Bonus: The Wild Hog Theory

Summary

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Episode Summary: "The Wild Hog Theory" – The Unforgotten Podcast

Host: Wes Ferguson
Date: February 23, 2026
Season 4 Bonus Episode

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Overview

This bonus episode of The Unforgotten addresses a persistent listener theory: Could feral hogs have killed Christopher Whiteley? Host Wes Ferguson revisits the evidence, sharing insights from federal wildlife expert Mike Bodenchuk, and delves into a harrowing real-life case of a fatal hog attack in Texas. The episode explores the likelihood of feral hog involvement, debunks common myths, and lays out alternative theories, giving listeners a chilling look into the dangers posed by wild hogs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Feral Hog Theory and Evidence at the Scene

• Listener Curiosity: Many fans questioned why feral hogs weren’t a bigger focus as a possible cause of Christopher Whiteley’s death, especially given the presence of pig tracks at the scene.
• Expert Input:
  • Mike Bodenchuk, with 34 years’ experience investigating animal attacks, was involved in the original investigation.
  • Pig tracks were documented about 30 feet from Christopher’s backpack, but they belonged to a small pig likely just passing through ([02:44]).
  • Drone surveillance confirmed the presence of wild hogs near the area.

Quote:

“So finding pig tracks in the woods, that's just another Tuesday in Texas. But Mike was looking for more than tracks. He was looking for signs of predation, signs of an attack, and signs of feeding, and he didn't find any of that.”
— Wes Ferguson [04:41]

2. Rarity and Danger of Feral Hog Attacks

• Expert Analysis:

  • Feral hog attacks on humans are extremely rare.
  • Attacks usually occur if a sow feels her piglets are threatened, or a boar is cornered ([03:35]).
  • Mike and Wes both stress the generally non-aggressive nature of wild hogs (“they're always running the other way”).

• Prevalence:

  • Texas has an estimated 2–3 million feral hogs, causing extensive property damage ([04:28]).

3. No Physical Evidence Pointing to Hogs as Killers

• Forensic Findings:
  • No tusk marks, goring, trampling, or evidence of feeding were present on Christopher’s body.
  • Christopher’s body was intact except for a “horrible wound to [his] neck and some superficial scratches from running through the woods” ([04:41]).
  • The observed hog signs were coincidental, not indicative of a pig-attack scenario.

Quote:

“Mike's conclusion was clear. The pig tracks were just a coincidence. Pigs had been in the area, probably rooting around for food, but they had not attacked Christopher.”
— Wes Ferguson [04:41]

4. Alternative Theory: Hog-Hunting Dogs

• Catch Dog Scenario:
  • In rural Texas, hunting wild hogs with specially trained pitbulls (“catch dogs”) is common ([05:50]).
  • Theory: Christopher may have encountered a fight between a catch dog and a hog, attempted to intervene, and was attacked by the dog in a reflexive, adrenaline-driven bite.

Quote:

“It's possible that he heard a pig squealing, went out there and found a dog and a pig locked up and tried to intervene and the dog actually turned on him just as a... as a reflex.”
— Mike Bodenchuk [06:35]

• Dog and pig tracks were found at the scene, as was a distinctive throat wound; blood evidence suggested Christopher may have been kneeling when attacked ([08:03]).

• Debates in Evidence Interpretation:

  • Wes notes more blood appeared on the boots in photos than Mike recalled, but largely supports Mike’s reasoning for a kneeling posture during the attack ([08:27]).

• Skepticism about a Struggle:

  • Wes points out that no signs of a significant scuffle (broken branches, disturbed earth) were documented, which casts some doubt on this theory ([08:27]).

5. Real-Life Fatal Case: The Anahuac Hog Attack

• Case Summary:
  • In November 2019, Christine Rollins, a 59-year-old caregiver in Anahuac, Texas, was attacked and killed by a pack of feral hogs while walking to a client's house before dawn ([12:58]).
  • Multiple tusk wounds, clear evidence of predation, and feeding on her body were found ([14:20]).

Quote:

“That was the damnedest thing I have ever seen. That's even weirder than this. That feeding on a human body is nightmare.”
— Mike Bodenchuk [01:08], [15:22]

• Sheriff Hawthorne and Mike agree: this was an extraordinarily rare but definitive predatory hog attack, confirmed by forensic evidence.

Quote:

“She died of exsanguination. She... bled to death. And there were dozens, if not hundreds of holes from tusks... They ate meat off of that. Like a predatory attack.”
— Mike Bodenchuk [14:45]

• Comparison to Christopher’s Case:
  • Unlike Christine’s, Christopher Whiteley’s body showed no signs consistent with a hog attack at all—no multiple wounds, no feeding, and minimal hog presence ([15:42]).

Quote:

“If feral hogs killed that woman in Anahuac, could they have killed Christopher Whiteley? The answer is no. At least not in the way they killed Christine Rawlins...”
— Wes Ferguson [15:42]

6. Conclusion: Theories Left Open

• Feral Hogs as Killers: Now proven possible, but highly unlikely in the specific manner of Christopher’s death; evidence does not match attack patterns seen in known fatal hog attacks.
• Catch Dog Hypothesis: The most plausible of the discussed alternative explanations, but still speculative and not fully supported by physical scene evidence.
• Unanswered Questions: The investigation was closed before full exploration of the animal attack possibilities; some aspects may never be resolved.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the horror of a hog attack:

  “Feeding on a human body is nightmare.” — Mike Bodenchuk [01:08], [15:22]

• On rare hog fatalities:

  “Feral hog attacks are extremely rare... But it's not unheard of for a feral hog to attack a human.” — Wes Ferguson [03:35]

• On scene evidence:

  “There were pig tracks near the body... But pig tracks in the woods in Texas is not an awful thing.” — Mike Bodenchuk [03:20]

• On best safety practices in hog country:

  “Don’t approach them, don’t harass them, don’t corner them. Back away slowly ... Just give them some space. Don’t hassle them and they won’t hassle you.” — Wes Ferguson [17:43]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01 – Theory Introduction & Mike Bodenchuk’s Credentials
• 02:44 – Evidence at Christopher Whiteley’s Death Scene
• 03:35 – Feral Hog Behavior and Attacks Overview
• 04:41 – Why Feral Hog Theory Doesn’t Fit
• 05:50 – Hog-Hunting Dogs and Alternative Theory
• 08:03 – Forensic Analysis of Christopher’s Injuries
• 12:28 – The Anahuac, TX, Fatal Hog Attack
• 14:45 – Detailed Forensic Description of the 2019 Attack
• 15:42 – Comparison and Conclusion
• 17:43 – Safety Advice for Encountering Feral Hogs

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Summary Takeaway

This episode debunks the widely-circulated "feral hog theory" in Christopher Whiteley’s death, driven by audience questions and grounded in Mike Bodenchuk's deep field experience. The evidence for a fatal hog attack just isn’t present in Christopher’s case, despite precedent in Texas. The more plausible (but unproven) alternative: an adrenaline-fueled, accidental attack by a catch dog during a hog hunt. The story ends with sobering advice about the real risks of wild hogs—and a reminder that some mysteries may never be fully solved.

Transcript

[Wes Ferguson]

Since we wrapped up season four, I've been noticing a lot of questions and theories from listeners, and there's one that keeps coming up again and again. Could feral hogs have killed Christopher Whiteley? That's a fair question. During the season, we talked a lot about mountain lions and dogs, but we didn't spend much time on feral hogs. And the truth is there were pig tracks at the scene. The sheriff's office confirmed it with drone footage. So why didn't we explore this more? Well, it turns out that Mike Bodenchuk, the federal wildlife expert that you heard from throughout the season, had a lot more to say about feral hogs than made it into the main episodes. And he told me about another case, one that was definitely feral hogs that he actually investigated in southeast Texas. It was a woman who was possibly killed and was definitely eaten by a pack of wild pigs. It's one of the most disturbing cases Mike has ever investigated, and it shows just how dangerous these animals can be.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

That was the damnedest thing I have ever seen. That's even weirder than this. That feeding on a human body is nightmare.

[Wes Ferguson]

From Free Range Productions, in association with the Dallas Morning News, this is a bonus episode of season four of the Unforgotten Kill Site. I'm your host, Wes Ferguson, and today we're asking, could feral hogs have killed Christopher Whiteley? Let me start by telling you just a bit more about Mike Bodenchuk. Because when it comes to understanding what kills livestock and wildlife in Texas, Mike's experience is hard to match.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

You know, I'm a biologist. I spent my whole career on predators and feral hogs and beavers.

[Wes Ferguson]

That's right. Mike did not just study mountain lions. He spent 34 years working with the USDA Wildlife Service's investigating animal attacks of all kinds, including feral hogs.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

When I was in Utah, the state had a compensation program for domestic livestock that were killed by lions or black bears. And so we would necropsy autopsy a dead animal every kill that we found to see what it was. In fact, it was just as important to say this was not killed by a mountain lion. This was killed by a coyote or a dog or a car as it was to say it was killed. But we've looked at thousands of kills, thousands of kills.

[Wes Ferguson]

So when Mike showed up at the scene of Christopher's death, he knew exactly what to look for. When Mike and the Texas Parks and Wildlife team investigated Christopher's death back in December 2020, found evidence of feral hogs in the area. Mike documented that in his official site Visit report. About 30ft from where Christopher's backpack was found, there was a feral hog track. But that track was from a small pig, and it looked like that pig had been just running through the area. The sheriff's office had also put up a drone for an aerial look at the scene, and they spotted a pig from the air.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

There were pig tracks near the body. But they also told me that the sheriff's office had put up a drone for an aerial look and actually saw a pig from the air. So pig tracks in the woods in Texas is not an awful thing.

[Wes Ferguson]

He's right about that. Feral hog attacks are extremely rare. When they do happen, it could be because a sow is protecting her piglets or a boar is just backed in a corner and feels extremely threatened. I've spent a lot of time in the woods over the years, so I've encountered feral hogs quite a bit, and I've never seen anything resembling aggression. You know, they're always running the other way. But it's not unheard of for a feral hog to attack a human. And there have been a handful of fatalities from hog attacks over the last hundred years or so. If you spent any time in rural Texas, you know feral hogs are everywhere.

[Advertisement Voice]

The feral hog is an exotic invasive

[Wes Ferguson]

species, and they're taking over. These hogs are causing billions in damage, spreading faster than a bad reality TV show.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

Texas is under siege.

[Wes Ferguson]

And the enemy. Feral pigs.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

That's right.

[Wes Ferguson]

There are an estimated 2 to 3 million wild pigs roaming the state, causing

[Mike Bodenchuk]

chaos, destruction, and a whole lot of drama.

[Wes Ferguson]

So finding pig tracks in the woods, that's just another Tuesday in Texas. But Mike was looking for more than tracks. He was looking for signs of predation, signs of an attack, and signs of feeding, and he didn't find any of that. There were no tusk marks on Christopher's body, no evidence that he'd been gored or trampled, and no indication that hogs had tried to feed on him. In fact, aside from that horrible wound to Christopher's neck and some superficial scratches from running through the woods, Christopher's body was intact. Mike's conclusion was clear. The pig tracks were just a coincidence. Pigs had been in the area, probably rooting around for food, but they had not attacked Christopher. But that doesn't mean Mike ruled out hogs entirely. He had another theory, one that involved both a dog and a pig. And it goes like. In rural Texas, hog hunting with dogs is pretty common. Hunters use specially trained pit bulls called catch dogs. These dogs are bred and Trained for one purpose. To grab a wild hog and hold it down until the hunter arrives.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

It's not unusual for people to hunt hogs with dogs, pit bull dogs. And the way those catch dogs catch their prey is to grab them by the cheek or the jowl or the base of the ear and hold that pig down till somebody comes and gets that pig.

[Wes Ferguson]

Now picture this. It's early morning in the woods near laipan. Christopher is out there for whatever reason. Maybe he's disoriented from the methenist system. And maybe he just hears something. A pig squealing, a dog snarling. And he comes upon a scene. A catch dog has locked onto a wild hog. They're thrashing and fighting and the pig is screaming. The dog's jaws are clamped onto the pig's head and Christopher, for whatever reason, tries to intervene.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

It's possible that he heard a pig squealing, went out there and found a dog and a pig locked up and tried to intervene and the dog actually turned on him just as a. As a reflex.

[Wes Ferguson]

If you've ever tried to break up a dog fight, you know how dangerous that can be. Now imagine the dog is a 60 pound pit bull bred specifically to take down wild hogs. And it's already locked into that kill mode, that adrenaline fueled frenzy.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

I don't go in there and try and get the dog off the pig. It's not my dog. But that dog's pretty worked up. That pig's pretty worked up. And if you go in there and try and pull a dog and a pig apart, you could get bit. We'll never know. Absolutely never know. But somehow while he was on his knees, he got attacked.

[Wes Ferguson]

So even, just. Even if it was just a kind of a reflex, just a quick snap, it could have done that much damage just. Just like that.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

Yeah.

[Wes Ferguson]

It's a theory. It's speculation, but based on Mike's decades of experience with predators and livestock attacks, and it's one of the few explanations that kind of sort of fits some of the evidence. The dog tracks found on the property, the pig tracks, the massive damage to Christopher's throat with no other defensive wounds, and the fact that there was blood on Christopher's jeans suggests he was standing or maybe kneeling when he was attacked.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

Mr. Whiteley's pants had blood from his pockets to his knees, but not soaked from his knees to the cuff. There were speckles there. And so I believe when the attack occurred, he was on. On his knees and bled out that way. The speckles that were on his boots and on on the lower part of his legs is when he got up and stumbled.

[Wes Ferguson]

So I've also seen a photo of these jeans and I kind of disagree with Mike. Yes, there is a lot more blood on the upper half of the jeans, but there's still some on the lower legs. And I wouldn't just say that there were speckles on his boots. I thought there was a lot of blood on the tops of his boots. But let's just go with Mike's theory. Christopher was on his knees when he was attacked. Then he got up and stumbled before collapsing. That detail fits with Mike's theory about Christopher intervening in a dog and pig fight. If he knelt down, he tried to separate them and that's when the dog turned on him. One other detail that makes me skeptical of this theory is that nobody in the sheriff's office, not Mike, not anybody from Texas Parks and Wildlife foundation, signs of a big scuffle. You know, there wasn't like broken branches, there wasn't like dust kicked up, things that you would have seen if there had been this knockdown, drag out fight between a pig and a dog in the woods. But feral hogs are not just bystanders in other animals attacks. Under the right circumstances, they can be predators themselves. And Mike told me about a case that maybe proves it. My wife Laura and I are in our 40s now and I've noticed that she really likes to wear makeup that looks as natural as possible.

[Advertisement Voice]

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[Wes Ferguson]

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[Mike Bodenchuk]

Are you familiar with that analac pig attack?

[Wes Ferguson]

Well, I remember when it made the headlines, but, you know, you never hear about a pig, you know, doing anything like that.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

It was more than one pig. I did get called in on that one too.

[Advertisement Voice]

An extremely violent attack from wild hogs

[Wes Ferguson]

results in the death of a woman.

[Advertisement Voice]

In Anahuac, a daily attack is rare.

[Wes Ferguson]

But from Chambers county to Newton to

[Advertisement Voice]

here in Beaumont, Pharaoh hogs are a big problem.

[Wes Ferguson]

I absolutely remember that case. It was back in November 2019, one year before Christopher was killed. The victim was a 59 year old woman named Christine Rollins who worked as a late night caregiver. She would show up around midnight to care for a couple, stay through the night and leave in the morning. One morning when that couple woke up, she wasn't there. They went outside and found her body on the front lawn.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

And this is going to sound as weird today as it did the day I did it. They showed us the photos. I didn't go to the scene. The pigs fed on that one.

[Wes Ferguson]

The pigs fed on her. Portions of her legs were gnawed away. The local sheriff announced this woman had been attacked and killed by feral hogs.

[Sheriff Brian Hawthorne]

Was probably still dark and that's when hogs routinely move is in the dark hours.

[Wes Ferguson]

This is Chambers county sheriff Brian Hawthorne speaking at a press conference right after the woman was found dead.

[Sheriff Brian Hawthorne]

And it looks like she had gotten out of her car and locked it, because the car was locked and then was probably trying to make her way to the front door when it appears that these animals must have come along. So unbelievably tragic. This is a very rare incident, but in my 35 years, I will tell you, it's one of the worst things I've ever seen.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

She found in the grass, but she hit her head on the concrete. There's a bite mark on her shoulder. One set of teeth on the front side, one on the backside. The pig grabbed her shoulder. The only way for that to happen is if she's on the ground. Right. They're not going to jump up here.

[Wes Ferguson]

Right. The theory. Maybe she had had some kind of episode, Medical episode.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

No, I think they knocked her down, she hit her head, and then while she was down, they attacked her.

[Wes Ferguson]

Wow.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

But they fed on her. She died of ex sanguination. She. She bled to death. And there were dozens, if not hundreds of holes from tusks where they get in. But they ate meat off of that. Like a predatory attack.

[Wes Ferguson]

Mike's theory is that the garage door was open. The woman arrived for her shift around midnight. Maybe the pigs had been in the garage eating dog food when she came up the driveway. They got spooked or aggressive and they knocked her over. She hit her head on the concrete, and then while she was incapacitated, they

[Mike Bodenchuk]

fed on her a week later. There's no DNA or anything like that, but that was the damnedest thing I have ever seen. That's even weirder than this, that feeding on a human body is nightmare.

[Wes Ferguson]

The Anahuac case made national headlines when it happened. A woman killed by feral hogs. It sounds like something out of a horror movie, but it was real. And it raises an obvious question. If feral hogs killed that woman in Anahuac, could they have killed Christopher Whiteley? The answer is no. At least not in the way they killed Christine rawlins in Anahuac. Ms. Rawlins had dozens, if not hundreds, of tusk wounds all over her body. The pigs had fed on her torn flesh from her back. There was clear evidence of a pack attack, of predation, of consumption. Christopher had none of that. His body was intact except for that wound to his neck. No tusk marks. No evidence of being gored or trampled. No signs that hogs had tried to eat him. And honestly, not a ton of tracks. You know, they just saw that one track 30ft away, and they saw that one little pig on their drone footage. So while the Anahuac case proves that feral hogs are absolutely capable of killing a human being, it also shows what that kind of attack looks like. And Christopher's death didn't look like that. But that hog hunting dog theory, I guess that's still on the table because a catch dog locked onto a pig in that heightened state of aggression and adrenaline could absolutely inflict a massive wound with one reflexive bite, especially to someone who got too close, who tried to intervene, who put themselves in harm's way. We'll never know for sure what happened to Christopher that morning in the woods outside Laipan. But what we do know is feral hogs can be dangerous. They're unpredictable, and under the right circumstances, they can kill. Whether they had anything to do with Christopher's death, we may never know because the investigation was closed before those questions could be answered.

[Mike Bodenchuk]

Foreign

[Wes Ferguson]

to leave you with some advice for what to do in case you encounter a feral hog out in the wild. It's not something I ever really thought about too much because I wasn't really scared of them until now, I guess maybe a little bit, you know, when you see them, obviously don't approach them, don't harass them, don't corner them. Back away slowly. A big group of pigs is called a sounder. And if you're out in the woods and suddenly there is this sounder all running towards you, you can just hop behind a tree and odds are they're all going to run right past. They're not gonna bother you at all. Also, if you remember back to old yeller, that boy climbed the tree to get away from hogs. That works just fine too. Kind of just using common sense here. Also, stay out of thick underbrush where you know, hogs travel. Keep your pets secured and just give them some space. Don't hassle them and they won't hassle you. Except for tearing up your yard, they'll still do that. The unforgotten is a free range production. Season 4 kill site was produced in association with the Dallas Morning News. I'm your host, Wes Ferguson. Charlie Scudder and I are executive producers. Our editor is Aislin Gaddis. Sound design and audio engineering is usually provided by Austin Sisler at Eastside studios. But Austin just had a kid, so he is on paternity leave. Huge congrats to Austin and his wife for the birth of their baby girl. If you haven't already yet, you can sign up for our [e-mail] thanks so much for listening throughout this season and we are going to be back very soon with the next season of the Unforgotten. More on that soon.