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The Watcher: The Wells Gray Provincial Park Family Murders

Rorie Jane McCormack
After the Fact
Published in
10 min readMay 14, 2024
Image: Rorie Jane McCormack, Propensity: A True Crime Anthology Podcast

In August 1982, three generations of a single family disappeared from a camping trip in British Columbia. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) began an investigation but diverted resources to chase down a phantom theory of the crime. When a burnt-out vehicle was found in the wilderness, they realised that the true perpetrator had been hiding in plain sight all along. This is the story of the Bentley and Johnson family murders.

Listen to the podcast episode on this case here:

The Setting

Wells Gray Park is a 5000km² provincial park, located in Interior British Columbia. There are a total of 39 different waterfalls contained within the park, which is also home to dramatic mountain peaks, wildflower meadows and more than 200 km of hiking trails. In winter, the park is popular with skiers, and in summer, crowds of locals and tourists alike descend on the park for hiking, fishing, canoeing, whitewater rafting and camping.

There are three separate entrances to the park, Murtle Lake to the west, Mahood Lake…

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After the Fact
After the Fact

Published in After the Fact

After the Fact looks at true crime cases, historical crime and dark history.

Rorie Jane McCormack
Rorie Jane McCormack

Written by Rorie Jane McCormack

Lover of words. Creator of things. Curator of dark curiosities. Host of Propensity: A True Crime Anthology Podcast. Writer of Books (Coming 2024).

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