Papa Pilgrim Series

Papa Pilgrim dies in jail, unrepentant and alone

He came to Alaska at the head of a sprawling, picturesque clan -- the last true wilderness family, as he put it when he battled the local park rangers. Robert Hale presented himself as a pious, Scripture-thumbing patriarch who just wanted to raise his 15 children far from the sin and temptations of the modern world. He settled in the mountains near McCarthy and called himself Papa Pilgrim.

More coverage on The Pilgrims

Pilgrim appears in court (10-07-2005)

Hale, who calls himself Papa Pilgrim, was the head of a 17-member family living in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. He is now in the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, charged with 30 felony counts of rape, assault and incest involving one of his da

Papa Pilgrim arrested (10-06-2005)

Robert Hale, the McCarthy-area patriarch known as Papa Pilgrim, was taken into custody in Eagle River Oct. 5.

Pilgrim hunt diminishes; leads urged (10-05-2005)

Alaska State Troopers have backed off their hunt for Robert Hale, the McCarthy-area patriarch known as Papa Pilgrim, 10 days after he slipped away from investigators coming to arrest him on charges of raping and assaulting one of his daughters.

Tips on Papa Pilgrim pour in across state (09-28-2005)

Four days after he disappeared from the settlement of McCarthy, the man known as Papa Pilgrim was still on the run Tuesday night from Alaska State Troopers seeking his arrest on sexual assault, kidnapping and incest charges.

Papa Pilgrim wanted on sex, assault charges (09-27-2005)

Robert Allan Hale, the McCarthy-area homesteading patriarch who calls himself Papa Pilgrim, has been indicted on 30 felony charges including sexual assault, kidnapping and incest. Hale slipped away before Alaska State Troopers could arrest him.

Papa's passage (10-06-2003)

McCARTHY -- Robert Allan Hale's father was a big football hero. In Texas the heroes don't come much bigger.

Pilgrims vs. Park Service (10-05-2003)

McCARTHY -- Like most people who meet the Pilgrim family for the first time, Walt Wigger was mightily impressed when they showed up to buy his mine in the Wrangell Mountains.