MeatEater, Inc. is an outdoor lifestyle company founded by renowned writer and TV personality Steven Rinella. Host of the Netflix show MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast, Rinella has gained wide popularity with hunters and non-hunters alike through his passion for outdoor adventure and wild foods, as well as his strong commitment to conservation. Founded with the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, MeatEater, Inc. brings together leading influencers in the outdoor space to create premium content experiences and unique apparel and equipment. MeatEater, Inc. is based in Bozeman, MT.

Who Murdered Mike Crites?

Blood Trails Case Files
mike feature.jpg
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).

Mike Crites wanted to live alone in the Montana mountains. He built a cabin, managed his land for wildlife, and spent his days hunting elk and mule deer.

But isolation didn’t mean peace.

After years of escalating disputes with neighbors over access roads and property lines, Mike vanished in September 2011.

What investigators eventually found was far worse than a missing person case—it was a dismemberment, with remains scattered across both sides of a mountain pass.

Two neighbors emerged as key figures. One had a long history of conflict with Mike. The other showed up the day before he disappeared—and later changed his story.

More than a decade later, the case finally made it to trial. But even now, the most critical questions remain unanswered.

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Photo Evidence

Hunter kneeling behind a deer, holding its antlers, wearing orange cap and sunglasses
Fallen logs blocking a forest trail with 'NO TRESPASSING' sign
Large elk with tall antlers; hunter in camouflage kneeling behind in snowy field
Three large dogs with man holding one upright while woman pets another in sunlit pine meadow
Man holding two large fish, wearing sunglasses and yellow shirt reading "CRUISIN'", on a lake
Young man in camo shirt holding a blue stringer of fish with shrubs behind
Teen holding small round object toward camera, standing by brick wall
Man in black tuxedo and bow tie, orange pocket square, standing before green curtains

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