S01E01 - A Perfect Place

Israel Keyes was a devoted outdoorsman, a soldier and a father. He was also an admitted arsonist, rapist, bank robber and murderer. This season you will hear the story of two friends following the trail of a serial killer that has long gone cold. Searching for new evidence and answers to questions investigators and the FBI have been asking for over a decade.
In this podcast we will attempt to use the methods and tactics he employed to locate Israel’s caches of weapons, tools and keepsakes hidden all around the country.

Music: "part 2" by Dirt Jake Replicas
Backing Tracks: Somewhere In The Pines

Researched, Written, Recorded, Edited, and Produced by Somewhere in the Pines 

This is a Studio BOTH/AND collaboration: 
www.somewhereinthepines.com / bothand.fyi  
For an ad-free experience: www.patreon.com/studiobothand  

Resources:
Montage - CBSN Live
CBS NEWS
NBC5 - WPTZ
KPTV

Ted Bundy Clip: WHMB-TV Indianapolis - Doctor James Dobson. Fatal Addiction

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
This is a studio both and collaboration. Somewhere in the Pines is a serial
podcast containing adult content, including descriptionsof violence, sexual assault, and suicide.
Listener discretion is strongly advised. Intwenty twelve, last in law enforcement

(00:41):
came face to face with one ofthis country's most prolific serial killers. His
name is Israel Keys. Investigators sayIsrael Keys had a so called murder hit.
Keys strategically hit a box filled withweapons and tools near the Windowski River.
There is an orange home, decoebunkeet. Inside it would be a
gun, weapons of rope, zipties. He always flew somewhere, rented

(01:04):
a car and then drove hundreds,if not one thousand mile. He's holding
investigators. He left the kids inWashington State, Wyoming, and Texas and
Land to hide one in Arios ina whole bunch of states, I mean
Alaska, Vermont, Washington, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, California,
Texas, Illinois, Tennessee. Hehad a cash in Washington because they're
a very lonton. All right,that was a kid. I always used

(01:30):
to dream that I'd find buried tradervery well. If I can't find it,
I might as well create it.Four point thirty am, I stumbled

(01:55):
around the house gathering their mating itemsfor our trip. My list includes batteries,
chargers, triple check all mics,cables and recorder are in the recording
bag, toothbrush, cooler, andcomputer. Juniper, a cattle dog mix,
attempts to convince me it's time toeat, while Harriet, a lab
mix, glances at me from herdog bed. I'm already behind schedule.

(02:19):
Packing the night before took much longerthan I anticipated, forcing me to wake
up at the latest possible moment andstill make it to Dakota's on time.
It's just over an hour drive tothe Portland metro area, where we'll meet
at his house and then drive nearlythree hundred miles north to spend another three
days in the Olympic Wilderness. It'sa cold and unusually dry morning along the

(02:44):
Upper Nehalen River in the small loggingtown of Vernonia, Oregon, with the
population of just over two thousand people. It is not dissimilar from the locations
we will soon be searching in hopesof finding a missing link to the victims
and crimes of Israel Kis. AsI drive the winding roads of Columbia County.

(03:19):
I attempt to put myself in themind of the lesser known yet terrifying
serial killer, imagining what keys wouldbe thinking when choosing a set of locations
to abduct, murder, and disposeof his victims. What you to look
for when he buried his cache ofweapons and stashed his disposal equipment, his
shovel, plastic bags, and jugsof dreno, months if not years in
advance. This has been one ofthe hardest parts of working on this project.

(03:45):
Allow myself to envision the process throughthe lens of the most meticulous serial
killer ever caught, a man dedicatedto hiding in a plain sight. You
start to look at every location withthe sinister point of view. Suddenly every
place you stop, every roadside pulloff, every small secluded park, or
a bandon house becomes a place ofhorrific possibilities. It was easy for Joshua

(04:09):
and I to get pulled deep intothis mystery. We'd been spurred into action,
enticed by adventure, hoping to oneday find tangible evidence that could bring
answers to a victim's family. Ifeel like the forests and rivers are calling
to us as we spend countless hoursresearching this case, pouring over maps,
conversing about the FBI interrogations, hopingwe can sift out a lead that will

(04:30):
show us where to go, likea fishing trip with my brother or a
road trip with my dad. I'mup early in preparation, but feeling anxious.
What are we doing? Is thereeven anything out there? Could it
possibly still be there after all theseyears? And even if it is,
how in the world are we goingto find it? My wife and kids
still sleep in their beds as Igather my gear. Josh will be here

(04:53):
soon. A half mile out fromDakota's house, good Man. Yeah,

(05:13):
get some sleep last night. Yeah, I went to bed pretty early.
Yeah, and I was. Itwas a little rowdy. Just sleep,
yeah, yeah, definitely with anything. Uh no gonna I'm gonna grab the
computer and just solid equipment and everything. Run over my ladder. No,
it's really close though, Yeah,I always close. Yeah, if you're

(05:34):
going to grab the recorder on theother side, I'll big it up to
you. Good m Yeah, thisis pretty much it. I'm just gonna
double check and then uh walk upmy truck. All right, I'll go

(05:54):
staybye and uh wake dress up.Mhmm, give me hug about I gotta
go. I love you? Ohdo good in school. I've seen a
couple of days. Okay, Oh, I want hugs from you too.

(06:15):
That morning in twenty twenty two,we packed our equipment into the car to
make the almost six hour drive tothe top of Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Josh
and I have been friends for almosttwenty years. We've toured internationally as musicians,
worked for the same construction company foralmost a decade, and more recently
played a ton of hockey together.Today we're going to hunt for the hidden
cases of Israel keys. You mightask who is Israel keys? Or what

(06:41):
in the world is a cash?We'll do our best to explain. All
right, I'm good. Is thata half gallon a hand sanitizer? Yeah

(07:01):
good? What do you use mycar? Are you guys saving these masks?
Yeah? Oh, you're gonna wantto use some of the hand sanitizer
after you throw those away. Okay, so I got it. Where's a
over there? Holy? Where isthat? Uh? Some slick mud right

(07:33):
there? We'll stop the right tothe ground. A great way to start
Israel Keys was a devoted outdoorsman,a soldier, and a father. He
was also an admitted arsonist, rapist, bank robber, and murderer. Torturing

(07:57):
and killing people you could say wasIsrael's passion. This season, you will
hear the story of two friends followingthe trail of a serial killer that has
long gone cold, searching for newevidence and answers to questions investigators in the
FBI have been asking for over adecade. In this podcast, we will
examine the methods and tactics he employedto locate Israel's caches of weapons, tools

(08:18):
and keepsakes hidden all around the country. I'm Dakota and I'm Joshua. Welcome
to Somewhere in the Pines. Seasonone. The Peninsula Shout. Washington was

(09:18):
a lot easier in a lot ofways because once I lived out in nia
A, I knew all of Washingtonpretty well, and except I was so
isolated out there. Once you drivepast Port Angelis, it's like here in
a new world. Anyway, Sowhat's that whole There's a whole set mountains

(09:41):
right there right that sempraates THEA Bay. Yeah, the Olympics. Well,
there's mountains everywhere out there, butthe Olympic Peninsula, a hauntingly beautiful landscape
that occupies the northwesternmost corner of thecontiguous United States. More specifically, a

(10:03):
thirty six hundred square mile area ofrugged Pacific Ocean coastline, Jaya Glacier cap
mountains, and definitely silent old growthrain forests. A stark contrast to the
industrial skyline of its Puget Sound neighborSeattle, Washington. The Olympic Mountain Range
is dominated by coniferous forests, notbrick and mortar. Hey, swim check
check, swim visitors center. Allright. On our first search of the

(10:28):
area, three ring binders and probablytoo much audio equipment in hand. We
stop by the swim Visitors Center tocheck up on a few specific locations.
We were having trouble finding on ourmaps, and they're looking out like I
got a couple of douche You needa mask. I'll probably ask them if
they prefer it or not. Mygeneral rule is if they're wearing a mask,

(10:52):
I throw one on them. I'mgonna strow it down. Anyways.
How's it going, Hi? Howare you doing? We're we asked the
host, whose sweater glasses and ariansall match the turquoise green color of our
eyes to describe the region. Wewanted to get a better field the area
from someone who spent so much timethere, fell in love with the friendliness,

(11:18):
the slower pace of life, thescenery. You can't beat. You
know, you've got the mountains andthe snow, and you've got the ocean.
I can see it might be alittle more of a problem for younger
people because there's not the social lifeas much here, but those that like
the outdoor and hunting and fishing andhiking and kayaking, it's a perfect place.

(11:43):
In two thousand and one, afterbeing honorably discharged from the Army at
the age of twenty three, hisreal Keys moved to Washington's Olympic Peninsula.
It would be his time living inthis remote region of the US that he
would develop and hone in the multifacetedapproach that would become his unique mode of
operation. Key's lived on the peninsulauntil two thousand and seven, but it

(12:03):
was an area he visited often evenafter he moved away. Like I say,
you can obviously you have no reasonto trust me, but I can
tell you right now there is noone who knows me or who has ever
known me, who knows anything aboutme. Really, they know they're going
to tell you something that does notline up with anything I tell you,

(12:24):
because I'm two different people, basically, and the only person who knows about
what I'm telling you, the kindof things I'm telling you, is me.
How long have you been to you? A long time? Fourteen years?

(12:45):
Like I say, you got yourmonster, I'm the only one who
knows about it. Don't go inthere with strangers. Israel Keys admitted the
physical and psychological torture of his victimswas what drove him aged in a matter

(13:05):
gendered in neither. He had notype. His victims were, as far
as we can tell, random,the wrong place at the wrong time.
He would employ a swift blitz attack, overwhelming a victim and taking complete control
of them as fast as possible.He admitted to necrophilia, body dismemberment,
mutilation and manipulation, sexual assault withrestraints, and asphyxiation by cable tie.

(13:30):
Keyes was a sexual sadist, butis the duality that makes him so terrifying
and difficult to understand. For fourteenyears, he operated as two different people.
He committed his crimes over a veryshort amount of time, within a
span of a few hours, butthe planning was years in advance, creating
opportunities and alibis through efficiency, detail, and distance. If you were to

(13:52):
ask anyone that knew Israel, theywould tell you about a very different person.
Nearly everyone that knew him had positivethings to say about him. Israel's
a great father, a fun drunk, he was well adjusted, a model
soldier. All quotes taken from thecase file. It's this duality, the
two completely different lives, that madeIsrael so dangerous to society because he passed

(14:13):
the smell test. I've experienced thiskind of duality firsthand, and there's a
strange thing that happens when you findout that someone you know has committed a
heinous act of violence. For me, in two thousand and six, when
I found out that someone I workedclosely with murdered, skinned and dismembered his
two roommates, I was unable toreconcile those actions with the person that I

(14:35):
knew, even after seeing him inthe courtroom, sitting across from him in
the witness box, I was unableto see that other person in him.
As I left the stand and passedby him, He called out with a
wide smile, and while playing airguitar, he wished me good luck on
my tour. Dakota and I wereabout to go on a UK tour with
our band. So even as hesat there about to be found guilty of

(14:58):
murder and be sentenced to life inprison, he still wanted me to remain
fooled. I'd imagine when Israel Keyswas first arrested on March thirteenth, twenty
twelve, the people in his orbitmay have gone through some of the same
emotions. How could he do it? How did not see it? Were
there signs that I missed? Allof the questions that work their way into

(15:20):
your mind, making you second guessyourself your judgment of character. But it's
Israel who wears the badge of deceit. If you haven't witnessed the violence firsthand,
it can be hard to truly believethat someone you cared about is capable
of such atrocities. In complete contrastare the families of his victims, who
only see the evil. They arereminded every day by the absence of their

(15:43):
loved ones. You've talked before aboutyou read a lot, and that's where
you've gotten, you've read about alot of other serial killers and reading about
other crimes. That kind of stuffmight be a weird question. But who's

(16:03):
your favorite? We've talked about it, so we're kind of curious, and
we're curious, and who you're gonnawho your favorite is? H one of
my favorite ones haven't been caught yet, so that's actually that's actually good response.

(16:25):
Okay, of the ones who havebeen caught that you've been able to
read about, we'll see who whowas right or who was closest for us.
I don't know. I I favorite, I don't really feel like I

(16:48):
don't if what I've read about himis accurate, I don't feel that close
to any of them. So Iguess I identify most or my favorite,
if you have to pay it thatway, it would be the ones that
I identify most with. That's afair way to say it. I don't
know, maybe just going off ofwhat I read Ted Bundy, maybe I

(17:12):
don't know because I don't I don'thave a lot of respect for someone learning
because because of the way they lived. I guess, like I said,
at first, I was pretty conflictedabout it, but that was all just

(17:34):
because of the way I had beenraised and stuff, and you know,
I grew up with good people.I just never you know, everybody's always
nice to each other and everything's allsunshine and roses, and so that's why

(17:55):
it was disturbing to me, becauseit seemed like for a long time I
was the I either thought everybody waseverybody else was faking it and everybody was
like me. They just didn't actlike it. I don't know, or
I figured that I was demon childor whatever. But I mean all that

(18:22):
went away when I wasn't twenty.They didn't feel bad about it anymore.
Just you didn't feel bad that youwere, that you've had those thoughts.
I knew that most people didn't thinkthe way I did by then, I
just didn't feel bad about thinking differentlyat that time. Just kind of accepted
that that's who you were, andthat's yeah, I did. You know,

(18:52):
so you said Ted Bundy, youkind of felt like maybe you had
some things and you know, orat least common with or something, you
know, stuff about him. Iknow that he had a lot of he
was very sexually motivated in the stuffthat he did, and I know that

(19:15):
in the last few years he hada really hard time controlling himself and separate,
separating his two lives, if youwant to call it that. And
and I also identified with him becauseit seemed like, yeah, he could,

(19:41):
he was able to separate two differenttwo different aspects or whatever you want
to call his personality. I don'tknow, he's real claimed the person he
related to the most might have beenTed Bundy, similar in their sadistic desires

(20:03):
and lack of empathy. But theduality is the part that is real.
Focused on. This is Ted Bundyspeaking to doctor James Dobson the day before
his scheduled execution. And I wantpeople to understand this too, And I'm
not saying this gratuitously because it's importantpeople understand this that basically I was a
normal person. I wasn't some guyhanging out at bars or a bum or

(20:30):
I wasn't a pervert in the sensethat you know, people look at somebody
and say, I know there's somethingwrong with him, and just tell I
mean. I was essentially a normalperson. I had good friends, I
live a normal life except for thisone small but very potent and very destructive
segment of it that I kept verysecret, very close to myself and didn't

(20:53):
let anybody know about it. Andpart of the shock and horror for my
dear friends and fans family years agowhen I was first arrested, was that
they just there was no clue.They looked at me, and they looked
at the you know, the theold American boy, and I mean that
wasn't perfect, but it was justI want to be quite canon of you.
I was. I was, okay, okay, I was. Both

(21:18):
killers demonstrate total self awareness when speakingof their duality and deceit. It was
this awareness of deception that allowed bothBundy and Keys to hide in plain sight
for years without detection. A.Right, well it's still not working.
No, it's working now, sothere's a good chance that nothing was recorded.

(21:42):
Yeah, it's hard to do stuffin the morning. Yeah, I
can't believe that. Well, we'llget it next time. Yeah. So

(22:02):
we are just west of Port Angeles. We drove up here. It's about
noon on a Friday, just offHighway one twelve, and we are scouting
out locations. So it looks likewe've got a lot of homes along this

(22:30):
back edge. So it's a prettythin slice of land right here, and
it looks like on the map thatall of this first section is private property
with a really small barrier between fromthe trail to the the actual private property.
So I'd love to, you know, if we come out here tomorrow
to walk down through this, justto kind of see if anything is between

(22:53):
the two. Yeah, yep,the trail and the property lines. Yeah,
I mean, I think our bestchances to get into the power lines.
It seems most likely like a betterspot in my opinion. But it'd
be easy, you take it.You take a lot of chances hiding something
this close to someone's house. SoI looked up that bucket handle. It

(23:15):
why it wasn't reading? Oh yeah, yeah, and it's because, uh,
metal detectors have a really really hardtime reading stainless steel, that any
any kind of metal with a lowelectrical conductivity, It doesn't read as well
or at all, and especially ifit has like a coating of zinc on
it, which those things do.So the bucket handles might not be our

(23:40):
best target. No shit, Wellwhat about the guns? Though? It
cashes a collection of items of thescene type stored in a hidden or inaccessible

(24:02):
place. Survivalists commonly cash supplies suchas food, guns, ammunition, and
other survival gear. Israel Keys iscategorized as an organized defender. He is
often referred to as the most meticulousserial killer because of the extreme levels of
planning he took to commit murder,sometimes hid in a cash of weapons years
in advance and thousands of miles fromhome. The cases have sometimes been described

(24:26):
as kill kits or rape kits,but our research has shown that he had
more than just one type of cash. This is extremely important to us because
we've found that different caches get placedin different locations in relation to the crime.
We believe that his cases can bebroken into six variations. That doesn't
necessarily mean we think he used sixcases for every murder. We believe that

(24:48):
he had different types of cases fordifferent situations, and it was the overall
plan that dictated the type of cashthat he used. This will become more
obvious as we begin to break downeach specific cash type. The most common
cash style that is related to Keysis a kill cash or kill kit.
This cash typically contains guns and ammunition, knives, restraints, and items used

(25:10):
in sexual assault. This is thecash that is the centerpiece of a future
crime. After finding a location thatsuits Israel's checklist of requirements. He hides
this in a spot that is easilyaccessible, but in a location that has
low foot traffic. Second is atool cache. This cash may not be
used with every plan, and sometimesit can be combined with a kill cash

(25:30):
or brought along the day of aplanned crime. He described using these caches
with cordless tools, chains and locksthat he could use to gain access to
four service roads, gated trailheads,and parking lots. Third is a disposal
cache. This will have items likegarbage bags, draino and a shovel.
He has shown that if he plansto have his rental car nearby, he

(25:52):
may just hide this in his trunk, but other times he has been known
to place this at a future disposalsite so it can be there waiting for
him and the victim. Fourth wouldbe a money cash. Israel admitted to
robbing homes, banks and other establishmentsand storing the money from these robberies and
cases placed in a spot of conveniencefor a follow up trip. Next.
We believe there's evidence of Israel havinga home based cash. These caches are

(26:18):
more of a stockpile of weapons anda mixture of items used to build other
caches when he finds an area thatfits his criteria for murder. These items
would be closer to home easily accessibleas well, but in a more remote
location that has no immediate proximity toa planned crime. Final cash is the
trophy cash. This will hold itemsfrom a murder that Israel wants to possess.

(26:40):
It will have evidence of a pastcrime, and will solely be used
to fulfill his desire to control andrelive his crimes. A cash that is
hidden with the plan to never recover. These caches are fluid, sometimes combined
for efficiency, sometimes brought along duringhis travels, and sometimes recycled and purpose
in a new location. The mostimportant thing we realized is that the objects

(27:04):
from a trophy cash are sometimes intermingledwith the other cases for expediency, which
means various cases contain evidence of previouscrimes, including murder, which makes it
possible that we can find actual physicalevidence of unidentified victims. You'll be more

(27:29):
curious about the cases and stuff,not too even any cash or Washington washing
to the United States Canada. Ideawith cashes is to have something everywhere.

(27:59):
Yeah, there's lots of beer bottles, beer cans, caps just general trash
way. This thing is just talking. You're reading three inches stream inches underground.

(28:22):
See if I can get down there, there we go. Do that
horseshoe seriously? Huh you find ahorseshoe? Found a horseshoe. Oh that's

(28:45):
awesome, man, it's good luck. Look Janks. Of all the cases
that Israel Key's hid in various locationsacross the country, the two have ever
been found, and they were recoveredwith help from Keys himself. One was
an Eagle River, Alaska, andthe other at Blake Falls Reservoir in Parisville,

(29:08):
New York. He also admitted tohiding numerous other caches in places such
as Essex, Vermont, Green River, Wyoming, Southeast Texas, and Port
Angeles, Washington. Every year thatpasses, every wildfire that rages, every
flood that envelops the land leaves uswith the blurred image of what was fifteen

(29:29):
years ago. The light for takeoffand cavin lyon additional lighting, just reaching
out your seat or time reading lightabout your seat. Thank you. Natural
growth alone is enough to conceal whatmay have been an easily accessible cache years
before. Lads, you ever havea flight dere Mischline for departure of flight
Tennis his Baker take off. Thisseason of Somewhere in the Pines, our

(29:52):
search will take place on Washington's OlympicPeninsula, but to tell the story and
order, we need to go backback to look at the location of a
recovered cash, a cash that wasused in at least three abductions, three
murders, and at least one bankrobbery. Join us in episode two as
we go to Blake Falls Reservoir toget some perspective. Thanks for listening to

(30:30):
this episode of Somewhere in the Pines. One simple way for you to join
the search is to rate and reviewthe show, and don't forget to subscribe
and tell a friend. For photos, videos, and more, visit Somewhere
in the Pines dot com keeping thehorseshoe because it's good luck.