The National Forest Serial Killer

National Park After Dark

Danielle LaRock & Cassandra Yahnian

Society & Culture, Places & Travel, History, True Crime

4.6 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2026

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the mid-2000s, hikers began disappearing from national forests across the southeastern United States, with their bodies later found in remote areas of the parks. When investigators compared timelines and locations, a pattern emerged. The disappearances were connected by a man who moved easily through public land, blending into trail culture and exploiting the trust shared between strangers in the outdoors. When a woman vanishes, investigators race against time to find her and the identity of the perpetrator to stop further killings.Sources: Wild Crime: Blood Mountain https://www.detpress.com/abcnews/shows/wild-crime/episodes People.com | Celebrity News, Exclusives, Photos and Videos National Forest Serial Killer Confesses to 2007 Dismemberment and Murder of Nurse in Florida: 'It's Time' https://www.ajc.com/news/local/crime-scene-photos-request-sparks-privacy-debate/JR2QrnIXxk5ht6UDxX3DAO/ https://www.rcfp.org/georgia-rushes-pass-crime-photo-exemption-records-law/ https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/gary-michael-hilton-sentenced-four-life-sentences For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Smalls: Smalls New Year’s Special - get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/NPAD.Quince: Use our link to get free shipping and 365-day returns.IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.Soul: For 30% off your order, head to GetSoul.com and use code NPAD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone. Welcome back to National Park After Dark. We wanted to take a moment before we get started in this episode because we like to pre-record a lot of our stuff a couple weeks ahead of time. And this time, there has unfortunately been a lot of events that have unfolded between now and the last
0:23.5	time we recorded and it felt like we couldn't go on with this episode without at least
0:29.1	addressing what's been happening. Yeah, as everyone in this country is aware, a lot of
0:34.9	heartbreaking things have happened and our country is in a state of turmoil
0:39.4	that we have not seen in our lifetimes, I think is fair to say. But with that comes some responsibility
0:47.6	to acknowledge what's happening, especially as anybody with a platform like we have. We have not been political really in the past. And
0:58.5	this isn't a political issue anymore as far as how we feel. This is more as like a human issue,
1:04.7	an empathy issue. And we want to really address that because like Cassie said, we are very aware of what's going on.
1:12.4	And I actually came across something a couple hours ago. And I think it's really fitting. And I would really love to share it with everybody. It's super short. But it hits the point. And I would love to share it. And it's from our dear friend, Patches. If you guys remember our collab,
1:28.5	we did a couple months ago with Patches over at the morbidly curious book club. She runs an amazing
1:33.7	book club that is so fun and great. And she's built a really amazing community. And she posted
1:39.0	something on social media today that I would like to share because I think it really
1:43.0	aligns with how Cassie and I feel.
1:45.7	So Patches wrote, many of the injustices we read about were not accidents.
1:50.2	They were the result of power imbalances, willful neglect, dehumanization, and institutions choosing
1:56.4	convenience over compassion.
1:58.8	To read these stories and refuse to acknowledge their modern echoes
2:02.1	would be to treat them as entertainment rather than testimony, and that is not how we operate.
2:07.4	Being morbidly curious means wanting to sit with uncomfortable truths. It means wanting to learn,
2:12.8	recognize patterns, naming injustice, and understanding that history is not as distance as we like to
2:18.9	pretend. The same systems that harmed people in the past often persist today just with different
2:24.3	branding. This book club is a space for critical thinking, compassion, and honest conversation.
	...

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