Infamous America - MANHUNT Ep. 4 | Don Nichols: “The Kidnapping”

Episode Date: December 1, 2021

Kari Swenson was a world-class athlete with a promising career ahead of her as a biathlete. But in the summer of 1984, she went for a jog in the Big Sky wilderness area south of Bozeman, Montana and encountered two men with guns. They kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her deep into the woods. Rescue parties race to find her, and the pursuit results in a fatal confrontation. Take advantage of SimpliSafe’s holiday sale! For a limited time, get 40% off your new system at SimpliSafe.com/infamous Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. This show is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please visit AirwaveMedia.com to check out other great podcasts like Ben Franklin’s World, Once Upon A Crime, and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a beautiful day in mid-July, 1984, in Big Sky, Montana. If you wanted to be somewhere in the United States in the middle of summer, you wanted to be right here. The temperature was rising, but it wouldn't come close to dishing out the ugliness that the rest of the country experienced. In the desert southwest, the blistering heat made people think twice about going outside.

In the southeast, the heat and humidity combined to form a blanket of wet oppression that was almost a physical thing. It slapped you in the face as soon as you opened the door. The Midwest and Northeast were only slightly less affected. And the West Coast was an anomaly. From San Diego to Seattle, if you lived within a few miles of the ocean,

you understood why people flocked to the region and why they were willing to pay a premium to stay there. But other than that, it was hard to beat Montana in the summer. This summer, Carrie Swenson was working at a ranch in Big Sky, which wasn't too terribly far from her hometown of Bozeman. Whenever she had a break from her job, she used the time to train. She was a world-class athlete, and the trails near the ranch were perfect for maintaining her fitness. She drove into the hills, and then it was a short jaunt to the trailhead.

She parked her car, stepped out, and adjusted her headband. She wore a blue shirt and red shorts. Both items would become synonymous with this day, though of course she didn't know it yet. She headed for the trail and started running. The path took her through some woods and around the lake, and that's where she was spotted by the young man who changed her life. He was walking through the woods near a different part of the lake and saw the young woman in the blue shirt and red shorts. He hustled back into the woods to his traveling partner. He told the older man about the woman on the trail,

and in a matter of minutes, they agreed to grab her. From Black Barrel Media, this is Infamous America. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer. In this season, we're telling two stories of American manhunts across six episodes. This is story number two, episode one, The Kidnapping. Carrie Swenson was a biathlete.

The biathlon is a winter sport that traces its origins back to, training exercises of the Norwegian Army. In order to hone their skills and agility on the mountainous snow-covered terrain, soldiers would train in two major activities, shooting and cross-country skiing. Eventually, those regimented exercises became the basis for the biathlon. In a biathlon, a contestant has to complete a certain number of laps on a skiing track. But between laps, the contestant must also hit five targets in a round of long-distance shooting, either standing or lying prone. 1984 was the first year women competed in their own teams for the World Championship biathlon,

and U.S. biathlete Kerry Swenson was up for the challenge. She competed in two events, the 10-kilometer final and the relay. The competition was in a French mountain town on the border between France, Switzerland, and Italy. Carrie had never been to the town, but she was no stranger to the type of terrain. When she was young, her family spent summers in Montana and Wyoming, where Carrie and her siblings spent a great deal of time outdoors. They took part in all kinds of activities,

from fishing to hiking to horseback riding. When Carrie was nine, the Swenson's moved to Bozeman, Montana. Her father Bob chaired the physics department at Montana State University, and her mother, Janet, was a nurse for the university's health service. Around that time, Carrie started skiing. When she was 14, a friend took her on a skiing trip, and from there, Carrie joined ski clubs and took part in competitions. Her interest in skiing turned into an interest in biathlon. She trained and competed over the next eight years and eventually earned a spot at the World Championship in France in March of 1984.

The skiing portion of the event was intense and required power and endurance. The shooting required precision and smooth and steady movements, even as the athlete's heart was pounding from the strain of skiing. The competitor fired a shot across a distance of 50 meters. For each shot that was missed, a minute was added to the overall time, or the athlete had to ski through a penalty loop, so it paid to focus on your breathing and keep your heart rate down. If you could do those two things,

you could keep your hands steady and your eyes and your mind clear. Carrie was good at those things. She consistently hit at least 80% of her targets, and then immediately raced back out onto the track. Her skills and her hard work paid off. She placed fifth in the 10-kilometer final, which was the best finishing time of any U.S. biathlete in 26 years, and she helped the U.S. women's team capture the bronze medal in the relay,

the first medal in the history of U.S. participation in the biathlon world championship. It was an extremely successful competition, especially for an athlete who was participating in that level of competition for the first time. She had a promising career ahead of her as she returned to Montana to finish college, and continue training throughout the summer months. A couple months after the World Championship, in the spring of 1984, Kerry graduated from Montana State University with a degree in microbiology. That summer, she took a job at the Lone Mountain Guest Ranch in Big Sky.

She shuttled supplies around the ranch and served food during cookouts, and she spent some of her leisure time in the stable. There she made a close friend in one of the ranch foreman, a man named Alan Goldstein. Goldstein had moved to Big Sky from Flint, Michigan three years earlier and was in charge of Forest Reclamation for the ranch. And when Kerry wasn't hanging out with Goldstein near the stables, she was hiking on one of the many trails in the area.

That was how she planned to spend part of her afternoon on July 15, 1984. Hiking was more than just a hobby. Hitting the trails was good biathlon training. The whole sport was an endurance test, and it was important to train in the hills and mountains whenever there was a chance. Today, she picked a trail by Ulary's Lake, just 15 minutes from Lone Mountain Ranch. She parked at the trailhead and began her hike. The Ulerese Lake Loop Trail is exactly that, a hiking trail that circles around Ulre's Lake.

It's about four miles long all the way around, and it can be completed in an hour or two. and at the halfway point of the trail is the lake. The first part of the trail wasn't overly difficult, but once she made it to the lake, the hike required her full attention. The rocks there were loose and jagged. She stepped carefully as she reached the end of the lakeside leg of the trail. From there, it led into the woods.

As she made it to the junction point, she looked up. Standing right in her path were two men she didn't recognize. One was older, the other was younger. The older man had long gray hair and a beard. The younger man was blonde. Both were armed and looked like they'd been out there for a long time. Carrie felt the danger immediately. She decided to get out of there as quickly as she could, but tried not to show any alarm. She asked if she was headed in the right way for a nearby logging road. The older man responded that she was. Carrie thanked him and turned to leave, but the older man grabbed

her tightly by her wrists. Carrie told the man to let her go, but he said they wanted her company. Carrie struggled, but the older man held on. He asked for her name, and if she was married. She lied and said her name was Sue, and that she was married to someone named Bill. Whether or not they believed her, the men decided they wouldn't let her go. The older man took her. told the younger man to get a rope, and they were going to tie her up. Carrie tried to yank herself free. The older man knocked her to the ground with his fist. The younger man bound her wrists with nylon.

They pulled Carrie to her feet, and the older man told her they were going to keep her for a few days. Carrie asked why. The older man replied that they didn't meet many women out in the wilderness. He said the younger man, whose name was Danny, wouldn't go up into the woods if he did have a woman with him. Danny said they shouldn't linger. They'd been in this spot too long. They formed a line with Danny in the front, Carrie in the middle, and the older man bringing up the rear. They marched Carrie further into the woods along the trail. Carrie warned the men people would soon come looking for her. The older man said it made no difference. They were taking her

anyway. He also warned that they would shoot anyone who tried to rescue her. They led her deeper, into the wilderness. Anyone in a search party would have to really look for her now. Still, Carrie tried a few things to aid in her own rescue. She tried to delay the men by making conversation wherever they stopped. She learned that these two considered themselves mountain men. They largely rejected society and hunting laws, and they only occasionally came into town for extra supplies. Carrie also tried to leave clues. Wherever the trio stopped, she dug her shoes into the earth, so they would leave footprints behind. Unfortunately, that didn't work. Danny hadn't noticed what Carrie was doing, but the older man had. He covered her tracks back up, told her to stop, and warned her again

that he would shoot anyone who came looking for her. As they continued walking, Carrie tried dropping accessories behind her. She tried at first with the red headband she was wearing and then with her watch. But in both cases, just like before, the older man noticed what Danny hadn't. He picked up the headband in the watch and admonished Danny to keep a closer eye on Carrie. Eventually, as Twilight set in, the trio arrived in a clearing. The older man instructed Danny to chain Carrie to one of the trees. They looped a chain around her waist and pulled it tight. Then they busied themselves with setting up a camp. The older man made a fire while Danny tried unsuccessfully to hunt a nearby deer.

While Danny was off, the older man asked Carrie's age. She answered that she was 22. Then the older man seemed disappointed. He responded that he wanted someone older for his son, revealing that he was Danny's father. It was around that time that Carrie was proved right. People were looking for her. She didn't know the size of the search party

or the extent of the effort, of course, but she and her captors heard voices in the distance. They were shouting for her. But she was forced to stay quiet, and help did not arrive that night. The next morning, Danny suggested they moved to a spot with better coverage. The men moved Carrie to a nearby pine tree and chained her again. Additionally, the older man took Carrie's reflective red shorts,

covered them in charcoal, and then gave them back to her. If an aerial search team passed by, they wouldn't be able to spot her by her clothes. They spent the day and the night at the new campsite, but it was clear they wouldn't be alone much longer. The sounds of the search team grew louder. Their shouts were closer. Plain engines roared overhead. The older man repeated that they would shoot anyone who came looking for carry, and before long, he was forced to make good on his promise. Two rescuers discovered the campsite. They demanded Carrie back. Carrie screamed for the rescuers to stay where they were.

Don't come any closer. The older man and his son wouldn't hesitate to shoot. The older man told Danny to shut Carrie up. Danny walked toward Carrie, raised his pistol, and shot her in the chest. One of the rescuers ran to her and inspected the wound. After he got a look, he told the other rescuer, Carrie's friend Alan Goldstein, to go for him. help. But the older man wouldn't let either of the rescuers out of his sight. The first rescuer was in

his camp, and the second rescuer, Alan, was armed with a rifle. The older man had a high-caliber rifle, and he shifted his aim from one rescuer to the other. The arguing between the three of them reached a fever pitch. Then the older man trained his rifle on Alan and pulled the trigger. Allen fell backward and died on the spot. The first rescuer ran to Alan, but there was clearly no way to help. The rescuer rushed away from the camp to find reinforcements from the search party. The older man and Danny packed up their camp. They unchained Carrie and left her by the pine tree.

Then they hurried deeper into the woods and soon disappeared from view. Carrie was now alone and bleeding, and each breath produced a sick, wet, sucking sound from the gunshot wound. One of the rescuers left his camping pack behind. It lay on the ground a short distance from Carrie. She inched over to it, hoping she would find a radio inside. No such luck. She found a bottle of lemonade, a candy bar, and a sleeping bag.

She felt cold, so she carefully opened the sleeping bag and crawled inside. Now that Carrie was by herself, with no fighting or gunshots or kidnappers around, her adrenaline wore off. The pain in her chest became her focus, but it didn't feel like it was isolated to her chest. Her whole body ached. The bullet had traveled through her chest, punctured her right lung, and exited out her back. She was losing blood from both sides of her body. If Carrie breathed too quickly or too deeply, her heart beat faster and pumped more blood out of her body. If she gave in to shock, she would probably die. She tried to center herself.

She took shallow breaths, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. She laid there in the clearing, alone, getting a handle on her breathing, and trying as much as possible to remain conscious. Finally, after what felt like hours, she heard rustling in the bushes. Out here, it could be wild animals that smelled blood, or maybe that crazy old man and his son had come back. But then Carrie realized the sounds were from the search team. She spoke as loudly and as clearly as she could. She gave her location and asked for help.

The group flowed into the campsite. Some fanned out in search of any trace of the kidnapper. The county sheriff and a deputy attended to carry. The rescuers loaded her onto a litter and then airlifted her from the woods. She was transferred to an ambulance and driven to a hospital in Bozeman. Despite the severity of her wounds, the doctors declared she was in stable condition. When she was reunited with her parents, she was lucid and able to speak. She would survive the ordeal, even though there was a long road of recovery.

ahead. But her friend Alan Goldstein, one of the first people to find her, would never see his family again. Authorities notified his wife in Big Sky and his ex-wife and daughter in Ohio and his brother in Washington, D.C. Allen's funeral was held in Michigan, where he spent most of his life before moving to Montana. In the area around Big Sky and the Lone Mountain guest ranch, Carrie and Allen were well known. The community was understandably shocked, and a reporter noted that everyone felt nervous. It's a safe bet that someone, at some point,

uttered the words that always seemed to accompany events like this. We never thought it could happen here. The kidnapping was spontaneous and unplanned. It's not like there was a lead-up with warnings or threats or anything like that. It was totally sudden. One afternoon, Carrie Swenson was kidnapped on a well-used trail. Less than two days later, Alan Goldstein was killed, and Carrie was in the hospital with a gunshot wound. And the perpetrators were on the run.

As soon as Carrie was reunited with her family, law enforcement pressed her for information. The kidnappers had seemingly disappeared into the wilderness without a trace. Carrie relayed as many details as she could remember. and the authorities put out descriptions of the two men. One of the kidnappers looked to be in his 40s, with gray hair and a beard. The other looked to be in his 20s with blonde hair. Both were of medium build, and the younger man stood a few inches taller than the older man. They were both white, and they were both wearing green fatigues.

The police also emphasized that the kidnappers were armed and dangerous. Police knew of a rifle and a pistol, but there could certainly be more weapons. And Kerry told them that the older man had sworn that neither he nor the younger man would be taken alive. Locals wondered if their homes, their families, and their businesses were at risk. Who knew what the two men were capable of? And to make a bad situation worse, it was summer, and there were tourists everywhere. County sheriffs evacuated campgrounds in the vicinities. They issued warnings to the resorts about hiking or horseback riding through the wilderness.

And they began the manhunt for the father and son, whose identities would soon be uncovered. Big Sky is an area south of Bozeman that bridges two counties, Madison and Gallatin. The sheriffs of those two counties had led the search for carry, and now they took the lead in the manhunt. Detectives from Gallatin County visited Carrie in the hospital to collect a statement and to show her photographs of the primary suspects. One of the photographs was from a high school yearbook. Kerry recognized the young student as Danny. His name was Dan Nichols. That was a decent breakthrough in a relatively short amount of time.

The next step was to follow up on a tip from a local woman, Mrs. Beardsley. She claimed to have seen the two men the day before the kidnapped. took place. On Saturday, July 14th, Mrs. Beardsley had been enjoying a day on the lake. She was fishing from an inner tube when she saw two men on the opposite shore. She now knew they matched the description of the kidnappers. The men had called out and asked what day it was. She replied it was Saturday the 14th. Then she watched as the younger man wrote something on a nearby tree, from which the two of them had stripped a few pieces of bark. The older man hollered to Mrs. Beardsley again.

He said that if she wanted fish, they had plenty, and she could come over to their side of the lake. She declined, but the wind blew her closer to the men, and she started making conversation. The scraps of information Mrs. Beardsley learned were roughly consistent with what Carrie had learned about her kidnappers. They were a duo, they lived in the woods, and they only emerged periodically, such as when they wanted supplies or when they wanted to know what day it was.

Mrs. Beardsley also learned that the older man's name was Don. Mrs. Beardle then heard a voice a little ways off. It was her husband asking where she'd gone. Today she was out with him and some friends for a day on the lake, and she drifted out of their sights. She took her husband's call as her cue to leave the situation. She paddled back beyond the view of the two men on the shore. That was the last time Mrs. Beardsley saw them. Now the sheriffs had both identities, Don Nichols and his son Dan. Sheriff Johnny France of Madison County sent a team to find the tree with a young man's writing on it.

The team found the tree, cut out the section, and brought it back to the station. The inscription confirmed Mrs. Beardsley's story and the identities of the kidnappers. It said in capital letters, Dan and Don Nichols live in these mountains. Dan also inscribed the date, July 14, 1984. It didn't get much more clear than that. And unlike other manhunts, for instance the one for Claude Dallas three years earlier, these fugitives seemed like they would remain confined to the air. area. Granted, it was a huge area, but not as big as the desert region that sprawled across

three states where Claude had chosen to hide. Nor were these two guys cross-country drifters who could go anywhere and blend in with anyone. As the kidnapping of a metal-winning athlete made headlines from coast to coast, the manhunt began. Searchers would have to almost literally check under every rock. The suspects were self-styled. mountain men who knew the terrain and probably had hidden stockpiles of supplies and possibly weapons. The pursuit would not be easy or quick. Next time on Infamous America, we'll hear about the kidnapping and rescue from the point of view of the search team. And the sheriff departments of Madison and Gallatin counties head into the wilderness to try to find Don and Dan Nichols.

That's next week on Infamous America. And members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships began at just $5 per month. This season was co-executive produced by Steve Walters in association with ritual productions. Research in writing by Dante Flores. original music by Rob Villeer

Audio editing and sound design by Dave Harrison I'm your host and producer Chris Wimmer Find us at our website Blackbarrelmedia.com or on our social media channels We're Black Barrel Media on Facebook and Instagram and B-Barrell Media on Twitter and you can stream all our episodes on YouTube just search for Infamous America podcast.

This show is part of the Airwave Media Podcast Network please visit airwavemedia.com to check out other great podcasts like Ben Franklin's World, Once Upon a Crime, and many more. Thanks for listening.