National Park After Dark - Death in Acadia National Park

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

Kathy was just looking for love, but after she found it, she died under suspicious circumstances inside of Acadia National Park. Her new husband was the prime suspect.For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport 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 this week’s partners!Microdose Gummies: Use code NPAD to get free shipping and 30% off your first order.Hello Fresh: Use our link and code 50npad for 50% off plus free 15% off the next 2 months.Beam: Use our link and code NPAD for up to 40% off.  Apostrophe: Use our link and code NPAD to get your  first visit for only $5.For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Close your eyes. Focus. Listen to work getting done with Monday.com. Relax. As AI does the manual work, while your teams are aligned on a single source of truth. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform, so flexible and intuitive, it feels like it was built just for you. Notice you're limitless.

Limitless. Now open your eyes. Go to Monday.com. Start for free and finally. Breathe. Girl, winter is so last season. And now spring's got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders.

That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope? It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. Love is the motivator behind all things.

No matter where we are in life, we all want to have and find love. This can be in the form of friendships, family relationships, or romantic. But generally speaking, we are all searching for our person. In this generation, dating apps have made a fortune connecting people from around the world. Television shows like The Bachelor and Bachelorette have found their way into the hearts of millions of people invested in watching others find their fairy tale endings. Recently, a new show emerged, Love is Blind, a guilty pleasure for many to watch that has won Emmy Awards,

based on the premise of falling in love with someone before you ever see what they look like. But where did the phrase love is blind originate? This phrase has been in the English language since the year 1401, found in the Merchant's Tale by English author Jeffrey Chirley. It became a household phrase after William Shakespeare used it in several of his plays. But the original meaning had nothing to do with looks. Love is blind meant that when you love someone, you can't see their problems or imperfections and you can be blinded by who that person really is.

To not notice someone's small imperfections because you love them is okay. But what if you're missing something bigger? What if you love someone so much that you love someone so much that you. can't see major red flags? What if you can't see that your person, the love of your life, is a murderer? Is love truly blind? Welcome to National Park After Dark. Love is Blind. They won 10 Emmys. I googled it. And they're on the roster for some more. I mean, I know you enjoy it. I enjoy it. It is a guilty pleasure, but I didn't know it was it. It was a an award-winning show.

People found love. People are still together. I know this. I know. I just, I guess, didn't really imagine it to be an award winner. But that's cool. I mean, your episode sounds not cool because you did say murder. But love is blind.

It's coming out in like two days when we are recording this. And is it two days, actually? It's Wednesday. We're recording this on the 20th and it's coming out on Friday. Yeah. So 22nd. We're just hyping ourselves. up for Love is Blind. It's the first dating show that I've ever enjoyed watching. I think that,

well, that's not true. Next on MTV, that was like, uh, room Raiders. Room Raiders. I loved room Raiders. You knew that you were finding the person that you were meant to be with when you went through their underwear drawer before you met them. That's right. Well, yeah, I've never really watched. I guess Love is Blind is the only one I really, actually I watched the ultimatum too. But I've never seen a single episode of The Bachelor or like I'm not Bachelor Nation or whatever else. You know what I mean? I saw it when it first came out, but it just got way too dramatic for me. And I also don't really love the premise of one person dating a ton of other people and finding their true love.

And then the other people are just okay with you dating. I mean, I feel like it's kind of contradictory where it's like I don't want my person to date around while they're dating me. me, but then that person is in fact dating like 20 other people. Yeah, it seems a little backwards. But I mean, they sign up for it. But people love it. People love it. And people sign up for it.

And I know it's a huge, obviously, it's massive. It's probably one of the biggest dating shows there's ever been. So people clearly love it. I could literally never. I just don't have the patience. I don't have. I'd be like, you don't like me. Bye.

Or like you have to think about if you like me and like compare me to like five other people to see who you like most? I don't know. Yeah. I don't like rejection at all. So if someone was second guessing, I'd be like, uh-uh. My feelings are hurt already. I'm going to bow out. I'm the one crying in the interview already. So what is your episode about? I forgot we were even recording right now. I felt like we were just talking about dating shows. I guess this is a conversation that we would have in our normal days. Well, today, my story is a little less lighthearted. than dating shows and The Bachelor and Love is Blind and all that. But I am going to be telling a story about a woman who was looking for love, which is why this all

ties together. Today I'm going to be telling the sad story of Kathy Frost Larson, who was a woman who was looking for love. And shortly after she found it, she fell to her death off the scenic otter cliffs in Maine's Acadia National Park. I feel like that's very suspicious. Like, I'm already suspicious. Before we go into today's episode, I do want to give a little bit of a warning because we are going to be talking about death, murder, and suicide.

And I just want to offer a space where if that is something that you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or are in crisis, I just wanted to add that there is the 988 lifeline, which provides 24-7 confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress. and you can use it by calling or texting 988 and you'll be connected to mental health professionals. And I just wanted to add that in because this is one of, this is a tougher episode to be talking about. We'll go into her story and we are going to Acadia. It's been a little bit since we've been to this park. So I was kind of excited to revisit, especially now because we have a trip planned there. Have we, I feel like we've only done one episode there.

Your Leslie Spellman one, which was literally episode one. Is it the only time we've ever been to a trip? Acadia in this in our podcast wait no I feel like there's one of a time I did I did a Patreon episode on oh yeah you did um Acadia mixtape yep Patreon episode okay like I know we've done it that also was like over a year ago yeah it's been a while it's been a long time coming it's the only one in the northeast we have to have to visit it more often well I am going to be talking about Kathy's death off of the Otter cliffs and it seemed to be an accident at first but soon it became a full-on murder investigation,

and her new husband, Dennis Larson, became the prime suspect. Kathy first met Dennis Larson after responding to a personal ad he had wrote in the classified section of the Bangor Daily News. And this back then, this was in the 1980s that this was going on, 1986, I believe. And the classified section is the newspaper version of Tinder for anyone who doesn't know. It was a wild time. I didn't, I don't ever.

recall like doing any sort of looking at any of the personal classifieds but I remember when I was looking for my very first paid like actual job other than just doing like side work and stuff at horse barns growing up like I was looking in the classified section in the back of the Merrimack newspaper to see like if there was any ads out for like servers or waitresses or hostesses or you know the typical call it or high school I do officially sound old you're like I got my first job from a news newspaper clipping. I do remember I dreamed of getting into the drawing contest. There was like a coloring contest in our local newspaper and you could submit your drawing

and they would feature it in the newspaper. I do remember that though. I do. Okay, this is just a total sidetrack, but it's just crazy how things like all tied together. So around this time I was looking for my first job in the newspaper. I went to, I can't recall if I actually saw it in the newspaper. Or I was literally just like knocking on doors essentially like, hey, are you looking for help or whatever? And there was a restaurant, Mr. G's in Merrimack.

That was my first job. And across the street was a, it was like a hair salon slash spa type of deal. And it wasn't anything like super fancy. But to me, like 16 year old me, I was like, oh my God, it's so like luxurious over there. And I remember being like, I could work with courts. Courtney, Elliot, Ian's sister. Oh, really? She worked there? Yeah, she worked there as like a receptionist. And I always like, obviously Courtney and I were friends far before Ian and I ever got together. And I just remember being like, I could totally work over there. And then I ended up across the street like at a pizza joint. I'm like, this is so telling. Looking out the window. Like my hand is on the glass. I'm like Courtney. Oh, but anyways, yeah. So it's smelling like pizza and covered in grease. As she's like checking in people for like highlights and nail appointments and spa treatments.

I'm like, okay. It's so funny because I worked at salons like most of my college life. Okay, I worked at a dog salon in my college life. Oh my God. I worked at like a real salon and I learned how to give myself like the perfect French manicure and skills you do not utilize today, I will say. No, I don't. I don't at all. The skills are kind of gone.

Oh, well, no, I could do it. I could do it. But yeah, they're gone. Okay, sorry. We're just, we're sidetracking a lot. Anyway, so, uh, we're going into this story. Kathy was in the classified section looking at ads. And that was how she eventually met Dennis Larson.

She was 26 years old and she was exceptionally lonely during the spirit of her life. And she had browsed the classified section before. And for the most part, the men there seemed kind of off to her. They were either not specific. specifically looking for a long-term relationship. They just wanted a short hookup, so newspapers were the same as Tinder. Or they just seemed really strange. Like, people would just write weird comments in it, and she's like, all these guys seem really off. Kathy was looking for someone who was a partner in life. She wanted her life to share with. She wanted a real long-term

relationship. And one day when she's looking in the ads, one of the ads sparked her interest. and it read, Construction Worker 37-5-7-135 pounds, active outdoorsman seeks compatible childless lady 20 to 35 years old for lasting relationship. And when Kathy read this, she was not an active outdoorsy person. That's not what sparked her interest.

She actually struggled with deep insecurities about her appearance and her weight, but she didn't have any children. And it was one of the only ads she saw of someone hurt in her age range that was looking for an actual serious relationship. Kathy was living and working as a nurse's aide in the town she was born in in Dexter, Maine, and Dexter is the quintessential rural New England town with buildings dating back to the 1800s, rolling hills, lush valleys, and bordered a beautiful lake that held the opportunity for lots of

recreational activities. It was also just an hour and a half drive to the only major national park within the northeast of the United States, Acadia National Park. And Dexter was a very small town with a population of a little bit over 3,000 people. And with that small dating pool, she just had not had any luck. So she thought that this person behind the advertisement could work out. So she decided to put herself out there and wrote him a letter. She went down to the post office and mailed it back to the newspaper who would then give it to the person who advertised themselves. And then she just waited for a response. The man on the east, other end of the advertisement was Dennis Larson, a man who had just moved to Maine for a construction

job after his second wife had divorced him. It wasn't uncommon for Dennis to travel for long periods of time for work. In fact, it contributed to why his wife had actually divorced him. One of the reasons his wife cited for a reason for the divorce was because he was often gone for long periods of time and it was too difficult for her to raise their two children alone and manage an income real estate property that they had together. The divorce had been finalized only two months prior to when he had put up his personal ad in the classified section of the local paper. And Dennis's ad was gaining some traction in Northern Maine, and he had a couple of women who were reaching out to him. After a quick correspondence back and forth, he went out on his first date. Dennis arrived at this woman's house to pick her up,

but instead of taking her out on a real date, like not out to dinner or movies or anything like that, he had just arrived with the plan to take her out for a drive. This is. was early August time of that year. They had some small talk back and forth for about half an hour. And then he asked her if she was interested in marriage in the very near future. And this put her off a little bit. She's like, I've only known you for half an hour. We're driving around in your car. And she said, I'm not interested in marrying someone right away. In response, Dennis slammed on his car brakes and whipped the car around and dropped her back off at her house and then didn't talk to her again. What? Wait. Okay, hold on a minute.

This isn't Kathy. This is someone else. No, this is another woman. Okay, sorry. I was just very lost for a second. This is just a person who responded to the ad. Oh, right. Okay.

Yes. Well, he knows what he wants, I guess. He's like, I'm looking for a wife. And if you don't want to get married now, I'm not interested. Why wouldn't he put that in his original ad? He said long-lasting relationship. I think that is off-putting, though. Like, if I read an ad that was like looking for a wife immediately, I would never respond.

Okay. have you, what's another dating 90 day fiance? Yeah. What's 90 day fiance or? Married at first sight. Married at first sight. That's the one I was thinking of. There's people out there. There's a top for every, what is it? A lid for every container or whatever that crazy. They were to say a top for every bottom, which is very sexual. That's also fitting. It is. But you know what I mean? It's like, okay, so yes, I agree that is off-putting. And like you and I would never respond. to something like that. But it's also kind of saves time. Like, because he's clearly not beating around the bush. He's like slamming on his brakes. He's like, get the fuck out. I'm, this is never going to work. It's like I want a wife. Yeah. I don't know. It's like I can see both ways it being kind of weird at first. But I mean, it's a hard boundary for him, I guess,

like a non-negotiable. Definitely a non-negotiable because he does go out with a second woman, who is not Kathy yet, and has a similar experience. So with this woman, woman, he spent two weekends together with her at her home, and he was frequently asking her about marriage. Finally, after a lot of inquisitive questions about her intentions and if she wanted to marry very soon, this woman said that she had no interest in being married to someone right away either, same as the other person. And so he left that weekend, and a few days later, she received a letter in the mail from Dennis stating that he was not going to come back to visit her anymore. And at that time, she had just assumed that they didn't mesh that well together. She had realized in the time

that they spent together that they didn't really have all that much in common. So it wasn't that strange for her that he wrote that letter. She was kind of feeling that too. But for him, it was definitely because she wasn't interested in marriage. And he's remind me in his 30s, mid 30s? He's 35. Yeah. It wasn't until after these two failed dates that Dennis responded to Kathy and the two of them met up for an evening together. Just like the first two dates, Dennis brought up marriage again, but this time Kathy's response was different, and she stated that she could see herself possibly marrying Dennis.

Later, she confided in her mother telling her mother about marrying him, and she was quoted saying, If I don't, he'll find someone else and then I'll be alone. So she just really wanted to find a person, and when she saw Dennis, she thought, you know, he's nice, He's kind. He's the type of person I'm looking for. He's the age range. He wants to get married right away. I'm very lonely. Why not? And with that, they set a wedding date for only three weeks later. Kathy's mom didn't meet Dennis until a week before the wedding. And although she didn't necessarily agree

with the quick marriage, Kathy was an adult and she didn't want to interfere with her decisions. Although family later reported that Dennis was very pushy about the idea of marriage. So it wasn't just like, hey, let's get married. It was like, let's get married. We have to get married. kind of pressuring Kathy a bit. And after only two weeks of knowing each other, on September 20th, 1987, they had a small wedding. Kathy invited close family, but Dennis did not invite anyone at all. And it seemed to be a pretty nice day. It was Kathy seemed very happy. She was having a really nice time with her family and her friends, and she seemed ecstatic to get married. But overall, Dennis seemed pretty unfazed on his wedding day. He showed very little emotion. He didn't seem happy. He didn't seem

sad. He was just kind of there. The day following their wedding, Dennis brought Kathy to buy life insurance policies on the two of them. They went to the bank or main mall and talked to an all-state insurance agent named Timothy Callahan. And while I know that raises some red flags for everyone who's listening, the way he phrased it to Kathy was he wanted to get these life insurance policies because he wanted her to be all set if anything ever happened to him. So he's kind of like, you know, I just love you so much. I think that said, we're married now, we should be taking care of each other, this is a good way to do it. And she told her mom later that him wanting to get life insurance policies so quickly showed how

much that he loved her. The policy named them both as primary beneficiaries. Life insurance for Dennis covered $100,000 in the event of his death, and the policy on Kathy was for $200,000, but they both had accidental death clauses. So they basically said that if anything out of the Ordinary happened in an accident and it resulted in one of their deaths, their policy would be paid out in twice the amount. Meaning that if Kathy were to die in an accidental death, Dennis would receive $400,000. And vice versa, right. And vice versa, she would receive $200 because his policy is half of what Kathy's is.

Hmm. Mm-hmm. I'm just letting you tell your story. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer. Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after,

the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. The happiness of their marriage soon wore off to Kathy. On October 9th, just a little over two

weeks since they had wed, she confided in a friend at work that she was very depressed in the relationship. But she also said, even though I'm not very happy, it's better than being alone. That's such a tough situation to be in. Like that my heart goes out to her for that because I think it's also especially on my mind right now because I just, I'm almost done the book I started it today. It's called soul boom. And it's by, of all people, Rain Wilson, the man. that plays Dwight. Yeah. I love Rain Wilson.

I'm listening to the audiobook, so it feels like I'm listening to Terry Carnation on Oh, he voices it. That's too funny. And it's really, really, it's an amazing book. And it's about spirituality and the kind of the journey that individuals take in their search for like higher meaning and then collectively how humanity is going towards like a shift in spirituality. It's less about religion and more about like, I don't know.

know. I don't need to give you, you can look up the book. But yeah, there's a section on it that he goes into a lot of statistics about loneliness and how it's this huge problem. He actually, instead of being like, instead of calling it an epidemic, it's a pandemic. Like it's, it's happening on a global scale, especially to younger people. And obviously this happened in the 80s. It was a different time. There was no social media and different things that influence these particular statistics that he's referencing. Sure. But he talks a lot about that. and how it's like over 50% of kids, I say kids, but like young to mid-20s feel extreme loneliness and in an age where we're more connected, quote unquote, than ever. And how that's leading to bigger problems and, you know, increased rates of suicides. Did he tie that into social media? He did reference it a little bit, obviously, because that's kind of where they're thinking. a lot of people are thinking this stems from is just the rise of social media and access to the internet and blah blah blah and it's really complicated but essentially he was saying like in an age that

we are so connected we're not and we're just seeking that's at the at the core of everything humans do is the search for connectivity and not wanting to be lonely and it's such a problem when we don't have companionship and love and community and so I just it's really on my mind right now because it's so true. So for Kathy, you know, being in a situation where she's not exactly happy, but it's better than being lonely. It's like tipping, like, I just imagine her like weighing the scales. Like, well, which one is worse, you know? Yeah. And they're both not ideal. And I know I got the feeling when I was doing this research that she is deeply insecure about herself too. So I get the feeling that she, when she says it's better than being alone, it's because she thinks

no one else will want her, which I think adds just another. And she's only 26? Yeah, she's only 26. Yeah. But you're still a baby. Yeah, so I think it just adds another part of it that's really sad. She's just this really nice person that's looking for love. And now her relationship isn't going so great, but she's like, you know, I was so miserable alone. This is better. At least I have someone. That same day that she confided in her friend that she was unhappy in her relationship, but it was better than being alone. She also told her mother that her and Dennis had plans to go to Acadia National Park for the following day, which was a Saturday. Dennis was an outdoorsman, but Kathy was not, and she told her mother that she was not looking forward to going at all, and she was only doing this to make Dennis happy.

Also, Dennis wanted to go to Otter cliffs in Acadia National Park, but Kathy was reluctant because she was deathly afraid of heights, and she was also afraid of water, which are two things that Acadia is renowned for. It's like cliffs and water. That is Acadia. No wonder she was hesitant about going. Like it has all the things she hates. She's like, why am I going? I don't want to go here at all.

Yeah. A little bit about Acadia National Park. Acadia National Park was the first national park established east of the Mississippi on February 26, 1919. But it wasn't originally known by the same name as it is today. When it was first established as a national monument in July of 1916, it was named Sewer de Montes, National Monce, National Monument. in after an explorer to the area. Then, in February 1919, it was re-established as Lafayette National Park, and it kept this name until January of 1929, only after that it was officially named Acadia National Park.

The name is believed to have stem from the word Arcadia, which is a part of Greece, that this area reminded an explorer who visit this area in the year of 1524, and it was named after his experience of seeing Acadia in 1524 1524 very early explorer you just threw out a lot of dates yeah there's so many dates basically Acadia has a lot of history a lot of shit's gone down there basically Acadia is Greece kind of kind of sort of with not the freight of cappuccinos which are so good doesn't remind you of Greece you've been there I have been there and no it doesn't remind me of Greece at all. No.

Grease is, I was very surprised when I went to Greece. I didn't realize this and if I had looked anything up, I would have. But the islands are very desert. There's nothing that really grows there. The plants that are able to grow there grow because of humidity that's in the air and not because it rains. So there's very little plant life that can survive there without the help of people who actually live there.

And Acadia National Park is obviously not like that. There's lots of greenery there and cliff sides and ocean. Yeah, it didn't remind me at all of Acadia. Okay, noted. Yeah, don't go to Acadia. If you're like, well, I can't afford to go to Greece, I'll go to Acadia. You'll be very, they're both great in different ways. I prefer Acadia, honestly.

But Acadia, the Greece of America. Maine. Their new slogan. Yeah, I'm like arching it in my mind, like a big slagy. like banner. They're going to contact us and be like, can you not say that? Like, please take that out. We are not Greece. But they should get Fredo cappuccinos because those were so good in Greece. Okay, anyway, back to the story. So where Dennis was taking Kathy that day, Otter Cliff, is this amazing viewpoint within the park. It offers the quintessential Acadia experience. It has the sweeping ocean views

of a rocky shoreline. You can see the evergreen trees that grow until the end of the cliff sides. And there's breathtaking views of Gorham Mountain and the famous beehive hiking area. Otter Cliffs is a massive 110 foot rock wall and is one of the most recognizable geological features within the National Park. It's located on the eastern edge of Mount Desert Island and serves as an outdoor recreation area for both rock climbers and hikers, although the park does warrant against the dangers of the area because of slippery granite rocks and pebbles. On Saturday, October 10th, Kathy and Dennis went to the park together and they attempted to go to Ottercliffe, but when they arrived, the area was swarmed with people. Now, while the park is popular with over four million visitors

each year, September and October are some of the busiest times in the park, as it offers some of the best fall foliage in all of New England. There's mild temperatures, it's perfect for hiking and other outdoor activities, and it offers the quintessential New England fall experience. Acadia sees over 615,000 visitors between September and October, with the second week of October, usually being the peak time for foliage. And this was the exact same time that they were there. It was October 10th, peak foliage, people all around. Because Kathy and Dennis were within a short driving distance from the park, they actually decided to go home and come back the following day with hopes that Sunday would be less crowded than a busy, nice warm Saturday. The following day, they packed up their belongings and headed back to the park. Kathy was still less than excited to go, but Dennis promised her that Otter Point was a great place to spot sea otters, and he wanted to take her there.

Kathy, still reluctant, agreed to go, and they set out for Otter Point. Okay. I mean, clearly. Wait, she's from New. Where is she from? She's from Maine. Born and raised. Okay. And she, okay. Like, all right, that sounds good. go see the sea otters. Well, admittedly, she is not an outdoorsy person. Yeah. So for sure. Not going to like say how would you know. I mean, you and I are looking at each other like the sea otters like the sea otters like they're there and we'll get to that. We'll get to that at a minute.

Because people are probably like, yeah, okay. There's sea otters in the sea. Well, going into where they're going at this point, Otter Point, according to all trails is a 1.1.1. mile out and back trip near Seal Harbor, Maine, that is within the National Park. It's generally considered an easy trail that is popular for hiking and running and takes an average of about 25 minutes to complete. While it is a relatively easy trail, it does hug the coastline and allows hikers to walk atop the cliffs with views of the ocean before ending at the final viewpoint. According to Dennis, when they reached Otter Point, they walked off in different directions from each other to explore the area in search of the sea otters.

While they were separated, Dennis heard his wife scream, and when he ran to her, he looked over the cliff and saw her lying on the ground below. She had fallen over 100 feet down. With no cell phone, and apparently no one around, which I personally kind of find hard to believe, given the year and the popularity of the trail, Dennis ran to the trailhead and flagged down a vehicle passing on the road, and he told them what had happened,

he asked for them to find help. But after that, he was afraid that those people might not have understood his kind of like jumbled words or understood the gravity of the situation. So he hopped in his own car and drove to Jordan Pondhouse to look for a phone. Now the Jordan Pondhouse is the only full service restaurant within Acadia National Park and overlooks the picturesque Jordan Pond. When he arrived, he used a phone and called the park service, requesting a rescue team to save her and told them that she had fallen while they were out searching for the sea otters. It was around 7 p.m. and was a foggy and wet evening when rescue teams reached Kathy after propelling down by rope off the cliffside. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced

dead at 9 p.m. that evening. And what time were they on the trail? They were there earlier that day. Like it sounded like they were there in the afternoon. So it sounds like he had reported her around 6 p.m. to the park service. So I'm guessing it was kind of around five when they were there. Okay. Just because the way that you phrased that, like, she was pronounced at around nine, so clearly she wasn't deceased at the bottom of the cliff. Is that right? And there was some, I couldn't find the article on it. But there, so I've originally heard this story from the dark down east podcast and they cover true crime in the northeast. And they're really similar to park predators. If you like park predators, you'll really like them.

So in that podcast, they had mentioned that he actually was there and talking to them and had said that she had fallen and he was asking if she was breathing or not. And they said basically, like, let's get her to the hospital and we can answer questions later. I didn't find that article when I was looking it up. So I didn't include it as like part of my research in here. But I did hear it on that podcast. So it kind of sounds like that it's possible that she's, you might have still been alive, but I'm unsure.

Okay. Meanwhile, that night, Dennis had chosen to stay nearby in the neighboring town of Ellsworth at the Eagles Lodge Motel. Dennis was picked up the following morning by police after people had reported seeing a man walking in the woods in the water with no shoes on. They brought him in to make a phone call for someone to come get him out of concerns for him, but he declined and walked out of the sheriff's office. He was later picked up again at 1148 after they received another report.

of a man carrying a bag and walking without shoes down a major road. When they picked him up, he seemed out of it and he was wobbly on his feet. According to an old newspaper article in the Bangor Daily News, Dennis stated that, quote, his wife was the one who drowned last night at Otter Creek, and he had taken a lot of sleeping pills and two beers to help him sleep, end quote. And in his inebriated state, the police escorted him to the main coast memorial hospital to be evaluated before he

was released shortly after. So I don't know if he was inebriated. He said she, and that's why he said she drowned, but she didn't drown. She fell off a cliff. So I don't know why it was stated that way, but it might have just been because he was on drugs and drinking. Okay. Yeah, very odd. But I thought that quote was weird. And it was also in the paper, so maybe they misquoted him. I don't know. Investigations into Kathy's death started immediately, and Dennis was extensively interviewed. He had told police that he had brought Kathy to Otter Cliffs to see the sea otters, which right away raised some flags for police. Otter Cliffs, despite the name, was not an area known for sea otters. When they spoke to an experienced wildlife biologist in the area, they were told that they had

never seen even a single sea otter there in their entire time in the park. Otter Cliffs was given the name in remembrance of the sea mink that once swam and hunted by the cliffs before they were hunted to extinction in the early 20th century. So they're like, okay, there's no sea otters here. What do you mean you were out looking for sea otters? That's very odd to us. Okay. Well, just to play devil's advocate, it is named otter cliffs. And they're not wild biologists. Like, you know what I mean? Like if I saw, if I was not familiar with the area or was not, which I mean, you did say he is an avid outdoorsman. They're both from me and whatever. But just say devil's advocate. Well, he's, He's from Montana originally.

Oh, okay. Well, then, yeah. Even more to my point, like, how are they going to know? It's on the name of the of the landmark. So I don't know. I guess I could like yes to locals and to trained wildlife professionals. Clearly, that seems like a red flag. But just to me, playing devil's advocate or pretty much probably anybody else.

Like if we went out to Acadia right now, it's peak season, there's tons of visitors there. and were like, hey, have you heard of Ottercliffs? What do you think they're named after? Like, I feel like people would be like... Say the sea otters. Yeah. And like, look for them. It's on the sea.

Yeah. Well, and police, when they found this out, it raised some flags for them because they're like, okay, sea otters aren't there, but it wasn't enough. It just kind of raised some flags in their mind. It wasn't until Kathy's autopsy report came back that her death turned into a murder investigation. Her autopsy revealed that she died from multiple traumas from the fall. But also in the report, they found a bruise on her shoulder that looked to be possibly consistent with someone grabbing and pushing her off of a cliff. And so they came back and they're like, I can't say for sure that this is what happened.

But based on the shape of the bruise, the location of the bruise and how new the bruise is, it seems very possible that this was sustained right before she fell. This is giving such similarities to the story I did at Pictured Rocks. Do you remember the bruise on her leg that they're like, we're not sure kind of where maybe she got it during the fall, but it looks like someone kicked her. Yep. Like kicked her over the edge. And there's also the Tony Henthorn, that one, and Rocky Mountain. Yeah. Reminds me that one too.

Go ahead. Don't get near cliffs with your significant other. Yeah, if you don't trust your partner. Even if you trust your partner, don't go near a cliff. Especially if you have a life insurance policy. That was taken out days before. Yeah. With this, Dennis became the main suspect in Kathy's death, and investigators were about to discover some very questionable things from Dennis's past.

First, this wasn't Dennis's first run-in with the police. Dennis had been arrested only a couple of years prior when he attempted to make a faulty insurance claim on a burglary in his home and attempted to collect $5,000. Investigators also discovered Dennis' ex-wife, Janine, had divorced him only a couple of months prior. to his marriage to Kathy. A major part in the divorce was his unstable income and because he was on the road traveling for work. He was gone for long periods of time and didn't help out at home with the children, but his income was a major issue. There were long periods of time that he was unable to find jobs at all, and they didn't know when he would have a paycheck again. His wife had asked him many times to get a more stable job, and eventually when he didn't, it caused too much

stress on the family and she ultimately left him. But, that wasn't all. Dennis had promised after the divorce that he would win her back. Despite her not wanting to rekindle their relationship, he called and wrote her often and told her that he had a plan to win her back and remarry her one day. Sometime in the fall, he had indicated to her that he would be back to Montana sooner than he expected. But then in October, he wrote her again and said that he was making a home in Maine. As investigators dug more into Dennis's past, they discovered something that made them more suspicious of him than anything else. Kathy wasn't the first wife Dennis had that had died while married to him.

He became a widow for the first time in 1975 when his wife died in the outdoors with Dennis as the only witness. On June 10, 1975, Dennis and Leslie Larson were married and living together in Montana when they went out for the day to pick mushrooms by Little Prickly Pear Creek inside of Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest. The forest is one of the oldest forest preserves in the U.S. that was named in honor of the Lewis and Clark expedition, but has an extensive history of indigenous people dating back over 10,000 years. It's filled with valleys and mountains as tall as 9,362 feet, or 2,900 meters, with lots of wildlife and recreational activities. That day in June, the creek was higher than normal due to the spring runoff from the Missouri River that connects to Little Prickly Pear Creek, and the water levels were about 10 feet higher than they normally were. Dennis reported that while outlooking for mushrooms, the riverbank gave way under Leslie's feet, and she fell into the water, went under a fallen log, and then disappeared.

He then jumped into the water after her to try and save her, but he couldn't find her and was almost pulled under the water himself. Rescue teams were brought out to search for Leslie, but her body never turned up. Police were suspicious of Dennis's involvement because when they arrived to the scene and he told his story of attempting to rescue her, he was completely dry. What in that? Her body was never found, ever? No. Wow.

That's really sad. It is really sad. And one of the rescue team members later said that he believed that her body was never in the water at all, as he had been part of recovery missions for bodies who had drowned in that same area several times in the past and he said they always eventually turned up. That's such a good point. That's such a good point. He's like, I've done this many times. I work in this area and never once has someone not shown up who drowned. So, okay, I'll let you continue, but we're on the same page that he killed her and buried her somewhere in that forest.

Something. Something happened for sure. Leslie's family was also suspicious that Dennis played a part in her death, but charged. were never brought and she was listed as a missing person for several years. Six months before he married his second wife in 1982 and seven years after Leslie's disappearance, she was officially declared dead, even though her body was never found. Dennis collected $20,000 off of her life insurance policy. Meanwhile, while police were investigating Dennis, he was adamantly denying any involvement in Kathy's death, and he had moved back to Montana. After three months of investigating Dennis, on February

2nd, 1988, police arrived in Montana to interrogate him further about Kathy's death. After a while, he changed his story. He told the investigators that they had had an argument at the cliffs, and in a moment of anger, he had pushed Kathy, and she had fallen off the cliff as a result, but it was an accident. Immediately after that confession, he was arrested and brought back to Maine to await trial. He was indicted for Kathy's murder on two counts, intentionally or knowingly causing her death and causing her death through conduct manifesting depraved indifference to the value of human life. He pleaded not guilty and prior to the trial, his lawyers asked the courts to suppress his confession on the grounds that the investigator was acting in a friendly and empathetic manner towards Dennis

with the knowledge that Dennis had this overwhelming need to please people and with that he was kind of playing into this psychological game with him. He's like trying to be the nice cop, basically. His lawyers were basically arguing like, you were pretending to be nice, you were pretending to be his friend. And ultimately, Dennis just told you what he believed that you wanted to hear. The courts didn't buy it and the request was denied. Dennis waived the right to a jury trial and after an eight-day trial, he was found guilty. Justice Jacko Smith, who presided over the hearing, stated at sentencing, even though the aggravated factors are present, I don't think a life sentence is warranted. I think it's important that you retain some hope

that one day you'll leave prison, and he was sentenced to 50 years incarcerated. His attorneys attempted to appeal his conviction, but it never happened. While serving prison time, the investigation into Leslie's disappearance in death was reopened, and Dennis was charged in her murder. He eventually confessed to killing Leslie Larson and told investigators he pushed her into the creek and watched as she was swept away. Dennis Larson had been serving his prison sentence for about 13 years when he completed suicide. On New Year's Eve, he was in the craft room of the prison when he wrote the word Geronimo on duct tape and put it over his mouth and then he put a clothespin over his nose. He then opened a third-story window and jumped out. On his way down, his pants caught on something on the wall

and they were pulled completely down before he hit the ground. He died immediately on impact. That is so brutal. So brutal. There's the geron. I mean, the whole thing. Geronimo. And he apparently left a letter behind two. And they didn't label it a suicide note.

And I don't know what the letter said, but he also left a letter before he did that. How is that not a suicide note? I don't know. They didn't label it there. So I don't know if it, maybe it didn't have anything to do with him about to. Oh, yeah. Like maybe it had something to do with the investigations. I don't know.

know, but they didn't release what the letter said. Okay. God, what a way to go. Yeah. Wow. Several years after his death, a couple was renovating their bathroom in Great Falls, Montana, in a home that Dennis Larson once owned. When they tore up the floor, they found bones underneath. No, no, no. They called police, and the bones were sent to the Montana State Crime Lab to determine if they were human, and also to test if they were those of Leslie Larson. This was reported by the Bangor Daily News, and I tried to find a follow up on the bones that were found, but I could not find any articles related to those findings at all. What?

So the only thing I found was that bones were found, and they were being sent out to be tested, and then nothing. And everything in regards to Leslie Larson still says that her body was never found. So I have no idea if they found closure in that and it was just never released. I don't know if they were human. It's just kind of a mystery. That is a huge mystery. And what year was that?

It was 2007. Wow. Okay. So quite a while ago. Yeah. My feeling is that it was something, whether it was Leslie or if it was someone else, I mean, he was clearly on a killing spree. I don't know if there was someone else involved or, you know, I just, I say spree,

but he was killing his wives. And I think it's suspicious that bones were found in his bathroom. But it could have been nothing. Under his floor board. What do you mean? Under his floors. Yeah, no. Like there's something fishy there.

I don't know what it is. And also I think that it's something to be said because clearly, I've said it before, I'm a big fan of like the pages like things found in walls and like I follow a lot of old home reno pages and just like things that people find and all of that. And generally, like, there are a lot of people who find bodies of animals or remains of animals mummified or otherwise skeletal remains. Like when they're ripping up certain parts of their home, like the floorboards or parts of the walls that maybe they got trapped in or like things under the house. But it's never like, I can recall maybe like one or two posts of people being like, should I call local authorities? Like I'm unsure of what this is.

And it's usually when it's like some sort of farm house and it's remains like that they found in a yard, like nothing in their house. Sure. Not like under a house or something like that. And they're larger from larger animals like a horse or a cow or something like that where the bones are easily kind of mistaken if you're not, you know, an anthropologist. They're bigger bones. Right. So it doesn't feel like a dog or a cat or something. Right. Like when people find remains in their house when they're right.

renovating it, even if they don't know exactly what it was, like, is this a raccoon or a cat or like whatever? It's very clearly an animal and not a human. But if you call police. Right. If it's like, clearly those people, something was sparking them to be like, okay, this is might be a person. You know what I mean? And it was being sent out to test and see if it was human remains, but also their first thought was Leslie. So. Yeah. And again, devil's advocate, people do weird shit in their homes.

Maybe it was some sort of animal. Who knows. But it's just for it to be in all of the houses, it has to be his former home. Like, that's not a coincidence. We don't believe in those. No, we don't. Wow. I really wish that there was some follow up to that because that's really interesting.

Yeah. If anyone knows anything who's listening and I missed it. I searched for so long just trying to find anything with it and nothing popped up after that article. Well, I would imagine if it was Leslie's or any other human. I don't know. Like, I would imagine it would have made news, but. Yeah, and the case would be closed too. And I mean, maybe it is.

And maybe it was just something that the family decided to keep private and didn't want it out. I don't know. I'm totally speculating here. Or maybe it just was nothing. but it's very suspicious that it was under a house that he owned. Yeah. Okay. I guess we'll never know.

Yeah. Well, that's my story for today. Oh my God. That's it. Yep. That's the end. I was like surprised. The end.

You're like, what else? Nope. Ah, God. Well, what a way to go for him. Like, that's a choice for sure. And he never got the insurance money for Kathy or anything, thankfully. Yeah, well, thankfully. But just a total.

It's just so sad. She was just looking for love and lost her life. Yeah. And he lost his eventually too. And he ruined a lot of lives along the way too because obviously that ruined Kathy's whole family's lives. And it's just say it's a sad story. Yeah.

I just imagine what my thoughts go to his, so I guess technically his second wife that divorced him. I don't know if she is struggling with any sort of like survivor's guilt after all of this comes out. like, okay, so the woman before me was killed and the woman after me was killed and I was in the same position. He had a life insurance policy on her as well. Right. Like just imagining like all the different feelings that come with that like being scared, relieved, sad, anxious, you know. And I guess I didn't mention this in the episode. But so Dennis had a four month old child with Leslie when she died.

Okay. And what happened is he got together with his second wife and his second wife. And his second wife adopted that daughter. Oh, okay. And raised her as her own. So he killed his first wife, left his child without a mom, and then had children with this second woman because they had another child together. They got a divorce. And then he was searching for a childless woman. Oh, yeah, that was in his ad. Yeah. He wanted specifically a childless woman. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yikes. Yeah. Well, I'm, I'm glad it's over that story because I'm sorry. Like I hated that. It's just sad. It's like there is no, there is no silver lining or upside or positive note to end on really. Because that's, that's awful. Yeah. And it's like I feel like there are so many stories where partners push their

partners off of a cliff in a national park. I mean, it happened in Glacier. It happened in Rocky Mountain. It happened in picture of rocks. It happened. It happened. And it happened in picture of rocks. It happen in Acadia. Like, I know it's not something that happens all the time or anything, but really look at your partner. If they're trying to take a life insurance policy out on you and things are feeling a little fishy, don't be blind. Love is not blind. Yeah, love is not blind. Keep your eyes open. Do not let anyone, don't be fooled by people's imperfections, see them and decide if they're worth it. Don't ignore them. And don't ignore the signs. Don't ignore the signs, yeah. Not placing any blame on Kathy. because she was really just looking for love.

But we can all be blinded by things sometimes, especially when it's someone we care about. So just looking for those signs. Someone just took a life insurance policy on you. And now is planning a national park trip. Please divorce them now. And that's relationship advice from Cassie. Yes.

Thank you for coming to her TED Talk. Thank you, everyone, for listening. And we'll see you next week. In the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch you're back. Bye. Bye. Thank you so much for joining us again this week.

If you have a trail tale or story suggestion, send us an email at Stories at NPADPodcast.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at National Park After Dark and on Twitter at NPAD podcast. Join our Outsiders-only community on Patreon or Apple subscriptions to listen ad-free, unlock monthly bonus episodes, and exclusive content. And remember, when you support our Spudson, sponsors, you are supporting our show. For our exclusive discount codes and source information from

today's episode, check out the show notes. For more information on our show, our book recommendations, merch updates, and more, visit our website at npadpodcast.com. And please rate, review, and subscribe from wherever you listen to podcasts. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you may not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with progressives save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount.

Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary.