In May of 1979, while he as already settled in what would be his final homestead before his arrest, Ted Kaczynski wrote a letter to author Jack Epstein regarding his book Along the Gringo Trail. While he had already been living off the grid in the woods of Montana for eight years at this point, the environmental destruction he witnessed around his cabin was pushing him even further toward seeking isolation from humanity.

Along the Gringo Trail: A Budget Travel Guide to Latin America outlined a simple life, one which was very alligned with Kaczynski’s morals and ideals. In reaching out, he spoke to author Epstein about how he and his brother were seeking permenant, or at least long-term accomidation somehwere outside of America and wondering if this would be an ideal location to experiemnt with this lifestyle further.

Shortly thereafter, Epstein responded to this request. While the contents of this letter are unknown, Kaczynski did write back a short handwritten note, thjanking him for his helpful and courteous response. This follow up letter was sent by Kaczynski just about three months after his first, and mentions the follow up took a considerable amount of time because he was in the hills ‘out of touch with everything.’

In reality, during this time Ted had been preparing for his third attack - a bomb planted on American Airlines Flight 444 - an attack which claimed his highest amount of lives, killing twelve passengers.

Kaczynski’s first letter was mailed just fifteen days after his second bomb was detonated - and his second letter less than three months before this high profile attack. While the return address of his first letter was that of a location in Lombard, Illinois the second letter was addressed ‘T. Kaczynski. Stemple Pass Road. Lincoln, Montana. 59639'. The mail box a short walk from the door of his cabin where he would continue his mail bomb attacks until his arrest in 1996.

While there is no real answerer as to why he did not attempt this move to South America, it is clear that if he was able to do this it may have significantly changed the course of American history by putting an end to his rampage before things escalated further.

Author Jack Epstein was not a stranger to receiving mail from readers, and luckily stored some of these letter away upon responding. In 2021, while cleaning his attic he uncovered two letters from a T. Kaczynski - and made the connection for the first time between a one time pen-pal and the man who came to be known the Unabomber. While Kaczynski letters do exist, almost all were sent form his prison cell after his arrest. There is heavy historical significance carried in these pieces, much of that given the location of their composition as stated in the second return address.

Letters from the Cabin

Manson Family Apartment