00:00:00
foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you
00:00:19
need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for
00:00:26
a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
00:00:41
well folks here's my new backyard said 47 year old Nadia medley as she filmed her surroundings with her smartphone
00:00:50
it was Wednesday May 10 2017 antonadia stood alone in the middle of a sprawling Paddock on the rural outskirts of
00:00:58
Caldwell Idaho Nadia slowly panned her phone capturing the overgrown grass and wild flowers
00:01:07
that encircled her in the distance were trees and the fences of neighboring properties
00:01:14
there wasn't a cloud in the blue sky and all was silent aside from the gentle sounds of birds chirping
00:01:22
kind of liking this just a little bit Nadia remarked she honed in on a rundown fence with
00:01:30
broken wires that needed fixing Nadia explained that rebuilding it was one of the projects she had to work on
00:01:39
her feet was one of her three pet dogs sniffing and chewing on grass dogs are the only thing that's grazing
00:01:47
now Nadia joked but that will change the land had so many trees that the house where Nadia lived wasn't visible
00:01:57
from where she was standing the pleasure she took in the peaceful country home was evident in her voice so
00:02:04
she narrated her video tour of the property Nadia filmed the Farm's Hen House where
00:02:10
their chickens were kept before pausing on a small building further away [Music]
00:02:16
hey shed she explained yep baby we're loving it foreign [Music] [Music] just one week earlier Nadia had moved to
00:02:50
the Caldwell farm from her previous home in the city of Ogden Utah she kept her friends back in Utah up to
00:02:58
date on her new life in Idaho via her Facebook page there they could watch the video Nadia
00:03:05
filmed of her new backyard it looks right down your alley a friend commented that's so pretty wrote another
00:03:15
it's a ton of work Nadia admitted but added that she was loving Idaho already a few days later Nadia posted a
00:03:26
photograph of her front yard being pilted with rain during a storm on Thursday May 18 one of Nadia's dogs
00:03:34
clambered onto a tree with her as she took a break from all the yard work she shared a photo of this too writing
00:03:44
this silly dog climbed a tree with us today a month into her time in Caldwell Nadia
00:03:52
completed a survey of 34 questions about her likes and dislikes she posted the results to her Facebook
00:04:00
page question 25 asked are you where you want to be in life Nadia's answer to this was simply yes
00:04:15
Nadia was originally from Germany she had immigrated to the United States on her own where she met and married an
00:04:23
American man named Todd medley the two worked together in a pet store they also bred small animals at their
00:04:31
home to make extra money in 2002 the couple had their first child a girl they named Payton
00:04:40
almost a decade later in 2011 Nadia gave birth to her second child who died shortly thereafter
00:04:50
three years later in 2014 while Nadia was still dealing with the loss of her baby Todd suffered a heart attack and
00:04:57
died with no other family in the United States apart from Todd's relatives who lived Interstate Nadia and Payton grew
00:05:07
extremely close they bonded over their love of animals and did fun activities together such as
00:05:13
swimming and picnicking Nadia described Payton as one of her favorite people when two short stories that Payton had
00:05:23
written were published in her school's annual writing Anthology Nadia was incredibly proud
00:05:28
[Music] despite her deep connection with her daughter Nadia still struggled Utah felt like a strange place to her at
00:05:42
times Nadia loved the state's natural beauty but as a staunch atheist she found it's
00:05:49
overwhelmingly religious culture quite foreign the headquarters of the Church of Jesus
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Christ of Latter-day Saints were in Utah and many of Nadia's Neighbors in Ogden were church members
00:06:03
finances were also a difficulty Todd hadn't left behind any money when he died and now Nadia was a Sole
00:06:11
Provider she began working as a massage therapist at an Ogden Spa one day in 2015 a man in his late 50s
00:06:22
arrived for an appointment his name was Mike Bollinger and despite the age difference Nadia felt a spark
00:06:30
right away Mike was warm and Charming with a wide smile both loved hiking and exploring the
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graveyard doors Mike was also an atheist and his values aligned with nadias the two soon began dating
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Nadia's friends were thrilled for her it was clear that Mike had brought happiness back into her life
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he was also great with Payton sometimes picking her up from school or taking her
00:07:04
out for lunch he became something of a father figure teaching Payton outdoor skills like
00:07:10
shooting or playing with her in the Autumn Leaves Payton seemed to a door Mike almost as
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much as her mother and soon she'd started calling him dad Mike Nadia and Payton attended concerts
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and festivals together went to the baseball and hiked and camped in Yellowstone National Park
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because Mike worked as a pilot he often had to travel for a few days at a time he made up for his absence by taking
00:07:41
Nadia and Payton on vacations or other Adventures that Nadia documented on her Facebook page
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by the beginning of 2017 Nadia and Mike had been together for almost 18 months things were going so well that Nadia
00:08:00
felt ready to ask Mike an awkward question her single income wasn't a lot and she
00:08:06
was having trouble making her mortgage payments Nadia had seen Mike's paycheck and knew
00:08:12
he made more than ten thousand dollars a month so she wondered if he might be able to help her out financially
00:08:20
Mike was troubled by the question he had divorced his wife a decade earlier and anadia was the first woman
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he'd been involved with since then becoming financially entangled with another seemed far too serious for him
00:08:36
and he worried that the relationship was moving more quickly than he was ready for
00:08:43
after a conversation about the matter the couple broke up [Music] Mike had recently been offered more
00:08:55
consistent work based out of Boise the capital city of Idaho he'd purchased a rundown Farm in the
00:09:03
city of Caldwell about 28 miles west of Boise the property was around one and a half
00:09:09
acres and it had a fully equipped Farmhouse that was built in 1964. [Music] from the outside it looked like a modest
00:09:19
weatherboard home but it had four bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as a spacious kitchen
00:09:26
as he was nearing retirement age Mike thought the property would be a Scenic spot to live out his golden years
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the farm needed lots of work but it was a project Mike was Keen to take on yet not having Nadia in his life made
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Mike realize what he'd be giving up if their relationship didn't progress further
00:09:49
despite no longer being a couple they had stayed in touch and still spoke regularly
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both of them missed one another and found being apart very difficult [Music] within a few weeks they decided to get
00:10:04
back together proving how serious he was about their relationship Mike asked to Nadia and
00:10:10
Payton to live in Caldwell with him Nadia accepted his offer she looked forward to settling in the
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countryside and starting a new phase of their lives as a family the setting also suited the animal
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loving Payton who would have plenty of room for all her pets which included dogs cats rabbits chickens birds fish
00:10:35
and one snake Nadia planned to raise livestock and to keep horses on the land in late March 2017 Nadia shared the news
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of her upcoming move interstate on Facebook posting here we come [Music] just over a month later on Thursday May
00:10:59
4 2017 nadir and Payton headed north to join mayak in Idaho with spring in full bloom the Caldwell
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Farm was green and covered in wildflowers Nadia and Payton loved it from the moment they arrived
00:11:18
they and Mike spent a lot of time Outdoors working on the repairs that needed to be done around the property
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Nadia posted photos and videos of her country life online while encouraging her friends to visit anytime
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[Music] on Friday June 9 Nadia was scheduled to drive to Utah to pick up some horses for
00:11:44
the farm but she never arrived wondering what was going on the horse sellers tried calling her cell phone
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there was no answer it all seemed a bit strange but as the sellers didn't know Nadia well they
00:12:03
didn't think much of it as well as being an enthusiastic social media user Nadia was reliable and
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replied to messages quickly when her friends stopped hearing from her they wondered if something was wrong
00:12:21
Peyton's friends noticed that she'd fall on silent too the last time she'd replied to a text
00:12:28
message was on Thursday June 8. as she was ordinarily glued to her phone this seemed rather odd
00:12:38
still it was the summer and she just moved to a new place so they wondered if maybe she was just busy working outdoors
00:12:46
and caring for her animals Mike's family hadn't heard from him either he had two sons from a previous marriage
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and neither had spoken to him in days when more than awakened past with no word from the cordwell farm authorities
00:13:04
were asked to perform a welfare check deputies from the county sheriff's department arrived at the property on
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Monday June 19. the area was eerily quiet there was also a foul odor in the air the deputies entered the Farmhouse
00:13:27
calling out to anyone who might be inside but there was no reply although there were no people in the
00:13:37
house the deputies did find the bodies of several dead dogs cats and pet birds it appeared as though the animals had
00:13:46
starved to death other pets including some rabbits and a snake were still alive outside the deputies checked the hen
00:13:58
house it was full of dead chickens They too had apparently died of starvation not far from the hen house was a hayshed
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the worst smell seemed to be emanating from there [Music] inside the deputies discovered a blue
00:14:19
tarp covering something on the floor underneath were the bodies of three people decomposed beyond recognition due to the
00:14:30
summer heat [Music] when a teacher by the name of Cheryl Baker was in her late 40s she caught a
00:14:44
flight to Alaska and found herself seated next to a very engaging man Gerald was warm and friendly and the two
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hit it off they wound up exchanging phone numbers and began dating when they were both
00:14:58
back at home in Utah in 2010 when Cheryl was 50 and Gerald was 53 they married Cheryl who was artistic and creative
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made her own wedding dress the two had a lot in common both enjoy traveling hiking and
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horseback riding Cheryl practiced Hinduism and attended the SRI Ganesha Temple of Utah
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Gerald took an interest in the faith and would go to the temple with her he even ended up learning Sanskrit a
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classical language of South Asia so he could better understand the Hindu texts but the couple had their differences too
00:15:44
Geraldine knew a lot about surviving in the wilderness and would sometimes act as a guide for hunting parties
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Cheryl hated guns and would have to leave the room whenever Gerald returned from one of these trips
00:15:59
she couldn't stand being in the same space while Gerald cleaned his firearms overall though the couple's friends and
00:16:09
family were struck by how happy they seemed in 2016 six years after their wedding
00:16:16
Cheryl and Gerald went on a rafting vacation together when they returned Cheryl was glowing as
00:16:23
though she'd just been on her honeymoon she raved about what a wonderful time she and Gerald had together
00:16:32
at around this time Cheryl was in her late 50s and had been a teacher for almost four decades
00:16:39
in 2017 she toured at Greenwood Charter School in Harrisville a city just a few miles north of her home in Ogden
00:16:49
Gerald worked as a charter pilot so he was sometimes away for days at a time but he'd been offered a more stable job
00:16:57
based out of Boise in Idaho the couple began to think about their future and what they wanted their
00:17:05
retirement to look like they decided to buy a rural property fixing it up together would be a fun
00:17:14
project after Cheryl left her teaching position in Utah the couple purchased the farm in the
00:17:20
small town of Caldwell on Thursday May 4 2017. the plan was for Gerald to move there
00:17:28
right away and start working on things that needed fixing such as the plumbing and painting
00:17:34
meanwhile Cheryl would keep living at their house in Ogden and to get it ready to be sold
00:17:41
the couple stayed in touch during their time apart and on Saturday June 3 they traveled to New Mexico together to
00:17:49
attend the wedding of one of Gerald's relatives several days later on Tuesday June 6 57
00:17:57
year old Cheryl worked her final day at the Greenwood Charter School she was leaving the job to start
00:18:04
preparing for her retirement by this time Cheryl and Gerald had owned the farm in Caldwell for a month but she
00:18:14
still hadn't seen it in person now that she was no longer working it seemed like the perfect time to surprise
00:18:21
Gerald with an impromptu visit Cheryl wanted to see the farm for herself and also spent some time with
00:18:29
her husband on Thursday June 8 she let some friends know that she was headed up to the farm
00:18:37
the next time anyone heard from her was several days later on Sunday June 11. one of Cheryl's friends received a
00:18:45
strange text message from her it read take care of my dogs I don't know if I'm coming back
00:18:56
when Cheryl's brother heard about this message he wasn't concerned Cheryl and Gerald loved to travel so
00:19:03
perhaps they went on a last minute camping trip somewhere but another week went by with no word
00:19:10
from the Kabul meanwhile in Caldwell Police had received multiple calls requesting
00:19:23
welfare checks on Mike Bollinger and Nadia and Peyton medley the three lived on a farmhouse not far
00:19:30
out of town and no one had heard from them for 10 days when deputies arrived at the farm they
00:19:38
were met with the grisly scene multiple pets had died of starvation after being seemingly abandoned
00:19:46
hidden under a tarp in the hayshed were three bodies believed to be those of the
00:19:52
three missing residents all had been killed with a single execution-style gunshot to the Head
00:20:01
identification at the scene wasn't possible the summer heat had sped up the decomposition process considerably and
00:20:10
the trio had likely already been dead for at least a week and a half one of the bodies appeared to be that of
00:20:17
a woman in her late 40s another belonged to a teenage girl it seemed fairly certain they were Nadia
00:20:27
and Peyton medley but the third body wasn't Mike Bollinger [Music] Mike's full name was Gerald Michael
00:20:40
Ballinger but he typically went by Mike born in Wyoming in 1957 he grew up surrounded by Wilderness which fostered
00:20:50
his interest in the outdoors his family belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also
00:20:58
known as the LDS or Mormon church it is a branch of Christianity that was founded in the United States
00:21:06
foreign 1976 when he was 19 years old Mike traveled to Manila in the Philippines
00:21:14
for his LDS mission serving as a missionary is considered a rite of passage for young LDS members
00:21:22
and is a way for the church to recruit new members all over the world when Mike returned to the United States
00:21:29
he began studying at an LDS College in Idaho where he met another young church member named Jacqueline Garcia who went
00:21:37
by Jackie the pair married at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City Utah in 1978. almost immediately Jackie knew she'd
00:21:49
made a terrible mistake the newlyweds argued a lot and during one fight Jackie was sprawled across the
00:21:58
floor while Mike loomed over her Jackie saw how angry he looked and asked you wanted to hit me didn't you
00:22:08
Mike simply replied yes eventually he began acting on this desire and beat Jackie often
00:22:18
at times she feared Mike was going to kill her he also regularly cheated on her and
00:22:26
lied constantly Jackie tried everything she could think of to fix things she contacted Mike's parents to tell
00:22:35
them what was going on she called a domestic violence hotline she sought couples counseling through the church
00:22:42
and sent Mike to therapy aimed at abusive man but Mike refused to change his behavior
00:22:50
eventually Jackie went to her church bishop and asked for help getting a divorce
00:22:56
[Music] a divorce was granted and in 1988 the pair went their separate ways Jackie was granted Soul custody of their
00:23:07
two sons but they still visited their father on occasion when the boys returned home to Jackie
00:23:13
after a stay with their father the younger one told his mother that Mike had hit him
00:23:19
Jackie called Mike and told him he was not to hit their children Mike said nothing but the next time his
00:23:27
sons visited he sat them both down and said that whatever happened at his house was to stay at his house
00:23:37
[Music] not long after he and Jackie were divorced Mike Bollinger remarried his second wife was a woman whom he'd
00:23:47
been having an affair with then years later Mike met a teacher named Cheryl Baker on a flight to Alaska
00:23:57
Cheryl had no idea that Mike was already married when they started dating when his wife found out he was cheating
00:24:05
and that marriage ended as well then Cheryl married Mike in 2010 oblivious to everything that had been
00:24:13
going on at his end Mike moved into Cheryl's home in Ogden as far as anyone could tell they had a
00:24:22
very happy relationship Cheryl never shared any complaints or concerns about Mike at all
00:24:30
despite his past as a faithful LDS churchgoer with Cheryl he embraced Hinduism like she did
00:24:39
Mark traveled a lot for work but the couple also found plenty of time to enjoy their Hobbies together
00:24:46
and then in 2015 Mike met the recently widowed Nadia Medley at the massage parlor where she worked
00:24:55
Mike then initiated an affair with Nadia Cheryl's loved ones were adamant that she had no idea Mike was being
00:25:04
unfaithful Nadia's friends were equally certain that her strong morals meant she would
00:25:10
never have become involved with a married man they knew that Mike must have lied about
00:25:16
his marital status in order to form a relationship with her plus she had posted openly about her
00:25:23
relationship with Mike on Facebook a number of times if they had been having an affair surely
00:25:30
she wouldn't have done that given what a small community Ogden was it was remarkable that no mutual
00:25:39
acquaintances of the two women had seen the posts and said something about the matter
00:25:45
however it also appeared that Mike and Cheryl weren't social media users although Nadia shared photos and videos
00:25:54
of Mike he wasn't tagged in any posts only later would it come out that Nadia had mentioned a couple of mild concerns
00:26:04
to her friends she thought it was strange that Mike never stayed over at her place and she'd
00:26:11
only visited his house once at the time they put this down to the fact that Mike said it was his first
00:26:19
relationship in 10 years perhaps he felt shy or thought it wasn't appropriate to stay at Nadia's with her
00:26:27
teenage daughter in the house Nadia's house in Ogden was just eight miles away from Cheryl's
00:26:36
a couple of years later in early 2017 Mike convinced Cheryl to buy a farm in Caldwell with him saying it could be
00:26:44
their retirement home Cheryl borrowed money against the house she already owned to finance the
00:26:51
purchase which was made in her name the same day that the purchase of the farm was finalized nadir and her
00:27:00
daughter Peyton moved to Caldwell investigators couldn't understand why Mike would move Nadia and Payton into a
00:27:10
home that was owned by his wife who thought she would be joining him there soon they wondered if Mike's plan had been to
00:27:19
kill Cheryl after using her to buy the Caldwell property so he could form a full-time family with Nadia and Payton
00:27:27
perhaps when Cheryl had decided to make an unannounced visit this plan had been foiled
00:27:35
the Caldwell property was large but it wasn't isolated there was another house about 50 feet
00:27:42
away on one side and a second about 30 feet away a neighbor said she'd heard what sounded
00:27:49
like a woman screaming in the middle of the night sometime between June 6 and June 10.
00:27:55
but she couldn't be sure if it was a person or an animal so she hadn't reported it to the police
00:28:02
others thought they'd heard gunshots on or around June 10. they hadn't thought anything of it at
00:28:10
the time as it wasn't unusual to hear shooting in the rural area DNA confirmed that the three bodies
00:28:19
found in the Farm's hayshed were those of Cheryl Baker and Nadia and Peyton medley
00:28:25
the last time anyone had heard from Nadia or Payton was on Thursday June 8 the same day that Cheryl drove to the
00:28:33
farm detectives suspected that Cheryl had arrived at a time when Mike wasn't around
00:28:41
finding Nadia there instead Cheryl began to talk to the other woman and the two of them figured out that they had both
00:28:48
been manipulated and lied to by the same man then Mike returned home and became enraged upon realizing his deceit had
00:28:57
been found out maybe Cheryl had threatened to divorce him leaving him with no assets as both
00:29:05
property Deeds were in her name he then shot dead all three women including the teenager who viewed him as
00:29:13
a father to avoid the consequences of his actions but then there was the strange text
00:29:21
message Cheryl had sent to a friend on June 11 asking for them to look after her dogs because she might not return
00:29:30
investigators believed Mike might have sent this message from Cheryl's phone the fact that he was nowhere to be found
00:29:38
indicated he had gone on the Run and he had a 10-day head start on investigators
00:29:48
Mike bollinger's photograph was shared widely throughout Idaho and Utah in the hope he might be recognized
00:29:56
he was 60 years old 140 pounds and six foot one with gray hair and brown eyes soon tips were flooding in from people
00:30:07
who had seen him on Saturday June 10 Mike had breakfast in Nampa a city just 10 miles Southeast
00:30:17
of Caldwell then he drove his pickup truck all the way back to Ogden Utah he went to a local dealership where a
00:30:27
2007 Ford Focus that he and Cheryl had owned was being serviced Mike picked up the car and began to
00:30:34
drive it instead of his truck on either June 11 or June 12 a surveillance camera in Swan Valley Idaho
00:30:43
captured Mike entering the city he had driven back to the state he had fled the day after that another surveillance
00:30:53
camera caught the moment that Mike paid an entrance fee to the Bridger Teton National forest located east of Idaho in
00:31:00
Wyoming the bridge at Teton National Forest is a 3.4 million acre Forest that sprawls
00:31:10
across Western Wyoming it sits adjacent to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and is a
00:31:18
Haven for outdoor enthusiasts who love camping and hiking on Wednesday July 12 approximately one
00:31:26
month after the triple homicide Mike bollinger's 2007 Ford Focus was discovered parked at the forest's
00:31:33
Pacific Creek Campground it was a remote campsite and it seemed the car had been left there for some
00:31:40
time investigators were aware that Mike was a competent Outdoorsman who would have no
00:31:47
issues with trekking into the nearby Wilderness his experience as a pilot might have
00:31:54
meant he was also familiar with the forest from the air [Music] law enforcement used police dogs
00:32:01
infrared technology and helicopters to scour the area it was difficult to Reign to navigate on
00:32:09
foot due to the rocky ground and thick vegetation [Music] because Mark was considered armed and
00:32:17
dangerous Searchers were on high alert the entire time just in case he tried to Ambush them
00:32:24
local communities and subdivisions were also checked as were abandoned farmhouses
00:32:30
but no trace of Mike Bollinger was found one week after the Ford Focus was discovered Park ranges in nearby
00:32:41
Yellowstone National Park spotted an SUV being driven by a lighthead man the vehicle was similar to the sort law
00:32:50
enforcement thought Mike might have acquired if he'd left a bridge at Teton National Forest
00:32:56
two Rangers pursued the SUV in two separate vehicles forcing the driver to pull over
00:33:03
also in the car was a woman and a seven-year-old girl [Music] the Rangers blocked in the vehicle and
00:33:10
soon more law enforcement officers arrived after about an hour they permitted the
00:33:18
driver to show them his identification his name was Brett the passengers in the car were his wife
00:33:26
and daughter and they were on vacation from Missouri the officers explained that they were
00:33:32
looking for a wanted killer and showed Brett a photograph of Mike Bollinger Brett couldn't see any resemblance
00:33:40
except that they both had light gray hair the family were permitted to leave news later broke that they were planning
00:33:50
to sue the officers alleging that they had held them at gunpoint for an hour with no explanation
00:33:56
[Music] other sightings of The Wanted fugitive continued to trickle in someone thought they'd seen Mica driving
00:34:07
in Salt Lake City after Mike's Ford was found a river guide in Idaho spotted some men by
00:34:14
Henry's Fork a tributary of the Snake River the god thought the men were behaving
00:34:21
suspiciously one of them looked like Mike none of these sightings could be confirmed
00:34:31
investigators considered the possibility that Mike had taken his own life somewhere deep in the forest
00:34:37
however they wondered why he would travel so far from home in the days after the murders if he'd planned on
00:34:44
killing himself why not do so at the farm back in Caldwell perhaps he had hitched a ride with
00:34:53
another car out of the forest Hunter left his Ford Focus abandoned there to shake the police off his tail
00:35:00
in an interview with newspaper the Idaho Statesman Mike's first wife Jackie Garcia described Mike as a prolific liar
00:35:09
and possibly a sociopath another person who knew Mike but wished to remain anonymous agreed
00:35:17
quote if you know about sociopaths you know they're unlikely to kill themselves he would have to feel guilty and he
00:35:27
doesn't have a conscience a friend of Nadia medley also spoke to the newspaper saying she felt Mike was
00:35:36
too egotistical to take his own life in late 2017 her family was hiking in Bridgeton National Forest near the
00:35:47
Pacific Creek Campground they came across a junction where two Trails met standing there was a disheveled man who
00:35:57
looked to be in his early 60s he was alone and to look to ill-equipped to be hiking in winter
00:36:05
he had no backpack water or safety protection and his face was very weathered The Man passed by the family and kept
00:36:15
his head down the entire time when investigators heard about the interaction they suspected the man could
00:36:22
have been Mike Bollinger months went by with no further developments in the case
00:36:30
then in mid-2018 a gun was found in Pacific Creek it was closer to Yellowstone National
00:36:38
Park than the Bridget Teton forest and was fully loaded investigators wondered if it belonged to
00:36:46
Mike but it was in good condition and didn't look as though it had been exposed to the elements
00:36:54
more than a year after the murders in August 2018 authorities regrouped and carried out another search of the
00:37:02
Bridget Teton Forest roughly 20 investigators from multiple agencies split into four groups to cover
00:37:09
a four-mile radius of wilderness north of the Pacific Creek Campground they started at the junction where a
00:37:17
family had spotted a suspicious looking man at the end of 2017. cadaver dogs went with them
00:37:27
if Mike was still in the forest investigators doubted that he was still alive it had snowed towards the end of 2017
00:37:36
and the Snow Line was right by the Pacific Creek Campground Mike would have had to survive a
00:37:43
bitterly cold winter without any proper gear or provisions even for an experienced Hunter and God
00:37:51
like him that would have been extremely difficult the forest was also home to grizzly
00:37:58
bears wolves and mountain lions if Mike hadn't taken his own life or died from the elements there was every
00:38:05
possibility that he'd been killed by a predatory animal Searchers didn't recover Mike's remains
00:38:13
however they did find some other kind of evidence they wouldn't say publicly what this
00:38:20
evidence was but they told the media it indicated Mike had never left the forest
00:38:25
and had died in there they put out a bulletin advising people visiting the forest throughout the
00:38:33
summer and fall to keep an eye out for anything that looked like scattered clothing or human remains
00:38:40
if Mike had died during the winter then Wildlife would have scavenged his remains when the snow thawed
00:38:48
nothing of significance was ever recovered [Music] enough evidence was found in Mike's
00:38:58
abandoned Ford Focus and at both of his properties to confirm he was responsible
00:39:03
for killing Cheryl Nadia and Payton detectives have not publicly disclosed what that evidence is
00:39:12
Mike Ballinger has formally been charged with three counts of first-degree murder
00:39:16
yet as of late 2022 law enforcement remains confident that he is no longer alive
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Mike Bollinger was described as a chameleon who could mold himself to be whatever a particular woman wanted
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with his first wife Jackie he was an LDS churchgoer like she was when he met Cheryl he began attending a
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Hindu temple with her and even learned Sanskrit then with Nadia who was an avowed
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atheist he said he didn't believe in God either those who met Mark described him as warm
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and Charming he had a charismatic personality and was romantically involved with many women
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some wondered if he had found another woman to con and was living in hiding with her somewhere
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others speculated that maybe Mike had used his pilot's license to fly out of the country and start a new life
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overseas though no evidence has been found to support this Cheryl Baker is remembered as a kind
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gentle and creative woman as well as an excellent teacher for over 30 years she worked at the Utah
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school for the deaf and blind teaching children with hearing impairments sometimes she bought school supplies and
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clothing for students who couldn't afford them and she also searched for funding grants for the school
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in 2011 her hard work was recognized when she was awarded Teacher of the Year by the University of Utah College of
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Education her final job at Greenwood Charter School saw her teaching art classes
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this was a perfect fit for Cheryl who was a talented artist herself at the Utah school for the deaf and
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blind a memorial bench has been installed in Cheryl's honor two months after the murders Nadia
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medley's brother-in-law Mark medley visited The Farmhouse where she and Payton were killed
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he had to sort through their personal belongings and found the ordeal very upsetting
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Mark has described in audio as independent and stoic with the deeply nurturing side
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this side was most evident when she was caring for her many pets and in how she was Raising her daughter Peyton
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when Nadia and Payton were killed Mark medley had been in the process of rebuilding his relationship with them
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he lived Interstate but had recently been getting to know his niece better via phone calls and emails
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in one interview he stated it felt like Payton and I were just starting to get to know each other and
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then this happens it's a hard pill to swallow Peyton had her own YouTube channel where
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she posted videos about her life in one she painted her mother's face blue and purple with glitter to resemble
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the Galaxy in her final video which was posted around New Years of 2017. she talked
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about how she wanted to do things that would make her happy and encouraged viewers to do the same
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do something that will impact your life for the better don't just wait for the right moment
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because guess what there will never be a bright moment we don't have enough time
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in this world to just keeping waiting for the right moment because eventually we'll just give up
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what we wanted to do won't seem important we'll lost the interest and we'll just live our lives not
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knowing you know that we did that we'll just live our lives in the what ifs and that's not okay
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you need to put yourself out there because we have one short in life and no matter what you believe happens
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afterwards we have one life and you need to live it the way you want to [Music] [Music]
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[Music]