Death Valley National Park Cold Cases

Death Valley National Park Cold Cases

Author: Locations Unknown January 25, 2026 Duration: 1:03:15
May 2019 to May 2022: three men travel alone into the vast desert backcountry of Death Valley National Park; one to cache water in a remote canyon, another to check on a vehicle at an isolated hot spring, and a third who never returns from a campground on the park’s edge. Each disappearance triggers a search. None of them are found. What do these cases reveal about risk, scale, and survival in one of the most unforgiving landscapes in North America? Join us this week as we investigate three Death Valley National Park Cold Cases. Cases covered: Rolin Bruno, Robert Alan "Bob" Wildoner, & Peter Harootunian.

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Check out our other shows on the Unknown Media Network:
Crime Off The Grid
Off The Trails
Hike N' Seek 
Who Runs This Park

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Presented by Unknown Media Group.

Hosts:
Mike Van de Bogert 
Joe Erato

Intro/Outro “Cornfield Chase” – Cinematic Waves & Rafael Krux (licensed) → https://soundcloud.com/cinematicwav3s/cornfield-chase

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Locations Unknown ventures into the silent, vast spaces where people have simply gone missing. Hosts Mike & Joe guide each episode through a specific case, piecing together timelines from the final known moments, through the often-frustrating official searches, and into the lingering questions that haunt families and park rangers alike. This isn't just a true crime podcast; it’s a close look at the intersection of human error, unpredictable nature, and the peculiar geography of places like dense national forests and isolated mountain ranges that can swallow a person whole. You’ll hear about the decisions made in the critical hours, the terrain that complicated everything, and the community of experts and amateurs who keep looking. The show naturally explores how these landscapes, while beautiful, hold secrets, making the wilderness itself a central character in every story. Tune in for a respectful, detailed examination of stories that end not with a conclusion, but with an open map and a deepened mystery. The podcast digs into the cultural fascination with these vanishings and what they reveal about our relationship with the wild, remote corners of the country.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 173

Locations Unknown
Podcast Episodes
Barbara Bolick - Bitterroot Mountains - Montana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:42
July 18th, 2007, an experienced hiker decided to take a family friend on a quick hike in the Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana. She knew the area well and had hiked this route many times. When she didn’t return, an…
Kevin O’Keefe - Glacier Bay National Park - Alaska [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:48
Sept 28, 1985, 36 year old California resident and outdoorsman left for Alaska on a multi-week remote camping trip in Glacier Bay National Park. He planned to spend 2 weeks alone in the remote wilderness, only moving fro…
Michael LeMaitre - Marathon Mountain - Alaska [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:34
July 4th, 2012, a 65-year-old Alaskan native and adventurer sets off on a grueling Marathon race in Seward Alaska. Many observers, runners, and organizers interacted with him during the race and even moments before his d…
The Lost City of Atlantis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:01
Atlantis, mentioned by the Greek philosopher Plato in some of his works, has been an enduring mystery for thousands of years. Is Atlantis an allegory on the hubris of nations or was Plato describing a mysterious advanced…
Gerren Kirk - Mt. Hood National Forest - Oregon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:42
December 3rd, 2014, an experienced outdoorsman from Milwaukie Oregon set out to camp and hike Mt. Hood National Forest for a couple of days. While he told loved ones he planned to camp in the forest, he left no clues as…
Cian McLaughlin - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:14
June 8th 2021- A Jackson Wyoming resident, bartender, and local snowboard instructor set out for a solo hike in Grand Teton National Park with limited gear on a moderate 8-mile trail. Witnesses reported seeing him around…
Gwen Hasselquist Part 2 - Gig Harbor - Washington [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:51:33
(UPDATE- We experienced some issues with Mike's audio feed on this episode resulting in his volume being lower than normal - we apologize to anyone having a hard time hearing the episode and will have the issue corrected…
Aaron Hedges - Crazy Mountains - Montana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:54
September 7th, 2014 - bow hunter Aaron Hedges and his party ventured out into the mountains of western Montana. The group was planning a week-long hunt in the Campfire Lake area of the Crazy Mountains Range. After an iss…
Floyd Roberts - Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument - Arizona [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:16
June 17th, 2016 - Floyd, his best friend and his daughter set out on a 9 day backcountry hike on the Northern edge of the Grand Canyon. Late that day, the group briefly split up for no more than 30 minutes, to navigate a…
Gwen Hasselquist - Gig Harbor - Washington [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:36:23
A Note about this episode- For our regular listeners, this episode is a departure from the normal cases we cover. A lawyer with sources close to the subject of this episode contacted us about the death of a woman named G…