Blood Trails

S2E8: The Mysterious Death of Jon Young

In January 2019, retired archeologist Dr. Jon Young was found dead in the smoldering ruins of the adobe home he'd built by hand outside Taos, New Mexico. The fire marshal found evidence of accelerants in five locations. The autopsy flagged a suspicious hole in his skull. A neighbor saw unfamiliar men outside the house minutes before the blaze. And yet, no one has ever been charged — because, incredibly, no law enforcement agency ever opened a homicide investigation. Host Jordan Sillars traces the cold trail left by a fascinating man whose life's work may have gotten him killed, and asks the question his family has been asking for seven years: what really happened on Mirlo Road? Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File [https://www.themeateater.com/series/blood-trails-case-files]. Follow Blood Trails on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blood-trails/id1848185680], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3WRqMmdRVZ3MjOZb0uK0ob?si=e9a15992ce65400a], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIQv7voZWHy4_K5Yu3T9pgFXpFzQDiCsf], iHeart [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-blood-trails-301855865], Pandora [https://www.pandora.com/podcast/blood-trails/PC:1001110258], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/85c4a194-a3e7-435c-bd54-9f8653bce49b/blood-trails]. Connect with Jordan Sillars [https://www.themeateater.com/people/jordan-sillars] and MeatEater [https://www.themeateater.com/] MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterPodcastNetwork] Blood Trails on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bloodtrailspod/] Jordan Sillars on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jordan.sillars/] MeatEater on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/meateater], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/MeatEaterTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor], Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaa0mleeU128Ad5iM1RFIg], and Youtube Clips [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterClips] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

S2E7: Finding Justice for Dustin Kjersem

In October of 2024, Dustin Kjersem drove into the mountains south of Bozeman, Montana, to prepare for a romantic weekend of camping. He was never seen alive again. When his girlfriend finally discovered his body, she thought he'd been attacked by a bear. But the truth, it turned out, was far more disturbing. To find Dustin's killer, investigators followed a trail that led through a bloody campsite, a missing axe, two tequila glasses, and a pair of cell phones found by a man who claimed he saw them in a dream. This is a story about finding justice for a man who had never made an enemy — a carpenter, a father, and a friend who welcomed a stranger into his tent without a second thought. Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File [https://www.themeateater.com/series/blood-trails-case-files]. Follow Blood Trails on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blood-trails/id1848185680], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3WRqMmdRVZ3MjOZb0uK0ob?si=e9a15992ce65400a], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIQv7voZWHy4_K5Yu3T9pgFXpFzQDiCsf], iHeart [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-blood-trails-301855865], Pandora [https://www.pandora.com/podcast/blood-trails/PC:1001110258], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/85c4a194-a3e7-435c-bd54-9f8653bce49b/blood-trails]. Connect with Jordan Sillars [https://www.themeateater.com/people/jordan-sillars] and MeatEater [https://www.themeateater.com/] MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterPodcastNetwork] Blood Trails on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bloodtrailspod/] Jordan Sillars on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jordan.sillars/] MeatEater on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/meateater], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/MeatEaterTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor], Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaa0mleeU128Ad5iM1RFIg], and Youtube Clips [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterClips] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

S2E6: The Disappearance of Bill Roland

When Bill Roland went missing from Lake Sam Rayburn in 1997, nothing about the case made sense. Weeks later, his boat turned up hidden in a cove, shot multiple times with a shotgun in an apparent attempt to sink it. His truck was found burned. His trailer was somewhere else entirely. And Bill was nowhere to be found. Investigators were left to piece together a puzzle with missing parts: a fisherman who may have had no enemies… or may have had more than anyone realized. Was this a random encounter on the water or something that started long before he ever launched his boat? Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File [https://www.themeateater.com/series/blood-trails-case-files]. Follow Blood Trails on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blood-trails/id1848185680], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3WRqMmdRVZ3MjOZb0uK0ob?si=e9a15992ce65400a], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIQv7voZWHy4_K5Yu3T9pgFXpFzQDiCsf], iHeart [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-blood-trails-301855865], Pandora [https://www.pandora.com/podcast/blood-trails/PC:1001110258], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/85c4a194-a3e7-435c-bd54-9f8653bce49b/blood-trails]. Connect with Jordan Sillars [https://www.themeateater.com/people/jordan-sillars] and MeatEater [https://www.themeateater.com/] MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterPodcastNetwork] Blood Trails on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bloodtrailspod/] Jordan Sillars on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jordan.sillars/] MeatEater on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/meateater], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/MeatEaterTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor], Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaa0mleeU128Ad5iM1RFIg], and Youtube Clips [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterClips] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

S2E5: The Assassination of Tommy Ballard

Tommy Ballard refused to let his daughter’s disappearance fade away. After Crystal Rogers vanished in 2015, Ballard became the face of the search. He organized volunteers, worked with investigators, and publicly called out the man he believed was responsible. A year later, while hunting with his grandson, Ballard was shot and killed. The attack was precise. Intentional. And, to many, not a coincidence. As investigators worked to unravel both cases, one question loomed over everything: was Tommy Ballard murdered because he got too close to the truth? Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File [https://www.themeateater.com/series/blood-trails-case-files]. Follow Blood Trails on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blood-trails/id1848185680], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3WRqMmdRVZ3MjOZb0uK0ob?si=e9a15992ce65400a], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIQv7voZWHy4_K5Yu3T9pgFXpFzQDiCsf], iHeart [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-blood-trails-301855865], Pandora [https://www.pandora.com/podcast/blood-trails/PC:1001110258], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/85c4a194-a3e7-435c-bd54-9f8653bce49b/blood-trails]. Connect with Jordan Sillars [https://www.themeateater.com/people/jordan-sillars] and MeatEater [https://www.themeateater.com/] MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterPodcastNetwork] Blood Trails on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bloodtrailspod/] Jordan Sillars on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jordan.sillars/] MeatEater on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/meateater], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/MeatEaterTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor], Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaa0mleeU128Ad5iM1RFIg], and Youtube Clips [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterClips] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

S2E4: Catching the Killer of Neil LaFave

On his birthday in 1971, Wisconsin game warden Neil LaFave went out to post “No Hunting” signs. He never came home. The next morning, searchers found his body buried in a shallow grave. The brutality stunned investigators: multiple gunshots, and a horrifying attempt to conceal the crime. Suspicion quickly centered on a young poacher with a history of conflict with LaFave. But proving it would take something new: one of the first wiretaps ever used in a Wisconsin murder case. What followed was a breakthrough that changed the investigation, and revealed just how far someone was willing to go to avoid getting caught. Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File [https://www.themeateater.com/series/blood-trails-case-files]. Follow Blood Trails on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blood-trails/id1848185680], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3WRqMmdRVZ3MjOZb0uK0ob?si=e9a15992ce65400a], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIQv7voZWHy4_K5Yu3T9pgFXpFzQDiCsf], iHeart [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-blood-trails-301855865], Pandora [https://www.pandora.com/podcast/blood-trails/PC:1001110258], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/85c4a194-a3e7-435c-bd54-9f8653bce49b/blood-trails]. Connect with Jordan Sillars [https://www.themeateater.com/people/jordan-sillars] and MeatEater [https://www.themeateater.com/] MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterPodcastNetwork] Blood Trails on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bloodtrailspod/] Jordan Sillars on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jordan.sillars/] MeatEater on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/meateater], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/MeatEaterTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor], Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaa0mleeU128Ad5iM1RFIg], and Youtube Clips [https://www.youtube.com/@MeatEaterClips] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.