Member-only story
The Watcher: The Wells Gray Provincial Park Family Murders
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…