Casefile True Crime: Case 251: The Caldwell Farmhouse Murders

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Well folks, here's my new backyard,

said 47-year-old Nadia Medley

as she filmed her surroundings with her smartphone.

It was Wednesday, May 10, 2017,

and Nadia stood alone in the middle of a sprawling paddock

on the rural outskirts of Caldwell, Idaho.

Nadia slowly panned her phone,

capturing the overgrown grass and wild flowers that encircled her.

In the distance were trees and the fences of neighboring properties.

There wasn't a cloud in the blue sky,

and all was silent aside from the gentle sounds of birds chirping.

Kind of liking this just a little bit, Nadia remarked.

She honed in on a rundown fence with broken wires that needed fixing.

Nadia explained that rebuilding it was one of the projects

she had to work on.

At her feet was one of her three pet dogs sniffing and chewing on grass.

Dogs are the only thing that's grazing now, Nadia joked,

but that will change.

The land had so many trees that the house where Nadia lived

wasn't visible from where she was standing.

The pleasure she took in the peaceful country home was evident in her voice

as she narrated her video tour of the property.

Nadia filmed the farm's hen house where their chickens were kept

before pausing on a small building further away.

Hey shed, she explained.

Yep, baby, we're loving it.

Just one week earlier, Nadia had moved to the caught-well farm

from her previous home in the city of Ogden, Utah.

She kept her friends back in Utah up to date on her new life in Idaho

via her Facebook page.

There, they could watch her live on her Facebook page.

Nadia had moved to the caught-well farm

in Utah via her Facebook page.

There, they could watch the video Nadia filmed of her new back yard.

It looks right down your alley, her friend commented.

That's so pretty, wrote another.

It's a ton of work, Nadia admitted,

but added that she was loving Idaho already.

A few days later, Nadia posted a photograph of her front yard

mit Rhein during a storm.

On Thursday, May 18, one of Nadia's dogs clambered onto a tree with her as she took a break from all the yard work.

She shared a photo of this too, writing,

This silly dog climbed a tree with us today.

A month into her time in Caldwell, Nadia completed a survey of 34 questions about her likes and dislikes.

She posted the results to her Facebook page.

Question 25 asked,

Are you where you want to be in life?

Nadia's answer to this was simply, yes.

Nadia was originally from Germany.

She had immigrated to the United States on her own, where she met and married an American man named Todd Medley.

The two worked together in a pet store.

They also bred small animals at their home to make extra money.

In 2002, the couple had their first child, a girl they named Peyton.

Almost a decade later in 2011, Nadia gave birth to her second child, who died shortly thereafter.

Three years later in 2014, while Nadia was still dealing with the loss of her baby, Todd suffered a heart attack and died.

With no other family in the United States, apart from Todd's relatives who lived interstate, Nadia and Peyton grew extremely close.

They bonded over their love of animals and did fun activities together, such as swimming and picnicking.

Nadia described Peyton as one of her favorite people.

When two short stories that Peyton had written were published in her school's annual writing anthology, Nadia was incredibly proud.

Despite her deep connection with her daughter, Nadia still struggled.

Utah felt like a strange place to her at times.

Nadia loved the state's natural beauty, but as a staunch atheist, she found its overwhelmingly religious culture quite foreign.

The headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were in Utah, and many of Nadia's neighbors in Ogden were church members.

Finances were also a difficulty.

Todd hadn't left behind any money when he died, and now Nadia was a sole provider.

She began working as a massage therapist at an Ogden Spa.

One day in 2015, a man in his late 50s arrived for an appointment.

Sein Name war Mike Bollinger, und dank der Age-Differenz, Nadia spielte sofort weg.

Mike war warm und scharme, mit einem langen Lauch.

Die beiden liebten Heuch- und Explorieren den großen

Es war clear that Mike had brought happiness back into her life.

He was also great with Peyton, sometimes picking her up from school or taking her out for lunch.

He became something of a father figure, teaching Peyton outdoor skills like shooting or playing with her in the autumn leaves.

Peyton seemed to adore Mike almost as much as her mother, and soon she'd started calling him dad.

Mike, Nadia und Peyton attended concerts and festivals together, went to the baseball, and hiked and camped in Yellowstone National Park.

Because Mike worked as a pilot, he often had to travel for a few days at a time.

He made up for his absence by taking Nadia and Peyton on vacations or other adventures that Nadia documented on her Facebook page.

By the beginning of 2017, Nadia und Mike had been together for almost 18 months.

Things were going so well that Nadia felt ready to ask Mike an awkward question.

Her single income wasn't a lot, and she was having trouble making her mortgage payments.

Nadia had seen Mike's paycheck and knew he made more than $10,000 a month, so she wondered if he might be able to help her out financially.

Mike was troubled by the question.

He had divorced his wife a decade earlier, and Nadia was the first woman he'd been involved with since then.

Becoming financially entangled with another seemed far too serious for him, and he worried that the relationship was moving more quickly than he was ready for.

After a conversation about the matter, the couple broke up.

Mike had recently been offered more consistent work based out of Boise, the capital city of Idaho.

He'd purchased a rundown farm in the city of Caldwell, about 28 miles west of Boise.

The property was around one and a half acres, and it had a fully equipped farmhouse that was built in 1964.

From the outside, it looked like a modest weatherboard home, but it had four bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as a spacious kitchen.

As he was nearing retirement age, Mike thought the property would be a scenic spot to live out his golden years.

The farm needed lots of work, but it was a project Mike was keen to take on.

Yet, not having Nadia in his life made Mike realize what he'd be giving up if their relationship didn't progress further.

Despite no longer being a couple, they had stayed in touch and still spoke regularly.

Both of them missed one another and found being apart very difficult.

Within a few weeks, they decided to get back together.

Proving how serious he was about their relationship, Mike asked Nadia and Peyton to live in Caldwell with him.

Nadia accepted his offer.

She looked forward to settling in the countryside and starting a new phase of their lives as a family.

The setting also suited the animal-loving Peyton, who would have plenty of room for all her pets,

which included dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, birds, fish, and one snake.

She and Nadia planned to raise livestock and keep horses on the land.

In late March 2017, Nadia shared the news of her upcoming move interstate on Facebook,

posting,

Just over a month later, on Thursday, May 4, 2017, Nadia and Peyton headed north to join Mike in Idaho.

With spring in full bloom, the Caldwell Farm was green and covered in wildflowers.

Nadia and Peyton loved it from the moment they arrived.

They and Mike spent a lot of time outdoors, working on the repairs that needed to be done around the property.

Nadia posted photos and videos of her country life online, while encouraging her friends to visit anytime.

On Friday, June 9, Nadia was scheduled to drive to Utah to pick up some horses for the farm.

But she never arrived. Wondering what was going on, the horse sellers tried calling her cell phone.

There was no answer.

It all seemed a bit strange, but as the sellers didn't know Nadia well, they didn't think much of it.

As well as being an enthusiastic social media user, Nadia was reliable and replied to messages quickly.

When her friends stopped hearing from her, they wondered if something was wrong.

Peyton's friends noticed that she'd fallen silent too.

The last time she'd replied to a text message was on Thursday, June 8.

As she was ordinarily glued to her phone, this seemed rather odd.

Still, it was the summer and she just moved to a new place, so they wondered if maybe she was just busy working outdoors and caring for her animals.

Mike's family hadn't heard from him either.

He had two sons from a previous marriage and neither had spoken to him in days.

When more than a week had passed with no word from the Cordwell Farm, authorities were asked to perform a welfare check.

Deputies from the County Sheriff's Department arrived at the property on Monday, June 19.

The area was eerily quiet.

There was also a foul odor in the air.

The deputies entered the farmhouse calling out to anyone who might be inside, but there was no reply.

Although there were no people in the house, the deputies did find the bodies of several dead dogs, cats and pet birds.

It appeared as though the animals had starved to death.

Other pets, including some rabbits and a snake, were still alive.

Outside, the deputies checked the henhouse.

It was full of dead chickens.

They too had apparently died of starvation.

Not far from the henhouse was a hay shed.

The worst smell seemed to be emanating from there.

Inside, the deputies discovered a blue tub covering something on the floor.

Underneath were the bodies of three people decomposed beyond recognition due to the summer heat.

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When a teacher by the name of Cheryl Baker was in her late 40s,

she caught a flight to Alaska and found herself seated next to a very engaging man.

Gerald was warm and friendly and the two hit it off.

They wound up exchanging phone numbers and began dating when they were both back at home in Utah.

In 2010, when Cheryl was 50 and Gerald was 53, they married.

Cheryl, who was artistic and creative, made her own wedding dress.

The two had a lot in common.

Both enjoyed travelling, hiking and horseback riding.

Cheryl practised Hinduism and attended the Sri Ganesha Temple of Utah.

Gerald took an interest in the faith and would go to the temple with her.

He even ended up learning Sanskrit, a classical language of South Asia,

so he could better understand the Hindu texts.

But the couple had their differences too.

Gerald knew a lot about surviving in the wilderness and would sometimes act as a guide for hunting parties.

Cheryl hated guns and would have to leave the room whenever Gerald returned from one of these trips.

She couldn't stand being in the same space while Gerald cleaned his firearms.

Overall though, the couple's friends and family were struck by how happy they seemed.

In 2016, 6 years after their wedding, Cheryl and Gerald went on a rafting vacation together.

When they returned, Cheryl was glowing as though she'd just been on her honeymoon.

She raved about what a wonderful time she and Gerald had together.

At around this time, Cheryl was in her late 50s and had been a teacher for almost four decades.

In 2017, she toured at Greenwood Charter School in Harrisville,

a city just a few miles north of her home in Ogden.

Gerald worked as a charter pilot, so he was sometimes away for days at a time,

aber he'd been offered a more stable job based out of Boise in Idaho.

The couple began to think about their future and what they wanted their retirement to look like.

They decided to buy a rural property.

Fixing it up together would be a fun project after Cheryl left her teaching position in Utah.

The couple purchased a farm in the small town of Caldwell on Thursday, May 4, 2017.

The plan was for Gerald to move there right away and start working on things that needed fixing, such as the plumbing and painting.

Meanwhile, Cheryl would keep living at their house in Ogden and get it ready to be sold.

The couple stayed in touch during their time apart and on Saturday, June 3,

they travelled to New Mexico together to attend the wedding of one of Gerald's relatives.

Several days later, on Tuesday, June 6, 57-year-old Cheryl worked her final day at the Greenwood Charter School.

She was leaving the job to start preparing for her retirement.

By this time, Cheryl and Gerald had owned the farm in Caldwell for a month,

but she still hadn't seen it in person.

Now that she was no longer working, it seemed like the perfect time to surprise Gerald with an impromptu visit.

Cheryl wanted to see the farm for herself and also spend some time with her husband.

On Thursday, June 8, she let some friends know that she was headed up to the farm.

The next time anyone heard from her was several days later on Sunday, June 11.

One of Cheryl's friends received a strange text message from her.

It read, take care of my dogs, I don't know if I'm coming back.

When Cheryl's brother heard about this message, he wasn't concerned.

Cheryl and Gerald loved to travel, so perhaps they went on a last-minute camping trip somewhere.

But another week went by with no word from the couple.

Meanwhile in Caldwell, police had received multiple calls requesting welfare checks on Mike Bollinger and Nadia and Peyton Medley.

The three lived on a farmhouse not far out of town and no one had heard from them for ten days.

When deputies arrived at the farm, they were met with a grisly scene.

Multiple pets had died of starvation after being seemingly abandoned.

Hidden under a tarp in the hay shed were three bodies, believed to be those of the three missing residents.

Paul had been killed with a single execution-style gunshot to the head.

Identification at the scene wasn't possible.

The summer heat had sped up the decomposition process considerably and the trio had likely already been dead for at least a week and a half.

One of the bodies appeared to be that of a woman in her late 40s.

Another belonged to a teenage girl.

It seemed fairly certain they were Nadia and Peyton Medley.

But the third body wasn't Mike Bollinger.

Mike's full name was Gerald Michael Bollinger, but he typically went by Mike.

Born in Wyoming in 1957, he grew up surrounded by wilderness, which fostered his interest in the outdoors.

His family belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS or Mormon Church.

It is a branch of Christianity that was founded in the United States.

In 1976, when he was 19 years old, Mike traveled to Manila in the Philippines for his LDS mission.

Serving as a missionary, he's considered a right of passage for young LDS members and is a way for the Church to recruit new members all over the world.

When Mike returned to the United States, he began studying at an LDS College in Idaho, where he met another young Church member named Jacqueline Garcia, who went by Jackie.

The pair married at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1978.

Allmost immediately, Jackie knew she'd made a terrible mistake.

The newlyweds argued a lot, and during one fight, Jackie was sprawled across the floor while Mike loomed over her.

Jackie saw how angry he looked and asked, you wanted to hit me, didn't you? Mike simply replied, yes.

Eventually he began acting on this desire and beat Jackie often.

At times, she feared Mike was going to kill her.

He also regularly cheated on her and lied constantly.

Jackie tried everything she could think of to fix things.

She contacted Mike's parents to tell them what was going on.

She called a domestic violence hotline.

She sought couples counseling through the Church and sent Mike to therapy aimed at abusive men.

But Mike refused to change his behavior.

Eventually, Jackie went to her Church Bishop and asked for help getting a divorce.

A divorce was granted, and in 1988 the pair went their separate ways.

Jackie war im Grunde der beiden Söhne, aber sie besuchten ihrem Vater.

Als die Brüder nach Jackie zurückkehren, hat er mit ihrem Vater, der jüngere, seiner Mutter, gesagt, dass Mike ihn getötet.

Jackie called Mike und sagte, dass er ihn nicht getötet hat.

Mike sagte nichts, aber der nächste Mal, als seine Söhne besuchten,

er satt sie beide runter und sagte, dass was immer passiert, dass seine Haus ist,

war es zu bleiben, dass seine Haus ist.

Nicht lange nach, dass er und Jackie getötet waren,

hat Mike Bollinger remarberiert.

Seine zweite Frau war eine Frau, mit der er eine Affäre hatte.

Dann, Jahre später, Mike hat eine Frau, named Sheryl Baker, in Alaska geflogen.

Sheryl hatte keine Ahnung, dass Mike schon getötet wurde, als sie starteten.

Als seine Frau herausgefunden hat, war er verursacht, dass sie auch getötet wurden.

Dann, Sheryl hat Mike im Jahr 2010 getötet,

unabhängig von allem, was in seiner Hand war.

Mike fiel nach Sheryls Zuhause in Ogden.

So lange, als jemand gesagt hätte, hat sie eine sehr glückliche Beziehung.

Sheryl hat keine Sorgen oder Sorgen über Mike.

Nachdem er verursacht wurde, war er ein furchtbarer LDS-Churchgauer.

Mit Sheryl hat er Hinduismus gebraucht, wie sie es gemacht haben.

Mike hat viel Arbeit verursacht,

aber der Mann hat auch viel Zeit, um ihre Hobbys zusammenzusehen.

Dann, 2015, Mike hat mit Nadia Medley im Massagepaler, wo sie arbeitete.

Mike hat dann eine Affäre mit Nadia initiiert.

Sheryl ließ sich an, dass sie keine Ahnung hatte, dass Mike unabhängig war.

Nadia und seine Freunde waren seltsam, dass sie eine starke Moral haben,

dass sie nie mit einem jährlichen Mann einbekommen würden.

Sie wussten, dass Mike über seine Maritalstatus geliebt hat,

um eine Beziehung mit ihnen zu formen.

Vielmehr, sie postete offenbar über ihre Beziehung mit Mike auf Facebook

einiges Mal.

Wenn sie eine Affäre haben, würden sie das nicht tun.

Nachdem es eine kleine Gemeinschaft war, war es remarkably,

dass keine Mutuellen Erkrankungen der beiden Frauen die Posts gesehen haben

und etwas über die Sache gesagt haben.

Aber es war auch so, dass Mike und Sheryl keine Social-Media-User waren.

Obwohl Nadia Fotos und Videos von Mike sharen,

war er nicht in irgendwelchen Posts taggedeckt.

Dann kam er aus, dass Nadia ein paar Milder Konzerne zu ihren Freunden hat.

Sie dachten, es war seltsam, dass Mike nie über ihre Beziehung geredet hat

und sie nur in seinem Haus visitiert hat.

Bei der Zeit, haben sie das zu dem Fakt,

dass Mike gesagt hat, es war seine erste Beziehung in 10 Jahren.

Vielleicht fiel er schliess,

oder dachte er, es sei nicht verabschiedet,

dass sie mit ihrer Kindheit in das Haus geredet hat.

Nadia's Haus in Ogden war nur 8 Mio. von Sheryls.

Ein paar Jahre später, in dem Jahr 2017,

Mike konvinzte Sheryl,

um eine Farbe in Koldewerl mit ihm zu kaufen,

dass sie ihre Beziehung zu Hause sein könnte.

Sheryl hat Geld gegen das Haus,

die sie schon verabschiedet hat, zu finanzieren,

was sie in ihrem Namen gemacht hat.

Das same Tag, dass die Beziehung von der Farbe finalisiert wurde,

Nadia und ihre Daughter Peyton nach Koldewerl geredet haben.

Investigatoren konnten nicht verstehen,

warum Mike nach Koldewerl und Peyton in ein Haus geredet hat,

das seine Frau von ihm gewohnt hat,

die dachte, sie würde ihm dort bald beobachten.

Sie haben sich gefragt, ob Mike's Plan war,

um mit Sheryl zu kaufen,

um sie mit der Koldewerl-Beziehung zu kaufen,

um eine Vollzeit-Familie mit Nadia und Peyton zu formen.

Vielleicht, wenn Sheryl sich mit einem Unabhängigen

zu besuchen, hat dieser Plan gefolgt.

Die Koldewerl-Beziehung war groß,

aber es war nicht isoliert.

Es gab noch ein Haus,

über 50 Meter auf einem Seite,

und ein second, über 30 Meter weg.

Ein Neighbor sagte,

dass sie eine Frau,

in der Mitte der Nacht,

zwischen Juni 6 und Juni 10 geredet hat.

Aber sie konnten nicht sicher sein,

ob es eine Person oder ein Tier war,

so dass sie sie nicht zu den Polizisten berichten.

Andere dachten,

sie hielten Gunshots auf oder um Juni 10.

Sie dachten nicht,

es sei nicht ungewöhnlich,

in der Koldewerl-Beziehung zu hören.

Die Koldewerl-Beziehung hat festgestellt,

dass die drei Koldewerl-Beziehung,

in der Farbe Heyshed waren,

von Sheryl Baker und Nadia und Peyton Medley.

Das letzte Mal,

dass jemand von Nadia oder Peyton

von Juni 8 geredet hat,

das gleiche Tag,

dass Sheryl zu der Farbe ging.

Die Koldewerl-Beziehung hatte gespürt,

dass Sheryl zu einer Zeit,

wenn Mike nicht da war,

nach der Koldewerl-Beziehung

beginnt zu sprechen mit der anderen Frau,

und die beiden haben sich herausgefunden,

dass sie beide manipuliert und geliebt wurden,

von den gleichen Männern.

Dann kam Mike nach Hause

und wurde in Ruhe,

upon realising his deceit

had been found out.

Maybe Sheryl had threatened

to divorce him,

leaving him with no assets,

as both property deeds were in her name.

He then shot dead all three women,

including the teenager

who viewed him as a father,

to avoid the consequences of his actions.

But then there was the strange text message

Sheryl had sent to a friend

on Juni 11,

asking for them to look after her dogs

because she might not return.

Investigators believed Mike

might have sent this message

from Sheryl's phone.

The fact that he was nowhere to be found

indicated he had gone on the run,

and he had also

a 10-day head start

on investigators.

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Mike Bullinger's photograph

was shared widely

throughout Idaho and Utah

in the hope he might be recognised.

He was 60 years old, 140

pounds

in his eyes.

Soon tips were flooding in

from people who had seen him.

On Saturday, June 10

Mike had breakfast in Nampa,

a city just 10 miles

southeast of Caldwell.

Then he drove his pickup

truck all the way back to Ogden,

Utah.

He went to a local dealership

where a 2007 Ford Focus

that he and Sheryl had owned

serviced.

Mike picked up the car

and began to drive it

instead of his truck.

On either June 11

or June 12 a surveillance camera

in Swan Valley, Idaho

captured Mike entering the city.

He had driven back to the state

he had fled.

The day after that

another surveillance camera caught

the moment that Mike paid an entrance

fee to the Bridger Teton National

Forest, located east of Idaho

in Wyoming.

The Bridger Teton National Forest

is a 3.4 million acre

forest that sprawls across

western Wyoming.

It sits adjacent to the Grand

Teton and Yellowstone National

Parks and is a haven

for outdoor enthusiasts who love

camping and hiking.

On Wednesday, July 12

approximately one month after

the triple homicide,

Mike Bollinger's 2007 Ford Focus

was discovered parked

at the Forest's Pacific Creek Campground.

It was a remote campsite

and it seemed the car

had been left there for some time.

Investigators were aware

that Mike was a competent outdoorsman

who would have no issues with

trekking into the nearby wilderness.

His experience

as a pilot might have meant

he was also familiar with the forest

from the air.

Law enforcement

used police dogs, infrared

technology and helicopters

to scour the area.

It was difficult terrain

to navigate on foot due

to the rocky ground and thick

vegetation.

Because Mike was considered

armed and dangerous,

searchers were on high alert

the entire time, just in case

they ambushed them.

Local communities and subdivisions

were also checked, as

were abandoned farmhouses.

But no trace of Mike Bollinger

was found.

One week after the Ford Focus

was discovered, park rangers

in nearby Yellowstone National Park

spotted an SUV

being driven by a light-haired man.

The vehicle was similar

to the sort law enforcement

officer.

But Mike might have acquired

if he'd left Bridgeteaton National

Forest.

Two rangers pursued the SUV

in two separate vehicles,

forcing the driver to pull over.

Also in the car was a woman

and a seven-year-old girl.

The rangers blocked in the vehicle

and soon more law enforcement

officers arrived.

After about an hour,

they permitted the driver

his identification.

His name was Brett.

The passengers in the car

were his wife and daughter

and they were on vacation from Missouri.

The officers explained

that they were looking for a wanted killer

and showed Brett a photograph

of Mike Bollinger.

Brett couldn't see any resemblance

except that they both had

light gray hair.

The family were permitted

to leave.

News later broke

that they were planning to sue

the officers, alleging that

they had held them at gunpoint for an hour

with no explanation.

Other sightings of the wanted fugitive

continued to trickle in.

Someone thought they'd seen

Mike driving in Salt Lake City.

After Mike's

Ford was found, a river guide

in Idaho spotted some man by Henry's

Fork, a tributary

of the Snake River.

The guide thought the man

were behaving suspiciously.

One of them looked like Mike.

None of these sightings

could be confirmed.

Investigators considered the possibility

that Mike had taken his own life

somewhere deep in the forest.

However,

they wondered why he would travel so

far from home in the days after the murders

if he'd planned on killing himself.

Why not

do so at the farm back in Caldwell?

Perhaps he had hitched a ride

with another car out of the forest

and left his Ford Focus abandoned

there to shake the police off his tail.

In an interview with

Newspaper The Idaho Statement,

Mike's first wife, Jackie Garcia,

described Mike as a prolific liar

and possibly a sociopath.

Another person who knew Mike

but wished to remain anonymous agreed.

Quote

If you know about sociopaths

you know they're unlikely

to kill themselves.

He would have to feel guilty

and he doesn't have a conscience.

A friend of Nadia Medley

also spoke to the newspaper

saying she felt Mike was too

egotistical to take his own life.

In

late 2017

a family was hiking

in Bridgeteton National Forest

near the Pacific Creek Campground.

They came across a junction where two

trails met.

Standing there was a disheveled man

who looked to be in his early 60s.

He was alone and looked ill equipped

to be hiking in winter.

He had no backpack,

water or safety protection

and his face was very weathered.

The man passed by the family

and kept his head down the entire time.

When investigators heard about the interaction

they suspected the man could have been

Mike Bollinger.

Months went by with no further developments

in the case.

Then in mid 2018

a gun was found in Pacific Creek.

It was closer to Yellowstone National Park

than the Bridgeteton Forest

and was fully loaded.

Investigators wondered if it belonged to Mike

but it was in good condition

and didn't look as though it had been

exposed to the elements.

More than a year after the murders

in August 2018

authorities regrouped

and carried out another search of the Bridgeteton Forest.

Roughly 20 Investigators

from multiple agencies

split into four groups

to cover a four mile radius

of wilderness north of the Pacific Creek Campground.

They started at the junction

where a family had spotted a suspicious looking man

at the end of 2017.

Cadaver dogs went with them.

If Mike was still in the forest

investigators doubted that he was still alive.

It had snowed

towards the end of 2017

and the snow line was right by

the Pacific Creek Campground.

Mike would have had to survive a bitterly cold winter

without any proper gear or provisions.

Even for an experienced hunter

and guide like him

that would have been extremely difficult.

The forest was also home to grizzly bears,

wolves and mountain lions.

If Mike hadn't taken his own life

or died from the elements

there was every possibility

that he'd been killed by a predatory animal.

Searches didn't recover Mike's remains.

However, they did find

some other kind of evidence.

They wouldn't say publicly what this evidence was

but they told the media

it indicated Mike had never left the forest

and had died in there.

They put out a bulletin

advising people visiting the forest

throughout the summer and fall

to keep an eye out for anything

that looked like scattered clothing

or human remains.

If Mike had died during the winter

then wildlife would have scavenged

his remains when the snow thawed.

Nothing of significance was ever recovered.

Enough evidence was found

in Mike's abandoned Ford Focus

and at both of his properties

to confirm he was responsible

for killing Cheryl, Nadia and Peyton.

Detectives have not publicly disclosed

what that evidence is.

Mike Bollinger has formally been charged

with three counts of first-degree murder.

Yet, as of late 2018

Mike Bollinger

has formally been charged

with three counts of first-degree murder

yet, as of late 2022

law enforcement remains confident

that he is no longer alive.

Mike Bollinger was described

as a chameleon who could mold himself

to be whatever a particular woman wanted.

With his first wife Jackie

he was an LDS churchgoer like she was.

When he met Cheryl

he began attending a Hindu temple

with her and even learnt Sanskrit.

Then with Nadia

who was an avowed atheist

he said he didn't believe in God either.

Those who met Mike

described him as warm and charming.

He had a charismatic personality

and was romantically involved

with many women.

Some wondered if he had found

another woman to con

and was living in hiding with her somewhere.

Others speculated that maybe Mike

had used his pilot's license

to fly out of the country

and start a new life overseas

though no evidence has been found

to support this.

Cheryl Baker is remembered as a kind,

gentle and creative woman

as well as an excellent teacher.

For over 30 years

she worked at the Utah School

for the Deaf and Blind

teaching children with hearing impairments.

Sometimes

she bought school supplies and clothing

for students who couldn't afford them

and she also searched

for funding grants for the school.

In 2011

her hard work was recognised

when she was awarded Teacher of the Year

by the University of Utah College of Education.

Her final job

at Greenwood Charter School

saw her teaching art classes.

This was a perfect fit for Cheryl

as a talented artist herself.

At the Utah School

for the Deaf and Blind

a memorial bench has been installed

in Cheryl's honour.

Two months after the murders

Nadia Medley's brother-in-law

Mark Medley visited the farmhouse

where she and Peyton were killed.

He had to sort through their personal belongings

and found the ordeal very upsetting.

Mark has described Nadia

independent and stoic

with a deeply nurturing side.

This side was most evident

when she was caring for her many pets

and in how she was raising her daughter Peyton.

When Nadia and Peyton were killed

Mark Medley had been in the process

of rebuilding his relationship with them.

He lived interstate

but had recently been getting to know his niece

better via phone calls and emails.

In one interview

he stated

It felt like Peyton and I

were just starting to get to know each other

and then this happens.

It's a hard pill to swallow.

Peyton had her own YouTube channel

where she posted videos about her life.

In one

she painted her mother's face

blue and purple with glitter

to resemble the galaxy.

In her final video

which was posted around New Years of 2017

she talked about

how she wanted to do things

that would make her happy

and encouraged viewers to do the same.

We'll just give up.

What we wanted to do won't seem important.

We'll lost the interest

and we'll just live our lives

not knowing

that we did that.

We'll just live our lives in the what ifs

and that's not okay.

You need to put yourself out there

because we have one shorting life

and no matter what you believe

happens afterwards.

We have one life and you need to live it

the way you want to.

Copyright WDR 2021

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.