The 45-year-old disappearance of Ludger Belanger, a 25-year-old father of three who vanished while deer hunting near his home in Washington, Maine, on November 25, 1975, remains one of the state’s most haunting and frustrating unsolved cases, with family members and independent investigators now publicly naming two suspects they believe were involved in his presumed murder, a development that has reignited calls for a renewed investigation and transparency from law enforcement.
Belanger, a heavy equipment mechanic and avid outdoorsman, left his home on the morning of November 25, 1975, just days before Thanksgiving, to hunt deer in the snow-covered woods off Route 105. He was dropped off by his brother John at approximately 9 a. m.
, carrying a 30-30 hunting rifle purchased from Sears in Augusta, wearing a red and black checkered hunting jacket, blue pants, an orange hat, and honey boots, with long johns underneath for warmth. He was expected to return by 11 a. m.
to drive his wife, Linda, to work in Augusta, as she did not drive in winter conditions. When he failed to show, Linda immediately sensed something was wrong, and a search was launched by family on snowmobiles, who found tracks at the top of a hill near where he had been dropped off.
Game wardens arrived at around 3 p. m. , but initial skepticism from two wardens, John Marsh and Richard “Dick” Hennessey, who suggested Belanger might have gone on a drinking binge, delayed a more thorough search.
Linda’s insistence that her husband was not that kind of man eventually pushed the wardens to investigate further, leading them to a wooded ridge near a stream where they discovered frozen boot prints, evidence that a buck had been shot and field dressed, and signs that the deer had been dragged toward Creamer Lot Road. The trail indicated that Belanger had been picked up by a passing vehicle, a conclusion that shifted the case from a lost hunter to a potential abduction.
A neighbor, Clifton Crummett, who assisted the wardens, found a crumpled receipt for a garage in Union, Maine, which led to a vehicle and two suspects. The receipt, referred to as “Sally’s Garage” in the book “Open Season: True Stories of the Maine Warden Service” by Darren Worcester, pointed to a car that authorities later examined. At the scene, investigators found cigarette butts, Budweiser cans, and evidence that two people had stopped to urinate, one of whom used a cane.
They also noted that Belanger had set his rifle against a tree and that one of the men retrieved it, a detail that puzzled authorities because Belanger would not have willingly left his weapon behind.
The two suspects, identified in public records and media reports as David Svenningsen and Danny Collins Jr. , have been named by the podcast “The Misery Machine” and other sources, though no arrests have ever been made. Svenningsen, a Vietnam War veteran with a traumatic brain injury from shrapnel, was a former guard at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston.
He died in a house fire in 1977, allegedly set by himself, after locking his wife Susan in an upstairs bedroom. She escaped through a second-floor window, and Svenningsen was airlifted to a burn unit in Texas, where he died before authorities could obtain a deathbed confession. His ex-wife’s daughter, Danny, who spoke to the podcast, described Svenningsen as “sinister” and said her mother referred to him as “the devil,” adding that he had a history of domestic violence and that police were unhelpful due to his connections.
Collins, the second suspect, is still alive and lives locally, according to public records. He allegedly confessed to a friend, Charles Christensen Jr. , in 1977 that he and Svenningsen, under the influence of drugs, picked up Belanger and shot him to death in the back seat of a car.
Christensen reported that Collins was the trigger man, but he died before authorities could fully investigate. A meeting between the Maine State Police and the Attorney General’s office in January 1985 concluded there was insufficient evidence to present the case to a grand jury, and no charges were ever filed.
The vehicle believed to have been used in the abduction was found abandoned at an Exxon station in Camden, Maine, with its interior washed and the rear seat missing. Authorities found a single deer hair on the hood ornament and a shotgun pellet in the trunk, but the technology of the era could not link the evidence to Belanger. When wardens searched Svenningsen’s home, they found fresh deer meat in the freezer, despite his claims that he had not been hunting, and later discovered a locked room containing sights from a 30-30 rifle that matched those purchased at Sears.
However, the evidence was deemed inadmissible due to a warrant issue, and Svenningsen’s hunting clothes disappeared after a party at his home.
Rumors in the community suggest that Belanger’s body was wrapped in burlap, chained, and dumped in Crystal Pond in Washington, Maine. A cadaver dog named Quincy, owned by Julie Jones, alerted to the pond, but the dog died before a spring search could be conducted. The family has organized private searches using cadaver dogs and metal detectors, but they have faced resistance from law enforcement.
Linda Belanger has stated that the Maine State Police told her to “back off” and threatened to press charges for hindering an investigation. She has also been denied access to her husband’s case file, a move that has drawn criticism from advocates for missing persons.
In 2001, a probate court judge in Knox County formally declared Ludger Belanger dead, citing due diligence by the family, the Maine Warden Service, and the Maine State Police over 26 years. However, Lieutenant Jeffrey Love of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit later removed Belanger from the cold case list and placed him back on the missing persons list, arguing there was insufficient evidence to prove he was deceased, despite the court’s declaration. Linda Belanger obtained documentation proving the legal death declaration and presented it to Love, but he had left for the day, and the case remains in limbo.
The family has pushed for cold case reform through the Maine Cold Case Alliance, advocating for the creation of an unsolved homicide unit and legislation to extend the statute of limitations on civil cases. They have also called for better communication between police and victims’ families. However, the state police have pushed back against these efforts, and the case has faced additional obstacles.
An alleged attempt by a television crew to cover Belanger’s story was reportedly shut down by then-Attorney General Janet Mills, now Maine’s governor, who threatened legal action against the production company. A retired FBI couple living in Maine also offered to investigate the case for free, but the state blocked their involvement.
The podcast “The Misery Machine” has brought renewed attention to the case, naming the suspects and urging the public to come forward with any information. The hosts, Jurgy and Druby, spent weeks researching the case, contacting family members and associates of the suspects, and obtaining previously unpublished details. They emphasized that the case is running out of time, as many of the key witnesses and suspects are no longer alive.
“Someone knows something, and people aren’t talking,” Jurgy said in the podcast. “This case does not have a lot more time where this can be solved.”
Linda Belanger still lives in Washington, Maine, near the spot where her husband vanished. Their three daughters, Michelle, Tracy, and Angel, have grown up and started their own families, and many of Belanger’s grandchildren are avid hunters. The family maintains a Facebook page, “Justice for Ludger Belanger,” to keep the case in the public eye.
They have also participated in the Maine Cold Case Alliance, pushing for legislative changes that would allow for more communication between police and victims’ families regarding the status and information pertaining to their cases.
The Maine State Police have not commented on the renewed attention to the case, and the Attorney General’s office has not responded to requests for information. The case remains open, but no active investigation is underway, according to the family. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Maine State Police at 207-624-7143 or 1-800-452-4664, or to reach out to the family through the Justice for Ludger Belanger Facebook page.
The disappearance of Ludger Belanger is a stark reminder of the challenges faced by families of missing persons in Maine, where rural isolation, limited resources, and a lack of transparency can hinder justice. The case has drawn comparisons to the disappearance of Kim Moreau, another unsolved case from the same era, and advocates say it highlights the need for systemic reform. “This is just ridiculous, in my opinion, just incompetence,” Druby said in the podcast.
“It’s about time the family has closure, that Ludger can be brought home, and this case can be put to rest.”
As the 45th anniversary of Belanger’s disappearance approaches, his family continues to hold out hope that someone will come forward with the information needed to solve the case. “His mother passed away without knowing what happened to her son,” Jurgy said. “She’s buried in the plot that they have over in Somerville, and that’s just not fair.
Your kids are not supposed to go before you, and if they do, you should know what had happened.” The family’s plea remains the same: if you know anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please come forward. The time for answers is running out.
