True Crime Collection
Original and Exclusive Books, Photos, and Illustrations by Lisa Loucks-Christenson, bestselling and award-winning author, illustrator, photographer, host, photojournalist and investigative reporter.
Finding "Ben" by Lisa "Doe"
Episode One, Sunday, Christmas Day 2005
Episode Two, October 2004: House Intruder: "Where's Your Daddy?"
CoyWolf Entertainment™ will release Lisa Loucks-Christenson's spin-off books from her Finding "Ben" Series in the new year. These books are part of her photojournalism, illustrations, and investigations into the true crime and unsolved detours in her life.
Some of these titles include:
Ben There, Seen That
Ben There, Examined That
Ben There, Reported That
Ben There, Shot That
All of these stories are based on true events. None of the episodes or books are suitable for young children or people with soft hearts. The books include photos and illustrations of what Lisa witnessed and documented, with and without the help of law enforcement.
Even though local, state, federal law enforcement would always tell Lisa to call when she found or saw something. Most of the time she waited for hours in the rain or cold, heat or good weather—but no one came or ever responded.
From Lisa:
Under my watch and my field cameras––that didn’t get stolen or tampered with––I witnessed wildlife that was illegally poached, trapped, run-over for sport, baited, and their lifeless and beheaded bucks' bodies that were dumped in piles. I reported the injured and dying animals––one was a raccoon that had icicles hanging off its face; I witnessed babies taken from their moms, and mom's standing over their dead offspring.`
I was a pain in the rear for law enforcement in two states and three counties. I was bullied, harassed me, had a car try to hit me, a female 911 dispatcher tell me that as a woman alone in the woods, I was only asking for trouble.
It’s true, I was alone at the most glorious and darkest moments of every day, but as I hiked, I became the only witness to the crime scenes and incidents that no one else was writing about, and no one had the guts to photograph. Why was I the only that cared? I was discovering the dead animals and traps unlawfully set for them. I was the one that tried to save a raccoon that was chewing its foot off––because his trapper never returned to get his traps, let alone put his identification on them.
But Jesus responded to the cries, animal and human––he heard them all. I had one Minnesota State Trooper tell me that I was morbid for documenting the truth, the dead animals. I told him, "I don't find it morbid. The animals had a right to their life and their story here, and since he wasn't bothering to tell it, or protect it, I would make their life known."
That book is almost finished now. I had tried to release it years ago, but realized it would not be complete without including urban wildlife. If you want to pre-order it, it is sold exclusive through Peacock Books & Wildlife Art, my bookstore and gallery, and it's called, STRUGGLING FOR EXiSTENCE: WHAT NATURE SHARED.
God put on my heart a long time ago, decades ago, to document what I saw but not to look back with regrets. I always trusted him. When I was caught in the flash floods, tornadoes, blizzards, facing and defending myself from bad men, apex predators or whatever came at me, I did so knowing God was with me.
I showed the truth; I exposed the truth. I reported the truth. I published the truth. I still display the truth online and in my store. My work has been featured as area and national exhibits, including two documentaries, WINTER BUGS and LISA'S BALD EAGLE DOCUMENTARY at the National Eagle Center. It's published in regional newspapers, television news stations in Minnesota and Wisconsin used my bald eagle documentary, others my flood coverage. The eagle work and my documentaries ran on outdoor radio stations, a regional outdoor television show, it's been at my galleries in two states. People from all over the world continue to purchase the photos and my wildlife art. They love to hear my stories about the creatures I met for a moment, for a season, for years––in life and death. They loved to hear about my adventures. Most never knew the rest of what I went through to get my stories or shots.
Law enforcement, bad actors, and criminals muddied my work and sank my reputation, willfully, maliciously and unlawfully. I was flipped off, sworn at and cursed. But, I kept my promise to God. I refused to quit. No matter what I faced, I trusted God would be there or send someone who didn't think I was crazy.
I believe, in every sense, I was guided. The truth is: no one wanted to deal with the truth. Conservation Officers asked why I hadn’t reported things when I had. A good dozen or so, Good Old Boy Club officers spread nasty rumors about me and one (on video) told me he wasn’t going to respond to any of my calls. I guess they didn't realize what would get back to me by people who cared.
There was barely a day I didn’t endure someone messing with my work or me. They'd re-arranging my baselines, steal my cameras, camera blind, delete my footage on cameras they didn't steal, throw objects onto subjects that were used to compare nature against man. They'd set bullet shells and empty casings were in front of the subjects I shot daily, some of those subjects were killed, cut-off or cut down. Sometimes they'd leave their body parts or one drop of blood.
I wasn’t going to let the animals keep dying. I had spent over 14-years there, driving at least 45 miles, each way, investing all of my heart, hours each day. I hiked every step, looking forward and listening to what was beyond my steps. For a period of time my journey included carrying oxygen tanks so I didn't pass out. Other times I didn't carry it, I hoped I'd be able to get back to my truck to get oxygen, if I needed it, because the weight of air was too difficult to carry through the gnarled flood brush, the thick carpet of canary grass, across the river, through deep snow, flash floods, and up the bluffs.
“One day, God opened my lungs and I no longer needed the oxygen, but my story didn’t end there...it was renewed and repurposed by God’s Will. Now I start every day with this prayer, ‘Here I Am God, use me where you need me.’”–– Lisa Loucks-Christenson, Bestselling and Award-winning Christian Author, Illustrator, Photojournalist & Investigative Reporter.
If you ever feel alone, feel like no one cares...I pray that you find Jesus, and if this video is still up, if you have time to watch it, do. Lisa
