Triple homicide investigation continues 2 years later in Idaho and Utah

CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — The 61-year-old accused of killing his wife and two other victims and hiding their bodies near his Caldwell, Idaho home is still at large two years after their deaths.

Gerald “Mike” Bullinger, of Ogden, Utah, is suspected of murdering Cheryl Baker, 56 — his wife of nearly 10 years, according to her brother, Byron Baker — as well as Nadja Medley, 48, and her 14-year-old daughter, Payton Medley.

According to friends, Nadja Medley was Bullinger’s girlfriend of almost two years. Bullinger and the Medleys had recently moved from Utah to a house at 216 S. Kcid Road in Caldwell, which Bullinger took ownership of on May 3, 2017. Cheryl Baker and Nadja Medley, according to their families, did not know about each other.

Wednesday marked two years since the discovery of the bodies in a shed at the residence, the Idaho Press reports.

The last clues of Gerald Bullinger’s whereabouts came in July 2017. His Ford Focus was found abandoned in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in a remote campground near Moran, Wyoming, on July 12, 2017. A week later, Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported sighting of Bullinger but found no sign of him.

The investigation quickly spread across multiple states, including Idaho, where the bodies were found; Wyoming, where Bullinger’s car was found; and Utah, where Bullinger lived before moving to Idaho.

Since finding his car, no signs have been found in the wilderness connected to Bullinger, Teton County Lt. Lloyd Funk said Tuesday.

Investigators initially searched the Bridger-Teton National Forest area extensively when his car was found in 2017, using police dogs, helicopters and infrared technology. Last year, search and rescue and cadaver dogs went looking into the forest for any sign of Bullinger’s remains, Funk said. Nothing was found.

Investigators have considered the possibility that Bullinger is dead.

“We did collect evidence that indicates that,” Canyon County Sheriff Lt. Chuck Gentry said. “However, I don’t think we can be close-minded in this investigation.”

Since the murders, hundreds of tips have come in regarding Bullinger’s possible whereabouts. In the last year, several more came through Crime Stoppers and after the case was featured on “In pursuit with John Walsh,” Gentry said.

If Bullinger is dead, Funk believes he is outside of the search area, which spanned several miles of the Pacific Creek drainage in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest has more than 3.4 million acres of public land. The area has lots of wolves, coyotes and grizzly bears, Funk said. Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue hoped that the start of hunting season would bring some clues. The heavily infiltrated area has never turned anything up though, Funk said.

“At this particularly point and time we are still receiving tips,” Gentry said. “The evidence in this case is extremely strong. We’re just missing the bad guy.”