Cop Runs Into Secret Killer Dumping Body Parts In River

Who are you? Stop right there. Go ahead and stop. right there. This side of Homestead officer is. pointing his flashlight at 70-year-old. Alan Bruce. He has no idea that the man. he just ran into was in the middle of. dumping human body parts in a nearby. river after murdering, dismembering, and. meticulously covering up the crime. scene. Okay, so what do you what are you. doing? There's a problem going on down. here. I'm watching the [music] victory.

of that guy. All right, so you're just. trying to keep an eye on stuff then. >> Yeah, excuse me for if I got you. excited. All right. After Alan walks away, it would take. investigators days to discover exactly. what he dumped in the river, leading. them through a twisted maze of. misleading clues and disturbing. discoveries. And what might be the worst. crime these small-town officers will. ever uncover. Oh, it stinks bad.

You can pick your friends, and you can. pick your nose, but you can't pick your. family. >> Where is my wife? Now news has reduced. down to nothing. It's a routine late spring in central. Idaho. Tucked deep within its mountains. sits the remote town of Challis, a place. surrounded on all sides by rugged. terrain and long stretches of. wilderness. And at the center of it all. runs the Salmon River, better known as.

the River of No Return. The small town. of Challis is home to fewer than a. thousand residents. Crime rates here are. remarkably low, and serious violent. homicides are unheard of. But that's. about to change because a heinous crime. happened somewhere in this town, and. what's left of it now is in the Salmon. River waiting to be found. The investigation [music]. begins on an early Saturday afternoon.

less than a year ago when an elderly. woman walks into the local police. station to report someone missing. All. means that said, I'm just worried he. hasn't [music] been back to see. That's. why I'm concerned. Yeah. Do you know. what he was wearing last when he left? [music]. >> Pair of boots, blue jeans, and I think. it was a dark T-shirt and baseball cap. And he's got a little pug, Ryder, that. is with him everywhere. Who is Patrick. to you? >> He's one of my dear kids that I've taken. under my wing. Okay, so not biological.

Okay. This picture. Um, yeah, picture, okay. Is that Does this picture [music] look. resemble what he looks like right now? Um, his beard is a little fuller, and. his hair is better shape than that. The man in those photos is 47-year-old. Patrick Shelton. His adoptive mother, Helen, goes on to explain that Patrick. spends most of his time up in the. mountains cutting and selling firewood, often late at night. He's got a.

chainsaw, usually at least one weapon on. him, and his dog, Ryder, is always by. his side. In most missing person cases, it takes days before investigators get a. solid lead to work with. But in the town. of Challis, that process is about to be. cut short. I remember you mentioned. something about when when you talked. about him going to Alan Bruce's, it seemed like you said something to. where they had some conflict recently. They have? Yeah. Okay. Do you know why. he went there? Um, he was [music].

supposed to go move his motor homes. And. when he got out there, Alan had moved. them with a bulldozer. Okay. Not good. Probably screwed up the transmissions, and I don't know. The name Helen mentions immediately. rings a bell because officers know. exactly who she's talking about. 70-year-old Alan Bruce is a local. resident with a rural property just out. of town, working odd jobs including. welding and mechanical work. But that's. not what people in Challis know him for. because Alan has a different reputation.

built on constant disputes and ongoing. conflicts with other locals. Just. earlier in the year, he was reported for. allegedly throwing gas bombs and setting. a woman's property on fire. So based on. Helen's statement, officers prepare to. head out and speak with Alan, see if he. can point them in the right direction. At this point, officers aren't too. surprised that Alan's name came up and. don't expect anything serious. In. reality, something already happened. between Alan and Patrick just a night.

ago that [music] ended very gruesomely. While officers are on their way to. question him, Alan is still in the. middle of covering things up. In just a. few seconds, a deputy pulls up to his. property. Hey, Alan. How's it going? Oh, one thing after another. One thing. after another? Hey, um, I was just. coming to chat with you. We had had a. report that. no one knows where Pat is right now. Yeah, they don't. Okay. Uh, I just.

wanted to touch bases with you cuz I. know he was getting he or sorry, you got. the stuff off your property, but he was. going to come by to pick it up, right? >> Yeah. Did you ever see him on that? >> Okay. He came by here. He was unhappy, very unhappy. Okay, but just it it was just all kind. of verbal argument or something, or he. was just Okay. And he went and got his. stuff then, or. >> Well, he's still got some stuff here. >> [music]. >> He said he was wanting to go cut some. wood. He needs some money. So he's. probably out somewhere out there where. he broke down, and I don't know. I I'm. just trying to create a timeline for so.

I know who last saw him. So when when. was that he showed up here? Two nights ago. Two nights ago? >> Two nights ago. Let's see. What is that? Thursday night, okay. In the middle of. the conversation, the deputy notices. something off about Alan's demeanor. His. responses are short, controlled, almost. rehearsed. But as the deputy continues. asking questions, things start to feel. even more strange. And then, did he hang. around here long, or did he just go. right over?

>> Back and forth. Back and forth? Coming. back onto the property? Yeah. Does he. still have stuff here then? >> He did it all the time. Okay. Like that. shed, that wooden shed this here. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay. >> The tires in it. I don't know if you can. see there's a pickup rack just over. there. Over that board. Oh, just the steel. there poking up. Okay. Okay. So he. wooden rack over there on the back of. the tracker like that. >> This Okay, kind of bunch of crap laying. around. Okay. Did So he got some of it. though? Yeah. Do you know where he was.

taking it to? Taking it down to his. motor homes. Oh, where is motor homes? Right here. You know, walk over [music] here and. >> Okay. Oh, there? There's just a ramp charger, and the other one's in front. The motor home Alan is pointing [music]. to does indeed belong to Patrick. But. more importantly, it holds items that. might explain what really happened to. him. Alan goes on to explain that he. moved Patrick's motor homes himself. because of the ongoing disputes and. problems between the two, which sounds.

normal considering they're frequent. business partners. But as the. conversation continues, the deputy takes. note of Alan's shifting body language. and quietly requests another officer to. the scene. [music] There's a noticeable. tension in the way Alan carries himself. This is because while he's speaking to. the deputy, his sole focus is on the. barrels sitting just a few feet away. with Patrick's dismembered body parts. hidden inside. Are you driving along with me?

I was just on a phone call for a minute, so I didn't want to bring that out here, so. So did he stay here last night, or Okay. >> Okay. And he didn't tell you where he. was going to get the wood? >> Hold on. It was Thursday night he left. here, not last night. Okay. You know, does he have any favorite spots so we. can just go and check on him? >> here, Bayhorse, pretty close to the top. You go up there before you get to the. rest area. The path is. You see where it takes off and goes down. the hill and crosses the creek. Uh-huh. Where he's got up in there.

is a favorite wood cutting spot for him. Okay. Okay. Is that the only one you. know about? >> It's the only one he took me to. Okay. You may be the last person that saw him. cuz he would have then gone up there. that night potentially? >> Yeah. Okay. Notably, Alan's demeanor shifts once. again. With a second officer on scene, he becomes more composed and careful. with how he answers questions. Despite. [music] this noticeable shift, Alan. provides deputies with something useful, a location where Patrick might be. The.

place he mentions is a remote area about. 20 miles out near the so-called River of. No Return. Naturally, it's somewhere. deputies need to check. But before. heading out there, they decide to take a. quick look around the motor home Alan. pointed to earlier. A small decision. that will give police something useful. to work with later on.

The doors are ratchet strapped closed. Looks like it's cut. Look, are these new footprints? No. Maybe Alan take a photo of those. Yeah, that one looks open. That looks. I think it looks cut. If that is a deadbolt, but you know, that's an additional. I'm assuming Alan had to access it to. put it in neutral. Technically, you.

could be looking at. unlawful entry. Clearly, the locks have been tampered. with, consistent with Alan's explanation. that he moved the motor home himself. It's a small detail, but one that could. give officers grounds to detain him. later on depending on how this unfolds. But without a warrant, officers can't. search inside the motor home. So they. step back, leave the scene, and head. towards Big Hill [music] where Patrick. might be. At this stage, there is still. no confirmed crime. Alan has been.

forthcoming and nothing directly points. to anything serious just yet. But by the. end of this night, police will have more. than one suspect on their hands and what. might be the worst crime this town will. ever see. But before we get to that, it's. important to note that cases like these. can affect the mental health of both the. officers and the innocent people. involved. And stressful situations in. everyone's life can often have the same. effect. [music] I hit a point where. trying to move on wasn't working and I. didn't really have anyone I could talk.

to without feeling like I was a burden. or worrying about how they'd react or. what they'd think. And that's when I. realized having someone completely. outside your life who can give you a. clear, unbiased perspective actually. [music] makes a huge difference. That's. why I've partnered with today's sponsor, BetterHelp. Starting therapy can feel. like a huge step, but BetterHelp. actually makes it really simple. You. take a short quiz, get matched with a. licensed therapist, and if it's not the. right fit, we [music] can switch anytime. at no extra cost, which I think is huge. because finding the right therapist.

makes all the difference. And I'm not. the only one who thinks so. Over 6. million people have used BetterHelp. earning it a 4.8 out of 5 rating on the. App Store. Click the link in the. description or go to. betterhelp.com/doctorinsanity. [music]. to get 10% off your first month. With. that said, let's get back to the video. Roughly 2 hours later, deputies arrive. at Big Hill where Patrick was known to. frequent for cutting firewood. On the.

ground, deputies notice tire marks and. begin following them. And as they. continue along the trail, they spot. something in the distance, a red pickup. truck matching the description of. Patrick's vehicle with a damaged. windshield. Pat, hello. His windshield is cracked. Yeah. I think that's normal. I believe so. Hey, Pat. Pat.

Pat, it's Kootenai County Sheriff's. Office. Can you hear us? Dog's in the seat. Alive? What was the dog's name? Uh. Ryder. Ryder, buddy. Ryder. Is he awake? No, he's not he's not. moving. Dog's been in here a while. He's. messed himself. Oh. He's moving. It's definitely a he, by the way. Hey, baby. You'll be okay.

We're going to get you some water, okay? Where did he go? Where did he go? Miraculously, Patrick's dog Ryder is. still alive after two full days, but. he's severely dehydrated. As deputies. pull Ryder from the vehicle and give him. water, they notice something else. Patrick's chainsaw is missing from the. truck, suggesting he might still be. somewhere nearby. And while they discuss. their next steps, Ryder suddenly begins.

reacting to something in the air. Dogs. like Ryder have a sense of smell up to. 100,000 times more powerful than humans, comparable even to trained police canine. units. Without realizing it, officers. have stumbled onto their strongest lead. yet, and Ryder might guide them directly. towards the answer they're looking for. Poor buddy. What's up? What's that? >> No. Okay. So, that makes me think he could be.

down lower if he would cuz he's his. chainsaw's not here. >> Yeah. He always has his chainsaw. I'm thinking. so. I'll go with you. I kind of want to walk down there and. see if his behavior still points that. way. >> Right. Let's walk him. Come on. Dude, you got to give me a break.

>> [sighs]. >> We can't go down that. That is a completely down. That is There. is no angle to that. Am I arguing with a dog? As luck would have it, the dog picks up. a scent but can't pinpoint a specific. location. The reason for that is. something officers haven't realized yet. because there is no single place where. Patrick might be. He's already been dead. for two nights, dismembered with his own. chainsaw and scattered across the very.

mountains deputies are now searching. Some of his remains are already floating. down the river of no return just 20. miles from where they're standing. None of this is apparent to deputies. yet, so they decide to take a closer. look at Patrick's pickup truck for any. additional clues. What they notice. inside is very sketchy. [music]. Dark red staining across the interior, heavily soaked towels on the driver's. seat, items marked with blood, and a. discarded mail letter with the name Alan.

Bruce on it. Something violent happened. here, and the more deputies think about. it, the more obvious what happened to. Patrick [music] becomes. So, before the. evening ends, they secure the scene and. return to town where they talk to other. acquaintances of Patrick who. collectively make one thing crystal. clear. Alan had an ongoing feud with. Patrick. He recently moved his motor. home using heavy equipment and damaged. it in the process. And he's the only. person anyone can think of who might.

want to hurt Patrick. With that in mind, investigators formally identify Alan. Bruce [music] as the primary suspect in. Patrick Shelton's disappearance. But the. reality and discoveries awaiting. investigators in the coming hours are. anything but straightforward [music]. as they'll soon find themselves. investigating more than one suspect. For. the time being though, search warrants. are requested for both properties. [music] and Idaho State Police are. called in, bringing in a team of. experienced detectives. However, as the.

multi-agency effort is underway, someone. in town is simultaneously running their. own homicide cover-up operation. As night falls, Alan moves quietly, continuing to dump body parts and. evidence in the river and burning. anything that could tie him to what he's. done. At the same time, police and. search and rescue units are mobilized, preparing to comb through the. surrounding terrain for any sign of. Patrick. Around midnight, Deputy Mike is. sent to patrol near Patrick's truck,

monitoring the area in case anything. changes. A few hours into his shift, something does. Who are you? Stop right there. Just go ahead and stop. right there. So, what are you coming out here for? That. guy there shooting Pat uh.

Patrick Shelton. That's his stuff. I. kind of looking after a little bit. Okay. Car down here like I come down. here to investigate. You saw what was. going on. Okay. I didn't know it was you guys. Okay. Well, I turned my lights on. and uh. you still were shining your light at me. >> Yeah, you had your lights on me. I. couldn't see where I was going. Okay, I'm saying I turned my red and. blue lights on. Yeah. And you were still. spotlighting me. And then I told you I. instructed you to turn it off.

I don't like lights in my eyes about as. much as you don't. You know, you had. yours in my eyes, so I got worried. No, it's not even. Okay. So, what are you What are you. doing? You're just keeping an eye on. this Patrick Shelton. Okay. That person has a problem going on down. here, and I just wanted to make sure he. wasn't hurting [music] that guy. He's having a little what problem? Theivery. What. >> Theivery. Theivery, okay. >> Ask Doc Houston Kelly about that. He'll. tell you. Okay. All right, so you're.

just trying to keep an eye on stuff. then. >> Yeah, they show nobody's ripping. off down here. Okay. Excuse me for if I got you excited. All. right. 270, 240, we can calm down on code four. Out here in complete darkness, Alan. Bruce suddenly appears. Nothing about. this encounter adds up because at this. point, Alan isn't just the last person.

to see Patrick alive, he's been in a. dispute with him, moved his motor home. after he disappeared, and now he's out. here in the middle of the night claiming. he's checking on Patrick's property and. protecting it from theft. In reality, he. came here to finish what he started, to. [music] destroy evidence he didn't have. time to deal with earlier when deputies. interrupted him. Worse yet, just minutes. ago, he was at the River of No Return a. couple miles away disposing of what was. left of Patrick. >> [music]. >> Deputy Mike doesn't know any of this.

yet, but this creepy encounter makes it. clear that Alan knows something police. don't. Unfortunately for him, this is. where things begin to crumble [music]. because coming back here tonight is the. mistake that's about to collapse his. entire cover-up [music] operation. In the early hours of the following. morning, investigators use the overnight. developments and the encounter with Alan. to accelerate the approval of search. warrants. With everything they've seen.

so far, it's clear Alan knows something. they don't, [music] and they need to. find out what that is. To do that, they. put a plan in motion. First, get Alan. off the property, search it, and if any. hard evidence is found, bring him back. [music] and confront him with it. So, while detectives get the search warrants. approved, one deputy is sent to Alan's. property with a simple objective, get. Alan into the car and keep him away from. the property [music] to avoid. destruction of any evidence. Allen, on. the other hand, believes he's already. taken care of all the incriminating.

evidence and that there's nothing left. to find. When Deputy Kelly arrives at. the lot, Allen has no clue how quickly. his entire cover-up plot will come. crashing down on him. Hey Allen. How's it going? Hopefully your day's a little better. than when I last ran into you. You said. everything was. Well, your truck's still broken down, I. guess, so maybe that's not the case. All right. You can just hop in the front there.

I'm hoping he turns up. He's got no. business. Yeah, there's He's still got stuff on. your property to get off, too, huh? So, I mean, y'all were getting along for. a while there, but then what I mean, what happened there even? He just. started accusing you of stuff or Yeah. And there's nothing I could say to. convince him. That was Well, I appreciate you being. available to just chat with them a bit. more there. They're the professionals. They've got They've got questions I. probably didn't ask you.

>> [laughter]. >> Okay. Even as the deputy tries to subtly probe. for more information, nothing useful. comes out of it and Allen sticks to his. story. Interestingly though, Allen. appears noticeably more relaxed, likely. because he's confident that there's no. way police can tie him to a crime. Roughly 30 minutes later, deputies and. detectives arrive at the property. While. Allen waits inside his car, the. discovery of the evidence he failed to. cover up starts with Patrick's motor. home.

>> [snorts]. >> Sheriff's office. Make yourself known. What this is. It's a gun case.

Patrick's empty gun box is consistent. with earlier statements that he always. keeps a firearm with him. The problem. is, that gun is nowhere to be found in. the motor home and it was never found in. his pickup truck the previous day. With. Patrick's motor home cleared, officers. move over to Allen's property. Allen. owns multiple structures and vehicles on.

the lot and after clearing a few of. them, deputies find no obvious signs of. a crime. It seems like Allen's cover-up. operation is successful so far, but that. begins to change as deputies notice. something unusual lingering across parts. of the property. Something smells like Oh, it. stinks bad. So, we're going to We're just going to. hold on on this trailer. till we can get keys. If we if he won't.

give us keys, then we'll go from there, but we're going to We need to hold on. this. until we get that. It's probably not freshly moved. Do we. want to call out the cadaver dog? Let's go ahead and do it while we're. here. We've. got it cleared. It might be the best way. to get something to hold him. As the search continues, deputies can. smell an odor of burnt meat across parts. of the lot, but no clear source. After. checking around the structures again and. searching the open areas, they can't.

find anything. So, to pinpoint the. source, deputies call in a cadaver dog. trained to detect human remains and a. few minutes later, police canine Spie. arrives on scene. After running the dog. across the property, Spie begins. alerting to the presence of something. inside a set of barrels. I'm rolling. Ooh, clean down. Okay, so let's start looking. Yeah.

Yeah, we got our We got our window. Going to burn. mark. Ah. Latex gloves, windows. Ooh, and doggy treats. But I could get a. backup picture? Inside the barrel, officers begin to. uncover what Allen tried to hide. Broken. window glass of a car consistent with a.

bullet impact, latex gloves and traces. of blood on the filter of a vacuum. cleaner. After searching other barrels, officers find night vision binoculars, Patrick's baseball cap marked with blood. and most concerning of all, bone. fragments and suspected human remains on. multiple pieces of clothing. Additional. items are recovered as well, including. ammunition and magazines, but no. firearms, suggesting the weapons may. have been moved or hidden somewhere. else. Among the findings, detectives.

note the missing firearms, the lack of. any intact remains and the speed at. which the scene appears to have been. cleaned, something particularly. peculiar, leading them to consider that. Allen may not have acted alone. After these discoveries, Allen's. property is officially treated as a. crime scene. The area is secured and. forensic examiners are called in to. process the evidence. Detectives now. have the hard evidence they need to. confront Allen. But while they prepare.

to do so, [music] an unexpected. development happens when Allen's younger. brother Larry suddenly shows up at the. scene. Hours earlier, police received an. oddly timed phone call from him claiming. that if anything happened to Patrick, it. was his own fault. Not only that, Larry. made additional statements about Patrick. that led detectives to question whether. they might be dealing with a second. suspect. Yeah, well, he's been stealing. on my brother's and uh he said that. he's threatened him and waved a god big.

ass gun at him. Somebody else said that. he's a straight up thief and he sees an. opportunity, he's going to take. advantage of anything that he can, you. know, cuz he thinks he'll get away with. it. Okay, so he was kind of concerned. Pat might Patrick might do something. stupid, use a gun or something. >> Pat's going to kill him, you know. Right. On the call, Larry made it clear. that Patrick was the aggressor and the. one who had been threatening Allen, leading investigators to suspect he. might know more than what he shared on. the phone. So, naturally, their.

suspicions rise when he arrives at the. search warrant scene unannounced. Once. detectives begin speaking with him, Larry seems confident [music] he can. prove that Patrick was the problem. Howdy. How's it going? And you are? I'm. Allen's brother. Okay, I'm Sergeant. Tuttle with the State Police. So, obviously, your brother got himself in a. lot of trouble. That's what it sounds like. Start We're. going to go in the trailer. We can go. sit in the trailer where we're not. getting rained on. You said that. Shelton? Is that the guy's name?

Patrick Shelton, yeah. Okay. And he was. threatening your brother, right? Right. And so, is that something. your brother told you or do you have. other knowledge of that? >> That's something my brother told me. My. brother said, "Hey, he pulled a pistol. and waved it in my face and threatened. me and And how long ago did your brother. tell you that? About a week? That was. probably about. 2 weeks ago. Okay. You know, if somebody. was waving a gun at me, you know, I'd. I'd probably be, you know, wanting to. have something to defend myself, too,

you know, but you know, my brother had been asking. Shelton to move for months. Okay. And uh. Shelton was like, "Well, you, you. know.". Uh basically. So, my brother took the little road grader. the the little dozer. and pulled the stuff and put it out here. on the other side of the fence. Is this. something your brother told you or is. this something you saw? As far as moving the stuff, yeah. I came.

by the day that he was moving stuff on. the way home. What I didn't know when my. brother moved the stuff just to try to. get the pressure off of my brother. I text Shelton and I told him, "Hey, I. moved your crap off of my brother's. lot." So, then he text me back when he. got to town going, "I got a beef with. you." I mean, Shelton's a drunk and a. dope fiend. Okay, so. I told him, "You're. not getting your truck back." That was. That was That was.

Allen's That was May 3rd. Okay. He goes, "I'm trying. I'm broke I'm. broke down. I'm trying to get a ride.". Then you said, "Never mind, I moved it. for you. Give Allen back whatever you. took at his.". >> Yeah, he goes, "Who is this?" Yeah, Allen bought a. brought the beef to me anyway. I don't have any of his. Well, Allen kept showing me pictures of. stuff that was missing, you know, where. it was and missing and Patrick was like. one of the only.

the only people in here, so or she I. have a beef with you, too. Okay. I just. put bring your beef. We know who you. are, drug addicts. Just remember you me. with all of us and. I taken pictures from the Sheriff office. parking lot thinking that well, maybe. he'd think I'm a sheriff and maybe he. back his, you know, or leave Allen alone and get. the out of town, you know. So, I. put. me with all of us, you'll you'll lose.

Best thing for you to do is pack up and. leave Custer County and don't come back. Allen's brother goes on to pull up. additional messages between him and. Patrick. The messages he shares show the. feud escalating over time, primarily. over Patrick refusing to move his. property off the land and accusations. that he'd been stealing from Allen. As. detectives read through them, it becomes. clear that Allen's brother wasn't just. aware of the conflict, he was involved. in it at some point. This only adds to. investigators' suspicions. So, instead.

of continuing to circle around it, the. detective says exactly what he's. thinking. Yeah, it's And no sign of Shelton. though, huh? Find a body or anything or. There's signs of Shelton, just not. living signs of Shelton. One of the. things I'm trying to wrap my head around. is. I'm like, how did he do that by himself? He's not a very big guy. Like, how would. he move things around without somebody. helping him? Like, if he Let's just say. that. if he shot Shelton and took him. somewhere and dropped dumped his body,

who would he call to help him? I have no. clue. I mean, he wouldn't call. me. Right. That's what I'm saying. Does. he have good friends that I don't know. I don't know what he's capable of, you. know? I mean, Right. I don't know. anybody that would help him move. something, you know, help him commit a. crime, you know? I mean, my wife would. shoot me if I helped him, you know? How. long you been married? Um since 2016. Yeah, she'd murder you. >> 9 years.

Last night, she's like going, "Well, this and that, you know, and what if it. was Allen? What if he comes and kills us. in our sleep, you know?" I was like, you. know, cuz I mean, she was watching that. Criminal Minds for a long time, you. know, after she retired from the DA, you. know, it's like you know, serial killers, you know. >> [laughter]. >> Um Shelter Valley is Custer County. You. don't worry about serial killers. When it's all said and done, everybody. will know everything. You can pick your. friends, and you can pick your nose,

but you can't pick your family. On that interesting remark, Larry shifts. from defending his brother to no longer. being certain and begins to see things. the way investigators do. With nothing. else to add, police wrap up the. interview with Larry, still uncertain of. his involvement. Now, they can finally. turn their attention back to Allen, who's still sitting in the car, completely unaware of what's just been. uncovered on his lot. At this point, investigators have enough to place Allen.

under arrest and pursue homicide. charges. The problem is, they don't have. a body, and they don't have a. confession, both of which are critical. in building a solid case, especially. [music]. when it comes to proving exactly what. happened and how. But, with the evidence. discovered on his property, this is. their best chance to confront Allen. directly and push for a confession. The. stakes are extremely high. If Allen. plays his cards right, a skilled defense. attorney can create just enough.

reasonable doubt to get him out of this. scot-free. We've got a cadaver dog. hitting on other spots on the property. that have bone fragments. And the only thing that dog is trained. to hit on is dead humans. You know, there was only two people here. that night, you and him. Right? There's nobody else that I can. talk to. Can't find him. And if you didn't do it. and somebody else did, can you point me. in the right direction? I can't do that. I. don't know anybody else is out here. Well, let's Like I said, I don't either.

Even after hearing this, Allen continues. his denial. But, this is exactly why. investigators brought him back to the. property. It's a part of a strategy. known as crime scene exposure. Experienced detectives use this. technique to confront suspects with. something directly tied to the crime, like the scene itself or key pieces of. evidence. This creates psychological. pressure, making it harder to maintain a. lie, and often triggering unexpected. reactions or slips in their story. So,

investigators take Allen out of the car. and bring him back to the center of the. lot, back to the very place where. everything likely happened, to see if he. will finally break. What we just We want to be able to tell. the prosecutor you helped us every which. way you could. If I can't protect my family, [clears throat] I'm going to go to. prison for the rest of my life, what? I don't know. I can't tell you what the prosecutor. >> you what the jury's going to do right. now. You know, I have to go through this. right now. Yeah.

So, the way it works here is. he doesn't feel like we should let you. stay out free, right? So, we're still going to continue to. investigate this case with your help or. without your help. We're still going to. dig through. But, but there's still some things that. like concern me, like and I don't know. if you ask him about like how Who drove. the truck up in the mountains? Nobody drove it. I towed it up there. >> Oh, you towed it up there? Okay. With. which vehicle? My dog. Okay. We drove by and towed it up there. Oh,

okay. What did you do with the dog? Left. it in the truck. I would have just got to pick it up. there. I just leave the truck up maybe. we'll figure it out. Yeah. How did the dog get in there? I don't. like kill it. Yeah, that didn't do. nothing. Yeah. So, I just I mean, we're we're in a rock and. a hard place right now, right? Where we've been all day. Where we're. going to continue to be until. we can completely wrap this up and.

figure out what the hell actually. happened. Well, before you take him to. jail, can I lock up the lock on the. cell? Yeah. Yeah, we're we're not going to leave. this unsecured. We I mean, we'll we'll. we'll lock it all up and bring you the. keys. >> Close the gate. Yeah. All. I'm going to go. Well, that's part of it, but you also. destroyed some evidence. What would you do? I don't know. I've never been in that. situation. >> Allen. Dude, come on. Did you burn a body? Come. on. >> did.

And you didn't tell anybody. So, like, look at it from from from our point of. view. You know, we got to we do the right. thing for for Patrick's family. You know what I mean? We got to try to. find that body. You know, we got to do. the right thing for his family. >> no body. I've used reduced it down to. nothing. Nothing. Did you chop him up? No, I. threw him in a burn barrel with a bunch. of wood underneath him. Yeah, I chopped. him up. Like, did. >> a chainsaw to him. Okay. Where's the chainsaw? It's gone. It's gone. Did you throw it in the. river? I got rid of it. Believe me, I.

burned it. You burned the chainsaw? Is. it in the barrel? And I've never chainsawed a body, but I. think it would be like blood and skin. and gristle and stuff, you know, Yeah, it was ugly. And so, like, where's. Where's that at? Where's Like, how did. you clean that up? Took a shovel and. rake brush up there, everything I could. Washed it down with a hose and put. bleach all over it. And the chainsaw's where? Here in the burn barrel. Burned it up. last day.

Allen finally cracks, admitting that he. shot Patrick, dismembered him, and. burned the body before disposing [music]. of the remains. With a confession now on. record, investigators turn their. attention to a critical question. Did. Allen act alone, or is there something. even darker he's still hiding? But, before detectives can press further, Allen makes a surprising claim. He came. over with that pistol and was going to. kill me. And that's And we're not we're.

not arguing. We're not arguing that. point. We're just trying to figure out. like what you did with the body, how you. did it, and where it's at, if there's. anything left. Not much. Did you have any help with it? No. I should have just cut up the shovel. Do you see our point I I mean, what. we're trying to do at all, Allen? I tried to hide it and get away with it. Yeah.

And And like I said, we're just trying. to, you know, get some closure for his. family and and present the picture so. that that that everybody understands why. you did what you did. Should have just better pulled the. trigger. Motive. Things got out of hand. That boy. It was me and him, but. I don't. Despite Allen's claims that he killed. Patrick in self-defense, it hardly. explains the brutality and concealment.

that followed. Following this, Allen is. arrested and charged with first-degree. murder along with multiple additional. charges. Later that day, dive teams and. officers are sent to the river area. where Allen claimed he dumped the. remains. But, despite extensive search. efforts, nothing of evidentiary value is. recovered. In the days that follow, police obtain a. warrant to search Allen's phone, where. they find the most critical evidence in. the case. On Allen's phone, detectives.

find a hostile exchange from May 7th, where Patrick texts Allen, "You will be. seeing me soon. Make your peace." And. Allen responds, "Never be at my place. after dark, or else." But, it's in the. camera roll where they find what they. had been unable to locate for days, a. photo of Patrick dead inside the cab of. his truck with his silver pistol next to. him. The photo was taken at 6:25 a.m. on. May 8th. When asked about it, Allen.

claims he took the photo as proof in. case he ever needed it. A couple months later, in July 2025, police receive a call from fishermen. reporting a burn barrel floating in a. different area of the Salmon River. Officers and divers recover the barrel. and transport it for forensic. examination, but no human remains or. items linked to Patrick are found. inside, likely because everything had. already been destroyed or lost in the. River of No Return. As for the missing.

firearms, investigators later uncover. both the rifle [music]. and Patrick's silver pistol at the. residence of an associate of Allen. The. man claims Allen brought the weapons to. him, asking him to sell them and with no. evidence tying his associates or his. brother to the homicide or the cover-up, investigators determined that Allen. acted alone. In October 2025, Allen's initial charges. were reduced to second-degree murder and. destruction of evidence after Allen. entered an Alford plea, meaning he.

maintains his innocence while. acknowledging the prosecutors have. enough evidence to convict him. In. November [music] 2025, a judge denies. Allen's last-minute attempt to withdraw. the plea and sentences him to 20 years. in prison. He must serve at least 10. years before becoming eligible for. parole, meaning he will get a chance to. walk free in his 80s. But given the. severity of the crime, there is a very. real possibility he never leaves prison. at all.