-with-daughter-in-big-bend-national-park/ https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/22-50910/22-50910-2025-02-20.html   https://bigbendsentinel.com/2022/11/16/hector-flores-jr-re-arrested-as-he-appeals-judgment-in-bbnp-child-endangerment-case/
U.S. District Court 
Western District of Texas (San Antonio)
CRIMINAL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 5:21-cr-00245-XR-1

In the news: an arrest is made in the case of 2 teens found dead in an Arizona National Forest; Convictions for illegal BASE jumping in Yosemite; Hikers take cover as shots fly over their heads in a wilderness area in California; Seeking information for an assault at an NPS campground; Justice served for the murder of a man found dead in a wilderness area in Colorado; A man arrested for murdering his girlfriend and disposing her body in a National Forest.

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In Yosemite National Park, Tenaya Canyon is known as both stunning and cursed. Legend says Chief Tenaya, the last leader of the Ahwahneechee, placed a curse on the land after his people’s destruction. Ever since, hikers and explorers who enter the canyon have met with strange accidents and misfortune — earning it the name “the Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite.”

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Sources:
Tempting the Curse of Chief Tenaya - Tahoe Quarterly
The Far Side of the Sky - Christopher E. Brennen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenaya_Canyon

Deep in Alaska’s Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, the abandoned Kennicott Mines stand as a ghost town frozen in time. Once a thriving copper operation, it now draws visitors for another reason — the echoes of those who never left. From mysterious footsteps to ghostly figures in the windows, this is the haunting story of Alaska’s most famous mining town.

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Sources: 
https://www.adn.com/features/article/teeth-chattering-tales-kennecott-copper-mines-keeps-government-officials-away/2013/10/31/  
https://www.cnet.com/culture/ghosts-of-kennecott-exploring-an-abandoned-copper-mine-in-alaska/
https://www.nps.gov/wrst/learn/historyculture/kennecott-mines-national-historic-landmark.htm
https://www.adn.com/features/article/teeth-chattering-tales-kennecott-copper-mines-keeps-government-officials-away/2013/10/31/

Deep beneath the crystal-blue waters of Lake Crescent lies one of Olympic National Park’s darkest secrets. In 1940, a body surfaced—wrapped in blankets, bound with rope, and perfectly preserved by the icy depths. Locals called her the Lady of the Lake, but investigators would uncover her true identity as a woman who vanished three years earlier.  Left behind are whispers that still haunt the lake today. Join us as we dive into the eerie beauty, grim history, and ghostly legends of Lake Crescent—the lake that doesn’t give up its dead.

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Sources: 
https://www.historylink.org/File/8599 https://www.myolympicpark.com/park/history/the-lady-of-crescent-lake/ https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/03/23/lady-of-the-lake/ https://thebadassintrovert.wordpress.com/2016/06/22/weird-history-part-5-washington-state-and-the-lady-of-the-lake/

Ranger Butch Farabee shares a post script to his Ranger Tale.  In other words, the Rest of the Story! 
PS, this is part 2. Don't listen to this until you listened to the first part.

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A plane carrying 3 tons of marijuana crash in a lake deep in the high country of Yosemite.  Listen to the ranger in charge of the dive operations that recovered 2 tons of the wet weed, the bodies, as well as his role as a deputy coroner on scene.  And wait until you hear what happened to the other ton of weed!

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Ranger Chris shares his tale of rescue at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where a dramatic fall from the sky should have meant a young woman didn't survive.  But Chris and his partner arrived in time, and one year later, they learned the real circumstances surrounding the incident.

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The stories in the news this month include a huge bust in the illegal marijuana cultivation of a popular National Park, an update on a murder (a push off the cliff) in a southeastern National Preserve, a ranger faked his own attack in a Colorado State Park, an unusual thief on the lamb in Grand Teton NP, and an update on the Travis Decker manhunt.


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Learn more about Nicole 
https://www.nicolesnell.com/
https://www.nicolesnell.com/girls-fight-back

Join the conversation with Nicole Snell, an award-winning international speaker, CEO of Girls Fight Back, founder of Outdoor Defence, trainer, TEDx speaker, self defense expert, backcountry adventurer, super fun badass, and oh so much more, as she shares her strategies feel and be safe and confident in the great outdoors. Listen and share this episode with someone you know who recreates in outdoor and wild places!

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Learn more about Nicole 
https://www.nicolesnell.com/
https://www.nicolesnell.com/girls-fight-back

This week, we’re joined by the hosts of the Locations Unknown Podcast, Joe and Mike, as our special guests on Crime Off the Grid. Together we dig into the darker side of the outdoors—where disappearances and true crime quite possibly collide. You won’t want to miss this crossover conversation!

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A woman, who’s an inexperienced hiker, goes on a “thigh killing” trail to the top of Bear Mountain. She goes off the edge resulting in her death. What really happened? Was it an accident or the perfect crime in the wild? You decide.


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https://nypost.com/2024/06/29/us-news/womans-brother-claims-husband-behind-fatal-fall-off-mountain-cliff-just-a-cruel-man/

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/07/25/police-try-to-unravel-mysterious-death-of-huntington-beach-woman-on-arizona-hiking-trail/

https://idahonews.com/news/nation
-world/mother-falls-to-her-death-from-cliff-arizona-mountain-sedona-yavapai-county-sheriffs-office-40-year-olf-zaynab-joseph-california-airbnb-husband-infant-hikers-helicopter#

https://www.facebook.com/658670549/posts/10163657103765550/?mibextid=WC7FNe&rdid=HEIldu90XMlkrIV3 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animals-and-us/202004/how-many-people-who-die-suicide-first-kill-their-pets  

RESOURCES: National Domestic Violence Hotline https://www.thehotline.org/
Call 800.799.SAFE T
ext START to 88788

Today’s story takes us to the remote and breathtaking Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, a place where there are deep, colorful canyons and unique rock formations, and the red cliffs drop into deep, cold water… and where, in 1996, a family trip turned into something far darker.


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Today's stories include a murdered paddle boarder, a man charged with stalking and assault in Yellowstone and is caught in Grand Teton NP, a Yosemite man wanted for assault is missing, a child is attacked by a mountain lion in Olympic NP, 3 teens have been found murdered in a National Forest,
and the USFS has been busy with rescues.

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Five men, all enjoying the outdoors—hunting, fishing, hiking, jogging—killed in cold blood across rural Ohio. No witnesses. No  motive. No suspect. This is the story of Thomas Lee Dillon, the sniper who hunted outdoorsmen. And for years, no one even knew he existed.

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Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook Sources: https://murderpedia.org/male.D/d/dillonthomas.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dillon    

We asked, and you responded with your tips and comments on what you all do to keep safe from crime while enjoying your National Parks, Forests, and other Wild Places! We love hearing from you so keep the comments coming!

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A man who stole a vehicle in Wisconsin, and was reported as "critically missing," ends up in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where rangers did what rangers do and bring the fleeing felon's high speed hide and seek to an end. 

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United States District Court
Western District of Michigan (Southern Division (1))
CRIMINAL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 1:24-mj-00344-PJG-1 https://www.recordpatriot.com/news/article/missing-wisconsin-man-found-arrested-sleeping-19707956.php https://www.recordpatriot.com/news/article/benzie-deputy-k-9-duo-honored-arrest-sleeping-19971940.php https://glenarborsun.com/wisconsin-man-in-stolen-car-at-large-near-glen-arbor/

Graphic Warning:  This episodes discusses a violent event, briefly, with some detail that may be hard for some to listen. 

When friends go to their favorite spot on the lake and sleep under the stars, a monster appears and commits the most heinous attack.


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https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/three-accused-of-setting-fire-to-business/article_998462b2-bd5c-11e8-87bd-10604b9f7e7c.html

https://www.destinationwest.org/home-page/stewarts-point-lake-mead-national-recreation-area#/

https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/man-avoids-prison-in-child-sex-assault-case/article_9c4ca852-2341-5567-afce-1211529789a3.html United States District Court


District of Nevada (Las Vegas)
CRIMINAL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 2:23-cr-00103-JCM-NJK-1

Double the rangers, double the tales!  Rangers Chris and Jodi join Tara and Nancy and share some funny and wacky tales.  

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