The “OFFICIAL” Story

In the 1970’s, a pedophile ring operating in North Michigan was busted by local law enforcement. The brains behind the operation, multimillionaire and socialite Francis “Frank” Duffield Shelden, was a man who came from immense privelege and had used the tools at his disposal to carry out some of the most evil acts known to man. As it turned out, Frank had been flying children out to his private island in Lake Michigan for years on a private plane, molesting them on camera, inviting other pedophiles out to join in on the fun, and then returning the kids home a day or two later. However, when the authorities finally caught wind of what was really going on on North Fox Island, before they could apprehend Frank Shelden, he vanished into the night, having taken off in his private plane towards a foreign country.

And that’s the end of the official story.

What the official reports don’t mention is the fact that Frank Shelden was most likely financing snuff films, in which children were molested and murdered on camera. They also don’t mention the fact that when Frank Shelden landed his plane in the country of Amsterdam, he immediately began building an even bigger, even more powerful, and even more depraved network of pedophiles that would grow to be one of the largest operations of its kind on planet Earth. And the official reports also don’t talk about the existence of multiple photos which place the most wanted pedophile on Earth at a children’s orphanage in India, where he was given full access to any child he wanted at any time.

The “official” paper trail of Frank Shelden ends with his flight from justice. There are no real, concrete records of what happened to him after he escaped the authorities in America. But with the book and documentary series that we are creating, we are going to show the world exactly what happened to him.

My name is Colin Browen. I’m a documentary filmmaker, YouTuber, podcast host and investigative journalist that has been chasing the ghost of Frank Shelden for years. I’ve been to North Fox Island. I’ve spoken with victims of Frank Shelden. And I’ve searched for answers in this case on the ground throughout the state of Michigan. And now, I’ve partnered with investigative journalist and best-selling author J. Reuben Appelman to tell the FULL, TRUE story of Frank Shelden’s crimes. 

In 2025, we want to embark on a global journey, hopping country to country in order to investigate the Frank Shelden ring in order to expose its dirty, hidden secrets to the entire world.

In 2018, J. Reuben Appelman published his hit non-fiction book, “The Kill Jar”, which took a closer look at the unsolved murders of four children that rocked the Detroit area in the 1970’s, a crime spree known as “The Oakland County Child Killings”. And, through researching for and writing the book, J. Reuben discovered that it’s a commonly held belief amongst the surviving family members of victims that Frank Shelden himself had a hand in some of the children’s deaths. 

Frank Shelden didn’t disappear when he left the country. He didn’t stop committing crimes. And he definitely never stopped abusing children. After publishing his book, J. Reuben received hundreds of messages from people across the globe exposing inside information about the even bigger, even more demented ring that Frank Shelden helped to start up in Europe after he escaped from justice in America. And it’s finally time for justice.

The documentary series that we are planning, and subsequent book will fully track Frank Shelden’s journey after fleeing the United States, and will take a closer look at the crimes that he committed across Europe and Asia. This series and novel will take us to the seedy underbelly of the Netherlands, to orphanages in India, to the glitzy hills of Hollywood, and back to the place where it all started in Michigan, North Fox Island in Michigan, as we investigate the full scope of Frank Shelden’s crimes and expose his dirty misdeeds to the world. 

This campaign and project is incredibly important. With this documentary series and book, we will be properly investigating, researching and exposing one of the most notorious global criminal networks that has ever existed. A network that has never been properly investigated. Until now.

What We Need & What You Get

We are appealing to you at this moment to secure funding to make this project a reality. All of the creative forces involved in this project (including filmmaker Colin Browen of “The Paranormal Files”, “Murder in America” and “The Conspiracy Files”, Jay Bluemke, producer of “Ghost Hunters”, “Mountain Monsters” and “Ghost Mine” and author J. Reuben Appelman) have cleared their schedules and are already knee deep in pre-production.

At this point, we just need funding so that we can purchase tickets, rent equipment, and make this project a reality.

100% of your donation will be going towards funding this project. And your donation helps to bring two individual creative works to life- a full length non-fiction book, and a 6-part documentary series.

We have some really creative and incredible perks available to those of you who choose to donate to our crowdfunding campaign, perks that include digital downloads, signed memorabilia, ghost hunting trips and more.

The Impact

With our campaign, your contribution will help make a difference. Through this book and documentary series, we are aiming to help give victims back their voices. We are aiming to secure justice for victims. And we are going to expose these criminals to the world.

We already have a track record that displays our passion for hard hitting investigative journalism, demonstrated through our collective works (mainly J. Reuben Appelman’s “The Kill Jar” and Colin Browen’s series on YouTube exposing pedophile rings across the planet). And the team we have assembled for this project is incredible. 

Our executive producer, Jay Bluemke, has been working in the film industry for over 30 years. He has produced a plethora of television programs, films and documentaries, and is bringing a professional edge to the production. J. Reuben Appelman himself served as the executive producer of the Hulu series “Children Of The Snow”, and has extensive experiences researching and exposing criminals through his published books. 

Together, we have formed a team that is dedicated to finding the truth, and exposing pure evil.

Risks & Challenges

Taking on a project like this comes with many challenges. Big studios don’t want to produce content that tackles subjects like this. Major broadcast news media companies don’t want to dive into these topics. And people are still afraid to share their stories. In fact, many filmmakers and authors won’t go down this path because they fear their own lives may be taken from them in the process.

But we are dedicated. And no matter what happens, we are seeing this project through.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you don’t have the resources to contribute to this project at the moment, you can still help us out on our journey by sharing a link to this campaign. Every little bit of effort and energy helps!