On a snowy November morning in 1975, 25-year-old hunter Ludger Belanger stepped into the woods with his .30-30 and the hope of backstraps for dinner. But what started as a simple deer hunt quickly became one of Maine’s oldest—and most haunting—unsolved cases. At first, game wardens thought Ludger had lost his way. But the tracks in the snow told another story: a shot deer, a missing rifle, tire marks on a back road, and two strangers in a green Buick. Join host Jordan Sillars as this episode of Blood Trails follows a path that twists into drunken parties, threats, explosions, and suspects who always seemed one step ahead. Nearly fifty years later, Ludger’s wife, children, and grandchildren are still searching for the truth—and for the body of the man stolen from them.

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Deer hunting is a way of life in central Minnesota, but on November 7th, 2016, the shot that echoed through the forest didn’t mark the end of a deer hunt—it marked the beginning of a mystery that still haunts a family and their community. Terry Brisk, a devoted father of four and lifelong outdoorsman, set out to check his stands—and never returned. His teenage son found him lying in the leaves, shot at close range with his own rifle. What followed was a nightmare of unanswered questions, fractured family bonds, and a community haunted by suspicion. Was Terry killed by a trespasser caught on his land? Or was the threat closer—inside the circle of people he trusted most? In this episode of Blood Trails, host Jordan Sillars tackles these questions and more as nearly a decade later, rumors, grief, and fear still hang over Morrison County like fog. These days, in these woods, the silence speaks louder than the gunfire that killed Terry Brisk.

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Paul Hutchinson's suicide was his final act of cowardice. He saved himself the pain of facing his community, not to mention Danni’s family. Meanwhile, his actions introduced a whole new level of pain and confusion to those who knew him and cared about him. Those people have been left to grapple with questions without the opportunity to ever have them answered. In this episode, we talk to Paul's family, friends, coworkers, and hunting partners to ask whether there was any indication in Paul's character or behavior that he'd killed an innocent girl nearly 30 years ago. We also talk with investigators and a forensic psychologist to determine the likelihood that Paul committed that horrible atrocity and then went on to live a normal, crime-free life. Was Danni Paul's only victim? Or will law enforcement find a string of crimes in the same areas he traveled to hunt turkeys, waterfowl, and big game?

Want more Blood Trails? Check out this episode's Case File.

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MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Jordan Sillars on Instagram

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.