Abhiroop Das
Netflix’s ‘Untamed’ takes place deep in the heart of Yosemite National Park, surrounded by lush greens and granite mountains. However, human criminal activity rears its head even there. As such, National Park Service Agent Kyle Turner, along with his team of Park Rangers, bears a great responsibility: to cover the lengths and breadths of the Park and shed light on the secrets it carries. The show centers around a dead woman who mysteriously finds her way into the Park. As Kyle continues his investigation, more cases rear their head, pushing him to his limits. Through these individual stories, the show questions how the cover of wilderness affects people and their actions. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Untamed is Driven By a Fictional Story Steeped in a Real Setting
While ‘Untamed’ is a work of fiction conceived by writers Elle and Mark L. Smith, it does find some footing in real-life facts. In a conversation with Variety, Mark explained his aim with the show, stating, “Everyone thinks of Yosemite as this beautiful place with all the vistas and all the scenery, but we were trying to touch on the dangers that are just beyond that.” The driving force of the narrative is the investigation into the death of a Jane Doe, who dies on top of the Park’s famous El Capitan cliff, before falling over and getting tangled in the rope line of two mountaineers. This marks the first scene of the show, and the victim’s tragic circumstances set the tone going forward.
Some similar events surround El Capitan in real life. The cliff is an iconic climb known for attracting mountaineers worldwide, but it comes with its share of risks. Reportedly, between 1905 and 2018, over thirty casualties have been recorded, with most of them being climbers who fall during the process. The vantage point at the top of the cliff, known as the Taft Point, has had a few accidents as well, such as the one in 2018, wherein a couple fell to their deaths while taking a selfie. However, there are seemingly no cases that directly draw parallels to Jane Doe’s death in the story, which reiterates its fictional nature.
Ultimately, it is revealed that the victim was shot prior to her escape through the forests, which eventually led to her demise. Although the eventual twist of the story, that is, the reveal of the mystery shooter, is most likely a part of its fictional storyline, the National Park has witnessed similar tragedies. One possible antecedent is the death of Patricia Hicks, whose remains were discovered in Yosemite’s Summit Meadow between 1983 and 1985. The investigators on the case, Kim Tucker and Don Coelho, were unable to identify her for decades before Turner’s son, Cullen, matched the DNA. While the process has a similar trajectory as Jane Doe’s, along with the chief investigator’s name vaguely resembling the protagonist’s, the rest of the case is significantly different, which makes a direct inspiration unlikely.
Untamed Draws on Yosemite’s History to Imagine a Drug Gang
As Kyle Turner digs deeper for the truth, he soon realizes that there are larger forces at play. Particularly, a drug gang seems to operate from deep within the Park, using its abandoned gold mines as passageways. While this entire plotline is a work of fiction, it relies on some real geographical knowledge of the region. Yosemite National Park was at the heart of a gold rush that took place in the 1800s, with several miners rushing in to mark their own territories. In 1979, this led to the creation of The Golden Crown Mine, the most well-known establishment of its kind in the Park. It has since become a part of the collective known as Yosemite Ghost Mines: a network of underground passageways and wooden logs that might have served as an inspiration for the mine complex featured in the narrative.
However, the idea that the underground passages are used for transporting drugs in and out of Yosemite National Park appears to have no ties to reality. While the Park does have a history of alleged drug trafficking, it is more centered around the possible sale of drugs by the employees of the Park’s concessionaire. This marks its departure from the take of ‘Untamed’ on the drug business, where it is revealed that Park hosts an entire syndicate that relies on intimate knowledge of the Park’s geography, and uses illegal squatters as their mules for peddling drugs. However, the idea of smuggling tunnels is itself well known, both in reality and in popular culture. As such, while the drug gang of the show is a fictional creation, they are likely informed by the activities of real drug gangs and integrated into the story’s setting.
Kyle’s Personal Tragedy Adds Weight to the Story
Another defining point of the narrative is the overarching mystery around the disappearance of Sean Sanderson, a case that was taken on by Kyle Turner many years ago. As time goes on, it becomes apparent that the case has ties to a personal tragedy of the protagonist. Much like the rest of the story, both the cases of the mystery person and Sean Sanderson are likely works of fiction. However, Yosemite National Park does have some major incidents that may have been a reference point for the writers, such as the infamous case of Cary Stayner, who was convicted on August 27, 2002, for three murders with special circumstances, as well as one count of kidnapping. Two of his victims were minors, which vaguely lines up with the case depicted in ‘Untamed.’
These cases mark a steep turning point for the life of the protagonist, contributing to his change in demeanor and a seeming loss of purpose in life. To that effect, solving the Jane Doe case takes on an even greater importance, as it becomes his means of self-affirmation. When he learns of the victim’s true history and her past as a missing person prior to her death, the real-life implications of the case finally set in. Reportedly, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children assisted the search for nearly thirty thousand children in 2024 alone, with 91 percent of them making their way home. However, for the remaining 9 percent and several others, the future remains grim.
Read More: Where is Untamed Filmed? Shooting Locations of the Netflix Show
