Patreon Exclusive: Rhonda Casto and Steve Nichols
Added 2025-09-16 00:54:49 +0000 UTCThe Eagle Creek Trail, carved into the cliffs of Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, is known for its stunning waterfalls and dizzying drop-offs. On a damp March afternoon in 2009, 23-year-old Rhonda Casto set out on that trail with her boyfriend, Steve Nichols. They were alone on the path, the mist hanging low in the canyon.
By the end of the hike, only one of them would return.
What happened on that isolated trail that day? Was it an accident on treacherous ground, or something more sinister?
Sources:
48 Hours, S30 E31, Mystery at Eagle Creek
The Real Story With Maria Elena Salinas, The Fall of Innocence, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Fe0f0fbnM
2015.02.20 https://www.newspapers.com/image/631823611/ (insurance claim)
2016.03.06 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209705719/ (destroyed evidence, details)
2017.03.03 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1082275387/ (statements inadmissible)
2017.05.12 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1225753103/ (plea deal)
2017.07.12 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1225313763/ (Julia embezzlement)
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/or-supreme-court/1851365.html
https://people.com/crime/oregon-man-pleads-guilty-girlfriend-cliff-murder/
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/investigating-the-death-of-rhonda-casto/
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2017/07/pot-smoking_grandma_steals_dea.html
Comments
You’ve given us some great suggestions, Melissa! 🫶🏼
Rich Bentley
2025-09-22 00:34:05 +0000 UTCOmg! You guys are awesome! This was my recommendation and I was born and raised in Portland Oregon. Grew up hiking the Eagle Creek trail! Also live in Bend OR now. You guys did an awesome job!
Melissa Lee
2025-09-21 21:26:57 +0000 UTC
