Sheslay Free Mike: Wilderness Outlaw and Murderer

Michael Eugene Oros, known as Sheslay Free Mike, was born in Portland, Oregon in 1952. He was a murderer and a bushman, responsible for killing two people, Gunther Lischy and Cpl. Michael Buday. He's been called "one of the most infamous and mysterious criminals to ever roam the north country."

His mother, Margaret Oros, was a single parent who worked in chemistry and geology. They moved a lot, from Oregon to North Dakota, before settling in Lawrence, Kansas, where Margaret worked at the Kansas Geological Survey. Michael spent most of his childhood there. People described him as shy and quiet, often picked on at school, but a good student. However, in his mid-teens, his grades dropped, and he struggled in 10th grade.

Around that time, his mother had him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital after he had what they called a "nervous fit." Psychiatrists didn't give a formal diagnosis but noted he had paranoid delusions and believed people were trying to poison him. After his release, he went to a guest ranch, working with horses.

The Vietnam War and student protests deeply affected him, leading him to develop strong anti-government views. At 19, he left the ranch and went to a commune in New Mexico, where he developed a heroin addiction. In 1971, he traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska. His crimes and his life were the subject of a book called *Descent into Madness* by Vernon Frolick. Many newspapers even compared him to the Mad Trapper of Rat River, someone Oros was said to have idolized. His killing of Cpl. Michael Buday even led to changes in how RCMP Emergency Response Teams handled communication and transportation. He died on March 19, 1985, from a gunshot wound at Teslin Lake, British Columbia.