National Park After Dark - Murder of Six: Wells Gray Provincial Part (Part 1)

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

In August of 1982, three generations of one family went on a two week vacation into the mountains of British Columbia. When they failed to return, the community rallied to find them. What began as a missing persons case turned into the grisly discovery of human remains. Exactly what happened to the Bentley and Johnson families was a mystery for months until someone began to reveal the truth.For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor 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!IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.Nurture Life: For 55% off your order, head to NurtureLife.com and use code NPAD.Smalls: For 50% off your first order, head to Smalls.com/NPAD and use code NPAD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Limitless. Now open your eyes. Go to Monday.com. Start for free and finally. Breathe. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs 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. For millennia, people have feared the forest.

The woods have long since been associated with danger. It is wild and untamed and can conceal treacherous animals or circumstances. When night falls, its darkness becomes more profound and exaggerated. Small sounds become big anxieties, and the woodland, even if viewed as refuge by day, by night, can become something else entirely. Our global oral and written histories contain thousands of of stories regarding what lurks in the forest. From creatures like the windigo, Ogopogo, and Katshutuatsku, to spirits and fairies, all of which retreat to forests to remain hidden.

Creatures, cryptids, and ghouls aside, there is another beast that uses the wilderness as well, something that is the most deceitful, dangerous, and unpredictable of all. Humans. Welcome to National Park After Dark. I feel a true crime episode. It sure is. And it's a two-parter. Oh, we haven't done a two-parter in a long time. I know. It was kind of a surprise two-parter because this episode was recommended by a listener. And I found a documentary on it. It was like 45 minutes, watched it. I'm like, this is great. And then I found a book. And so I just felt like it was so detailed that it deserved two parts. It probably, could be three, to be honest, but I'll condense it to two. So next Monday will be the conclusion of this story. But for now, yeah, it's part one. We love a two-parter. Yeah, we're on video, which is new. Hi, everyone. If you have not heard yet, we have created a YouTube channel, and we are now on video. So you can watch this podcast. If you're listening somewhere,

it is an option to watch us on YouTube and our faces are here, which is very new. for us, but if you have never been able to put face to the voice, it is now here, and we're excited to venture into YouTube. I think it's been a long time coming. If you're looking for us, we're at National Park After Dark podcast. If you just type it in on the search bar, we'll pop right up. Yeah, we've actually been thinking about this for two years. And finally, here we are. It seems like... It's not an exaggeration either. It's literally been two years. Yeah. A lot has happened, though, and it just kept being put in. into the back burner and it's been fun not like having to I don't know we don't really

we don't know how to do video we don't know TikTok or anything I know the amount of tutorials I watched to set up this camera you don't even want to know um but anyway yeah so that's uh that's the news but um do we have anything else to say yeah I don't think so just mention we're on video and you have Squidward behind you if anyone's interested and I do I have a little gallery wall here And I think I mentioned this in one of the other previous episodes. I don't know if I'm going to stay right here for video. But I do like my little gallery wall and it has a little bit of everything. So Squidward obviously is like the most out of place picture back there.

But Ian really loved it. It was Ian's obviously. And he was really proud of that piece of artwork. So he's up there. I have a couple pieces of artwork we've gotten on travels. Patagonia, Banff, Alaska. I have Coyotes B. Wylan from our pod boyfriends, tooth and claw, and Bigfoot. And like, can't go without the big foot.

Yeah. And you got the boss up there. Yeah, the boss. He's right. The boss. Can't forget about the boss. Yep. So, and, oh, my head's kind of right in front of it, but that piece directly behind me,

one of our listeners and one of the girls who went on our Banff trip, actually, her name's Jess, she created this, that picture for me. It's a drawing of Ian and I and the dogs out in Alabama Hills. And it's really, really special. So I love that one too. Thank you again, Jess. And I'm going for the cozy cabin vibes, clearly. Yeah, I'm waiting for you to just hop into that chair back there. I don't know why you're not there right now, actually. Honestly, it's because I'm still setting up the camera whole thing. And this has been the way I've figured it out. I think I have to get like an extra table that's tall enough or I don't know I'm just I'm figuring that out still so that stay hasn't popped up yet you'll watch a tutorial on it I'm sure yeah and then I'll end up in

the comfy chair because that's what that's for right for now I'm I'm here cool well I'll tell you a story so uh yeah we are going back to the year 1982 in August uh the 80s the 80s what a time to be alive if I wouldn't know. I wouldn't know either. August 16th, 1982, began much like any other for the employees of Gorman Brothers lumber in West Colonna,

British Columbia, Canada. However, as workers were clocking in for the day ahead, it was apparent that something was wrong, or rather, somebody was missing. 44-year-old Bob Johnson wasn't there. Bob was among the company's

longest employed and most reliable workers. He had been working there for over two decades and had never missed a day. In fact, he once cut off part of one of his fingers while on the job, but he went right back to work bright and early the next morning. Oof. That is dedication.

I can't relate. If I cut off my finger, I'd file for disability and leave for like a year. Yeah. Well, I couldn't also imagine never missing a day of work in over 20 years. No, me either. I am prone to, I mean, I guess it's different because now I have the podcast, but. I mean, you worked with me, you know. I sure do know.

It's like, where's Cassie? I don't know. I'm sick. And then I'm like posting in Costa Rica. It's too soon to talk about that because I was your shift lead and it pissed me off. Are you getting me right now? No, it wasn't that trip. It was something.

I don't even know what it was. It was a trip, though, I'm sure. Yeah. I would have never. I wouldn't have been concerned if you didn't show up to work because I would just be like, oh, well, she's sick. I'm living my life, okay? I know, and I get it now. I was acting my wage.

You were. And I, unfortunately, was not born with that gene. I would work for, like, I have worked for pennies, and it's not right. I mean, the amount of work you put in when we work together as vet techs, you were basically making pennies for the amount you were doing. That's true. But we've moved on. And we're in a new chapter of life. So back to Bob.

He had taken some vacation time off to go on a much-awaited two-week camping trip. His absence was odd, but not totally out of the realm of possibilities. If you think about it, especially on the tail end of a two-week-long vacation delays happen, things can happen. So it wasn't like an immediate, let's call the police, but it was definitely noted. And plus, Bob had been stoked for his vacation. He told everyone he knew about it as it was approaching, including his friends, his neighbors, and his co-workers. The plan was to visit Jasper National Park, and it would be a family affair. His wife, Jackie, who was 41, two daughters, Janet, who was 13, and Karen, who was 11, along with his in-laws, so Jackie's parents, George, who was 66, and Edith, who was 59.

And their last name is Bentley. So you'll hear the Johnson and Bentley's a lot. So that's what I'm referring to. And they were all going to be in attendance. And Bob was thrilled that his girls especially would be getting some great outdoor experience, especially at such a young age, and that he could spend some time fishing, which was one of his all-time favorite pastimes.

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Watch only on Prime. The Johnsons and the Bentley's plan was to meet up in Clearwater, a town tucked high in the Columbia Mountain Range of the Rocky Mountains. After loading their 1979, Plymouth Carvel Car Tocke. carrier with camping supplies, the Johnson's left first on Monday, August 2nd to allow for some time to stop and meet with friends along the way and kind of take their time getting there. And several days later, on August 8th, the family met up with George and Edith. George, who was recently retired from a lumber mill, was also really excited to spend time

with his family, especially his extended family, and see all that the Canada parks had to offer. They are beautiful. They are beautiful. And several days earlier, he strapped on an aluminum boat on top of his brand new silver Ford pickup truck as well as a cab camper. And they all meet up on the 8th of August and continued their journey together and heading towards Wells Gray Provincial Park. Sounds like they had a great trip planned. Wells Gray Park is located about 300 miles northeast of Vancouver in the interior of British Columbia. boasting over 1.3 million acres, it is British Columbia's fourth largest provincial park and is considered one of the greatest wilderness parks in all of North America. And I'm not sure if we've discussed the difference between provincial parks and national parks. I know we've covered a couple of them here and there over the years. But to kind of put it simply, a provincial park is kind of like a state park because it's managed by a particular province versus at a national level.

level, essentially. With a rich First Nations and homesteader past, Wells Gray, established in 1939, is renowned for its scenic hikes, one of which leads to Helcom Falls, which is actually twice the height of Niagara Falls. The landscape features glaciers, canyons, large lakes and river systems, fields of wildflowers, there are some mineral springs and lava beds, and people travel here for camping, guided trips, like canoe and rafting and hiking trips, and there's a lot of winter sports here as well, skiing and snowshoeing, and just trips across the back country. Aside from being an outdoor recreation dream, it also plays an important role in conservation, as it protects the largest remaining herd of mountain caribou and all of British Columbia. With three main ecosystems in the

park, it is also home to other iconic Canadian wildlife, so we're talking moose, wolves, grizzly, Brown Bear, Hougars, links, all of the above. They're all there. They're all there. And with so much to do and so much to see, it was a perfect choice for a stop on their two-week vacation. The family wanted to be close to the park, but away from people. So they settled on a campside just outside of park boundaries. And the site was actually on an old abandoned prison site, which we'll get into a little later as well.

because I, when that came up, I was like, what the hell does that mean? An abandoned prison. So they unloaded their belongings and made plans for the next day while sitting around the campfire. When it was time for bed, the adults retired to the camper while the girls tucked into their sleeping bags in a tent that they had, the adults had set up for them. The next day was full of fun. Janet and Karen spent the entire day in their swimsuits running through the woods and playing in the stream. They had set up near a stream intentionally because Bob really loved. fishing. So they spent a lot of time playing in the water and running through the woods and kind

of just enjoying the summertime. And then the next day, so the following day, the girls took off in the woods to help collect berries because their grandmother, Edith, loved baking and she was really renowned for her famous Huckleberry pies. And the girls were helping her collect the ingredients to bake. That's so wholesome. That's such a family thing. Huckleberry pie with your family. It looks very nice. After another full day of playing and another campsite dinner and some roasted marshmallows, their mother, Jackie, tucked them into bed while the adults enjoyed some time around

the campfire that evening. Karen was looking forward to sixth grade while Janet was about to make the leap into high school. And I can just imagine them up because obviously they were put to bed while the adults had their adult time. But you don't go to bed. You don't go to sleep. So I can just kind of imagine them.

tucked into their sleeping bags. Because it's towards the end of the summer. You know, it's kind of the last summer hurrah before they're going into another school year and just kind of talking about that and maybe what they were nervous of or excited about. Just like how kids do just staying up. And like you're laughing so much. Your parents are like, stop, shut up. Hey, go to bed.

Pipe it down. Yeah. But suddenly there were loud bangs, crashes, and utter chaos. that they heard erupt outside of their tent. Taking the girls by surprise, they lunged instinctively to the back of their tent. They could hear yells and screams and commotion coming from their family on the other side of their tent walls,

but everything happened so quickly. It was hard to tell exactly what was going on, especially because they couldn't see anything. After a few moments, Janet reached for the zipper on the door of her tent, nervously inching it downwards. Suddenly, it was clear that someone else, else had their hand on the zipper from the other side of the tent. A human shape was illuminated by the fire behind them and Janet could tell that the person was her mother. The zipper revealed

just enough of Jackie's eyes before another loud sound rang out so close that this time it sent Janet cowering back again. Like it just startled her so bad. But when she got back up and regained her composure, her mom was gone, and in her place, a man that they did not recognize. Oh, God. No one, especially Bob's coworkers and other members of the Bentley and Johnson families, had any idea of any of those events that had unfolded in the wilderness. So as the days dragged on and after repeated calls to his home with no answer and still no Bob, Al Bonar, the manager of the mill, made a call to the Royal Canadian Mountain

police to report him missing. The missing persons report that Al made, along with photos of the group provided by other members of the Bentley and Johnson family, were forwarded to Sergeant Barada. Law enforcement began a search of the park and turned to the public for some information. They knocked on doors in the surrounding area, spoke to everyone in their last known location, and set up an anonymous tip line. Someone did come forward with a piece of information. information, stating that they had seen two little girls that matched the description of Janet and

Karen, along with two older people who they're now assuming are their grandparents. And the witnesses said that they stopped at a gas station about 40 miles east of Clearwater and were asking people about the best places to go berry picking. So that narrows down their search of where to kind of hone in on where all of these people may be. The search, including private pilots, honed in on the area and searched over 600 square miles. Wow. Speculation and theories of what could have happened ran the gamut. I mean, there's everything from they got lost.

They're injured somewhere and unable to reach help. They ran off and joined a commune or a cult, like literally A to Z. Well, to have so many people missing is, it's weird. It is weird. Usually it's a, like maybe it's a couple or like, one. person, but to have this entire family that hasn't returned is weird. Exactly. And especially family that has no known reason to intentionally disappear. Yeah, like nothing's off. They're a normal family. They're on vacation. Like, why can't we reach any of them? Right. So the worry that something

more sinister could be at play was on the outskirts of people's minds, but it was nobody wanted to go there, you know, especially right away. They didn't want to assume the worst. So they had their fingers crossed that maybe they just all went out together and got turned around and towards the end of their vacation and maybe like they're just, they're just lost somewhere. Everyone was hoping for at least some sort of positive outcome. But as time went on and leads started to dry up after that one person that came forward about the berry picking thing. No one else had seen them really. And their search revealed not much of anything.

So the situation became more and more grim. Other members of the Bentley and Johnson family waited on baited breath, waiting by the phone for any update and spent hours with their eyes glued to their television sets, just hoping that the news would reveal some sort of information or update, or they would receive a call from law enforcement. Yeah. But days turned into weeks and nothing came. The first day of school came and went, and life somehow went on while the lives of Elaine, Bob's twin sister, and their other family members were completely paralyzed and just suspended. Teachers recall the first weeks of school without the Johnson girls, how it felt really fuzzy and unfocused and how no one could focus on anything, teachers and students included. I mean, there's such as good. glaring absence of these sisters that are supposed to do. And no reason why. Yeah. And this big

mystery surrounding where they were and where their parents and their grandparents were. And of course, that just led to a lot of rumors and conjecture, not only spreading throughout the halls of the school, but also through the streets of Clearwater and the surrounding area. Which must be so difficult for the family members, too, to hear all these, like, just talk. You know, no one knows what's going on. So just, I'm sure people had like wild theories and to hear that about people that you love is hard. Yeah. Then on September 13th, which is now nearly a month after anyone from the missing group was heard from, a discovery was made. A local man was out picking mushrooms in Wells Gray Park when he came across a burnt out vehicle off of Battle Mountain Road. He reported it and Sergeant Barado responded. The road wasn't truly a road made for passings. vehicles where the vehicle was found. It was more of like a trail used for offroading or biking or horseback riding. And the average car, especially this type of car, would have had some sort

of trouble getting up there unless it was intentionally driven up there. It's very odd that this car is here. But there it was. And the guy happened to stumble upon it. And the investigators rushed to the scene. Obviously, over a month, it's their first real big potential lead. And at this point, they have no idea if it's connected to the Bentley and Johnson case or not or just some random burnt-out car and another issue. But Sergeant Barada immediately clocked the license plate numbers on the car and recognize them right away as belonging to Bob Bentley's vehicle. Oh. It was charred and heavily damaged, but one glance inside prompted law.

enforcement to rope it off and call in the homicide team. The shell of the vehicle was intact, but the interior was completely burnt out. Inside in the backseat was a large amount of ash and what appeared to be human skeletal remains. As the site was sealed off, additional teams, including forensics and cadaver dogs arrived to process the area. And it wasn't immediately clear how many people were in the car just because of the extensive damage. But what was a apparent was the links that someone went to to attempt to destroy the scene. And it's so, I mean, I just covered the story in Australia, who the same thing, he attempted to burn the scene and destroy a bunch of evidence. And it's very reminiscent of that episode. So yeah, it was clear that

someone had used some type of accelerant on purpose to start to hide whatever was going on there, yeah. Yep. And the car had burned so hot that all the tires and the door handles were completely melted away. And there was an area of about 20 feet around the vehicle that was completely scorched out. So this was a huge blaze. I was going to ask that if anything around had caught on fire. And I'm surprised, I mean, you said it's a pretty remote area, but nobody saw this fire going on. I mean, and like I kind of described with Wells Gray, provincial, park. It's the fourth largest park in British Columbia. Like it's it's a huge area and a lot of it is backcountry and truly remote. And obviously this is off some sort of roadway, but it's not well

traveled. It's not like people are driving their cars around here all the time. Yeah. And it sounds like, I mean, even when this is being found, it's not like it was still hot or anything. It took a while before anyone even discovered that it was there. Yeah, this was a month. This was a month after the fact. So it's But for a while. There was also a lot of broken glass all over the place, and it was pretty clear that they were, that glass was pieces and chunks of the window and taillights and mirrors and things like that. So someone also intentionally, you know, destroyed this vehicle. As on-scene pathologist began processing the interior of the car, the complexity of the situation was quickly revealed. As teams scoured the scene for any sort of additional clues, attention shifted to the trunk of the car.

There were keys dangling from the lock, but the mechanism was jammed and a lot of it was melted. They weren't able to just pop the trunk. So they used a crowbar to pry it open. And investigators were met with the most sobering sight yet. Two little skulls, one with a bullet wound above an eye socket. Oh, my God. Investigator Mike Eastam recalls the moment that they popped open that trunk and the skulls were revealed. And he says, quote, the sight we had to look at was indescribable.

Two little skeletons or what was left of them. These two little skulls looking at us with their hollow eyes. It was quite evident at the time that it was the two children, Karen and Janet. That's so awful. I mean, all of it's awful, but there's just another aspect when it's a child. Two children. Two children. Yeah, it's just stuffed into the back.

of a car that was lit on fire. It's just like it's horrific. I can't even imagine being the person to come up to that scene, but then also to be the family members to know that that happened to someone that you loved and know. Like your niece or your nephew, you know, it's awful. The salvageable remains in the trunk as well as in the back seat were collected, labeled and photographed along with other personal effects that they could salvage and, including watches and pieces of jewelry. There was a belt buckle, just various things like that. An investigator started putting pieces together with what new information they had

and began entertaining new theories, because of course this changes everything. Where was the rest of the family? Who killed these people and why? And they even thought for a little while was it one of the family members? Because George Bentley, who, as a reminder is the grandfather, he was known to have a rifle. So maybe he shot and he stabbed and killed his family. Like at this point, they know that there's two skulls.

So clearly two, the remains of two individuals in the trunk. But what they found in the back of the car was so charred that they had no real clear idea right away. How many people were there? It could have been one. It could have everyone. They had no idea. Okay. So at this point, they think that it's possible.

that the entire family was in that car? Well, at this point, they're thinking that the two children were probably most definitely in the trunk. So there's those two. And because it was Bob Johnson's car and there was so little remains to work with and it wasn't clearly distinguishable as far. They weren't looking at bodies. They were looking at charred remains with some type of skeletal pieces in the mix.

They thought Bob might not be in that. No, they thought that the grandparents may not be in that. Oh, gotcha. Because this is Bob's car. So Bob and Jackie and their two children. So they're thinking, is that just them for? And then where are the grandparents? Because the grandparents and their vehicle, which is the truck with the boat and the camper,

like that's nowhere to be found. Oh, right, right. I totally forgot about that. So they're thinking that maybe they're off somewhere. They have no idea even where the campsite is. They have no, like they don't even know where they're camping. This was just someone reported this vehicle. Correct.

And then maybe they started thinking, okay, so if this is the Bentley family, did they maybe pick somebody up as a hitchhiker who then did this to them? There's just so little to go off of even though there was this kind of big development at the time. So that just opened up a huge new realm and world of possibilities. A lot of questions. So there was a lot of unanswered questions, little evidence to go off of. like I said, they still didn't understand the full picture.

They didn't know where their campsite was and whose remains were actually inside the vehicle or where the other vehicle was. Information slowly leaked out to the family through investigators and the media. Initially, it was thought that, like I said, four bodies were in the car, but who they belonged to was difficult to say. So, I mean, investigators obviously informed the other family members of what they discovered, but they could. couldn't definitively say how many people were there and who they were. So it's just so awful. But the forensics team worked rather quickly and identified the remains as belonging to the entire missing family.

Oh, my God. All four adults were piled into the back seat of that car and the two little girls were in the trunk. So there are six people and three generations of a family. completely wiped out. This is crazy. And I was thinking that someone was alive because of the way you told the beginning, because you had like, is there a witness?

Is that how we know? Yep. And you'll see. This is why it's a two-parter because there's a lot going on here. I was so hopeful someone was alive. Someone is alive, but it's not who you want it to be. Investigators immediately informed the Bentley and Johnson families as soon as they made positive IDs and they immediately took cover in their homes to hide away from the media storm

that absolutely took over their entire lives. I mean, the media was literally camped out in their driveways, followed them everywhere, just would not leave them alone. And obviously, that is not only super frustrating, but it's devastating when you're trying to grieve any type of loss. I don't agree with stuff like that at all. Like, that's not. I get the news media wants to put things out to the public, but to torment and invade the family who just lost their family is insane. And there should be laws about what year did this happen? This was in the 80s. So this was 1980.

So maybe things have gotten a little bit better since. Right. And I mean, obviously if somebody wants to make a statement, you know, if a family member wants to make a statement and approach the media on their own, that's one. thing, but to harass people who are in the most fragile time of their life is uncalled for. Yeah, I agree. Services for Bob, Jackie, Janet, Karen, George, and Edith were held 10 days after the bodies were discovered, although their physical remains were not released for burial until November. The service held at St. Paul's United Church in Kelowna was attended by over 300 people who

came to remember the family. They spoke of Bob, who was loved for his sense of humor and his honorable, respectful, and reliable nature. Jackie was remembered as a vibrant and helpful soul, and her daughters, Janet and Karen, were remembered for their love of fun and their kind and vibrant nature. The service complete, Bob's siblings and parents and members of the Bentley family went through all of their belongings and began the process of learning to live in a new reality without their loved one. while investigators were hard at work putting the pieces together of what exactly happened and who or whom was responsible. The top priority was to find the location of the Johnson-Bentley campsite and the Bentley's truck camper boat combination. Yeah, because if someone has it, then that might be the person. Right. And of course, if they find the campsite, it may lead to a lot more information.

It was thought that perhaps the killer or killers had driven off with the other vehicle. A detailed description of that vehicle was released to the public and soon thousands of calls poured in with alleged sightings of this missing truck camper boat. And investigators also hit the streets, knocked on doors and set up a large-scale search for information of the area. That included help from federal and provincial services and a lot of. of volunteers. The first big tip came in from someone on vacation who said to have seen the exact vehicle and camper combination at a gas station. And it didn't have a family inside, but rather a pair of shaggy-looking middle-aged men. After several interviews of that witnessed and the gas station employees, sketches were made of the two suspects and those sketches were

dispersed to the public. A Wells Gray Park employee, also came forward with some information. He remembered seeing a vehicle that matched the description of the Bentley's at a location known as the Old Bear Creek Prison Site. Mike Eastam and his partner arrived and immediately saw items that linked the Bentley's and Johnson's to that site, such as Bob's favorite beer, six seats, set up around a fire, marshmallow roasting sticks, and more.

Additional search team members soon arrived and discovered more and more items, that not only confirmed that this was the campsite that they were looking for and that was tied to the family, but the murder scene as well, as six 22 caliber shell cartridges were found. Despite the new information, movement on the case slowed to a near stop. 1982 led into 1983 and despite a large cash reward for any information leading to an arrest and investigating over 12,000 individual tips, the case grew cold. As Spring approached, the investigative team came up with an innovative idea to swirl up public interest in the case,

hoping to jog somebody's memory and spread the news of the case to places it may not have reached. Because if you think about it, I mean, this is a huge case. I've never heard of anything. I mean, well, unfortunately, I guess I have hearing of there's a lot of families. annihilators and stuff out there. But I mean, this is almost unprecedented, especially in this time in this area for an entire family to be, to be murdered and disposed of this way. And you would think that it would reach everywhere in Canada, but you never know. Canada's huge. And there's a lot of more remote areas. And then there's also people traveling from the United States into Canada that

maybe are in the area anymore, something that I think of, especially because of the location brings in a lot of tourism. Exactly. So the investigative team came up with kind of like a, I don't want to say a publicity stunt. It was more like a publicity campaign. So it involved driving an exact replica of the Bentley, the truck with the cab camper and the boat, like exact replica across all of Canada. And two members of the investigative team were in charge of the drive.

And on the back of the truck, they put this huge hand-painted sign in red lettering that read Johnson and Bentley murders Wells Gray Park, BC. Have you seen a similar truck slash camper similar since August 1982? If so, contact your local police. And it was written in both English and in French. and they drove that with that huge sign across all of Canada. And this was totally under the investigators were the ones who initiated all this, not the family. Yep.

Wow. I wonder, just like my first thought for that is I wonder what the budget was for that. You know, like I just to buy an exact replica and then hire your investigators to drive across the country. I mean, that is real dedication.

That's a lot of, like, if you were like the family paid for this and they wanted to do it, be like, that makes sense. But hearing that the Canadian government did that to try and find these people is really, it's really nice. And it's, I'm sure it was really comforting for the family to know that they were that serious about finding whoever did this. Yeah. It really showed how dedicated they were to finding who was responsible for this or any information that would lead to that conclusion. So they spent three weeks driving across Canada, stopping to speak to hundreds of people and handing out flyers, not only of the, of the family, but also of the suspect sketches that the composite sketches from that witness at the gas station that saw the two shaggy middle-aged men. The replica resulted in thousands of new tips, but one in particular stood out. A man in Ontario claimed to have seen the vehicle and suspects. They had approached him. So according to this witness, the two suspects had approached him,

who was the owner of a mechanic shop and asked for a paint job of their truck and also stated they were in need of getting rid of a 22 caliber rifle. Oh, sketchy. Sketchy. And other details given by this mechanic matched information about the truck in particular

that the police had not yet released to the public. And so with that in a renewed sense of promise, they followed that lead. which was actually bringing them down into the Detroit area. And they were on route when they got a call from Sergeant Barana. And the sergeant said, hey, you need to come home because we found the truck. And it's not in Detroit.

I just got chills when you said that, by the way. Like, I don't know if the camera will pick it up. Hopefully with a high-tech camera we got going on, we should be able to see those goosebumps. I know. Well, they're there if you can't see them, but... The truck was found by a local forestry workers on Trophy Mountain, just miles from the original vehicle. Oh. In early October of 1983, two forestry workers discovered the burnt-out truck, but did not report it to the police for weeks as they were staying in a remote ranger cabin and hadn't heard the news of the new truck replica. attempt and campaign and they just they obviously knew of the murders but they didn't realize that

they were now looking for this exact other vehicle. And there was any connection right to this. Right. So they noted it and they were planning on reporting it but they didn't know how dire of a of a fine like such a big find this would be. Yeah. The situation ended up becoming a rather large embarrassment for the police force and the media came down really hard. on the local law enforcement, not only because the truck was right under their noses for over a year now, the area it was found in was formally searched during the original searches. And forestry workers had also been within 100 feet of it the previous year when they were planting trees in the wake of a forest fire. So on paper, it seemed like kind of like a big face paw moment. Like what? Yeah, like how did you?

you miss this? Right. How did you miss this? But in reality, it's it's not really difficult to see why it wasn't super easily spotted. First of all, that forest fire that came through changed the color of the truck from its original color. It burnt it out, made it blend in a lot more cohesively to the landscape. It was found at a really high elevation, nearly 4,800 feet. It was off another really rough terrain trail that was pretty concealed in the woodline, and it sat feet away from a large, steep, sheer cliffside that went directly into a canyon. Things are concealed in the wilderness. It's a lot harder to find. The trees in front of the vehicle had also clearly been chopped down in what looked like an attempt to make a path for the vehicle to be driven off the cliff and driven straight down into the.

the canyon to obviously hide it further. But it got stuck. It got stuck at the last, like, because it was right kind of on the precipice of this sheer drop off. Yeah. But this person, whoever's behind it, clearly is going through like extended lengths to get rid of this evidence. And it's really concerning because it, I don't know, the first thing I'm thinking of is that they're going through such an extensive way to hide this. It makes me feel like they've either attempted to do this before or they've done something similar. In the past. You'll find out.

Oh, no. That means it right. Again, this scene had little evidence to work with, but the location in and of itself was a huge indicator that whoever did this must have had intimate knowledge of this area, which means investigators knew they were now looking for a local. Because before, they're like, is this a transient? Is this someone from here? Not here?

Did they come to visit? it now they could be anywhere. Like, who is this person? And now they're like, everything's kind of coming together. This person must be very familiar, especially with this park. So we're looking for someone closer to home than maybe we initially thought. Scary. The area was shocked.

A crime of this magnitude simply did not happen in places like clear water, yet here it was. Once again, new energy was infused into the investigation with this new discovery and led to another phrase of door-to-door canvassing and reassessment of the case so far and everything that they had as of yet. During this time, police first heard the name David Shearing. While over 20 officers were formally speaking to people, other officers were more covert, spending time at local bars and dives and local hangout spots just to gather intel, simply listening in to what locals were talking about. Yeah, the small town rumors going around.

Like, I feel like if you get into small town areas, like little things pop up and you can kind of get a feel of the people that are around you and any rumors that are going on that maybe no one's reported to police for whatever reasons that they have. Right. And it's one thing to go and formally speak, you know, door to door to everyone in town, but they may not reveal the information that is spoken about more loosely. amongst locals for various reasons. So they were coming at it from a bunch of different angles.

So one of these informants that was kind of just hanging out, obviously not in uniform and just not easy dropping. Just another local. Yeah. He picked up a story. David Shearing, a local man, had apparently run over another man several years prior on the Wells Gray Highway and gotten away with it. So immediately they're like, okay, that's a problem.

That may not be related to this. What do you mean run over like he killed someone? Yeah, like a hit and run. He was responsible for a hit and run. Everyone in town knew it was him, but the police didn't. And so at first that was kind of like an aside. Like, okay, so that might not be related to the Bentley Johnson situation and case at this moment, but that's a problem we need to address.

Yeah, like who is this guy? Right. But the very next day, police came into contact with someone who brought up that name again. The man who answered the door was fairly compliant with police questioning. He acknowledged that he knew of the discovery of the truck as well as the case as a whole. Of course, it's all over the news. It's been the biggest talk of the town for a year now. But he was quick to shut down his wife who kind of popped in behind him when police opened the door.

You know, she wanted to be involved in the conversation as well. And he kind of like piped her down and didn't let her speak much. And especially when she said, oh, are you going to tell them about David in that shot out truck? So that's when they heard the name David, the David again. So they're like, wait, what was that? What are you talking about? And they're like, he's like shushing his wife. Like, don't say that.

Yeah. He literally was like, yeah. Kind of just like, nope. Rest her off. off and investigators left without further pressing, although they were paying a lot of attention to that exchange. Yeah. And they were very quick to put surveillance on that home.

Because they're hiding something because they're not guy is. The wife is ready to chat. Yep. And chat she did. So as soon as the man left the following day, because of course they're watching his movements, police picked up the wife and brought her in for questioning. and I mean, the information she provided proved to be invaluable. Because the man she spoke of, David Shearing, had approached her and her husband and wondered if they knew how to register a stolen vehicle and how to patch up a bullet hole in the door.

Oh. And that that bullet hole was key because that was what investigators called their holdback. So it was this key piece of information pertinent to the case that they had. hadn't publicly released. So they knew if somebody described that piece of information that hold back, they had to have knowledge of the case that didn't come from a public source. How did they know that there was a bullet hole in the door? Because they have the truck. Oh, right, right, right, right, right, right. I'm forgetting that. I'm like, okay, don't mind me. Yeah, okay. Right, right. They have the truck. So they have the truck. This woman knows about the

hold out piece of information that no one else does. So that means that they really need to find and speak to this David Shearing. So a little bit about him. David Shearing was born on April 10th of 1959 and grew up in British Columbia. His father had worked at the minimum security Bear Creek prison that that campsite was on and also raised cattle on a 160 acre farm where Shearing grew up. the youngest of three children, he was known as a quiet, shy kid, but a really good student, who excelled especially in math and mechanics. After graduating from Clearwater High School in 1977, he went on to study mechanics at Caribou College with plans to work on big rigs after completing the course.

But that plan didn't exactly pan out, and he ended up working just odd jobs, odd labor jobs, locally while living at home, and even clearing, ski trails for Wells Gray Provincial Park every single year. So very unassuming. Very normal. Very normal, maybe. But he also is a local who has intimate knowledge of the old prison site and the park. Yes.

As an adult, he remained what many would describe as a loner, not very social and largely kept to himself, even when he was out and about in town. So he wasn't exactly a recluse or permit by any means, but he did his own thing. In the spring of 1982, his father passed away after a battle with cancer, which sharing took really hard. He wasn't really close with his sister or his brother, and obviously his dad passing away is a pretty traumatic event. And a year later, in the fall of 1983, just four months prior to the police hearing his

name for the first time, he moved north to Tumblr Ridge in search of work. This was a small town at the time that was growing. really rapidly. It was undergoing this massive boom from local lumber and coal mining operations. And because of that, the town hired thousands of young men in particular for various labor jobs and odd jobs. Many of those individuals, though, were laying low from law enforcement. For one reason or another, they were either ex-cons or they were evading law or just kind of just wanted to do their own thing and fly under the radar. And a lot of those workers stayed on the outskirts of town in work camps or for those wanting to stay even further away from everyone who didn't want to

pay camp dues, they made makeshift cabins out in the bush. And Shearing was one of those members of that type of group. And he lived in a cabin with a small group of men that he had met while he was there in a cabin fully constructed of and furnished with stolen material. materials, equipment, and goods. Shearing, along with two other men, were pulled over by the police the previous fall shortly after he first arrived at camp. It turns out, it's a long story, but it's pertinent to our story. So the condensed version is, it turns out he was driving a truck with nearly $40,000 worth of construction equipment in the back. And at the time, there were no reports of any missing or stolen equipment, but the scene and the behavior of Shearing and the

two other guys was just unmistakably sketchy. Yeah, the officer knew. And he knew these guys, you know, he knew, he was a local law enforcement. He knew a lot of these guys were trouble. It was his first time running into them or knowing their type or whatever. Right. So after a really tense standoff and one arrest, Shearing was let off the hook, but remained on police radar, kind of like,

I got my eyes on you, type of thing. And shortly after a tip linking the equipment noted in the back of that truck was actually stolen, it's like, hey, actually, yeah, all that equipment, it was taken. The police were dispatched to the Shearing cabin shack in the woods. After a lengthy chase and another tense confrontation, including a near shootout, Shearing was arrested. Details started coming in from around the work camps about Shearing at this time, including his threatening remarks to his landlord to which he owed a lot of money. I mean, he threatened to kill him and beat him up and this whole thing.

He also ragged a lot about derailing a train at one point, even though that couldn't be confirmed. And he also, there was a lot of stories coming out about him from the women in the camp about his unnatural sexual behaviors. Like what? I don't know. it didn't elaborate. It just says unnatural in quotes from them. Oh, okay. That sounds scary. But despite the stories, he had no formal criminal record and was set free under the condition that he reported to the police station once a week. And he did that. He showed up to every appointment on time. He was completely compliant with, you know, what he had to do under the conditions of his release.

And during one of those visits to the police station, his weekly check-in, the whole station was a buzz. There was a lot of people chatting. Obviously something big had happened. And he inquired it. He was like, what's going on? And it turned out it was the day that the truck was found in the canyon. And sharing had some things to say about it. He made some comments to the officers how he wasn't, he wasn't super surprised why it took so long to find because,

the bush was so thick in that area of the park and he knew because he grew up close by. In fact, he has spent nearly his entire life up until four months prior because that's when he moved to this town for work. He spent nearly his entire life living in a home that was two miles from where the bodies of the Johnsons and Bentley's were discovered. Immediate red flag. Immediately. He's like, I know that area intimately and I know exactly where you're talking about and I get why it took you so long. It almost feels like to me it's a brag. Like I get why it took you so long. That was a good spot is what it's feeling like to me the way you're describing it.

It's like I know that area really well. It was a good spot. Well, he went on to describe just how shocked his community was before leaving the office. You know, he's like, because it is his community that was affected the most. So he made some comments about that and how it was a big tragedy and yada yada. It had a bad taste in my mouth for him, for sure. Soon after Sergeant Barada and Sergeant Eastam made contact with law enforcement near the work camps who had been monitoring Shearing. Because now, so those were kind of two separate parallel things going on.

So all of the arrest and shearing being monitored by that, the local law enforcement over by the work camps was happening as this case, was unfolding. So now that David Shearing was brought to the attention of Sergeant Barada and Easton, they called over to the work camp and the law enforcement that was monitoring him and said, you know, hey, we have suspicions of this individual and being in connection to this murder case. And now he was really put on heavy surveillance because before, obviously, he had to check in. he was on police radar, but now everyone is aware that he is a suspect in this murder case, and they're really cracking down on making sure that he's monitored. Does he know he's a suspect?

No. But everyone else does? The law enforcement. Okay, but not like the town. Correct. Okay. On November 20th, police made their move. Shearing was with a friend who had warrants out for his arrest, and police knew it.

After arresting his companion, they took. turned to shearing their true target of this entire confrontation and lulled him into coming down to the station to speak about some other matters. After repeatedly assuring that after repeating assuring, that's a tongue twister. Yeah, that is. That he was not under arrest. He agreed to go with them. Even sitting in the front seat of the squad car for the 45 minute drive down to the station. and he was chatting with the officer about a bunch of different things and even commented to the officer driving the vehicle how he occasionally used his father's 22 caliber Remington rifle for hunting.

Like, huh, weird. Peculiar. But, I mean, again, not really. I mean, having a gun is not. Yeah, and that rifle, I mean, I'm sure a lot of people have it in the area too. It's just, it's not as a piece of a larger hole. Yeah. You know.

An hour later, sharing was setting in front of Sergeant Eastam in a interview room. And the sergeant knew just how much was riding on this upcoming conversation because investigators have now been working on this case for over 15 months. And they only had circumstantial evidence right now. So they're just going off of a hunch and what they really feel. And what they really needed was a confession. that's what they needed. So they didn't want to scare him away or alert him to their true intentions right away. You just wanted him to slip up.

Right. Somewhere. So the sergeant began the interview, very relaxed, very light, and asked Shearing, who still didn't know the exact reason for exactly why he was there, just different questions about himself, his interests, his work life, his family, his hobbies, social life. any struggles he had like a very very relaxed and as time went on sharing responded to that and became more relaxed himself because at first he was kind of like what is all this about but then he kind of settled in responded to the the tone of the conversation and opened up and had like a very

lax chat with the sergeant who had obviously other motives serious intentions and other motives Sergeant Isam carefully asked questions as time went on that got more specific and more serious, eventually asking Shearing if he knew why they called him in. And he replied, no, I'm not sure. I don't have anything to hide. I'm an honest guy. Isam emphasized Shearing's right to legal counsel and underlined his ability to leave at any point in time. Yet, David Shearing stayed and continued the conversation. Despite the sergeant revealing that he was a detective working on the Johnson Bentley murder case, he brought up the hit and run incident on Wells Gray Highway.

And at that, Shearing, who had tensed up again at the mention of the murder investigation, you know, when the sergeant was like, yeah, I'm here investigating the murder case, but I got to ask you about this hit and run we've been hearing about. So he's kind of on guard, but then it looked like he kind of relaxed a little bit when he then pivoted to the hit and run, which is also very bad, but it kind of just... Not as bad. Not as bad. I mean, it's really bad, but it's not an entire family bad.

Right. So he seemed to relax. And surprisingly, he admitted to hitting a man on the highway. And he described in full detail what had happened. He had been on his way home. He had been drinking. It was shortly after the passing of his father. And he turned to drinking a lot.

during that period of time. He said he was drunk. And he ran over this person. And he hit him so hard that he remembers his truck bouncing over this body. It's awful. That's awful. He said, quote, he must have been dead instantly. I was scared shitless. Not that scared. He left. Well, he went on to admit that he was not alone. He was actually driving with another man. His name was Doug. And they both decided immediately not to tell anyone about the incident, especially after they stopped to see who it was. And it was a gentleman named Dave Carter. And they actually knew him from the area. So they didn't want to say that they were responsible. Obviously, they had other like kind of at this point in time. This was before all the stolen equipment type

of thing, but they, you know, they, they, they were locals. They didn't exactly have the best reputation already. Someone's life. They were drinking and driving. I know, but we're talking about someone who operates differently, mentally. So they kind of just agreed to never speak about it again and keep their mouth shut. Shearing revealed that he was upset by it and that he thought about it a lot. But he also said, I kind of thought it was common. knowledge that everyone knew that I was responsible around town, but the police never knew. So he was kind of like, yeah, you got me, but everyone kind of already knew it was me. My cat's out of the bag has been for a while welcome. That's so weird though. Like it's an odd reaction to have. Yeah,

like, oh, I thought everyone already knew. It's over with now. It's like, it's not over with. It's a big deal. This is still really bad. Yeah. There's no statue of limitations on that that I'm aware of. So with little trouble, Eastam actually got cheering to write down a full confession about this hit and run. And he did so over the next hour through sniffles and sobs.

Like he was getting more and more upset over this, probably that he was caught less out of feeling bad about it. And eventually they, went over the statement together and Shearing, she basically asked what was going to happen to him now? You know, what's next? Like, what's going to happen to me? And the sergeant replied, he didn't know. It was just his job to collect and present evidence to the prosecutors and it was kind of out of his hands now. He did his duty. But then he brought up the true reason why Shearing was there, which is, of course, the murder case. Eastam told David that they knew a lot about him,

not just from their conversation that they've had in the interview room over the last couple hours, but because they had been watching him and investigating him. The sergeant revealed details about Shearing's past and character that they had discovered through their own independent investigation, and Shearing immediately tensed up. He folded his arms, he crossed his legs, he balled his fists together, he immediately clammed up.

Like the jig is up. Yeah. He was like, oh, oh, no. This is taking a turn. Gentle coaxing became more serious as the sergeant honed in on the murders and pride cheering for how he felt about them. Shearing admitted to knowing where they were killed at the Bear Creek campsite, which was at the time another piece of concealed information.

Oh. Like, how do you know this? How do you know this information? Yeah. And at this point in time, especially when he reveals that that vital piece of, you know, info. Yeah. He said, you know, you really should get a lawyer. He was like, yeah, you should have got a lawyer an hour ago when you were writing a confession.

Right. Like, I'm not trying to look out for you because this is exactly what he wants a confession. Like this is what he wants, but he doesn't want anything to get thrown out because they didn't offer him. He wanted to make it abundantly clear. You have the right to an legal counsel. You should get on board with that. You're free to go at any time. I'm not holding you.

You're not formally. You're not arrested under arrest right now. Like, he's making it very clear. But David just keeps talking, even though he goes. A guilty conscience or something. Well, he did say, he did say, yeah, maybe I should. But he never formally requested one. So he's like, okay, we're going to keep talking.

I'm going to keep kind of milking you for information, anything you have to say. As the sergeant started shedding his relaxed and carefree act, Shearing became more and more uncomfortable. His lips began to quiver, his eyes began to well, and his body trembled as he tucked his head into his chest. You knew that we'd come for you, didn't you, David? Between sobs, sharing lifted his head and looked right at the investigator directly in the eyes for the first time in hours.

Yeah, he said, I suppose I did. and that is where I will leave you for part to one. Oh my God, a cliffhanger. I do have to ask, I do have to ask, how long has he been being questioned for? Just a couple hours. It's not anything like those forced confession tapes you see. Okay. Of like holding them against their will.

They're like sleep deprived. I mean, this guy's getting them coffee. Do you want coffee? Do you want this? Do you want that? You're free to go. Get a lawyer. Like it's because I know it can kind of maybe your mind can be like,

oh, well, is this a forced confession? thing we're going to have to deal with now and it's not. Okay. I just, because there's a part two, I'm expecting some type of twist or like a lot more information to come out, something that's making this a part two episode, which makes me. There is a lot more information, especially which I'm going to forewarn everyone now. And of course, I'll do a warning the top of next week's episode as well, this part two. But it gets pretty brutal as far as what actually happens. into the family because David Shearing goes into detail about that. It's pretty gnarly. It's not as

straightforward as I kind of alluded to as far as, well, there's six, six cartridges. And it was just kind of, it's, it's, it's, there's a lot going on. Okay. Um, there's a lot more information. There's more to the story. And of course, there's more to not just David Shearing, um, about the family as a whole and their love, they're surviving loved ones and their quest for justice and there's a lot to still go over. So that's why I'm going to leave you here. Okay, well, I'm definitely anticipating the next episode because we're not recording it for a little while. So not even I'm going to know right away what happens. But this is a crazy story. This is a really sad story. I know. So thank you. Did I write her name now? Hmm. I always say I'm going to do that.

I'm going to be like, I'm going to give credit to people who say they recommend in this case. And guess what? I don't have it written down, but if I do, I will shout you out on the next episode because this was an email from someone that said, hey, you should really look into this case. So that's how I found it. Yeah. We do love episode recommendations. We definitely find stories based on that. So if anyone's listening and you have a recommendation, I think email is probably the best because Instagram messages get lost. Wait a darn second. You have a submission form on our website. I do. Also, you can email us. That's totally fine too. We'll compile it in the same spot, but it is just like more streamlined and really is so lovely. If you go onto our website, there's a new episode tab where not

only you can search every episode by keyword, it has our entire backlog on there. There's also a link to a submission form, which will bring you to a, like a Google Doc where you can write your suggestion, link any supportive, you know, articles or book recommendations. that have to do with that recommendation, and it'll streamline it into a nice Google sheet for us that is nice and organized. And that way we both have access to the same thing because we have a lot of lists separately going on. We sure do. So anyway, there's that if you're interested as well.

Cool. Yeah. Well, thank you for telling the story and all the research you're doing for it. It's definitely interesting. It's really sad, but I am anticipating eagerly waiting to hear what the outcome. miss. Yeah. And if you don't want to wait, there is, of course, I'll shout it out on the next episode as well, but the book that I alluded to that I found. Oh, yes. There's a book. Yeah, so there's actually two that I found, but I only have read one in its entirety. And it is titled Murder Time 6,

the true story of the Wells Gray Park Murders. And the second one is actually written by Sergeant Michael Easton, who I'm talking about so much in the episode. and it's titled The Seventh Shadow, The Wilderness Manhunt for a Mass Murderer by Michael Easton. Yeah. So there's that. Very interesting. All right.

Well, this is where we'll leave you. We will see you next time. 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 NPA. p.depodcast.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 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 npaddpodcast.com. And please rate, review, and subscribe from wherever you listen to podcasts.

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