The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 787: True Crime in the Outdoors
Nov 3, 2025
In this enlightening conversation, Jordan Sillars, a Doctor of English and host of the new investigative outdoor true-crime podcast 'Blood Trails', shares chilling tales of outdoor murders and unresolved disappearances. He recounts the haunting case of David Stack, a turkey hunter shot in Virginia, and the mysterious 1977 disappearance of Bob Christian. The duo also delves into the intricacies of interviewing suspects in public, the challenges of cold case investigations, and cultural tensions involving Hmong hunters. Prepare for a spine-tingling exploration of true crime in the wilderness!
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County Lines Can Kill Cases
- Nearby incidents and jurisdictional boundaries can fracture investigations and destroy evidence continuity.
- Jordan notes the nun's cabin break-in and county-line split likely prevented connecting that scene to Bob Christian's disappearance.
Family Kept In The Dark For Decades
- Danielle Houchins was found raped and drowned at a river access site in 1996; the family learned many details decades later.
- Access to the case file in 2019 revealed the coroner's undetermined ruling despite clear homicide indicators.
Pretext Interview Yields Admissions On Tape
- Investigators used a casual, public interview pretext to record Paul, a BLM fisheries biologist, about multiple river cases.
- The technique aimed to avoid Miranda complications while getting him on tape about presence and knowledge of sites.
