Blood Trails

On a snowy November morning in 1975, 25-year-old hunter Ludger Belanger stepped into the woods with his .30-30 and the hope of backstraps for dinner. But what started as a simple deer hunt quickly became one of Maine’s oldest—and most haunting—unsolved cases. At first, game wardens thought Ludger had lost his way. But the tracks in the snow told another story: a shot deer, a missing rifle, tire marks on a back roa...

Deer hunting is a way of life in central Minnesota, but on November 7th, 2016, the shot that echoed through the forest didn’t mark the end of a deer hunt—it marked the beginning of a mystery that still haunts a family and their community. Terry Brisk, a devoted father of four and lifelong outdoorsman, set out to check his stands—and never returned. His teenage son found him lying in the leaves, shot at close range...

Paul Hutchinson's suicide was his final act of cowardice. He saved himself the pain of facing his community, not to mention Danni’s family. Meanwhile, his actions introduced a whole new level of pain and confusion to those who knew him and cared about him. Those people have been left to grapple with questions without the opportunity to ever have them answered. In this episode, we talk to Paul's family, friends, coworkers, and...

Paul Hutchinson seemed like a regular Montanan—an ex-Marine, a fisheries biologist, a father, and a diehard turkey hunter. But behind that facade lurked a predator, hiding in plain sight. Nearly three decades after the brutal rape and murder of 15-year-old Danni Houchins, investigators uncovered the chilling truth: Hutchinson was her killer. His sudden suicide closed the case but opened a darker question—was Danni his o...

It’s a mystery that’s haunted Wisconsin’s hunting community for nearly 50 years. On September 16, 1977, 18-year-old Bob Christian left home to spend the night at a friend’s house before the opening day of bow season. That night, his future looked bright. He’d just been accepted to the University of Wisconsin as a computer science major, and his friendly, easygoing personality endeared him to family and...

Blood Trails is a new investigative podcast from MeatEater, hosted by writer and journalist Jordan Sillars. Each episode digs into true crime stories from the world of hunting and fishing—cases where the woods and the water became the backdrop for violence and mystery. From missing hunters deep in public land to poachers turned killers and fishing trips gone fatally wrong, Blood Trails uncovers the moments when outdoor life c...