Arctic Manhunt: Hunt for the Mad Trapper

In 1931, a stranger in the Canadian Arctic went on a murder and theft spree. His manhunt was a media circus.

[@ZarpSterr]

The Mad Trapper would be considered a 1% er, even amongst Elite Force Russian/Siberian soldiers. To stay ahead of fully-provisioned local trackers, their dogs and the Cops and then...to climb over the Ice Mountain after all that. Even the local-born trackers could not follow him. That's God-level stuff. ( remembering that he had just about nothing to eat.) ==== Truly incredible, knowing that fully-equipped modern-day mountaineers STILL cannot do it. And he did it during an Arctic Storm. Absolutely mind-blowing.....1 man in 2 million stuff. No way, he was a city boy. The expensive dental work makes me think that he was a hard-core miner that struck it big, in his past and spent a lot of money on his mouth. Which leaves the last intriguing question..... WHAT scared this Superman enough to make him flee to Alaska ???? He certainly wasn't someone who seemed scared of anything, judging by his actions.

[@ccrider3435]

+1 Sisu (2022) doesnt seem like fantasy-fiction after watching The Hunt For The Mad Trapper!

[@dantepearl4186]

WWI vet?

[@richardhenry1969]

That is my thoughts as well. He had enough money to dissappear anywhere. Only someone with extreme outdoor experience could do what he did. More then likely a WW1 veteran. I believe your ideas about him being a miner are on point. Makes more sense then other opinions ive heard. He definitely had amazing skills and drive. The stuff of legends.

[@seanworkman431]

@@richardhenry1969 WW1 was my first thought, he was highly skilled and sniper like precission, sadly many veterans return a bit crazy and just want to get away. I guess the trauma of war makes it hard to readjust to pleasant society.

[@davidlenzi3551]

@@richardhenry1969 The charge the police were originally investigating was illegal trapping had Johnson opened his door then the Police would have set him straight about the boundaries of the no trapping area instead the investigation and pursuit devolved aggravated assault on an a police officer, murder of a police officer and possibly others before the original RCMP visit to his cabin. As the gold filled teeth discovered in his effects on his person at death did not match his dental positions by comparison.

[@tazman8271]

Outstanding production. Been following this story for many years. I hope they do the "Familial DNA" and work it that way.

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

Of course they will. That's how it is done now.❤

[@cynthiacarter514]

Me too. I have thought about this case every since I first heard about familial DNA.

[@Alaskaman247]

In life, all he wanted was to be left alone and now, even in death, they can’t let him be!

[@richardturner1036]

How would you possibly know what he wanted? He was most likely a fugitive running away from justice.

[@roblockhart8410]

He didn’t want to be left alone. He wanted to steal from other’s and deserved what he got.

[@Watson1]

Why spoil a good documentary with the loud music, making it hard to understand what is being said. So many videos are doing the same thing. Very annoying.

[@pj2123]

I fully agree I often give up on videos. The loud background noise is totally unnecessary.

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

These are illegally posted because it's taken from an original poster who uploaded it, not the channel you are watching it on. KZbin would take it down if it wasn't altered in some way. That's why it's got loud music.

[@tamisullivan8548]

Exactly 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@daleslover2771]

So thats why they got the music crank up...​ now how do you get rid of those asinine commercials? @PlatinumIrishrose

[@Auntie-Sara]

This is the generation of video gamers now grown and in control which means I quickly shut them off and search the subject in a quiet place.

[@LindsayClark-h9f]

As a Canadian aware of the story you for got the ww1 flying ace and bush pilot wop may who flew from Edmonton to aid in the search, a few maps would have been nice but otherwise great job

[@Mark-Creed1962]

"Mad Trapper" he wasn't until they "pestered" him. He just wanted to live alone they started the fight.

[@billfarley9167]

Apparently he was accused of stealing furs from other local Dene trappers. That's what initiated the search warrant.

[@elitschetter208]

I know native people their grandparents knew Albert Johnson he was kind to the children in town it all started about a girl she was a nurse he loved her but a cop wanted her so he made hell for Albert

[@mikewilson5063]

@@elitschetter208 Wild💣

[@davidlenzi3551]

@@billfarley9167 Gwitchin and Western Arctic Inuit, the Dene are several hundred miles further south. Hay River Enterprise and Fort Providence would represent the latitudes where the Dene were found to live.

[@marcpedneault3362]

Typical cops

[@Rick-ve6yp]

There's 2 things I feel should have been included in the fantastic story of the "Mad Trapper". First is the way that Albert wore his snow shoes backward to confound the posse. The other is the contribution of Wop May and his flight from Edmonton to track the man.

[@billfarley9167]

Not to forget the contribution made by the Vittrekwa's, a Dene family from Fort MacPherson.

[@barryrobbie]

Yes they didn’t even mention Wop May or the fact that it was first time a plane had ever been used for man hunt. It was actually Wop May that spotted him crossing the river where he was killed

[@pedenmk]

This is the best documentary I've seen in a while. Thanks for sharing.

[@emmachamberlain7587]

I totally agree with you !

[@COZMICTOM]

bull noway of finding his dna match is bull..

[@pedenmk]

@COZMICTOM yeah that was a rip-off. To bad. I was hoping for a match.

[@pedenmk]

@emmachamberlain7587 let's hope for another doc about him

[@pedenmk]

@@COZMICTOM mmaybethete be another doc. I hope so. That was a great episode.

[@genewileyopa]

I agree, he just wanted to live his life on his own terms.

[@Kinghauler2012]

This is amazing. I read the book mad trapper of rat river when I was 15 yrs old. I’m now 56 and I stumbled upon this video and the moment I saw the title I remembered that book and the effect it had on me. I gained my thirst of reading from stories like this one and I find it incredible that 40 odd years later I’m still learning more about that event all those years ago and love the fact others have the same curiosity and passion for what happened back then.

[@johnhenderson131]

@@Kinghauler2012 I too read the book somewhere around the same age, I can relate.

[@FrankSmith-kg3dh]

Im also your same age and read the book at 16 years old i still have that book

[@rosshanley8398]

I’m a 59 year old Australian male, and I first learned about this man whilst working along the McKenzie River, NWT Canada back in 2002. I even had a drink in The Mad Trapper bar in Inuvik NWT. I discussed this story with an old Inuit man who had an interesting take on the whole affair. Interesting story alright.

[@robynmeyer7796]

@@rosshanley8398 Out of interest, what take did your old Inuit friend make? Perhaps that’s where the real wisdom lays.

[@zschow9259]

@@robynmeyer7796 he sayd the cops shuda let him alone

[@bobsaenz5840]

Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson were in a movie about the Mad Trapper. Marvin was the RCMP Sergeant and Bronson was the suspected trapper.

[@johnhenderson131]

41:12 What both impresses and confounds me is his arctic survival skills. You don’t learn those skills by trial and error. He had to have prior or a lifetime upbringing in winter conditions . He did not learn those skills as a Chicago gangster.

[@zschow9259]

survival skills? he died. he had to steal from traps to fed himself. It's all in when you're running from the cops after shootinhg at em'

[@marcpedneault3362]

Should have left him alone.

[@annazaman9657]

As of 2021 they have found ancestors in Sweden. Only a matter of time when he's identified

[@mikewilson5063]

Agree DNA banks.

[@Mcleodp]

No they didn't.. don't make up shit you know nothing about...

[@elizabetherne556]

I’ve got a mystery great uncle that family lore is he was killed rustling cattle over the Canadian border and was killed by the Mounties. They came from Norway though. But last name is something I’ve been told by people from Norway isn’t a Norwegian surname. Immigration records say Norway. But we all know those aren’t necessarily the case. He grew up in Minnesota. So diet would be correct. I do have an ancestry DNA test sitting around. More than likely, not a relative. But I really should get that done and place my DNA out in the database and see what comes up. On another branch of the family tree I have a mystery great grandfather. Came on an orphan train from New York to Iowa. There are certain features he had that indicated he may possibly have been white passing. He lived a very sheltered away from everybody life and let nobody know a thing about him.

[@wandashields6182]

Very interesting

[@mikegibson3388]

A corn fed Scandavian able to survive extremely cold weather.

[@kevinhullinger8743]

Agree

[@ncnovembergrl2009]

Did they ever prove he was stealing from traps? The bunker he built was impressive. Did he know something was going to happen? I think it's sad that he wanted to be left alone but was hunted and shot. By God he gave them a run for their money!

[@cinnamongirl5410]

Figures. When you just want to be alone, the government is all in your business. But try and get the government to fix anything then where'd they go smh

[@johngray8606]

There was a movie made about this man. Starring Charles' Bronson and Lee Marvin. " Death Hunt "

[@Mcleodp]

Worse betrayal of Albert Johnson ever .. the movie sucked in the ratings.

[@kurtlweyden]

yes i was trying to think of that show '' death hunt it's a great show

[@okamisan3642]

You wouldn’t know a good movie if it came along and bit you in the pecker. That movie had Lee Marvin and Carl Weathers as well.❤

[@ROBCAR30GMAIL]

If memory serves me, there are 2 movies on this before Bronson. But Marvin and Bronson... can't compete with that!

[@theoffender3113]

Good show

[@julimeryecla230]

My grandfather died for more than 3 decades already. When my grandmother died 16 years after he died, we exhumed my grandpa's remains to use his grave for his wife and all we get are fragments of his skull and the pair of his leg bones.

[@MrROTD]

I bought a car from a guy named Albert Johnson around 1997 who was the great nephew of the mad trapper and I am a Riddell. When I signed the papers to transfer the car he was like hey do you know about the mad trapper? I said yes actually and he gave me a book about it. What a strange co-incedence I'm related to R F Riddell, one of the men that chased him down.

[@robertmayo4761]

if they are able to find his family... will the family recieve the $2400 dollars the trapper had on his person when killed ?

[@LQOTW]

Plus interest.

[@zschow9259]

cops gotit and the gold teeth

[@katr8756]

The trapper was a crack shot!! Wow!! And hard tough man!

[@JBo77]

No mobster but definitely a military man.

[@LQOTW]

My first thought was mobster on the run - maybe it was a Beatles song.

[@ronbirchard5262]

im thinking WW1, the books said his cabin was a dug out. 2/3rd in the ground, and with the sniper holes. if he was age 20 at the end of ww1 that would fit his time line and doing prospecting work would get that kinda cash & bush experience.

[@TheWanderingFinnegan]

Why do you assume he was a government terrorist?

[@danielasuncion9991]

Once he was being chased, he was in his element. VERY skilled, and cunning. But, when it came to keeping a low profile, and staying out of trouble - he was a klutz. When he showed up in the North, he was a blank slate. No one knew who he was. He could have lived quietly into old age. But, instead, he showed up, and promptly screwed up.

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

For your information: the loud music or backwards pictures or gibberish spoken at the end of these videos iis because these are stolen videos reposted for free FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT. KZbin would remove and ban these posts if these videos were posted like Original Poster uploaded them. If you can't handle the noise, please don't watch. Just let the rest of us enjoy them and go watch a PBS documentary or Who Do You Think You Are episode. Thanks.🎉

[@colinyandon6137]

This guy is my spirit animal!

[@RiccoTurner]

When your back is against the wall and it's life or death you can do superhuman things he probably couldn't do it on a regular day but who am I

[@muscuut]

His arctic survival skills should be taught in all military schools.

[@coreencasey5109]

When your in any stressful, life threatening situation you have superhuman strength you didnt know you had. May explain how he scaled the ice wall.

[@notfoolediknowthetruth3101]

1. Pilot Wop May was used to find the track with an airplane. 2. Johnson had just "J" Hooked; a trick to throw off trackers. His plan was to circle back behind the posse, but ran smack into them on the river as he mis calculated his and their timing.

[@helenglos5744]

Thanks for sharing this. It's such an interesting documentary - well done 🙂

[@johnnyloveful3818]

Thanks for that real life murder mystery production , I used to talk about this dude on coach tours on the dempster hiway back in the later eighties, have a eagles claw drink at Eagles Plains Lodge for the dishonourable conduct of the mighty evil Albert Johnson 👹🇨🇦

[@randalljames1]

Well the finally found Jimmy Hoffa however, I did find this "We now know the Trapper is linked to multiple descendants of Gustaf Magnusson (1776 - 1853) and Britta Svensdotter (1781 - 1846). Further analysis suggests that the Mad Trapper is their descendant, or he is the descendant of one of their close relatives." the towns of Hånger, Kävsjö, and Kulltorp in Sweden.

[@SteveBrock-c7c]

Reminds me of the movie "Death Hunt" starting Charels Bronson.😊

[@Sid-gu5qk]

$2400 in his pocket at a time when $4 would have paid for all his food for the winter.

[@michaelbryant2071]

In an article dated in July 2021 14 years after the original video. DNA testing not available at the time had identified the Mad Trapper being of Swedish descent. He is known to be descended from Gustav Magnusson 1776-1853 and Bretta Svensdotter 1781-1846 . He is their direct descendent or one of their close relatives.

[@richardhenry1969]

Let's not forget he planned that people were out to get him. Then by a strange coincidence they were. We only know the story coming from the people tracking him. We know just because someone says they work for the law doesn't mean they are Good. Im more likely to believe people knew he had money and they wanted a cut. Maybe im jaded but i like a story were a guy gets over on government agents.

[@zschow9259]

down w big brother!!0)

[@ronbirchard5262]

book titles of this have been The Mad Trapper of Rat river, The Death of Albert Johnson and The Mad Trapper. There is also a movie about this too. one thing this doc did not include was that WW1 flying ace Wop May was part of this story. it was the 1st time a airplane was used to search in a man hunt. Wop May would radio sightings locations and also drop messages and also bring in supplies for the ground search. the kill zone for the trapper was on a river bend and the RCMP had him in a cross fire zone. during his chase he lost the posse by hiding his tracks in with a heard of Caribou. if Wop May was not part of the posse i dont think they would have found him. in the books they suggest the has Scandinavia roots.

[@Dr10Jeeps]

The Mounties always get their man.

[@wonaegun7143]

if they would have dropped off a hind quarter of caribou at his door they may have been able to settle this a different way

[@scoutx887]

Great and amazing story,thank you 🙏👏

[@MrMoosekiller31]

If im correct he bangs his rifle on the door an gun misfires thinking he shot at them

[@j.sargent9172]

​@imfree62 facts, scared people don't make good police

[@jenniturtleburger3708]

This dude was an absolute beast.

[@myrabeaulieu4214]

My dad was in the hunting patty The Mad Trapper was very strong snd out smatered them several times. Walked in his snow shoes back hide so good. I was a child when he spoke of this story. Dad admired Trappers skills. Dad keft the party early becuz he had family at home. Wish I would od asked Dad and weote it down when I was older.

[@wonaegun7143]

typical cop cant leave well enough alone, well he got his just deserts!

[@BruceChamberlin-y4r]

Wait a minute, people really were out to get him!

[@Matlacha_Painter]

Music too loud. Couldn’t listen to it.

[@RichardStewart-j5c]

Not trappers traplines, one trappers, who had never trapped in that area in his life

[@roblockhart8410]

Oh yeah you knew these guys eh? 🤡

[@RichardStewart-j5c]

@roblockhart8410 my homeland, Fort MCPHERSON, my grandfather delivered the letter written to the police, not knowing it's contents. The guy that wrote the letter had never trapped in that particular area until a stranger set up to trap there. He was the the one who disturbed Johnson's traps to start with

[@jameskerrigan2997]

One of my favorite books, tells you what we are really capable of.

[@stevemccoy8138]

He was mysterious and already accused, and don't forget that he wanted to be left alone. SO LET'S GO GET HIM !😮

[@jimfoust5152]

There was a movie with Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin about this story. Don't remember the name of the movie.

[@theamericanwonder]

Death Hunt

[@andrewmacaulay1585]

They were not allowed to remove the remains or take it with them to a proper lab?

[@kitfortney9207]

death hunt was a great movie

[@Mcleodp]

No it wasn't, there's stuff in it that didn't happen, worse movie ever.

[@LQOTW]

@@Mcleodp Worst movie ever, you say? I beg to differ. Have you ever seen Sheena, Queen of the Jungle? Worst movie evar! 😁

[@hixenP]

In Highschool I was a loser, but in World of Warcraft I call the shots!

[@harrysweeten9417]

The photographs didn't look like Charles Bronson at all.

[@garyholmes9300]

I remember watching a movie about this starting Charles Bronson

[@lazarohernandez8399]

Life is so complicated and unpredictable. This man wanted be alone and keep a low profile but after 92 years of his death, people keep talking about him, he has inspire movies, books.

[@markthomas3730]

INTERESTING, BUT PROBABLY TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DISTURB AND EXHUME THIS DUDES REMAINS...WHAT GIVES THEM THE RIGHT ? AND AFTER THEY STEAL SOME OF HIS TEETH, CUT UP HIS FEMUR, AND GET HIS DNA, THEY STILL COME UP EMPTY.

[@zschow9259]

gold teeth tho where those get to?

[@jackgibson4542]

Maybe he was a boxer? Very intriguing case. I thought Canadian Ace Wop May was used in the chase. Spotted him in the frozen river from his plane. Used radio to pin point him to searchers. Hope he is identified some day.

[@stevewheatley243]

Very good video. Kudos.

[@rogermellie8068]

Typical police escalating a situation. "Cops return 7 days later with 2 more officers and a warrant to search the cabin" Leave people be and you dont get shot.

[@godslittleman5451]

“God will reveal the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”What a day that will be!

[@Mcleodp]

They should not have dug him up, now people coming out of the woodwork claiming to be his relatives hoping to earn some $$$ , yup should have left him where he was layed to rest , the man was almost super human.

[@jl2831]

One of my favorite stories. They should have included the fact thar they used an airplane to track him as well. Which is historicaly the first time aircraft was used in a man hunt. And how they caught him in the open for the final shoot out.

[@rodglen7071]

They should have had that tented with propane heaters for several days before the phys anths arrived. No way permafrost should have been a surprise.

[@bro5800]

Fantastic.

[@gsullivan3262]

fascinating mystery!

[@Tmarc7665]

Is this the story of Death Hunt? Charles Bronson movie? Just wondering

[@kenneth-uc9vg]

Why do facial recognition I think they have a good picture

[@patrickmurray9409]

He just wanted to be left alone, a hermit.

[@MrMoosekiller31]

This must be based off that movie challenge to be free great film and if the story was accurate then good for him for evading capture over bullshit crooked clown who call themselves trappers he just wanted to be left alone i admire him anyway

[@WorldGoneKrazy]

This inspired the movie Death Hunt with Bronson, Marvin, Dickinson and Carl Weathers.

[@wyoprospector]

He was Charles Bronson!

[@marcpedneault3362]

This one is on the cops. They should have parked their egos.

[@theamerican7131]

always a cop hater in comments section. today it's you. hey loser

[@LeveretteJamesClifford1955]

My best guess is that he was a member of a mob and maybe even the mafia who for a time thrived in perhaps Chicago, and then was accused of being a snitch. Knowing what the mob did to snitches, he headed for a place they would never find him and his fear of being caught and returned to where the mob could get to him, even in prison, led him to fight to the death.

[@JBo77]

Lol a mobster knowing how to survive the artic. That's funny. Maybe a Greenland mobster lolol

[@LeveretteJamesClifford1955]

@@JBo77 Sort of a mobster lobster.

[@lastofthewildmen4683]

Hardly a cold blooded killer , when he was out numbered out gunned at every gunfight, no hes used self defence.. hes done nothing wrong.. hes been harassed for being a loner.. Ironic that the nosy cop who bailed him up got his comeuppance..however shot down by cowards, and still curtain twitching the man in death.. boffins the molesters of all things living and dead...

[@yisroelgranat]

he was one step away from Humanity but not from G-d.

[@michaelmcfarren5655]

Cops just can't leave people alone v

[@AndrewGauthier-uz5bs]

I sledded up there up the peel, visited his grave site back in 1990,

[@Saskatchewan1984]

Highly unlikely he was a know body , to have the kind of cash on him back then and that dental work , some one had to of known him , and for him to out smart and live in that harsh cold climate and outrun them for so long over some of the harshest land scape , with only a few months experience there ? I don’t believe it , he was trained before He got there , he built his cabin into a bunker as he knew people were out to get him long before them come for him , weather for his money or he was a criminal on the run , a lot of there story don’t add up , and to hunt him cause he supposedly stole from trappers traps , but they have no proof, I belive it’s the story the survivors want everyone to believe, and the real story we will never know , just a lot of it seems off with there story ,

[@Sirshackleton]

Some of the dentistry could have been done by dental students. They do nice work and it’s cheap.

[@FrankFriendly-xr5wk]

I think the mad trapper was a reindeer looking man,part wild beast?

[@unsafe_at_any_speed]

Just wanted to be left alone...

[@frankcastle2045]

You know the RCMP won't allow that they love to start shit

[@swagmanandy]

He was an un-convicted man defending himself, they shot first so that doesn't make him a 'cop-killer' it makes him just defending himself and wanting to be left alone but then that's what 'governments' do best. If you buck even slightly against the spurs they come down on you mercilessly.

[@bearhardcorepicker]

Am writing a book on the man, "On The Trail Of The Mad Trapper" (have a page on FB) as I have found a partial path of travel and evidence that he travelled through Manitoba and Saskatchewan enroute to the Yukon....including the likely source of the gold dental work found on him.

[@abrahammorrison6374]

Stompin' Tom Connor's Wop May song mentioned him as the man that they couldn't catch. Listen closely in the song lyrics. This tidbit MUST be mentioned in your book.

[@korosuchimu1479]

DB cooper

[@georgelucienfrancfortii4282]

If you keep on knocking you'll eventually get an answer. Is it to early in time for ol db cooper to be the trapper asking for a friend

[@AlMount]

Excellent

[@FrankSanderson-i3l]

Wasn't he also called the Rat River trapper?

[@CanadaTrapper1]

The mad trapper of Rat River

[@LQOTW]

Wow, that was interesting! Certainly, the man was tough. I'm not sure I can agree that he was a great outdoorsman, though, because it appears he got by stealing from his neighbors. I wouldn't be surprised to learn he came from the Dakotas with their mining interests and 'huge tracts of land'.

[@audibjornsson6107]

Poor guy just wanted to be left alone. They were literally hunting him, he had the right to protect himself. Id bet anything hes Scandinavian descent....we are pretty tough 😂

[@clarencewest6418]

It is a shame that, of necessity, we will only get one side to this story. Many questions that will remain unanswered, i.e., was he guility, what was the initial approach by RCMP, why question his given name, etc. Another pressing question would be, why spend what must have been a considerable amount of money on this whether it be public or private finnds?. If history has proven anything, it is that we do not learn from it. Lord Byron wrote,"...and history with all her value vast hath but one page."

[@petertuckergoettler5720]

I Read The Book, merci.

[@regholwill8476]

Interesting but please next time you make a video please tone down the background music, at times it was hard to know what was being said.

[@Bow-j6c]

I don't believe they can't find relatives, DON'T BELIEVE THEM JUST LIKE THE COP THAT WERE CHASING HIM ,WHAT FOR FOR BEING HUNGRY, I think they found out something they didn't want us to know??????

[@zschow9259]

f the police

[@billyedwards6101]

Incredible

[@proudboomer-j8q]

Did they try to match his DNA with Charles Bronson?

[@cdfdesantis699]

Maybe the DNA could be run through criminal DNA databases, as a starting point.

[@macalister8881]

The quality of this documetary and the way it was put together was perhaps the worst way to watch something so informative

[@dustinoflynn2985]

And here we are digging the passed up and wonder why