Key facts
- Name: Ludger Belanger
- Born: November 5, 1950
- Age at disappearance: 25
- Last seen: November 25, 1975, around 9:00 a.m., dropped off to deer hunt near Route 105 in Washington, Maine
- Location: Woods near Route 105, Washington, Knox County, Maine
- Description: Adult male hunter; was carrying a .30-30 rifle; details of clothing unrecorded in public sources
- Status: Still missing; cold case
- Investigating agency: Maine State Police — (207) 624-7143 or (800) 452-4664 (NamUs MP36428)
The deer that was dragged — and the man who wasn’t
On the morning of November 25, 1975 — two days before Thanksgiving — Ludger Belanger’s wife, Linda, and his brother dropped him off near Route 105 in Washington, Maine. It was deer season. Ludger, a 25-year-old heavy-equipment mechanic who worked for Bridge Construction in Windsor, promised he’d be back within the hour.
He never came back.
What searchers found in the woods that day is what makes this case haunt people. Ludger’s tracks told a story: he had shot a deer, dressed it, and begun dragging it toward the road. Then the tracks simply ended. Abruptly. No rifle. No deer. No Ludger.
A man does not drag a deer carcass through the woods and then vanish from his own footprints. Something interrupted that walk back to the road. Whatever it was, it left no sign.
A young family left waiting
Ludger and Linda Belanger were building a life. Linda worked as a waitress at the Ho Ho Chinese Restaurant in Augusta. They had three daughters — Michelle, Traci, and Angel, who was only four months old when her father walked into the woods with his .30-30.
Thanksgiving came two days later. The family that should have been celebrating a successful hunt was instead living inside a nightmare. Linda raised three girls without answers. The case went cold, and for decades it stayed that way — one of those Maine woods disappearances that people in Knox County still talk about in low voices.
The family came to believe Ludger was killed — and that the motive may have been the deer itself. In 1975, a dressed deer was real money and real meat, weeks of food. The theory, as the family has expressed it, is blunt: someone killed him for the meat.
The investigation, decades on
Over the years, investigators developed two persons of interest. One, David Svenningsen, is deceased. The other, Danny Collins Jr., is living. Neither was ever charged in connection with Ludger’s disappearance, and both must be presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise in a court of law.
The case has been kept alive by writers and podcasters. Daren Worcester devoted a chapter to it in his book Open Season. The Dark Downeast podcast covered it in May 2021, and the Misery Machine podcast in December 2020. Ludger’s NamUs entry (MP36428) keeps the case in the national database.
Fifty years on, the central fact hasn’t changed: a man’s tracks, a deer’s drag marks, and then nothing.
The book, the podcasts, and the two names
Ludger Belanger’s case survived because people kept telling it. Daren Worcester devoted a full chapter to him in Open Season, his book on Maine’s strange and unsolved cases — treating Ludger not as a footnote but as a central mystery, the hunter whose tracks told a story with the ending torn out. The Dark Downeast podcast brought it to a national audience in May 2021; the Misery Machine had gotten there first, in December 2020. Each retelling adds pressure, and pressure is the only thing that moves cold cases.
The two persons of interest are the case’s live wire. David Svenningsen is dead — whatever he knew, if he knew anything, went with him. Danny Collins Jr. is living. Neither was ever charged. That last sentence has to be stated plainly and repeated: in fifty years, no one has been charged with anything in connection with Ludger Belanger’s disappearance. Persons of interest are not suspects. Suspects are not convicts. The podcast coverage has named the names, and the names have to be handled with the care the law requires — because an accusation in a podcast is not evidence, and a man who was never charged is an innocent man.
What the coverage has done, though, is keep the physical evidence in the light: the shot deer, the dressed carcass, the drag marks toward Route 105, and then the abrupt nothing. Every hunter who’s heard this case has had the same reaction, because every hunter knows what it means to drag a deer. It’s slow, heavy, deliberate work. You don’t stop mid-drag unless something stops you. And whatever stopped Ludger Belanger on November 25, 1975, left no rifle, no deer, and no man — three absences that add up to the worst kind of presence.
Theories
Killed for the deer
The family’s belief: someone — a poacher, another hunter, someone desperate — killed Ludger and took the deer. In November 1975, in rural Maine, a dressed deer represented significant value. The abrupt end of the drag tracks fits an ambush: someone waiting, or someone who confronted him on the trail. Evidence level: Consistent with the physical evidence (tracks ending mid-drag), but no witnesses, no weapon, no remains have ever been found. No one has been charged.
Hunting accident and cover-up
A stray bullet from another hunter, followed by panic and a concealed body, would explain the sudden end of the tracks and the absence of the rifle and deer. Evidence level: Speculative; no evidence of a second shooter has been documented.
He walked away from his life
Ludger was 25 with a wife, three small children, and a steady job — a life with every reason to stay. Evidence level: No evidence supports this; he left with a rifle and a one-hour promise, took nothing for a new life, and never contacted anyone.
Lost or injured in the woods
A hunter can fall, break a leg, or become disoriented. Evidence level: Weak against the track evidence — his prints showed purposeful dragging toward the road, then stopped. An injured man leaves a different kind of trail.
Have information?
Contact the Maine State Police at (207) 624-7143 or (800) 452-4664.
In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- November 5, 1950 — Ludger Belanger is born.
- November 25, 1975, ~9:00 a.m. — His wife Linda and his brother drop him off near Route 105 in Washington, Maine, to deer hunt. He promises to return within the hour.
- November 25, 1975 — When he doesn’t return, searchers find his tracks: he shot, dressed, and dragged a deer toward the road — then the tracks end abruptly. No rifle, no deer, no Ludger.
- November 27, 1975 — Thanksgiving passes with Ludger still missing.
- December 2020 — The Misery Machine podcast covers the case.
- May 2021 — The Dark Downeast podcast covers the case.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Ludger Belanger still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Ludger Belanger remains missing. He vanished in November 1975 and has never been found.
Was Ludger Belanger ever found?
No. No remains have ever been recovered, and no confirmed trace of him has surfaced in fifty years.
What happened to Ludger Belanger?
He was dropped off to deer hunt near Route 105 in Washington, Maine, on November 25, 1975. His tracks showed he shot and dressed a deer and was dragging it toward the road when the tracks ended abruptly. His family believes he was killed for the deer meat, but no one has ever been charged.
How old would Ludger Belanger be today?
He was born November 5, 1950, so he would be 75 years old in 2026.
Were there suspects in the Ludger Belanger case?
Investigators developed two persons of interest over the years — David Svenningsen (deceased) and Danny Collins Jr. (living). Neither was ever charged, and both are presumed innocent.
What did searchers find in the woods?
Ludger’s tracks showed he had shot a deer, dressed it, and was dragging it toward the road. Then the tracks ended suddenly. His .30-30 rifle, the deer, and Ludger himself were never found.
Sources
Official / law enforcement:
– Maine State Police — (207) 624-7143 or (800) 452-4664
– NamUs — MP36428
Reference:
– Dark Downeast — case page: darkdowneast.com/ludgerbelanger/
Media:
– Daren Worcester — Open Season (chapter on the Ludger Belanger case)
– Dark Downeast podcast — episode on Ludger Belanger (May 2021)
– Misery Machine podcast — episode on Ludger Belanger (December 2020)
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.