True Crime Bullsh**

Podcast: True Crime Bullsh**
Host: Josh Hallmark (Studio BOTH/AND)
Episode: 0711 | Infrastructure
Date: January 19, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Josh Hallmark and his investigative team, with particular input from researcher Kathy Nation, dive deep into the theory that serial killer Israel Keyes organized his kill kits and possible victim sites using infrastructure landmarks—specifically, electrical substations, phone lines, and associated grid maps. The discussion explores how Keyes may have relied on these fixed features to recall or rediscover hidden caches, supported by both field research and data uncovered from FOIA files and mapping sites. The episode also draws parallels to military caching techniques and analyzes specific locations where this method seems evident.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the Infrastructure Theory

• During a team trip (Trova Trip) in the Andes, Kathy Nation shared her research on infrastructure maps as a method Keyes may have used to stash and recover kill kits and, possibly, dispose of victims ([02:42]).
  • Kathy was struck by the correlation between grid map numbers in Keyes's files and locations of substations.
  • She hypothesized that Keyes picked spots near substations for ease of landmarking and recollection.

2. The Keyes Grid Maps: Substations, Numbers & Landmarks

• Grid Map Origins: The famous Keyes “grid map” from LaPlace, Louisiana, showed hand-marked numbers and gridlines. Originally believed to be unique, more maps were found through recent FOIA requests ([04:28]).
• Interpretation of Map Points: Kathy posits that numbers (e.g., "2", "35", "47") coincide with infrastructure—such as substations or power plants—and associated locations like boat ramps or cemeteries ([05:13], [06:25]).
  • Quote:
    “What if all those number twos are electrical substations? And then he’s looking for substations near like a boat ramp or a cemetery, because then he knows he can follow the phone lines from that area and put the cache under a phone line.” — Kathy Nation ([05:13])

3. Field Testing: Known and Suspected Cache Locations

• Blake Falls Reservoir

  • Kathy demonstrates how the cache location is directly adjacent to a hydro dam, substation, boat ramp, and at a defining phone line bend ([09:04]).
    • “If I was Israel Keyes…and I was like, where did I put that cash in the middle of the Adirondacks? This would be really a really easy way to remember.” — Kathy Nation ([09:29])

• Racket River (Tupper Lake)

  • Team notes substations on both sides, phone lines following the water, and the presence of similar secondary features (vault toilets, wildlife sanctuary) ([10:25], [10:45]).

• Stephenville and Laplace

  • Every coordinates-based investigation coincided with the presence of a substation ([17:16]).

4. Mapping Tools and Digital Footprints

• OpenStreetMaps & Layering Features
  • Discussion of how Keyes had OpenStreetMaps accounts linked to his emails ([15:14]).
  • OpenStreetMaps allows users to overlay layers (cemeteries, substations, etc.), perhaps explaining composite number annotations on Keyes’ maps ([15:40]).
    • Quote:
      "So OpenStreetMaps, he could overlay different layers...and then you could see it. So like the 35 and the 47 and stuff. It might have been where it’s like all these number twos are substations but then like the 35, that could mean there’s also a cemetery and a boat ramp there." — Kathy Nation ([15:40])

5. Expanding the Theory: Intersections of Family, Geography, and Opportunity

• Kathy and her sister independently zeroed in on the exact same spots in Texas (Nacogdoches) and Vermont, guided by combining map markings, infrastructure, and Keyes’ statements about travel paths and “missing miles” ([17:27]–[19:44]).
  • In Nacogdoches, a substation, boat ramp, and power line create a direct line to spots significant in the Tidwell case ([19:45]).
  • In Vermont, the team's focus shifts from a public sandbar to a quieter spot: a substation with phone lines near the Lemoy River fishing ramp, explaining unusual mileage recorded on the Courier’s car ([21:19]–[26:35]).
    • Quote:
      “I was driving around. Well, first of all, I was fishing.” (As recounted from Keyes's words by Michelle Tooker, reinforcing Keyes’s use of plausible alibis for time spent near potential sites) ([22:28])

6. Parallel to Army Caching Techniques

• Jordan Taylor, with Army experience, affirms that using fixed landmarks (like substations or power lines), counting paces, and landmark triangulation are consistent with military cache practices ([30:15]).
  • Quote:
    “If you were using the substations and or the telephone lines as a landmark, you would probably have exactly how far away from that spot he would be…I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he knew from his landmark exactly how far away everything was.” — Jordan Taylor ([30:15])
• Josh references the US Army Special Forces Caching Techniques Guide to highlight how military-style caching closely follows the patterns found in Keyes's activities ([31:38]).

7. Testing the Theory: Further Locations and Potential Leads

• Flaming Gorge Reservoir: Kathy identifies likely cache sites using the substation-boat ramp-phone line formula; direct relevance to the Stephen Willard Anderson case ([38:07]–[39:27]).
• Lake Perris, California: Site of a credible Keyes sighting. Again, a power line runs behind Bernasconi Beach, with a prominent rock formation nearby. Former FBI agent Bobby Chacon independently points to this as the most likely cache spot ([40:26]).
  • Quote:
    “Chacon pointed to that specific crop of rocks and said that right there is where Keyes would hide a kill kit.” — Josh Hallmark ([40:26])

8. Why Substations & Phone Lines?

• Substations and phone lines are semi-permanent, highly visible but rarely visited by the public, and not easily redeveloped—making them ideal for someone who needs reference points that won't disappear ([42:29]).
  • Quote:
    “There has to be some simplicity to all this because you remembered it all so effortlessly.” — Josh Hallmark ([41:25])
  • “They’re very permanent structures, so they’re not going to be going anywhere.” — Jordan Taylor ([42:29])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kathy Nation:

  • “What if all those number twos are electrical substations?” ([05:13])
  • “I like that Kathy’s on top of her... unlike the FBI, she would bring a shovel.” ([17:02])
  • “It narrows down the search field if it’s definitely going to be tied to phone lines and stuff. I mean, he had to have some kind of method.” ([41:03])

• Jordan Taylor:

  • “If you were using the substations and/or the telephone lines as a landmark, you would probably have exactly how far away from that spot he would be.” ([30:15])
  • “They’re very permanent structure, so they’re not going to be going anywhere.” ([42:29])

• Josh Hallmark:

  • “There has to be some simplicity to all this because you remembered it all so effortlessly.” ([41:25])
  • "Chacon pointed to that specific crop of rocks and said that that right there is where Keyes would hide a kill kit." ([40:26])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introducing Infrastructure Maps/Theory Introduced: [02:42]–[06:25]
• LaPlace/Blake Falls Reservoir Map Analysis: [08:02]–[09:42]
• Substations, Phone Lines & Map Layering: [13:13]–[16:55]
• Texas & Vermont Parallel Discoveries: [17:27]–[21:53]
• Military Caching Techniques and Their Parallels: [30:10]–[35:55]
• Flaming Gorge & SoCal Case Application: [38:07]–[41:13]
• Reflection: The Search for Simplicity and Permanence: [41:25]–[42:43]

Final Thoughts

The episode advances a compelling, evidence-supported theory: Israel Keyes used infrastructure—substations, phone lines, power plants—as his private network of navigation markers, efficiently enabling him to hide, recall, and recover kill kits (and potentially victims) across the country. By intimately understanding these features and combining them with knowledge gleaned from mapping software and military field craft, Keyes outpaced law enforcement’s search efforts for years. The team's ongoing work in parsing Keyes's maps, field visits, and data-mining provides tantalizing leads for future investigation—and a potential pathway to uncovering more answers.

Contributors this Episode:
Josh Hallmark (host/reporting), Kathy Nation (research/theory guest), Jordan Taylor, Michelle Tooker, Shayna Walensky

For more maps and ongoing research, follow True Crime Bullsh* on social media. Support the investigation on Patreon.*