Blood Trails – Ep. 5: A Big Woods Cold Case

MeatEater | Host: Jordan Sillars | Date: November 27, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Blood Trails, host Jordan Sillars investigates one of Maine’s oldest unsolved mysteries: the disappearance of Ludger Belanger, a 25-year-old hunter who went missing during the season’s first snowstorm in 1975. What began as a presumed case of a lost hunter soon revealed itself as a chilling story of violence, drugs, deception, and the unrelenting drive of family and investigators to seek the truth in the wild woods of Maine. Drawing from first-hand accounts, law enforcement insights, and the work of author Darren Wooster, the episode untangles both the known facts and the perennial pain left behind.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance of Ludger Belanger

• Timeline & Circumstances ([01:29]–[04:59])
  • On November 25, 1975, Ludger, his wife Linda, and his brother John went out to hunt deer in heavy snow.
  • Linda describes the last time she saw Ludger:

    "And then about 9 o'clock, we just said, well, we're gonna go home... But Ludgi wanted to get off at the top of the hill and walk down through the field in the woods to the county road and then home." – Linda Belanger ([02:51])

  • Ludger planned to hunt for an hour before returning home to drive Linda to work. He never came back. Concern mounted as a neighbor-led search proved fruitless, prompting a call to game wardens.
  • Emotional impact on Linda and her young children is highlighted.

2. Early Investigation & Community Response

• Search and Emotional Toll ([04:59]–[06:08])
  • State police ruled out immediate involvement, but wardens committed to the search.
  • Linda recalls:

    "I kind of got a little messed up emotionally, and they sent me to the hospital in an ambulance." – Linda Belanger ([04:04])

  • The community’s support was crucial, but distressing.

3. Turning a Hunting Case into a Cold Case

• Initial Theories and Local Knowledge ([06:21]–[09:25])

  • Game wardens involved: Lt. John Marsh & Dick Hennessy.
  • Author Darren Wooster’s book provides insights through retired warden recollections, verified by Detective Josh Haynes.

• Wardens’ Perspective:

  "They figured he probably just went out partying. The most plausible thing was that he wasn’t, you know, he didn’t report home because he was out doing something that he didn’t want to tell his wife about." – Darren Wooster ([09:05])

4. Breakthroughs in the Search

• Key Evidence and Reconstruction ([10:12]–[14:18])

  • A neighbor, Clayton Crosby, shows wardens where Ludger would have hunted.
  • Fresh tracks, blood, and a spent cartridge found, indicating Ludger shot and field-dressed a deer before dragging it to a road for pickup.
  • No sign of Ludger or the deer—rising suspicions.

• Linda on Ludger’s Habits:

  "He wasn't a heavy drinker. Anyway, he might have a beer on the weekend if my dad was around, but I don't think I ever saw him intoxicated." – Linda Belanger ([13:51])

5. Clues in the Snow & A Lucky Break

• Details of the Encounter ([14:18]–[16:43])

  • Wardens reconstruct scene: male smoker and passenger with cane picked up Ludger; he rides in the backseat, no struggle.
  • A beer can, boot prints, and notably, a receipt from a local garage under snow, perfectly timestamped.

• On the Receipt’s Significance:

  "Because the receipt had the suspect's residence on it, their phone number, everything was right there. It was sort of like a handwritten note of, here's your suspect, here's where you go and find him." – Darren Wooster ([16:28])

6. Suspects, Garage Visit, and the Buick Special

• Confronting Suspects and Gathering Suspect Profiles ([16:43]–[22:33])

  • Receipt leads to Sully's garage; Sully describes two angry, intoxicated men with a radiator-damaged green '65 Buick Special and a shotgun on the seat.
  • Suspects: A (smoker, large Vietnam vet, imposing and combative) & B (passenger, cane, Vietnam vet, smaller stature).

  "He was home alone and he stonewalled them at first..." – Darren Wooster ([21:04])

  • Wardens confront Suspect A, search home, find hunting gear suspiciously cleaned and a suspiciously locked basement room.

7. Tantalizing but Inadmissible Evidence

• Meat in the Freezer, Missing Gun, and Cleared Out Evidence ([22:33]–[25:36])
  • Marsh finds warm deer meat in freezer—contradicting suspect's claims.
  • Marsh secretly takes a package for testing.
  • Officer concern:

    "Warden Hennessy was a bit freaked out over that because obviously he would never be admissible in court." – Darren Wooster ([25:05])

8. Destroyed Evidence and Mockery

• Return for Search, But House Is Compromised ([27:34]–[31:29])

  • Week later with search warrant, wardens find the house in party chaos, evidence gone, and suspect A mocking them (newspaper article about the crime taped on freezer).
  • Padlock on suspect A’s basement door flipped direction; find only some residue evidence (broken gun sight consistent with Ludger’s rifle).

  "He was mocking them and he was being quite obstinate." – Darren Wooster ([30:04])

9. The Elusive Buick and Physical Evidence

• Impounding the Buick ([31:29]–[33:35])
  • Buick found cleaned, stripped of incriminating material—but warden finds deer hair in trunk, buckshot pellet with beard hair in spare tire well.
  • Forensics at the time unable to definitively tie evidence to Ludger.

10. Theories of the Crime – Informants and Confession

• Suspect B’s Drunken Boast & Family Theories ([33:35]–[36:47])

  • Informant claims: suspects picked up Ludger, stole deer, shot him in car after dispute.

  • Linda’s theory echoes this account:

    "I think that's where he might have made a stink... and then he realized they weren't taking him home. I don't know, but that's where I think they shot him in the back seat." – Linda Belanger ([36:13])

  • Investigators remain skeptical—testimony unreliable due to witness’s substance abuse, eventual death, and Supect B’s steadfast denial.

11. Suspects’ Fate and Frustrations

• Insurance Fraud, House Explosion, and Continuing Stonewalling ([39:11]–[40:17])

  • Suspect A attempts to blow up his own home in a staged accident, likely for insurance (and possibly to kill his wife), but is critically injured and dies in hospital before police question him.
  • Suspect B, alive but infirm, never confesses.
  • Family and community members remain fearful of suspects’ kin.

  "They would come onto our page and be very nasty, you know, threatening." – Linda Belanger ([40:26])

12. The Family’s Ongoing Search for Closure

• Desire to Recover Ludger’s Remains ([41:24]–[42:57])
  • Family wants to “lay him to rest with love and dignity.”
  • Not seeking vengeance; only peace and answers.

  "The only remaining suspect is not well and probably not long for this world... So as far as, like, getting justice, that's not going to happen." – Tracy Belanger ([42:20])

13. Unyielding Search and the Cold Case Movement

• Law Enforcement’s Continued Efforts ([43:06]–[44:41])

  • Massive searches, innovative forensic attempts—even draining ponds and quarry dives—turn up nothing.
  • Detective Haynes and current police keep the case open, hoping for tips or relevant evidence like the missing car seat.

• Linda’s Advocacy:

  • Helped establish Maine’s first cold case unit, lobbying for state funding.

  "It was a law. We just wanted, we wanted a cold case unit. It was really great to watch all those lights light up green... It all lit up in our favor and it was really a great feeling to get it approved." – Linda Belanger ([46:03])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Linda on Family Pain:

  "He wasn't here for the moments, the Special Times, the Daily Times, he just... he was robbed of them." ([06:08])

• Investigative Frustration:

  "All the potential evidence the wardens had seen on their previous visit was gone. The hunting clothes, the deer meat, the knife, the gun, the gear, all of it, nowhere to be seen." – Jordan Sillars ([29:29])

• Darren Wooster on Haunted Investigators:

  "They all seem to have experiences and stories that sort of haunts them and they can't put away with. This was the case that for John, I could tell he really had some misgivings about and really just had that personal drive." ([44:09])

• Tracy on Why’s That Never Satisfy:

  "You're not going to get a why that you go, 'oh, that makes sense.' Because you'd have to be psychotic to agree with that. So a why is never going to be good. It's never going to be okay." ([42:02])

• Linda on Hope for Resolution:

  "50 years is a long time. It's been a never ending nightmare. Some days are okay, some days aren't. But to find his remains... and we want to lay him to rest the right way, I can't even explain the feeling." ([46:38])

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [02:51] Linda details last moments with Ludger
• [07:34] Author Darren Wooster introduces his unique access
• [10:12] Breakthrough: neighbor reveals Ludger’s likely hunting spot
• [16:15] Discovery of incriminating garage receipt
• [17:18] Sully the mechanic describes the suspects’ irate visit
• [21:04] Wardens confront Suspect A
• [25:05] Marsh secretly removes deer meat for evidence
• [29:29] All possible evidence wiped from suspect A’s home
• [33:11] Buick found cleaned, but damning items (deer hair, pellet) discovered
• [36:13] Linda’s theory on where Ludger was murdered
• [39:11] Suspect A’s house explosion and subsequent death
• [41:24] Family expresses hopes for a dignified burial, not vengeance
• [43:06] Description of years-long, multi-agency search efforts
• [46:03] Linda recounts establishing Maine’s cold case unit

Action & Contact

• If you have any information — especially about the back seat from a green 1965 Buick Special — contact:
  • Maine State Police, Major Crimes Unit, Unsolved Division, at 207-624-7076.

Tone & Style

Jordan Sillars’ narration balances meticulous investigative detail with deeply human empathy for the Belanger family. Contributions from Linda, Tracy, Darren Wooster, and law enforcement bring authenticity, sorrow, and honesty to the podcast’s true-crime-in-the-wild approach.

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass in investigative storytelling, weaving together forest lore, true crime, and unending human hope. Blood Trails continues its mission of spotlighting real, unsolved outdoor mysteries—reminding listeners that, sometimes, even in the wild, the coldest trails deserve to be followed until the story finds its resting place.