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A Big Woods Cold Case

Blood Trails Case Files
Black-and-white close-up portrait of young man smiling, grainy texture
Jordan Sillars is a managing editor at MeatEater who writes about firearms, conservation, and American literature. He hails from the East Texas piney woods, where he likes pursuing squirrels, whitetail, wild hogs, and sand bass (but mostly squirrels).

On a snowy November morning in 1975, 25-year-old Ludger Belanger stepped into the woods with his .30-30 and the hope of backstraps for dinner. But what started as a simple deer hunt quickly became one of Maine’s oldest—and most haunting—unsolved cases.

At first, game wardens thought Ludger had lost his way. But the tracks in the snow told another story: a shot deer, a missing rifle, tire marks on a back road, and two strangers in a green Buick.

Now, fifty years later, Ludger’s wife, children, and grandchildren are still searching for the truth—and for the body of the man stolen from them.

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Note: The car in the photo below is not the car from this case but is a Buick Special from the same year as the one the suspects were driving.

Photo Evidence

Black-and-white headshot of a young man in a suit and patterned tie, smiling
Smiling baby in patterned bib with bearded man leaning over on couch
Three smiling children in vintage portrait: baby, toddler, and young girl in patterned dresses
Light-blue 1965 Buick Special four-door sedan at a car show; 'BUICK' letters on hood
Bride and groom in vintage wedding photo; woman in white dress holding red rose, man in suit with striped tie and orange boutonniere
Wedding party in church, bride in veil holding bouquet; groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen and children
Black-and-white portrait of smiling boy in striped shirt with anchor emblem, in photo album
Probate court order: IN RE LUDGER BELANGER — declared deceased as of November 25, 1975

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