It was May of 1996.

Before smartphones, before GPS, back when adventure still began with a paper map and a full tank of gas.

In Burlington, Vermont, two young women were making their final preparations for a

road trip. They threw their packs in the trunk with the rest of the gear, a golden retriever

hops in the back seat, and they started the engine. Twelve hours of highway lay between them

in Shenandoah National Park.

Their names were Julie Williams and Lolly Wynens.

They were strong, kind, brave, and they were in love.

For five days they would hike and camp beneath the canopy of the Blue Ridge Mountains,

following the curve of ridge lines, the echo of waterfalls, and the rhythm of their own laughter.

They came here for freedom, and they never made it home.

Their murders terrified hikers across the country. It shook the LGBTQ plus community and haunted investigators for nearly three decades. This is sequestered Season 3, the Shannadoa Park murders. Episode 1, The Beginning of Us.

Before we talk about Shenandoah, before we talk about the horror of what happened there,

we need to talk about them, who Julie and Lolly were, where they came from, and how their story began.

Julie Williams and Lolly Wynens weren't just names in a headline.

They were daughters, friends, leaders, adventurers.

They were two women whose lives were bursting with possibility.

Julianne Marie Williams was born on January 26, 1968, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the youngest of five kids in a close, spirited family.

She grew up surrounded by snow-covered winters, small-town rhythms, and the steady flow of the Mississippi River that cut straight through the heart of St. Cloud.

From the time she was little, Julie was drawn to the world beyond her doorstep.

She built forts in the woods, spent hours outside with neighborhood friends, and loved

every chance to explore.

...