He should never have left his cabin... 

I remember a time when Mr. Ballen didn’t have 500k subs and uploaded 3-4 or even 5 times a week. Those were some good times! Now waiting for a Mr Ballen episode is like waiting for next weeks episode that left you on a serious cliff hanger! You just can’t wait!! But I am happy to see your success for you and your family!❤

mad respect for this guy for telling us this entire story in the middle of a forest.

What's really great about getting old is your memory ain't what it used to be so I can watch n rewatch MrBallen videos n enjoy em over n over again 😀

Having grown up in Siberia, thanks for the backhanded compliment. Great Introduction. I grew up in a small town of 900 surrounded by deep woods. Nobody ever died of wild animals. We had a serial killer who targeted young women. Bring kids, we didn't know why anybody would strike a person from behind with a hammer. 30 years later it became an urban legend, but back then we had local police escorting women across the town. We all picked mushrooms in the forest and most Outsiders died of eating death cap mushrooms by mistake. Today you can survive and get a liver transplant in the West, but back then it was a death sentence. Most locals died of alcohol related accidents - either passing out in the winter cold and freezing to death or from swimming while drunk. Siberian tigers, unfortunately are very rare and live pretty much in the Aktai region, wolves too, have been hunted down. Great Lake Baikal was polluted and it's waters are no longer crystal clear. Siberian is not unique in humans sharing habitat with wildlife, so does Australia. That conspiracy theory about the kid's death is ridiculous. Most likely local criminals murdered him. Violent crime where the victim is murdered to prevent identification is more common in the former Soviet Union than in the West. He must have gone out to the outhouse when they grabbed him. Also, there are people who hate Westerners and Americans in the Post Soviet Era, and even back in the Soviet heyday, it was not uncommon to murder outside tourists hiking alone for their gear. Siberian was always a region of prisons and exiles and former inmates, and not everyone was a high falutin political prisoner, there were always criminals and violent people. There were hunters with firearms, and if you walked in the forest and saw a other person or a group, you detoured in a wide circle to avoid them. I still love the forest and the line of trees profiling against the sky still inspires and .mystifies me. I love cold weather hiking and go for long walks in blizzards. One thing I brought out of Russia is that I have zero fear of the darkness. Then again, we all told scary takes but I ended growing up without horror films

I would be a doctor, physicist, astronaut, and a plumber if Mr. Ballen was my teacher back then.

I can’t be the only one who would love to go on a long hike and camp out with John, hear all his stories he hasn’t released yet….. just to hear him whisper yell from the darkness: “I know how to get to Bells Canyon”

My husband stumbled across Mr.Ballen one day and came home telling...Hey you gotta listen to this guy tell a story. After one story i was hooked as well. Your animated and funny....A great story teller that can draw you into a story and when it ends...you are ready for more. Thank you. I love your giggles over LUNGY. 😅

I remember listening to Ballen when he just started, years later, and EVERY one of my friends knows and adores his stories!. So cool to see him living his best life.

The other night, I was lying in bed, remembering a video I had seen about some boys on a dock in the middle of a lake that eventually get swarmed by spiders. I was trying to remember where I had seen this video, it was such a vivid memory. I laughed to myself when I realized that it was actually a story told by Mr. Ballen. If that isn't a testament to how great of a storyteller he is, I don't what would be. Legend.

As someone who personally knew Colin (he was one of my best friends and was my roommate in college), his tale has certainly become a cautionary one for me. Colin was not only a very experienced hiker, he was truly a global citizen. He was very well travelled (backpacked Europe for months), a true polyglot (from what I remember he could speak at least 5-6 languages), and was possibly the kindest soul I've ever known. I fully credit him for helping inspire my love of internation travel, and also gave me that spark that ultimately lead me towards my career in education. But I also wanted to add a couple things. While his friends did go to the Russian police soon after Colin went missing, you omitted the part where the police detained his friends for hours, accused them of murdering him, and tried to force a false-confession. Also, the police never bothered searching for him until a few days later when his mother arrived from the US and pressured them to look. The first thing they asked her was "is your son gay?", which flabbergasted her. When she replied "no" his mother told me she saw a horrified look in the officer's eyes. They found his body less than a day later, less than 1 mile from where he disappeared. Also, the Russian authories initially listed his cause of death as hypothermia, which couldn't have happened as it didn't drop below 40F the night he went missing (not to mention the marks on his wrists and neck pointing to a more sinister reason). After testing Colin for THC they then shifted to the drug narrative. They also attempted to drug test his friends, claiming that they were all getting together to do drugs in the cabin. The police kept trying to push all these horrible and baseless accusations onto his friends, simply because "it''s odd for 4 men to share a cabin." Personally, I am under the belief that Colin was murdered by an off-duty police officer. Sadly, because of Russian secrecy on such matters, and the dissolving of any relationship between the US and Russia, I have no illusions about there being justice for my friend.

So sad that he was alive the whole time😢 . RIP

I'm very intrigued about the stories of missing cases where bodies seem to have died only hours before they are found after missing for many many days. I think the case is incredibly interesting but I find it very very sad thinking that these people might have wandered for many days or felt fear for many days before they finally passed away. However I hope that isn't the case thank you for covering this once again! May they rest in peace

This dude is so good at telling stories that I sat through his sponsor story. 😂

This story proves to me even more how much the “murder” of an individual will be covered up. Maybe one day I will submit the mysterious story of what happened to my brother.. he went missing under extremely mysterious circumstances and another young man disappeared the same way a couple months later. Hoping to get exposure and insight at some point.. I want his story to be told and remembered as my brother is deeply loved. Thank you for what you do.

I believe Colin was targeted because he was American and him attending that environmentalist gathering was a nail in the coffin for him

What I appreciate the most is the exceptional job Mr. Ballen does to give you the run-down on each stories' setting, a bit of its history, and who the stories are pertaining to. Thank You Mr.Ballen!!!

Finally!! Someone taking the land shark threat seriously and bringing attention to it.. thank you!

Mr Ballen, you are a model for other youtubers: clear speech, excellent use of plain straightforward vocab, good scripts with good background info, engaging body language and 'eye contact', good background visuals. A pleasure to listen to, every time. Really appreciate the effort you must put in to producing your content. Thanks!

First my deepest condolences to the Madsen family for their loss being a father of a twenty-eight-year-old and 21 year old I can only imagine the horror and pain they've suffered. And the struggle of them striving so hard to find answers and getting not much resolve.... An autopsy can give you the end result of cause and affect but not provide any motives.... . I will try to answer this to help the family as simple and direct as possible. Colin Madsen died in Arshan, Republic of Buryatia, Russia 2016, his body found 8 days after disappearance. Normally I give a really long drawn-out in detail what I thank did and did not happen but in this case I have to go with short and simple because in my opinion.... The answer is clearly in front of our face in my opinion. Colin was a university student and apparently got into environmentalism and this was counter to the socio-economic livelihood of the people living in the area of Republic of Buryatia and Colin upset the apple cart by participating in protests.... Long story short I think the locals wanted to make an example of Colin because not only would the environmentalism cause certain jobs and industries to dry up this would deprive much of the locals of income and they wouldn't be able to feed their families and the local governments would not receive their tax money so not only did the locals have a motive for killing Colin but government officials as well.... The reason why this was labeled as hypothermia caused by drug usage is that it frees up all politics involved and everyone gets off scot-free.... Its clear from viewing autopsy photos which were graphic that he was tortured, it looks like on his feet and ankles as if he was poked with knives or some other sharp instruments to elicit pain.... And the position of his body shows that whoever dumped him there wanted to show their disdain for him as if a piece of garbage they were throwing away his left arm was positioned in a very unusual and unnatural positioning as was his left leg at a very strange position indicative of being just tossed like a rag doll from a truck or horse or maybe he was strung up and hung and after he died they just dropped his body and it fell irregardless this poor young man was brutalized by some very angry angry people... And if they seen him as an agent of force that would cause them to lose their money and livelihood then that's where the anger would come from.... I know the mother had concerns that there might be some thinking that he was killed because he was viewed as possibly homosexual I think this is absurd.... Now another possibility because of the area being Buryat which or mostly Mongol descent it could have been a racial motivation but I don't think this is as much of a cause as much as the socio-economic cause of his death so the simplicity of this case to me is right on the surface.... He got into environmentalism and pissed off the wrong people.... They became very angry and they stalked him and they murdered him and on a local level they covered it up... And in no way shape or form do I feel that Colin deserved this type of retribution and it's a deeply disturbing and deeply sad affair for the family and friends and neighbors and co-workers of Colin and even two people like myself that did not know him or his family... It breaks my heart... The fact that the one police official was yelling and spitting at the mother shows you how intense their hatred fir Colin was... They seen him as a threat to their way of life.... And how many examples of this type of situation have we seen throughout the world and on TV shows... Mr and Mrs Madsen if you're reading this know that I'm not doing this to upset but to try to help you understand what more than likely happened to your son.... I'm a father myself and the story is deeply saddening and I see my son in your son in your pain is great beyond words.... So you have two choices at this point....go deeper or let it rest.... And the only way you're going to be able to go deeper is if you move to that area get to know the people get to know the culture get to know everything and find your killers then bring them to justice any way you choose.... Or like I said just walk away and accept the probability of what I have said here and remember him each and every day with a smile on your face the wonderful times that you spent with Colin and that you tried your damnedest .... Again I hope this message gets to you and I hope you make the choice best for you....

I am curious to know what contents where discovered in the man's stomach when the autopsy was done. Because you can learn ALOT about what happened to him for the 8 days before he died by that. Was ìt empty like he had fallen into a hole and trapped, was it full of Russian food, or forest survival foods one would find in a forest?

This kid sounded like a good lad, as a father I can't imagine what his parents went through

I have limited hearing and have worn aids since I was 12. I usually have to turn on subtitles and still miss a lot of stuff. Mr. Ballen's channel is so clear and his voice is at such a wavelength that it comes as an enjoyable experience to me to not miss a thing. Thanks for that, Mr. B! Also I think it was a Siberian Sasquatch that took him.

I have literally learned so much from watching John. He knows what he's talking about and is very intelligent.

Thanks, MrBallen! I found your channel about a month ago. You’re a great storyteller and I appreciate your time and energy. Have a great weekend everyone!

Mr. Ballen, I live in Indiana and I have a friend that went missing a year and a couple of months ago. Her case was featured in disappeared season 10 ep. 1.Her name is Kirsten brueggeman. Can you do a video about her to bring awareness to her disappearance please. There are way to many inconsistencies that need attention brought to it.🙏🏾

The giggling about the shark that broke into your home caught me off guard by how cute it was. Completely made me forget about the horror of this story for a few minutes lol

On the other platforms I miss watching you tell stories. You put so much energy into telling them.

Been following and watching Mr ballen for a couple of years now. His stories and enthusiasm is what makes his channel so entertaining. Happy for your accomplishments and congrats on 8 million subscribers.

I love how MrBallen elaborates on what THC is. I’m sure most of us know, but he always is so extra in explaining everything to us in layman’s terms and I adore it!

I was talking to someone from Russia recently about Siberia and because she’s still learning English, she called permafrost “the eternal ice” which just makes the place seem even more brutal!

I just want to say to you Mr.Ballen that I really appreciate your channel. My 27 year old daughter was killed almost 6 weeks ago on Christmas morning. Your stories and your comedic relief has been so enjoyable to me. I hope that you know how much you can brighten people's days. ❤

I bumped into your channel by accident and I am totally captivated by your narratory/ speaking skill. I reckon you have a lot of attributes of a great public speaker anyway, I love how you also talk around the topic in this instance, part of Russia that dont enter people's mind usually.

I've had a recent run in with a landshark, I'm glad you have opened up people's awareness to this threat because it is real and it is dangerous and people need to be prepared once again another great story

Hey Mr.Ballen. I recently got out of the Marine Corps & I wanted to say that you’re videos have made such a big difference in my mental well-being. Nights have been especially hard, and you’re videos have done an amazing job at keeping my mind at ease (well at “ease” may not be the right word, but at least distracted😂) so from the bottom of my heart thank you, I’m in a much better place now and I’m not sure where or what I would’ve done without these. All I know is you’re videos were the one thing I looked forward too for a long time, so again, seriously, thank you for being such a great story teller and content creator. Thank you thank you thank you. 🙏🏼

I love how Mr B weaves a story, absolutely a top storyteller and narrator.

The sponsor segments are always so great to sit through because its like watching MrBallen doing Try Not to Laugh challenge

If you read this, Mr Ballen, I was in the war when you were wounded. Awesome to see your recovery, brother. Edit: oof, honored that Mr Ballen responded, but not expecting the debate in the comments. Didn't mean to set anybody off. I was a member of an aircrew of the USAF. Mr Ballen went thru 10x the hell I did. Just happy to see him alive and well.

Listening to him giggle is such a joy! Great storytelling and hilarious commercial.😂

You are truly a very gifted storyteller. I’m curious if you spent downtime telling your seal team stories like this?

love it when you start laughing -- makes the sponsor story even better!---- and as far as the main story--- you are so good I feel I am there--but wow--what a mystery and how sad Colin was alive the whole time-- until the end and no real answers. I feel for his parents.

This is a dark and mysterious story, and sad. I feel for Collin’s parents and loved ones. The lack of answers and justice must eat at them. Prayers and love to his family and friends.

Good day Mr. Ballen. The tiger that attacked Markov wasn’t just angry that it was shot, Markov also stole from it. It’s an interesting story and I think you should talk about it.

I like that he never clips his fails when he tells people about sponsers

That was quite simply the BEST SimpliSafe advert I’ve ever heard. Canons installed!

I started watching him when he only had less than 50k subscribers. And every episode was knocking my socks off. And I could never understand why he didn’t have more? I’m so happy he is doing so good, he’s not only a veteran, but a really good man!!

I read a book based on Markov’s experience with the Siberian tiger. If I recall correctly, his offense against the tiger was that he stole part of the tiger’s hidden meat cache. You gotta hunt your own food in Siberia. The tiger 🐅 taught him that.

I love it when he cracks up, while advertising something! He makes me laugh too! What a great story teller!

I appreciate a storyteller that talks with their hands.

I love seeing a return to “the strange, dark and mysterious”, instead of the true crime and easily explained natural accidents. Time to return to Bells Canyon!!

I believe Mr. Ballen is the only one that can make me sit thru a commercial during a story and actually enjoy and laugh at the commercial.

Thank you, Mr. Ballen. You’re the best. ❤

It's the sign of a great storyteller when they can sneak a geography lesson into the story and barely anyone notices.

Mr Ballen giggling is something I need to see more of.

Thanks for a gripping story. I am now terrified of a land shark invading my home.

This man! Gotta love him, his sense of humor is out of bounds, and his talent for story telling is phenomenal!

I absolutely loved that you started laughing in the middle of it. I went from terrified to laughing.

Russian police: Your friend died? Huh... Did you kill him? No? Alright, then he was a junkie, case closed.

We have been fans for awhile now and YOU are most certainly keeping the historical ART of storytelling alive almost by yourself as you are the best out there! MY family also appreciates that you are supporting your family and that you keep it informative, exciting and clean! Keep on with the good work!

It must be horrible for his mother to not know what happened really to her son. A bizzare story, well told, thanks MrBaljen!

Gotta love this man's giggle!!! ❤❤❤

Mr. Ballen could easily be in the "campfire scary story teller" Hall of Fame!!

What a bright young man he was, he hadn't even started into his journey we call life, very sad.

Rest in peace Colin and condolences to his family and friends. 🕊️

This ad was perfect!!!! Thanks John!

He does such a fantastic job at keeping everyone interested in every word he has to say!

Me and the kitten I adopted a few days ago were laying in my bed trying to sleep while I listened to this video. My kitten reached to the like button, and tapped it with her paw, utterly decimating it due to its kitten allergy. I’m so proud of her. Last week, we were watching Mr. Ballen together in the living room and when I got up to get something to eat, she tried ordering merch, to no avail because she is not only a kitten, but also a runt. I think I’m raising her right. Edit: I’ve gotten a reply talking about my story and the kitten both being adopted a few days ago, and me having her a week ago, if you’re a little confused with that, I did explain it in the replies :)

I miss when we’d have 5 days of Halloween spooky stories each week. But also glad for the success of this channel.

I listen to your videos every night before I sleep. It’s like my daily bedtime story. Great work and thank you

I’ll say it again and again and again, I’ll say it every time, Mr ballens ads are always the most entertaining thing ive ever heard 😂😂😂 keep it up Daddy Ballen

I'm curious to know what, if anything, was found in Colin's stomach? He had to have eaten something in the 8 days he was missing. If he was being held captive somewhere, it seems likely he would have at least been given food (unless the captor's plan was to starve him to death). Was there evidence of prepared food, or just stuff like berries, nuts, bugs, etc. he'd find out in the wilderness? Also, it seems unlikely he could have stayed alive out in the exposed cold for over a week, so that would suggest he was in some sort of sheltered place. How about DNA samples on his body? Long story, short - there's a lot of unanswered questions... And since this was recent (2016), the forensics, if done properly, should have provided a mountain of clues...

Love his story telling and his exaggerated hand gestures. He definitely is one of the best story tellers on YT.

MrBallen,thanks for not cutting out bloopers sponsor ad 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 thats really a good take to laugh along with you.

As a Siberian person it's a totally different experience hearing a story about your home, than some forest in US. :)

It’s incredible that this former soldier is so darn good at story telling! I hated videos like this until I stumbled onto his channel. Makes you remember how to use your imagination while listening to the story he builds.

I love these stories it’s more than just a horror story in that sense you really know how to put people on edge but I love looking forward to more videos. And as I said to my partner who watches these every night with me it’s the only ad that should be purchased as it is promoted in the best way 😂

Mr. Ballen is the only one who can make ads fun...these are the only ads I don't skip because they're hilarious!!

It's Crazy I started watching his videos when he barely had 35k and then in a matter of weeks it's was over 100k. Now the man has over 6M. Well deserved you amazing story teller, badass seal and hero.

MR. BALLEN is a great story teller. I love everything about him: the content, the precision ,and the directness. I haven’t seen another storyteller like him. Much respect!

Mr.ballen the creepiest and most good story teller every story creeps me out and I don't want to be alone and remember his stories.

I’ve literally watched and rewatched all your stories so far.

Your laughter is a real treat. I love when it's so hard for you to say the scenarios without being able to get through them because of your own jokes. Makes my day.

Please do a full video on the Tiger’s revenge story. There are so many layers to it, totally fascinating. I’ve ordered the book by Vallient. It seemed to think Vladimir had stolen not only his kill/food but also now wounded him so stolen all future kills as he could no longer hunt. So it was two birds with one stone to hunt him, a meal to survive but also revenge. He did mess with the man a lot before, like a lot of cats do. So interesting how it could imagine the human’s state of mind though. Very smart animals.

When I feel lonely I listen to Mr Balllen

I don't know which I love better, the story or the bloops 🤣

I love how unlike other RU-vidrs he give examples,facts and background info before the story. And the pictures he uses helps you understand what he's talking about

This guy sure knows how to story tell and captivate his audience.

I love his story telling! One of the best to do it!

It's weird he was only a mile away from the cabin. You would think the search of that area would have already been covered. Also, I love the landsharks feet.

I love when John cracks up laughing and can't even get through his own sponsor ads. It always puts a huge smile on my face.🤣

after hearing this my 2 main suspects would either be his 3 friends, or someone living close by. It is really strange that he was found 8 days later, and apperently died hours before he was found. That almost sounds like whoever did it knew that the searchparty was getting close to his location, or feared they would be found out if they managed to find him alive. So they went ahead of the group and silenced him. I can't really explain it any other way.

The way he places his hands over his mouth when he laughs is a clear indication that this guy is truly a sweetheart.

There are inhabited regions of Russia where temperature drops to -70 Celsius. Since there is no water people are chopping ice and melt it. You can imagine how much effort there is to take a bath.

MrBallen laughing at himself is absolutely priceless 😂

These stories are even more fun in the month of October. MrBallen, please make a Halloween special for us all 🎃 👻

Thank you for giving me a reason to be on this earth love your storys and the way you tell them you are a storyteller! Its a gift some people have and u are one of them thank you for real

I know! I've looked at other accounts to compare and MrBallen should get an award because 7 and a half million subs in 2 years is beyond impressive.

Absolutely heartbreaking for the family. Incredibly suspicious of police but after watching all of your Missing 411 videos I still believe it’s possible for something that has been living in those woods to be responsible.

That’s horrible what the parents had to go through. That must have been so hard losing their son & then to try to get justice for him afterwards- 😢💔 Thanks so much for another great story John!! Love your podcasts too !

You are the BEST storyteller out there. LOVE your posts!

Mr Ballan is my new favorite find on utube, he always reads me a bed time story, only problem is that one is never enough, and before you know it it’s 3am and you gotta get up for work at 5