S2E6: The Disappearance of Bill Roland

About this episode

The episode explores the mysterious disappearance of Bill Roland from Lake Sam Rayburn in 1997 and the puzzling circumstances surrounding the case.

When Bill Roland went missing from Lake Sam Rayburn in 1997, nothing about the case made sense. Weeks later, his boat turned up hidden in a cove, shot multiple times with a shotgun in an apparent attempt to sink it. His truck was found burned. His trailer was somewhere else entirely. And Bill was nowhere to be found. Investigators were left to piece together a puzzle with missing parts: a fisherman who may have had no enemies… or may have had more than anyone realized. Was this a random encounter on the water or something that started long before he ever launched his boat? Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File . Follow Blood Trails on  Apple , Spotify , YouTube , iHeart , Pandora , Amazon . Connect with  Jordan Sillars  and  MeatEater MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Blood Trails on Instagram Jordan Sillars on  Instagram MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Jordan Sillars

Topics covered

• disappearance
• investigation
• mystery
• true crime
• fishing
• unsolved case

Keywords

• Bill Roland
• Lake Sam Rayburn
• disappearance
• investigation
• true crime
• mystery
• 1997

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Lake Sam Rayburn

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• S2E3: The Murder of Timothy Blyth · April 30, 2026 · 1h 20m
• S2E2: The Search for Bob Smith · April 23, 2026 · 1h 10m