Cop Runs Into Secret Killer Dumping Body Parts In River | Forensic Files

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
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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.

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---- In the quiet town of Challis, Idaho, 70-year-old Alan Bruce, a local handyman, crosses paths with an officer in the dead of night.

What begins as a strange encounter soon reveals a chilling truth, Bruce is the last person to see Patrick Shelton alive.

This soon sets off a chain of events that leads police down a twisted path of murder, deception, and an almost perfect cover-up. ----

We are committed to accuracy in every case we cover. Because videos cannot be updated after publication, any corrections, clarifications, or new information will be documented on our official corrections page: https://corrections.drinsanity.com/

This video was made for educational purposes only.

The video is presented to provide genuine footage of police incidents to promote transparency in government while providing educational, informative and newsworthy content allowing viewers to examine and assess public safety material. This is a fact-checked documentary using authoritative sources.

Brief Summary

Alan Bruce confesses to murdering Patrick Shelton after a violent feud, leading to a complex investigation in Challis, Idaho.

Key points

The Discovery of Patrick's Dog. Deputies find Patrick's dog Ryder alive after two days, raising hopes for his safety.
Alan Bruce's Suspicious Behavior. Alan Bruce's demeanor raises red flags as he interacts with deputies investigating Patrick's disappearance.
Allen's Confession. Allen admits to shooting and dismembering Patrick, revealing the brutal truth behind the crime.
Unexpected Evidence. Detectives uncover a photo of Patrick dead in his truck, taken by Allen himself.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is probably the worst crime these small-town officers will ever uncover.

0:53WatchApr 16, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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