Olympic Hopeful Kari Swenson Kidnapped on Training Run — Shot, Left for Dead, and Later Returned to Competition

An American biathlete and Olympic hopeful, Kari Swenson was abducted during a training run near Big Sky, Montana, in July 1984. The two captors — survivalist Don Nichols and his 19-year-old son, Dan Nichols — had lived off the grid in the Madison Range and told Swenson they intended to take her to live with them as a “bride.”

ABC via GettyKari Swenson at the 1988 Winter Olympics

Abduction and Ordeal

Swenson, then 22 and a member of the U.S. biathlon team, testified that she was grabbed and struck after encountering the men on a remote trail. The Nicholses chained her wrist-to-wrist with one of them and moved her between camps through the night. She later said the men told her, "They said they needed a woman up in the mountains." To discourage them and leave a trail for rescuers, Swenson claimed she was married and dropped personal items as clues.

Nick Wolcott/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via APDon Nichols

Rescue Attempt and Violence

When Swenson failed to return, coworkers and friends from Lone Mountain Ranch organized a search. On July 16, two men from the ranch — Jim Schwalbe and Alan Goldstein — discovered the Nicholses’ remote camp near Jack Creek. As the ranch hands approached, Swenson shouted that her captors were armed. According to testimony, Don Nichols ordered his son to silence her; Dan Nichols then fired a pistol, striking Swenson in the chest and puncturing a lung. Dan later testified the shooting was accidental.

Denver Post via GettyU. S. SWAT team at site of Kari Swenson kidnapping

As Schwalbe rushed to help, Goldstein called for the Nicholses to surrender. Don Nichols fired a rifle, hitting Goldstein in the cheek; Goldstein, 36, died at the scene. The father and son fled into the Madison Range, leaving Swenson gravely wounded at the campsite.

AP Photo/Bozeman Chronicle/Linda BestSheriff Johnny France investigates the remains at the campsite of Don and Dan Nichols

Survival and Recovery

Shot through the lung and struggling to breathe, Swenson crawled to a sleeping bag and tried to stay alive while listening for rescuers. She said she heard a helicopter and attempted to signal it, but was not seen immediately. Several hours later a ground search party reached her; she was airlifted to a Bozeman hospital, where emergency surgery saved her life. She suffered lasting damage to her lung but ultimately returned to elite competition.

Manhunt and Trial

Authorities launched an extensive manhunt for the Nicholses, who used hidden supply caches and remote camps to elude capture for nearly five months. In December 1984, law enforcement tracked the pair to a snowy campsite near Bear Trap Canyon and arrested them without incident. Both men were charged with kidnapping; Don Nichols also faced deliberate homicide charges in connection with Goldstein’s death.

At trial, Don Nichols acknowledged abducting Swenson and defended his actions by saying he thought she might accept life in the mountains. Jurors convicted Don Nichols of deliberate homicide, kidnapping and aggravated assault and sentenced him to 85 years in prison. Dan Nichols was convicted of kidnapping and assault but acquitted of homicide; he was released from prison in 1991. Don Nichols was later paroled in 2017 after serving more than three decades.

Aftermath and Legacy

Despite diminished lung capacity, Swenson returned to competition and won a medal at the world biathlon championships. She later became a veterinarian and moved back to Montana, generally declining public comment about the case. The episode remains a stark example of wilderness survivalism gone criminal and of Swenson’s resilience in the face of trauma.

Key Dates: Abduction — July 1984; Shooting and rescue attempt — July 16, 1984; Arrest — December 1984; Dan Nichols released — 1991; Don Nichols paroled — 2017.