Crime Off The Grid

An anniversary hike. A 1,200-foot fall. A case ruled an accident for nearly two decades. When new evidence surfaced, investigators reopened the death of Bernadette Vander Meer and charged her husband with murder. We break down the affidavit, reveal investigative details not reported in most news stories, and explain how detectives transformed an apparent accident into a homicide investigation. Plu...

Hear what happens when a ranger in an old ill-equipped patrol car is in pursuit of an international master of disguise.  You can't make this stuff up!  Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information  about the podcast, check out https://crimeoffthegrid.com/ Check out our Merch! !  ht...

In 2014, a routine contact in Arizona’s Blue Ridge area of the Coconino National Forest turned into a fight for survival. When a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer investigated a vehicle parked off a forest road, he had no idea the encounter would escalate into a violent struggle. Sources: Flag Film Productions, LLC In Person Account Reenactment of Officer Involved Shooting Support the sh...

In the summer of 2024, Yosemite dispatchers became increasingly concerned about a man making repeated harassing calls to the park's 911 center. What started as an investigation into nuisance phone calls and an illegal campsite hidden near a trailhead would quickly escalate into threats, violence, and an assault on a National Park Service ranger. Source: United States District Court; Eastern Distri...

News stories for this week include a “fall” off the cliff incident from Tettegouche State Park on Lake Superior, In Oregon, 2 women were kidnapped from their tent off of a popular hiking trail, human remains of a missing National Laboratory employee found in a New Mexico forest; A drone harassing a grizzly sow and cubs in Yellowstone,  multiple arrests made in a national forest in Georgia, and a 2...

Nancy and Tara are in Alaska this week, so we're dusting off this story from the vault that took place on the border of America's largest national park, Wrangell St Elias, in Alaska. A hippie turned religious fundamentalist moves his family of 15 children to Alaska and creates what he calls "Hillbilly Heaven."  He picks a fight with the National Park Service and all of his abuses on his family get...

In the darkness of Shenandoah National Park’s Mathews Arm Campground, terrified campers called 911 after hearing screams, threats of murder, and violent sounds coming from a nearby tent. Rangers soon uncovered a brutal domestic violence attack involving a hatchet, a shattered windshield, and...lots of blood. Source Material: U.S. District Court Western District of Virginia (Harrisonburg) CRIMINAL...

USFS LEO (and former NPS ranger) Brian Fields shares some wild tales from his time in the US Forest Service - we're not kidding - you can't make this stuff up.  But still... just a day in the life of a law enforcement officer sworn to protect a few million acres of our public lands. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https://...

On this episode of Crime Off the Grid, we examine a brutal domestic violence case that unfolded on remote Third Beach in Olympic National Park. Rangers, local law enforcement, and EMS responded after a woman called 911 reporting that her boyfriend had violently assaulted her at their campsite. What investigators uncovered revealed a disturbing pattern of abuse spanning multiple states, violated pr...

From the newsroom this episode, we bring an update on a case we covered where a woman was pushed off a cliff, discuss someone challenging Yellowstone's laws, fatal falls, mysterious disappearances, and BEARS BEARS BEARS! Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information  about the podca...

In this Ranger Tales, we reconnect with Ranger Robert who shares tales about protecting "Bob the Bear" and he just keeps on sharing many tales as a bonus!  It's like Robert, Tara, and Nancy were just sitting around the fire swapping similar stories!   Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For mo...

Campgrounds are generally some of the safest places you can be—filled with families, hikers, anglers, and people looking for a quiet night under the stars. There’s an unspoken understanding out there: shared space, mutual respect, and a kind of watchful neighbor mentality, even among strangers. But that same openness is what makes them unpredictable. You don’t choose who ends up in the site next t...

A birthday hike on Oahu’s dangerous Pali Puka Trail turns into a brutal fight for survival when a woman’s husband allegedly attacks her on a narrow ridge with sheer 1,000-foot drop-offs. What begins as a trip to repair a strained marriage quickly unravels into a terrifying scene of violence, desperate resistance, and a race against time—until two passing hikers stumble upon the unthinkable. Drawin...

From the Ranger Vault- Ranger Tales- From the Henry's Fork of the Snake River: This is a story that you truly just can't make up.  Listen to Special Agent Loren share a tale that will test your gag reflex! Maybe don't listen on a full stomach! And I bet you learn a new word in this episode... Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation...

From Yellowstone National Park… sometimes criminals visit our parks, sometimes they travel through our parks, and SOMETIMES, a murderer lives and works in our parks. But in this episode, Ranger Mike was THERE for it!!! Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more information  about the podcast...

In the remote Blue Hills of northwestern Wisconsin—an ancient, rugged landscape of dense forest, steep ridges, and checkerboarded public and private land—a confrontation between hunters on opening weekend of deer season spirals into one of the deadliest crimes in the region’s history. What follows is a shocking and brutal attack that leaves six people dead and two others seriously wounded. Support...

In March 2026, a quiet corner of southern Utah was shattered by an unthinkable crime. In this episode, we examine the murders of three women in remote Wayne County—including two hikers at the Cockscomb Trailhead along Scenic Byway 12—and the chilling series of events that unfolded across multiple states before the suspect was finally arrested. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon!...

From the Pine Flats Campground of the Boise National Forest... Listen to Ranger Paul share a cautionary tale that emphasizes the saying, "watch out for the company you keep."  A con man swindler made his way into the inner circle of the rangers and stole the heart of a camper, among other things... Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time don...

Top stories in this episode: A man pled guilty to assaulting rangers with his vehicle in Glen Canyon NRA, a manhunt ensued in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a reckless driver with illegal weapons caught in Yellowstone, 2 bodies found in Bryce Canyon NP, a multi-agency poaching operation successfully ended in Idaho, and a trickster coyote in Yellowstone is still at it. Support the show! For bonus...

We return to Yellowstone National Park , where a park employee seeks help after being stalked and threatened by her ex-boyfriend. What begins as a report quickly escalates into an assault and a multi-park manhunt, exposing how coercive control and intimate partner violence can follow victims even into America’s most remote workplaces—and how rangers respond when danger shows up. Support the show!...

On an ordinary workday at Chiricahua National Monument, a routine maintenance assignment turns into a life-or-death crime. When a park employee is found brutally injured in a remote restroom and her government vehicle vanishes, rangers and local authorities quickly realize this is no accident—it’s an attempted murder. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGri...

Park Ranger Gary Moses shares the story of a father and daughter's hike in Glacier National Park that becomes a hike from hell when a bear attacks the two of them. Ranger Gary responds as the medic and recounts the incident and the rescue on the ledge of a cliff at 7,000' elevation.  Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https:/...

Park Ranger John is a 20 year veteran as a park ranger in the Washington State Park system.  He joins Tara and Nancy and shares some funny stories (the kind you can't make up) from his time as a state park ranger.  You can learn more abou Park Ranger John by checking out his website - parkrangerjohn.com. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one ti...

In June 2004, a 22-year-old college student was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, who had been stalking her for months. The suspect fled the state and triggered a multi-agency manhunt that stretched across the Southeast and ended with a high-risk pursuit in the rugged terrain of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a...

From the newsroom this episode… a body from a murder was dumped in a popular southern National Park, 2 bodies were discovered by rangers in a Utah National Park, a mass murder attack on a popular ski area was thwarted, and…quicksand is REAL! Support the show! For bonus content join our Patreon! patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGrid For a one time donation : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotg For more informa...