Hi Park enthusiasts, I'm your host, Dylia DeAmbra, and the story I'm going to tell you

about today is the first of its kind in American National Park history.

The brutal murder of a park ranger in the line of duty.

It's also the oldest case I've ever covered on this show.

It's the story of James Alexander Carey from 1927, and it's one of the most baffling

murder investigations in a parkland that I've ever read about.

It takes place in Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas at the height of the prohibition

era.

Throughout the decades, the park itself has lured visitors with stories that the waters

from the natural thermal springs have healing powers, and the jury is still out on that

one.

But back in 1927, the park also attracted the attention of unsavory characters operating

the illegal liquor trade, aka, bootleggers and gangsters, and caught right in the middle

of the night.

It was Park Ranger James Carey, who went out on a routine patrol, never to be seen

alive again.

This is Park Predators.

December 7, 1926 was a cold day as 31-year-old park policeman James Carey made his way through

the forested terrain and icy creeks of Hot Springs National Park.

James was patrolling like every other day, making sure the trails in the park were clear

of debris and no one was around doing things they shouldn't be.

The conditions in winter were harsh, but lately, worn as hard to bear.

...