Joel Hardin (c. 1940) is an American expert man tracker and author. He has worked for the Idaho Air National Guard and the United States Border Patrol before launching his own tracking company.
Joel Hardin | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1940 |
| Occupation(s) | Tracker, author |
| Employer(s) | Idaho Air National Guard, United States Border Patrol |
| Known for | Human tracking expert |
| Website | Hardin |
Early life
editHardin was born in 1939 or 1940.[1] He became a border patrol officer in 1965 and was stationed in El Cajon, California.[2]
Career
editHardin, after joining the United States Border Patrol, started working at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canadian borders. During his time on the U.S.-Mexico border, he learned tracking from fellow agents.[3] He begantracking illegal immigrants who cross into the United States on foot. In 1972, he was sent to Bellingham, Washington where he worked in an office.
In 1974, he began to develop an advanced-tracking training program. He retired from the border patrol in 1990 and started a company providing training services based on the work he had been doing while employer.[2]
During his career, Hardin tracked serial killer Gary Ridgway and the escaped Soviet spy prisoner Christopher Boyce.[1] In 1982, while he was still a border patrol agent, the United States Forest Service reached out to Hardin asking him to examine alleged Bigfoot tracks found near the Mill Creek Municipal Watershed in Walla Walla, Washington. Hardin determined that an animal did not make the tracks.[4] In 1989, he was part of the search team in Whatcom County, Washington assisting with the search for missing teen Mandy Stavik.[5]
Law enforcement officials occasionally hire Hardin to track suspects. In 1998, he helped police in Washington track a criminal who had broken into 75 buildings. He determined the criminal's favorite trails and police installed sensors accordingly, which led to the capture of a suspect.[6]
Since his retirement from the Border Patrol, Hardin is the owner & operator of Oregon Company Universal Tracking Services. The company undertakes and trains clients in human tracking.[1][7] He is referred to as an expert tracker and he travels through the United States training other trackers.[8]
Books
edit- Tracker: Case Files & Adventures of a Professional Mantracker by Joel Hardin with Matt Condon, 2004, ISBN 0-9753460-0-8[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Hansen, Mark (1 May 2010). "He Tries Men's Soles". American Bar Association. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ a b Duguid, Sarah (27 January 2012). "First Person: Joel Hardin". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Mike Nash. (2007). Exploring Prince George: A Guide to North Central B. C. Outdoors. United States: Rocky Mountain Books. ISBN 9781894765497 p240
- ^ Jenkins, Sarah (20 June 1982). "Tracker Calls New Bigfoot Tracks a Hoax". Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Ferm, Carol (26 November 1989). "From Herald archives: Clipper teen presumed kidnapped after disappearing while on jog". Bellingham Herald. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "Police capture Mountain Man who They Say Broke Into Homes". Syracuse Herald-Journal. Associated Press. 17 March 1998. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Linda Jo Hunter. (2008). Lonesome for Bears. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 9781599217024 p.8
- ^ Ledden, Nicholas (26 April 2008). "Reading the Signs". Kalispell Daily Inter Lake. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Kurcina, Michael (2022-03-08). "Modern Tracking: Art or Science for the Modern Warfighter?". Spotter Up. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
