The Night the Desert Turned Deadly | Ep. 60

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Miracle Files – "The Night the Desert Turned Deadly"

Episode 60 | Radio America | February 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, hosts and sisters Emily Jones and Holly Worthington recount the miraculous survival of Brody Young, a Utah state ranger ambushed near Moab in 2010. More than just a harrowing tale of violence and resilience, the episode explores themes of divine guidance, the will to survive, and profound forgiveness, offering listeners an inspiring alternative to darker true-crime narratives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Foreboding and Preparation

• Brody Young experienced an intense premonition to "get fit," prompting him to dramatically improve his physical condition months before his attack.
  • Brody Young (02:19): "It was a really strong impression. Get fit."
  • [02:19-02:32]
• Hosts discuss how following such inner promptings may be life-saving, emphasizing the importance of heeding intuition.

2. The Night of the Attack

• [03:21-06:32]

  • Brody, during a routine patrol at Poison Spider Mesa, encounters a man (using the name "Michael Orr") in a parked car.
  • As Brody turns to leave, the man opens fire, shooting Brody multiple times at close range and nearly killing him.
  • Despite being shot nine times—including wounds to both arms, his back, and torso—Brody fights back, manages to return fire, and engages in a tense cat-and-mouse exchange around his truck.
  • His bulletproof vest stops several shots but does not prevent life-threatening injuries.

• Brody Young (07:28): "I was presented with the choice. You can either lie down or you can get up and fight. And I had never trained to die."

  • [07:28]

3. Miraculous Survival

• [12:55-17:24]
  • Left alone and bleeding, Brody experiences a vivid vision of his family, which gives him the will to crawl to his truck and call for help.
  • Brody credits this mental image—seeing the faces of his wife and three children—as his lifeline.
    • Brody Young (14:04): "I want to be a dad still. I want to live with them, grow up with them, be a part of their lives."
    • [14:04]
  • He reaches his radio and calmly communicates his situation.
    • Brody Young (15:52): "I take a breath, and then I say, 'price 2 Alpha 69 was my number at the time. I'm at Poison Spider Mesa trailhead. I've been shot. Please hurry.'"
    • [15:52]

4. Medical Ordeal

• [17:24-20:28]

  • Brody uses techniques he read about—slowing his breathing to preserve life—while waiting for rescue.
  • Paramedics drill into his bone to administer fluids because his veins have collapsed—a procedure so painful it eclipsed even the gunshot wounds.
    • Brody Young (19:19): "Here I am, shot nine times, right, looking at death's door. And this pain was indescribable. They usually do it on unconscious people."
    • [19:19]

• Doctors state that six out of the nine wounds were, by standard medical definition, fatal. Yet Brody survives, a testament he and the hosts attribute to both faith and the physical preparation he felt divinely prompted to undertake.

5. Family, Faith, and Miraculous Assurance

• [20:28-22:48]
  • Brody's wife, Wendy, receives a spiritual assurance that Brody will survive as she rushes to the hospital, bringing her peace in a chaotic ER situation.
    • Brody Young (21:50): "She’s just told that Brody’s going to live, he’s going to be okay. And so she walked into the hospital knowing this."
    • [21:50]

6. Brody’s Recovery and Return to Life

• [23:45-24:37]
  • After weeks in a coma, including a medical emergency where his heart raced for three days, Brody awakes.
  • Doctors confirm that his improved fitness was instrumental in his survival:
    • Brody Young (24:31): "Doctor said, had I not had the girth or the shape I was in, I wouldn’t be here today."
    • [24:31]

7. Forgiveness and Closure

• [25:34-27:48]
  • Brody details his struggle not just with physical trauma, but with fear and anxiety, sharing that forgiveness of his attacker was essential to his spiritual and mental healing.
    • Brody Young (25:34): "First I had to forgive him. And this was really crucial for me to move on."
    • [25:34]
  • His attacker, Lance Arellano, disappears after the shooting. The search for him becomes a years-long manhunt.
  • Five years later, two local brothers, inspired by determination and perhaps providence, discover Arellano’s remains. This finally brings closure to Brody and the community.
    • Brody Young (31:02): "Two local kids... opened a map... searched... found this green waterproof bag... led down into this crack... and it was, you know, unfortunately, bones in a sleeping bag."
    • [31:02]

8. Grace, Resilience, and the Nature of Miracles

• Reflection on Forgiveness: Brody expresses genuine empathy for his attacker and hopes to “meet again” in a place where the violence between them will “be like water under a bridge.”
  • Brody Young (27:15): "Honestly, I don't think at that point... he was just in a rough time in his life, and I happened to be the one who crossed it, and... we really did find forgiveness."
  • [27:15]
• Brody is now back to full duty as a ranger, cherishing his every day as a gift.
• On Miracles:
  • Brody Young (33:39): “Miracles are to help jumpstart our belief in a greater, higher calling, a higher purpose. Someone who’s watching out for us and someone who cares for us. So that’s what miracles are for.”
  • [33:39]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Survival:
  • "I had never trained to die." — Brody Young [07:28]
• On Willpower:
  • "I want to be a dad still. I want to live with them, grow up with them, be a part of their lives." — Brody Young [14:04]
• On Calm in Chaos:
  • "I can't sound hysterical. So I think about what I'm gonna say. I take a breath, and then I say... I've been shot. Please hurry." — Brody Young [15:52]
• On Forgiveness:
  • "First I had to forgive him. And this was really crucial for me to move on." — Brody Young [25:34]
• On Miracles:
  • "Miracles are to help jumpstart our belief in a greater, higher calling, a higher purpose. Someone who's watching out for us and someone who cares for us. So that's what miracles are for." — Brody Young [33:39]

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• Early Premonition / "Get Fit": [02:19–02:32]
• Ambush Begins: [05:28–06:32]
• Brody’s Will to Survive: [07:28]
• Vision of Family: [14:04–14:43]
• Radio for Help: [15:52]
• Medical Ordeal (Bone Drill): [19:19]
• Assurance for Brody’s Wife: [21:50]
• Return from Coma: [24:31]
• Forgiveness for Attacker: [25:34]
• Discovery of Attacker’s Body: [31:02]
• Understanding of Miracles: [33:39]

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Host Reflections & Takeaways

• Emily & Holly reflect on divine guidance and how intuition or spiritual prompting can have real-life impacts in critical moments.
• On personal perseverance and love: The vision of his family, and Brody’s love for them, becomes a powerful metaphor for how love can help us overcome even the darkest situations.
• On the value of physical preparedness: They discuss in detail how Brody’s fitness directly contributed to his ability to survive, referencing medical explanations for greater resilience in trauma cases.
• On closure and emotional healing: The story’s final act, as the community and Brody receive closure through the recovery of Arellano’s remains, is framed as a continuation of the miraculous process.

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Final Words & Brody’s Message

“Miracles are to help jumpstart our belief in a greater, higher calling, a higher purpose. Someone who’s watching out for us and someone who cares for us. So that’s what miracles are for.”
— Brody Young [33:39]

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Recommended for anyone seeking hope and inspiration—this episode of The Miracle Files is a profound reminder of resilience, the power of love, and the grace made possible through forgiveness.

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Transcript

[Emily Jones]

Brody was within feet of his truck. A shot rang out. A sudden, violent explosion tore through his left arm.

[Brody Young]

As I was turning away, I could just see more muzzle flash and him coming at me.

[Emily Jones]

His attacker was advancing, still firing.

[Brody Young]

I kind of turned and went to the ground. And then I just saw muzzle flash and boom, boom, boom. One round after the other. And life was becoming pretty short for me.

[Emily Jones]

This is the Miracle Files. I'm Emily Jones.

[Holly Worthington]

And I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking more light in our lives.

[Emily Jones]

So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable, uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us on this journey.

[Holly Worthington]

Welcome back to the Miracle Files. Today's story is intense.

[Emily Jones]

Yeah, one of our most intense stories, one of my favorites definitely will have you on the edge of your seat.

[Holly Worthington]

Yes. And we want to give a quick shout out to Erin Gowen, one of our listeners who sent us this story about her neighbor, Brody Young.

[Emily Jones]

Yeah. As soon as we heard this story, we knew we wanted to share it. So thank you, Erin.

[Holly Worthington]

Yes, and stay tuned, because we have some really interesting information for you after the story's over.

[Emily Jones]

All right, let's jump in. Moab, Utah, with its red cliffs and desert landscape, is situated along the Colorado river near the Four Corners region of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Just a few miles away are two national parks, Canyonlands and Arches, along with two state parks, Dead Horse Point and the newly created Raptor State Park. And here, in this almost otherworldly place is where state ranger Brody Young, a husband and father of three, called home. As a sworn law enforcement ranger, Brody was tasked with protecting both people and property across the surrounding parks. In early 2010, Brody had been gripped by an unshakable feeling.

[Brody Young]

I had a strong premonition to get fit. It was cardio. You know, push ups, sit ups, run in kind of the CrossFit craze that we have now. But it was a really strong impression. Get fit.

[Emily Jones]

And so Brody did as the feeling prompted him to do. He worked out. He changed his diet. He got fit. All of this helped in his work as a ranger. But Brody lived each day not knowing exactly why he'd felt that impression so strongly. Nine months had passed since Brody had that initial feeling. It was now November 19, 2010. As the sun set, a warm, quiet night settled over the desert. Brody had picked up an extra shift. Just routine overtime. Nothing about this night suggested it would be any different from the countless times he'd patrolled the wild terrain near Moab. The remote Poison Spider Mesa, with its notoriously steep 4x4 mountain bike and hiking trails, would be Brody's first check of the night.

[Brody Young]

So my supervisor and I, we would go out, look for parties, underage kids, drinking, doing drugs and stuff, and we would come back, meet up together, and then we'd go contact these groups together. Well, on this particular night, we separated, scouted. But before we came back, I came upon this parking lot of Poison Spider Mesa trailhead.

[Emily Jones]

The trailhead was quiet when Brody rolled in. It was a breathtaking location, and hikers or other trail users would often get back late from their adventures, leaving their cars behind in the parking lot. Even after it got dark tonight, Brody wasn't surprised to see one car sitting in the back of the lot. He decided he would jot down the license plate and come back later to check and make sure its owner had gotten back safe. But when Brody neared the vehicle, he saw something he wasn't expecting. Or more accurately, something, someone.

[Brody Young]

I got out. I walked around. I wrote the license plate down. I came up to the driver's side rear window and saw the man in the back seat.

[Emily Jones]

The man appeared to be sleeping. Brody knocked on his window. The man stirred, calm, cooperative, and opened his car door.

[Brody Young]

I told him who I was. I asked if he was okay. I talked about where he could go camp because he wasn't allowed to camp there. And I asked for name and date of birth, which is really common in my world. And he gave me the name of Michael Orr.

[Emily Jones]

Michael Orr. If that name sounds familiar, that's because it's the name of the famous NFL football player that the movie the Blind side was made about. But the Blind side movie had just come out in 2009, and Brody hadn't seen it. He believed Michael Oher was the man's real name.

[Brody Young]

So I wrote that name down. Michael Orr and a fake date of birth. And then I asked him to wait there, and I went to walk back towards my vehicle to get in. Little did I know I was about to get blindsided.

[Emily Jones]

Brody was within feet of his truck, but as he turned to get into it, a shot rang out. He didn't just see the muzzle flash, he felt it. A sudden, violent explosion tore through his left arm, his dominant side shattering his humorous bone. He looked back at the man in shock.

[Brody Young]

I yelled out immediately, I've been shot. And I turned away. As I was turning away, I could just see more muzzle flash and him coming at me.

[Emily Jones]

Three more shots slammed into Brody's back, though just an arm's length. His truck felt miles away, and his attacker was advancing, still firing. Brody collapsed.

[Brody Young]

Now, I was wearing a vest that night, a bullet resistant vest. It's made to stop most bullets. But three rounds to the vest, I kind of turned and went to the ground. And then I just saw muzzle flash and him advancing on me. Boom, boom, boom. One round after the other.

[Emily Jones]

The man now stood over him, firing down close range. One shot after another. Nine bullets tore into Brody's body. Two hit his left arm. One hit his right. One embedded in his spine. Another missed his femoral artery by millimeters. One landed in his hip, another in his groin. A tenth was stopped by a stack of credit cards in a wallet in Brody's right cargo pants pocket, sparing his femur. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the shooting stopped. Silence. Brody lay on the ground, blood pooling beneath him, every movement a sharp stab of pain. Concealed in the shadows, his attacker waited. For a moment, Brody stayed still, grappling with what to do next.

[Brody Young]

Turns out he had 15 rounds and his gun. It was a Glock 40 caliber at the time and hit me with nine of those rounds. And I was presented with the choice. You can either lie down or you can get up and fight. And I had never trained to die.

[Emily Jones]

Brody's body was going numb, but he rolled, clawed, and got to his feet. Somewhere in the haze of pain and adrenaline, muscle memory kicked in. He dragged himself upright and staggered to the back of his truck. A flash of movement caught his eye as his attacker circled to the front of the truck. Both men edged slowly along opposite sides of the vehicle, measuring the other with every step.

[Brody Young]

And we were playing this kind of cat and mouse game around my truck, and I was trying to figure out why my left arm wouldn't move.

[Emily Jones]

Brody went to reach for his own gun, held in a holster on his left hand. But reality ripped through him like another bullet. His left arm refused to move. Instead, it dangled limply at his side, useless.

[Brody Young]

As we were chasing each other around the truck, I finally gathered myself and used my non dominant hand to reach and grab the handgun on my hip. I was on the right side. He was on the left side in front of my open door, holding his.

[Emily Jones]

Firearm with his trembling right hand. Brody struggled to lift and point the gun. His right arm, too, had been shot and felt heavy and numb. He saw a silhouette through the window. Brody fired and fired until his bullets ran out, doing his best to aim, but uncertain if a Single bullet had found its mark.

[Brody Young]

I was counting my rounds because when your gun runs empty, you've got to reload it. And we do that two handed. But I practiced using my non dominant hand. And so what I did was I released the magazine, put the gun between my knees, upside down. I grabbed a magazine out of my hip right there on my belt. I dropped the first magazine, but we carry two, thankfully. So I grabbed the second and I put it into the, you know, the handle of my gun. I seated it and then I used my rear bumper and the rear sight to chamber around and went back into the fight. And turns out he was still in the same spot. I could see his silhouette, so I fired more rounds. He retreated to the front of my truck. So this is a night, if you think about it, it's a warm night before the storm. And he comes in front of my headlights and in front of his car and he raises his hands.

[Emily Jones]

Was this a trick? Brody couldn't be sure, but he hoped the man was truly surrendering. At last, Brody rounded his truck, still holding his gun with his non dominant hand.

[Brody Young]

And so I stopped shooting. I advanced on him, up to my rear view mirror on the right side, and he says, you got me.

[Emily Jones]

Brody was ready to finally take control of the situation. But it wasn't to be. He tried to step forward, but his adrenaline was gone. Blood draining from his body. His head spun, his vision grew dark. Consciousness began slipping from his grasp. Brody stumbled backwards. He was going down and there was nothing he could do to stop it. As he collapsed, he fired more shots until the world spiraled into darkness.

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[Emily Jones]

Early birds always rise to the occasion for summer vacation planning because early gets you closer to the action. So don't be late. Book your next vacation early on VRBO and save over $120. Rise and shine average savings $141. Select homes only. While Brody lay unconscious, his attacker made his escape, leaving Brody to die there in the red dirt. Back in his car, the man tore out of the parking lot in a cloud of dust. Brody's bloodied body lay on the ground, unseeing. Unhearing, unresponsive. No one knew he was there or that he needed help. After several minutes, or maybe a lifetime later, Brody began to stir. His eyes blinked wide as his body screamed in pain. It hadn't been a nightmare. Brody stared up at the night sky. The moon covered in misty clouds. It felt so dark. Moving seemed impossible. He lay there alone. No backup, no lights, no sirens. Just the distant hum of wind and a few crickets there in the Red Rock canyons. As Brody tried to clear his head, a terrifying realization swirl swept over him. He didn't have time to wait for someone to come looking for him.

[Brody Young]

My only lifeline was to get to that truck radio for the slight chance I was going to be able to call out for help. So I'm on my back. I'm 25ft, 30ft away from that radio, and it feels like someone who's poured concrete just all over me. It was lethargic, super heavy. I was filling up in turn. I had sustained a significant amount of internal injuries. My right leg was numb. Both arms were numb. This arm was of no use. It was flailing around as I turned and moved.

[Emily Jones]

He knew his radio mic, mounted low inside the truck, was his only hope. But it was work. Just to breathe. Brody's body was surrendering to the blood loss. But then something. Something happened. Something remarkable. Brody saw four faces there in the darkness in front of him. He recognized them instantly. This wasn't just a delirious hallucination, but vivid, grounding. Real. More like a vision or a memory. Suddenly, thoughts of his family flooded into Brody's mind.

[Brody Young]

So I have had a wife. Three young kids. At the time they were six. Three. And I began to see their faces. And my thought was, I want to be a dad still. I want to live with them, grow up with them, be a part of their lives.

[Emily Jones]

He started thinking about all the people in his life.

[Brody Young]

And I wanted to be a father still. And a dad. And a brother. And a friend.

[Emily Jones]

Brody took hold of that thought as if it were a lifesaver thrown to him from God. That thought strengthened him and gave him the will to move.

[Brody Young]

And so this gave me the courage to slowly begin to roll towards the back of my truck.

[Emily Jones]

Brody heaped his body across the ground, dragging his shattered left arm, his pistol still in his right hand, inch by inch, rolling to his side, then his stomach, then back again to breathe. Blood marked his path as he rolled the 25ft to his vehicle, each movement racked with pain and fatigue. Finally, he made it to the truck and Mercifully, the driver's side door was still open.

[Brody Young]

I've always felt prompted or just had a strong feeling that I should keep that door open on all my traffic stops. Now I'm off the highway. I'm on a trail. I'm at a trailhead. And I had that liberty of keeping that door open, you know. Cause there's no oncoming traffic, but that door's open, and I don't think I could have opened it.

[Emily Jones]

Exhausted, Brody pulled himself up. Leaning against the door and the floorboard, he reached with his only operational hand toward the radio mic inside the cab.

[Brody Young]

And then I bring it to my mouth, and I think, okay, I've got to be calm. I can't sound hysterical. So I think about what I'm gonna say. I take a breath, and then I say, price 2 Alpha 69 was my number at the time. I'm a poison spider Mesa trailhead. I've been shot. Please hurry.

[Emily Jones]

It had taken every ounce of strength he had left. That vision of his family, his reason to try, his. His motivation for wanting to live, had gotten him to the truck. But now he could only wait helplessly.

[Brody Young]

And then I lay down the mic on the floor of the truck, and then I leave my gun on the floorboard, and I start to lay down onto my back. It was all I could do at that point. I was really kind of losing it in a way.

[Emily Jones]

Time slowed to a crawl, each second stretching endless, as the bleakness of his situation set in.

[Brody Young]

As I'm laying down, I see this black smear on the things I just touched. So the door and then the floorboard, and the black smear to me is. Well, it's blood, and I don't like the sight of my own blood. Thankfully, it was dark, and I realized at that point, okay, this is. This is serious.

[Emily Jones]

As Brody lay there, he wondered if there was anything else he could do to prolong his life. That's when an article he'd read years earlier came to mind on how slowing your breathing could slow your vitals. In fact, he remembered every word of the article as he lay there, struggling to hold on, relaxing his breathing as much as he could.

[Brody Young]

And this gave me the time for first responders to respond and get to me. Took him about 10 to 12 minutes for the first officers to show up. They had to clear the scene. They didn't know he was there there if he had left. Once they did that, the ambulance came up the hill, and they started to assess me. They started to cut off my clothes and. And take care of me and so grateful to hear their voices. These are people I work with often and every day. And it's really familiar. Even the voices on the radio. As soon as I said I was shot. My supervisor, who I was supposed to meet up with that night, he's calling for a helicopter immediately and it's going to come out of Grand Junction, Colorado, St. Mary's Hospital, which is about a 40 minute flight.

[Emily Jones]

With only one helicopter at the hospital, it was a blessing that it was readily available and it immediately headed their way. But Brody still wasn't close to being safe. He had to be taken by ambulance first to a small hospital and wait for the helicopter there. Blood was gushing from his body. As the paramedics got Brody aboard the ambulance, his supervisor began asking questions about the shooter.

[Brody Young]

And my supervisor shows up and they're asking me questions, descriptions of him, where he did, where did he go, what did you talk about? And so I gave him all that. I was conscious for the ride into this ambulance. Now this, this ambulance is a big monster. Tires jacked up, 4x4. It's made to go on the trails and moab on the way. They were trying to get blood into me. My veins were collapsed. I had the look they said I was white as a ghost. And the. The look that I wasn't going to make it.

[Emily Jones]

The paramedics tried to get blood into Brody, but they couldn't find a vein. His body was shutting down. And there was only one other option. They knew what they were about to do would cause Brody excruciating pain. But it was this or death.

[Brody Young]

So what they finally did was they did what's called an I.O. and I'm not going to describe the medical terminology of it, but basically they drill into your bone marrow right below your kneecap. And I remember them drilling. It was just smelled like the dentist office, kind of weird. But I started to scream when they flushed the fluid into my bone marrow. It hurt so much. I imagined two lumberjacks sawing my leg off. It was so painful. Painful. Here I am shot nine times, right, Looking at death's door. And this pain was indescribable. They usually do it on unconscious people.

[Emily Jones]

Arriving at the Allen Memorial ER wasn't just the end of the ambulance ride. It looked like the end of Brody's life.

[Brody Young]

I'd been shot nine times. Out of the 15, six were fatal. And life was becoming pretty short for me. So as they pulled me up into the er, the back of the hospital, as they opened the doors, blood flowed out onto the ground. I had lost all of the blood in me.

[Emily Jones]

While Brody was moments from dying at home, his wife Wendy got the call no spouse ever wants to get.

[Brody Young]

It's about 8:39 o', clock, and a friend whose husband was a trooper and they had a police scanner and she had heard the news, and Wendy hadn't heard the news yet. So she answered the phone and says, hey, it's, you know, it's Janelle and you need to get to the hospital is what she said. And Wendy's like, what are you talking about? And she's like, oh, you haven't heard the news yet? And she's like, no, what are you talking about? She says, I'll call you back. And she hangs up immediately. And then the phone rings again and it's another supervisor of mine and he finally spits it out that says, Brody's been shot. He's at the hospital. It doesn't look good. You need to hurry over there. So she hangs up with him. And then she gets a knock at the door and it's Janelle, her friend, who had called. She rushed over and said, I'll watch the kids and you get over there quick. And so she jumps in her car and hits over the hospital.

[Emily Jones]

As Wendy rushed to her husband, something unexpected happened. It's something that seems to happen often when we least expect it. A gift from God. When all seems lost. Peace rippled through Wendy and it came.

[Brody Young]

With a message prompted or just a strong premonition, but she's just told that Rhodey's going to live, he's going to be okay. And so she walked into the hospital knowing this. And if you can imagine, in the ER, it's chaotic. I spent like 20 minutes there. The ER doctor who's furiously working on me and the staff actually came up to Wendy and asked if she was the spouse. She was just so calm, her demeanor and collected. And she came up to me, whispered in my ear and, and said, hey, Brody, you're finally going to get that helicopter ride that you always wanted. And I didn't respond to her, but it was so great to hear her voice. All I was doing was focusing on one breath to the next. It was getting really hard to breathe.

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[Emily Jones]

Brody clung to his wife's words for a fleeting moment. They gave him comfort, even knowing they could be the last she would ever speak to him.

[Brody Young]

After she said those words, I was put into an induced coma, put on the helicopter, and with the thought of everyone in the room like, he's not going to make it.

[Emily Jones]

Brody remained in a coma for days and then weeks. It was touch and go throughout. At one point, his heart raced at 180 beats per minute for three days straight.

[Brody Young]

They were trying medications to slow my heartbeat and they figured out that I had this extra electrical path and they snipped it or cauterized it and kind of solved it. But it's like we're sprinting a marathon for, you know. For three days straight after surgery and.

[Emily Jones]

Three weeks of coma, Brody finally woke up. His wife, children, family and friends were all thrilled. Somehow Brody had made it. And when he did wake up, the words get fit echoed in his mind.

[Brody Young]

Doctor said, had I not had the girth or the shape I was in, I wouldn't be here today.

[Emily Jones]

Time and again, Brody had been guided. Being fit was just the beginning. The fact is, Brody shouldn't have lived. Several of his gunshot wounds would be classified as fatal, yet he survived them. His training to shoot and reload with his non dominant hand likely saved his life. Despite his severe injuries, Brody received a vision of his family that gave him the strength to reach his truck and radio mic. Always keeping his door open made it possible for him to reach the radio. And somehow, despite nearly bleeding out, Brody kept his breathing and thoughts under control. Brody's wife, Wendy, also received the assurance that her husband would live. She knew it was certainty, and she was right. Today, Brody has returned to duty at full capacity. All of this is miraculous. But there is one more miracle that we haven't mentioned, and it's one that took place inside of Brody's heart.

[Brody Young]

Because I was in shape, I began to heal really quickly physically. But there was another part of me that needed healing, and that was the mental, the spiritual part of it. When someone tries to end your life, it takes a toll on you. And I was full of fear and anxiety, and I had to find a way past that. I hate fear. I hate anxiety. You run at the fear. That's how you get rid of it. And so first I had to forgive him. And this was really crucial for me to move on.

[Emily Jones]

Brody now knew the name of his attacker, Lance Arellano. The man was still missing. There was no apology from him. But it didn't matter. Brody had already made the decision to forgive. Even though Lance tried to kill him, even though he left Brody to die alone, even though he almost left Brody's family fatherless. None of it mattered now. But Brody did wonder what became of his attacker. Silently hoping he wouldn't return to finish the job or harm anyone else. Authorities had offered a $30,000 reward for any information on the attacker's whereabouts. And then, unbelievably, exactly five years after Brody came home from the hospital, two young brothers from Moab, Caleb and Jerome Shumway, searched the desert with a plan and a map. They found a bone, a backpack, and Finally, Lance's body. 400 yards from where the trail had gone. Cold, deep in a rock crevice. Hidden all those years.

[Brody Young]

I wish he was alive. I have some questions that I'd like to ask. But someday, I'm confident we're gonna meet again, and this incident between us is not gonna matter much. Honestly, I don't think at that point, he was just in a rough time in his life, and I happen to be the one who crossed it and be like water under a bridge. You know, I really feel that way because we really did find forgiveness.

[Emily Jones]

Brody Young didn't just survive. He now savors each day. He lives, he serves. He's a husband, a father. His heart is full of love and forgiveness. And his life, without question, is a miracle.

[Holly Worthington]

It is so amazing that Brody survived to tell this story.

[Emily Jones]

I know. I just think about that strong premonition he had nine months earlier. Get fit. And that literally saved his life.

[Holly Worthington]

Yeah, I get that feeling all the time and just ignore it.

[Emily Jones]

I do, too. Maybe this is the motivation I need.

[Holly Worthington]

I know this is a good reminder. But truly, all joking aside, I think that Brody received a message from God to get fit. And the doctor said that saved his life.

[Emily Jones]

Exactly. I mean, we all have New Year's resolutions. Like, everybody has these goals and stuff. But he said it was more than that. It was a stronger feeling. Get fit. And so I actually looked it up online. Why, specifically, getting fit would help someone who has been shot with a gun. And here's what I found. Greater muscle mass can sometimes help absorb or slow the projectile. Reducing damage to vital organs. And overall fitness is associated with faster clotting responses, stronger immune function, and a greater ability to withstand shock and blood loss. So there you have it. Get fit.

[Holly Worthington]

Seriously? Okay, so another thing I want to talk about is that vision of his family.

[Emily Jones]

Yeah.

[Holly Worthington]

Like how that motivated him.

[Emily Jones]

I know.

[Holly Worthington]

Just thinking of him rolling through the dirt and crawling and just struggling and all because of his love for his family.

[Emily Jones]

Yeah. Pick yourself up off that dirt and get to your truck. Another thing that I think is so miraculous is that when he passed out, he actually woke up. Like if he hadn't woken up, then he would have just died there. He would have bled out. Yeah. And this may be just my own imagination here, but I just picture angels there, like shaking him. Come on, buddy, you gotta get up. You've got to get to that truck.

[Holly Worthington]

Oh, I definitely, definitely think that heaven was there helping him that night. And so there's something else we need to talk about. The shooter. We told everyone we've got some interesting information and we do. About the shooter. So we did some research on Lance Arellano.

[Brody Young]

And.

[Holly Worthington]

And apparently he was a 40 year old guy who had been living with his mother.

[Emily Jones]

Yeah.

[Holly Worthington]

And they got into an argument and she kicked him out. So that's how he ended up in that parking lot that night. And he just took out his anger on Brody.

[Emily Jones]

So unfortunate, so sad. They get in this gunfight, Lance actually gets shot. And then Brody shared with us a little bit more information about how they found Lance. And it's fascinating. So here it is.

[Brody Young]

So for five years, a reward was put out, $30,000 reward for his whereabouts. And so Christmas Eve 2015. Okay. Five years later, two local kids, the Shumway brothers, Caleb and Jerem, had this plan. Caleb was in college, he was home for break. Sharon was 15 at the time. But they had this plan that they were going to go find him. They just had a sense that he was still in the area and that he didn't get out. And so they opened a map, they drew like grids, quadrants. They were going to search an area each day of their vacation. And so the first day they go out and don't find much. At the end of their second day, they find this green waterproof bag just sitting out on the rock. And they go and open it and the. The weapon that matches the weapon he had shot me with, they thought was in there. And they look up a little further and they see just this white rib bone that had been drug out of the cave, turns out by some kind of animal. So they went up to the rib bone and they led down into this crack. It's not a cave like you would think. It's just a crack and falling rock. They got really excited at this Point and ran back and grabbed the sheriff. Well, Caleb ended up being the one crawling in there. It was really tight, really hard to get into and took photos. And by that time it was, you know, unfortunately, bones in a sleeping bag. And so they gathered all that and brought it back and got him identified through dental records. And it was great closure. Although I don't wish death on anyone, but to get that confirmation, finally I could let my guard down.

[Emily Jones]

Isn't that so interesting?

[Holly Worthington]

It really is. And it feels like these young men were also inspired by God to find Lance's body. And I'm sure it helped Brody to find the closure that he needed.

[Emily Jones]

Yeah, yeah. And it's amazing that he was able to, like, even before they found Lance's body, that he was able to forgive Lance. And he gave him so much grace. Just very inspiring.

[Holly Worthington]

Yeah. And Brody has written a book about all of this. It's called Nine Miracles. And he not only has written a book, but he also does speaking engagements. And it's so funny because I have a friend who the other day said to me, there's this guy and I saw him speak and it was so good, and you need to share his story. And then I realized it was Brody Young. I was like, we are doing his story.

[Emily Jones]

That's so funny. Well, obviously we were meant to share his story on the podcast.

[Holly Worthington]

He absolutely.

[Emily Jones]

All right, well, we want to end with one more sound bite from Brody on his thoughts about miracles.

[Brody Young]

Miracles are to help jumpstart our belief in a greater, higher calling, a higher purpose. Someone who's watching out for us and someone who cares for us. So that's what miracles are for.

[Holly Worthington]

Thanks so much, Brody, for sharing your thoughts and your story with us. And thanks to everyone else for joining us today. God is so great.

[Emily Jones]

Yes, he is. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please help us spread these hope filled stories so that they may reach somebody who may be searching or doubting or hurting. And we will see you guys next time.

[Holly Worthington]

Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle to share, contact us@the Miracle Files.com or find us on social media. We release new episodes each Monday.

[Emily Jones]

Yes. So don't forget Miracle Mondays. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content as well.

[Holly Worthington]

Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles. And don't forget to look for his light in your own lives.

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