This episode originally aired on June 29, 2021. By May 23, 2020, 41-year-old Ian Eckles had been missing for a week. He had made plans to go hunting with a friend, but never showed up at their meeting spot. When he failed to report to work the next day, concern quickly turned into alarm.

Ian’s family and friends launched a desperate search across the rugged terrain of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest along Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Exhausted and running on adrenaline, they scoured the wilderness for any sign of him.

Then, something surreal happened. Ian’s FJ Cruiser came barreling down the mountain. But Ian wasn’t driving. A brief, tense encounter with the man behind the wheel ended with him fleeing into the forest, and a chase that didn’t last long.

That encounter triggered a massive manhunt for an armed and dangerous fugitive, and it raised even more questions about what really happened to Ian Eckles.

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/case-submission/.

Follow The Vanished on social media at:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Patreon

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.