Alone Season 4: Lost & Found
- Location
- Quatsino Territory, Vancouver Island, near Port Hardy, British Columbia
- Aired
- June 15, 2017 to August 17, 2017
- Prize
- $500,000 USD (split between the winning pair)
- Status
- Complete
How the season was won (reveals the winner)
Brothers Jim and Ted Baird, freelance outdoorsmen from Toronto, Ontario, were dropped separately on Vancouver Island and reunited at their shared camp on Day 10. They built a canoe-style boat to fish their lake and relied heavily on their chosen gear, including a recurve bow, gill net, and crosscut saw, to sustain themselves through the fall into winter. As food grew scarce in the final stretch, they survived partly on limpets scavenged from the shoreline, and tensions between the brothers frayed but held. They ultimately outlasted the second-place Brockdorff father-son team by one day, tapping out on Day 75 as the last team standing to become the first Canadians to win Alone and split the $500,000 prize.
The cast
| Contestant | From | Gear |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Ribar | Montville, Maine, USA | not sourced |
| Brad Richardson | Fox Lake, Illinois, USA | not sourced |
| Brody Wilkes | Kentwood, Louisiana, USA | not sourced |
| Brooke Whipple | Fox, Alaska, USA | not sourced |
| Chris Wilkes | Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA | not sourced |
| Dave Whipple | Fox, Alaska, USA | not sourced |
| Jesse Bosdell | Skowhegan, Maine, USA | not sourced |
| Jim Baird | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 10 items → |
| Josh Richardson | Fox Lake, Illinois, USA | not sourced |
| Logan Ribar | Liberty, Maine, USA | not sourced |
| Pete Brockdorff | Poolesville, Maryland, USA | 2 items → |
| Sam Brockdorff | Poolesville, Maryland, USA | 2 items → |
| Shannon Bosdell | Wrangell, Alaska, USA | not sourced |
| Ted Baird | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 10 items → |
Listed alphabetically on purpose. Heads up: individual profiles do reveal how far that person got.
Full results table (placements, days lasted, tap-out reasons)
| Place | Contestant | Days | Why they left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Jim Baird | 75 | Outlasted everyone |
| Winner | Ted Baird | 75 | Outlasted everyone |
| 2 | Pete Brockdorff | 74 | Jointly tapped out with son Sam after Pete developed severe GERD from prolonged food deprivation. |
| 2 | Sam Brockdorff | 74 | Jointly tapped out with father Pete. |
| 3 | Dave Whipple | 49 | Tapped out jointly after wife Brooke reached exhaustion and mental fatigue. |
| 3 | Brooke Whipple | 49 | Exhaustion and mental fatigue. |
| 4 | Chris Wilkes | 14 | Homesickness and guilt about being away from family. |
| 4 | Brody Wilkes | 14 | Tapped out jointly when brother Chris tapped out. |
| 5 | Shannon Bosdell | 5 | Medical evacuation due to a lower back injury. |
| 5 | Jesse Bosdell | N/A | Eliminated when brother Shannon was medically evacuated before the pair linked up. |
| 6 | Alex Ribar | 2 | Cited insufficient mental preparation for the isolation. |
| 6 | Logan Ribar | N/A | Eliminated when father Alex tapped out before the pair linked up. |
| 7 | Brad Richardson | 1 | Medical evacuation due to an ankle injury. |
| 7 | Josh Richardson | N/A | Eliminated when brother Brad was medically evacuated before the pair linked up. |
Episode guide
Open the episode guide (recaps include tap-outs as they happened)
E1 · Divide and Conquer
June 15, 2017 · Days 1-2
The format flips: seven two-person family teams are split up, with one member dropped at a base camp and the other 10 miles away with only a compass bearing to reunite them. Survival starts before the pairs even find each other.
- First and only team/pairs season
- One teammate must navigate 10 miles overland to reach the other
E2 · Hell on Earth
June 22, 2017
The hiking teammates fight through Vancouver Island's brutal bush while their partners hold down camp on dwindling energy. Some pairs start strong; others are already fraying before they reunite.
E3 · Margin of Error
June 29, 2017
Reunited teams discover that two mouths are harder to feed than one. The partnership dynamic cuts both ways: shared labor, doubled caloric need, and no privacy to fall apart in.
E4 · The Last Mile
July 6, 2017
The remaining linkups conclude while exhaustion sets in across the board. It took the first successful team eight days to reunite, and three teams never manage it at all before exiting.
- Three teams ultimately tapped without ever linking up
E5 · Double or Nothing
July 13, 2017
The mental weight of the format claims the Ribar cousins, who exit early after concluding they weren't prepared for what the island demanded. The remaining pairs recalibrate their commitment.
Out this episode: Alex Ribar, Logan Ribar
E6 · Thicker Than Water
July 20, 2017
An ankle injury to Josh Richardson forces the father-son Richardson team out; in the pairs format, one body failing ends two runs. Family loyalty is the season's blessing and its tax.
Out this episode: Brad Richardson (medical), Josh Richardson (medical)
- First pair eliminated by a single member's injury
E7 · Hooked
July 27, 2017
Fishing becomes the surviving teams' economic engine, but the work takes its own toll. A lower back injury to Shannon Bosdell ends the Bosdell brothers' run on the same one-out-both-out rule.
Out this episode: Shannon Bosdell (medical), Jesse Bosdell (medical)
E8 · Flare-Up
August 3, 2017
Isolation pressure now works on relationships instead of individuals. The Wilkes brothers tap out together, pulled home by family guilt, proving the format's emotional leverage.
Out this episode: Chris Wilkes, Brody Wilkes
E9 · My Brother's Keeper
August 10, 2017
Down to the final pairs, endurance becomes a negotiation between partners rather than a solo choice. The Whipples exit at day 49 when Brooke reaches empty, leaving two teams in the hunt.
Out this episode: Dave Whipple (day 49), Brooke Whipple (day 49)
E10 · Flesh and Blood
August 17, 2017 · Days 74-75
The Brockdorffs bow out at day 74, with Pete's severe acid reflux tipping a joint decision that the prize wasn't worth the damage. Brothers Jim and Ted Baird take the win at 75 days and split the $500,000.
Out this episode: Pete Brockdorff (day 74, medical), Sam Brockdorff (day 74)
- Jim and Ted Baird win as a team after 75 days
- Only co-winners in franchise history
E11 · Tales From the Island
August 17, 2017
A retrospective special collecting unaired moments and behind-the-scenes material from the pairs season. Not a competition episode.
Facts worth knowing
- The only team season in franchise history: seven pairs of family members instead of ten solo contestants.
- Each team started separated, with one member navigating roughly 10 miles by compass bearing to reach the other; the fastest successful linkup still took eight days.
- Three of the seven teams tapped out without ever reuniting.
- If either team member exited, both were out, and three pairs were eliminated by one partner's injury or health issue.
- Winners Jim and Ted Baird (brothers) lasted 75 days and split the $500,000 prize.
- Runners-up Pete and Sam Brockdorff (father and son) lasted 74 days, one day short.
- Filmed back in Quatsino Territory on northern Vancouver Island, the Season 1 and 2 region.
Viewer's notes
- This is the format experiment season; expect relationship drama layered on survival rather than pure solo endurance.
- The opening two episodes (the separated navigation phase) are unique in the franchise and worth watching even if you skip the middle.
- The Baird brothers were already known to Canadian audiences for wilderness expedition films; their teamwork is a masterclass in shared labor division.
- The one-day margin between winner and runner-up is the closest finish in the show's history.
- If you prefer classic solo Alone, watch Seasons 3 then 5 and treat this one as a spin-off.
Wondering what the cast was allowed to bring? See the full rules and approved item list or browse the gear database.