What Killed Chris McCandless?



Episode 44: What Killed Chris McCandless?

On September 6, 1992, two young hikers from Anchorage arrived at the old Fairbanks city bus #142, a makeshift shelter located on the Stampede Trail, twenty-five miles west of Healy. They immediately noted a stench emanating from the bus. A red leg warmer swung from an alder branch near the vehicle’s rear door. A note taped to the door terrified the hikers. It read:

S.O.S. I NEED YOUR HELP. I AM INJURED, NEAR DEATH, AND TOO WEAK TO HIKE OUT OF HERE. I AM ALL ALONE. THIS IS NO JOKE. IN THE NAME OF GOD, PLEASE REMAIN TO SAVE ME. I AM OUT COLLECTING BERRIES CLOSE BY AND SHALL RETURN THIS EVENING. THANK YOU, CHRIS MCCANDLESS. AUGUST ?

Sources:

Holland, Eva. “Alaska Airlifts ‘Into the Wild’ Bus Out of the Wild.” June 28, 2020. Outside Magazine.

Holland, Eva. “Another ‘Into the Wild’ Pilgrimage Has Ended in Death.” July 29, 2019. Outside Magazine.

Krakauer, Jon. “How Chris McCandless Died.” September 12, 2013. The New Yorker

Krakauer, Jon. 1996. Into the Wild. 1996. New York. Anchor Books.

Saverin, Diana. “The Chris McCandless Obsession Problem.” December 18, 2013. Outside Magazine.

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Meet Robin Barefield, Your Host for Episode 44: What Killed Chris McCandless?

Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.

Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net