Most people understand they face the risk of encountering wild animals when they enter the woods in Alaska. What people do not expect is to be shot and killed while hiking on a remote trail, so when a series of murders occurred in parks and on trails near Anchorage in the summer of 2016, residents demanded more information from the police. Were the murders related to each other, was a serial killer stalking the city, was it safe to go hiking after dark, and what were the police doing to solve these murders? Police remained tight-lipped, and tensions rose.

Colt Python

 

Jame Dale Ritchie

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

Hopkins, Kyle. Dec. 30, 2016. TIMELINE: The life of accused killer James Dale Ritchie. KTUU News.

https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/TIMELINE-The-life-of-accused-killer-James-Dale-Ritchie-408889305.html

Hopkins, Kyle. April 26, 2017. Serial killer: Police say James Dale Ritchie committed 5 murders in 2016. KTUU News https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Serial-killer-Police-say-James-Dale-Ritchie-committed-5-murders-in-2016-420514763.html

James D. Ritchie. Murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/ritchie-james.htm

James Dale Ritchie: A Serial Killer Caught By Chance. The Lineup. https://the-line-up.com/james-dale-ritchie-a-serial-killer-caught-by-chance

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Robin Barefield is the author of four Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. Sign up to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.