06/29/2026
“I still hear it. At first, it was cute, but then it was a bit aggressive. I offered the squirrel a piece of trail mix. I now know I shouldn’t have….”
Narrator: It all started innocently with a squirrel that was given a piece of trail mix. Little did they know the lengths the squirrel would go in order to acquire more snacks…Coming up next, on Dateline.
Narrator: It was the perfect family vacation, or so it seemed. Although they didn’t see the President’s faces, the family trip to the Grand Canyon was a once-in-a-lifetime journey that offered amazing views and even a fun encounter with a squirrel. Or so they thought.
Ken: I would highly recommend. It was a great park to explore. We planned it for months. Seeing the squirrel was unexpected, but fun.
Narrator: However, when the family returned to their hotel after a day of hiking, they discovered some of their personal items were missing. A tub of trail mix, two boxes of snack bars, a t-shirt that read “The Grand Canyon is gorges," and a spare set of car keys. Was it a random event or something more squirrelly?
Barbara: I don’t know. I mean, snacks are one thing, but the car keys? It was a rental.
Narrator: Barbara could also remember a constant chirping sound. Oh, that pesky chirping.
Barbara: I still hear it. At first, it was cute, but then it was a bit aggressive. I offered the squirrel a piece of trail mix. I now know I shouldn’t have. I packed up my snacks and headed down the trail.
Narrator: Little did the family know, but the squirrel they had innocently offered a snack to was determined to get more and would stop at nothing to get it.
Coming up, a rental car goes on a high speed chase, a squirrel is interrogated, and a t-shirt becomes a key piece of evidence…
Image: A person writes on the tab below a photo of a large squirrel, "Don't believe his lies." NPS/Bryan Maul