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Park Ranger John is a 20 year veteran as a park ranger in the Washington State Park system.  He joins Tara and Nancy and shares some funny stories (the kind you can't make up) from his time as a state park ranger.  You can learn more abou Park Ranger John by checking out his website - parkrangerjohn.com. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook

In June 2004, a 22-year-old college student was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, who had been stalking her for months. The suspect fled the state and triggered a multi-agency manhunt that stretched across the Southeast and ended with a high-risk pursuit in the rugged terrain of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook Sources: https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2004/06/10/murder-suspect-killed-himself/30552840007/ https://www.wect.com/story/1925156/john-peck-killed-after-chase-shootout/ https://www.carolinajournal.com/killings-shock-wilmington-campus/ https://www.stalkingawareness.org/about-sparc/ https://www.wral.com/story/111447/ https://npshistory.com/morningreport/incidents/grsm.htm

From the newsroom this episode… a body from a murder was dumped in a popular southern National Park, 2 bodies were discovered by rangers in a Utah National Park, a mass murder attack on a popular ski area was thwarted, and…quicksand is REAL! Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook Sources: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2026/01/09/2-people-found-dead-canyonlands/ https://people.com/colorado-mom-and-son-6-dead-suspected-murder-suicide-11883722 https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article313975656.html https://www.wsmv.com/2026/01/09/man-pulls-gun-great-smoky-mountains-visitor-fires-shots-park-service-says/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPXR_NleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFIUXh3Qk1tV1pjYkg5ckNUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrn7vIXMmyGvrCbi0eYbPc8E7pitT8tpQd7CTPCRfJ_kBRIJ4YPHOw9c2Gb9_aem_dLDKv4mYvVJUd8iXUNGZLg https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article314265634.html https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/snow-sports/colorado-ski-mass-shooting-threat/

In this episode, Tara and Nancy examine the brutal murders of two Arizona teenagers who set out on what was supposed to be a simple Memorial Day camping trip and never returned.The two disappeared while camping near Mount Ord in the Tonto National Forest, a rugged and remote area of central Arizona. When deputies located their vehicle, disturbing evidence quickly turned a missing-persons case into a homicide investigation. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook Helpful Resources:  Parents of Murdered Children https://www.pomc.org/ Source Material https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-arrested-months-after-2-teens-found-murdered/story?id=126183418#:~:text=The%20sheriff's%20office%20said%20Thomas,%2Dyear%2Dold%20Evan%20Clark. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/former-national-guard-member-charged-murder-arizona-campers/  https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-arrested-months-after-2-teens-found-murdered/story?id=126183418#:~:text=The%20sheriff's%20office%20said%20Thomas,remote%20hiking%20and%20camping%20area. Suspect indicted for deaths of Valley teenagers at Mount Ord | 12news.com

A hidden treasure. A cryptic poem. And a decade-long search that pulled thousands of people deep into the wilderness—sometimes with fatal consequences. Tara and Nancy unravel the full story of the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt, and the obsession it inspired across the Rocky Mountains.  these clues sent people into some of the most dangerous terrain on public land, and the tragic deaths, rescues, and criminal cases tied to the hunt—Drawing on firsthand ranger experience and rarely discussed details, this episode explores how a quest meant to inspire adventure quietly became one of the deadliest games ever played on public land—and what it reveals about risk, obsession, and the unforgiving nature of the wilderness. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/a-treasure-hunter-got-lost-in-yellowstone-looking-for-a-millionaires-hidden-trove-he-must-repay-the-rescue-costs/#:~:text=He%20did%2C%20thanks%20to%20a,entering%20Yellowstone%20for%20five%20years. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9118491/Utah-man-dug-Forrest-Fenns-hidden-treasure-Yellowstone-faces-years-prison.html https://www.justice.gov/usao-wy/pr/forrest-fenn-treasure-hunter-indicted-damage-yellowstone-national-park https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/ForrestFenn_Emails_Incidents_forWeb.pdf

A celebrity of the rock climbing world may be a violent, serial predator.  A survey posted in several outdoor magazines and the special agents of the National Park Service put together a case that showed  just because you can climb so high, doesn't mean you wont go down HARD. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook GET HELP National Sexual Assault Hotline1-800-656-4673https://www.rainn.org/  National Domestic Violence Hotline800-799-7233https://www.thehotline.org/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=domestic_violence    Sources:#SafeOutside Survey US District Court, Eastern District of California, United States V Charles Barrett, 1:22-cr-00213-ADA-BAM-1, 7-13-23 https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/professional-rock-climber-convicted-sexual-assaults-yosemite-national-park https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/climber-charles-barrett-assault-trial/?scope=anonhttps://www.climbing.com/gym-climbing/sexual-assault/

A woman was found dead below a 140-foot cliff at Miner’s Castle in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore after her husband reported that she had fallen while he was away using the restroom. What initially appeared to be a tragic accident quickly unraveled as investigators uncovered shifting stories, troubling behavior, financial pressure, and a long history of emotional and physical abuse within the marriage. This is a case that highlights how intimate partner violence, coercive control, and deception can hide in plain sight, even in the most breathtaking wilderness settings. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook Sources https://www.nps.gov/piro/learn/news/richardson-sentenced.htmhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-miwd-1_14-cv-01250/pdf/USCOURTS-miwd-1_14-cv-01250-0.pdfhttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25443664https://www.newspapers.com/article/lansing-state-journal/26563548/

Bringing this one out from the Ranger Vault!  This is one of our favorite early episodes and it was Nancy's debut as a "guest" host! A brutal crime was committed at Ft Eustis Military base in Virginia, and the suspects fled to Shenandoah National Park.  A cool headed ranger lead the chase involving  multiple law enforcement agencies to bring the bizarre criminals to an ending no one could have expected. For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Also...We've Got Merch!! Check us out on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg Check out Duane Martinz! https://www.duanemartinz.com/ Sources: US v Montowski; US District Court for the Western District of VA, October 9,2009 https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/norfolk/press-releases/2010/nf051710.htmhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/gunman-dressed-as-the-joker-shot-by-police/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/13/police-shoot-man-dressed-as-jokerhttps://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/12/FBI-joins-inquiry-into-soldiers-shooting/44071236879818/https://wfcreport.com/2009/03/13/not-just-a-rumor-iraq-vet-killed-on-skyline-drive-loved-the-joker/

A Utah father’s “family hike” up the steep and strenuous Broads Fork Trail in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest turned into a horrific, life-threatening ordeal for his three young children when he refused to turn back as a storm rolled in, ultimately leaving them exposed, injured, and stranded overnight at high elevation. Search-and-rescue crews later found the children hypothermic and unresponsive, and investigators uncovered disturbing details, including the father ignoring repeated warnings, pushing the kids toward a nearly 9-mile summit, and even leaving his 8-year-old to perform CPR on her brother in the dark. This episode breaks down the timeline, the rescue, and the shocking decisions that turned a mountain trail into a nightmare. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook   Sources: https://www.ksl.com/article/51411042/extremely-selfish-dad-charged-with-taking-young-kids-on-dangerous-hike-that-ended-in-a-rescue  https://gephardtdaily.com/local/father-who-took-children-on-mountain-hike-in-snowstorm-arrested-for-alleged-child-torture-intentional-abuse/ https://www.abc4.com/news/crimes-against-children/father-big-cottonwood-hiker-missing-toture/amp/ https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/utah-father-who-went-missing-with-3-children-on-hike-charged-with-child-torture-abuseources:

In May 2005, a quiet corner of Wolf Lodge Bay near Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, became the center of one of the most disturbing true crime cases in Pacific Northwest history. When a neighbor discovered blood on the porch of the Groene family’s rural home, it triggered a massive investigation that soon uncovered a brutal triple homicide—and the disappearance of 8-year-old Shasta Groene and her 9-year-old brother, Dylan. What followed was a 7-week search spanning Idaho and the remote Lolo National Forest of Montana, leading authorities to serial predator Joseph Edward Duncan III. This episode explores the Groene family murders, the kidnapping that shook Kootenai County, the heroic rescue that finally brought Shasta home, and the long criminal history that exposed severe failures in the justice system. A heartbreaking but important case that forever changed how the region views safety, wilderness, and the dangers that can lurk in even the most peaceful landscapes.   Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook   Sources: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26300428 https://murderpedia.org/male.D/d/duncan-joseph-edward.htm https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article262213562.html#storylink=cpy  

Thanksgiving Day, 2001: deep in the quiet forests of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, searchers made a grim discovery — the body of 52-year-old Canadian hiker who had vanished after setting out for a short afternoon hike. What unfolded in the days before and after her death paints a chilling picture of a random, violent attack in one of the Northeast’s most popular hiking corridors. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook Sources: WMUR — “White Mountains Mystery: The Killing of Louise Chaput” https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-white-mountains-mystery-louise-chaput/42126315 Concord Monitor — “Twenty years later, Chaput murder is still unsolved” https://www.concordmonitor.com/2021/11/29/twenty-years-later-chaput-murder-is-still-unsolved-43696199/ Boston.com — “On 10th anniversary, N.H. authorities seek clues in slaying of White Mountains hiker” https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2011/11/22/on-10th-anniversary-n-h-authorities-seek-clues-in-slaying-of-white-mountains-hiker/

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 Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook

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. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook 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. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook

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.” Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shop Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook 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