Discovery Channel Airs “The Lost Grave of Buffalo Bill;” Filmed in Cody, the Episode Explores the Enduring Mystery of Where Buffalo Bill is Really Buried

CODY, July 3, 2025 – The mystery of Buffalo Bill Cody’s grave is explored in the latest episode of “Expedition Unknown,” a popular Discovery Channel program now in its 15th season. The program aired on the Discovery Channel on July 2, and it is now available for streaming on the Discovery Channel, YouTube, The Roku Channel, DirectTV and a variety of other channels.

Filmed in October 2024 in Cody, Wyo., the northwestern Wyoming town famous showman and serial entrepreneur Buffalo Bill Cody founded, and Lookout Mountain outside of Denver, home of the Buffalo Bill Grave, the episode explores the mystery of where Buffalo Bill Cody is really buried.

The tale involves two graves, a bold plan, an urgent middle-of-the-night trip to a Denver mortuary, an unlucky ranch hand who had a likeness to the famous showman, some publicity-seeking Denver leaders and a passionate group of riled-up Cody townspeople in mourning for their beloved town leader.

Hosted by Josh Gates, “Expedition Unknown” investigates legendary mysteries and unsolved events from around the world. “The Lost Grave of Buffalo Bill” includes many on-location shots in and around Cody, including Buffalo Bill Center of the West; Pahaska Tepee, Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge; the Irma Hotel, which he named for his daughter; and Cedar Mountain, where Buffalo Bill told his friends he wanted to be buried.

The episode is the result of the efforts of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and Park County Travel Council’s Film Commission, headed by long-time film industry executive Kelly Eastes. Ten local actors portrayed real-life characters including Buffalo Bill himself; Wild West Show performer Annie Oakley; and friends of Buffalo Bill who allegedly helped switch the bodies. The episode also includes an interview – staged atop Cedar Mountain – with Bob Richard, a third-generation Cody resident whose grandfather, Fred Richard, was good friends with Buffalo Bill. Richard says his grandfather once showed him the exact location of Buffalo Bill’s true grave on top of the mountain.

“The producers of the episode were intrigued and motivated by the many curious twists and turns of this real-life but seemingly made-for-television tale,” said Eastes. “With Cody Yellowstone’s abundant Western landscapes, historic architecture and enthusiastic locals, we gave the Discovery Channel plenty to work with, and we are delighted with the results.”

The Mystery:

While visiting relatives in Denver in early 1917, Buffalo Bill Cody died. Soon after, his often-estranged wife Louisa arrived to claim his body and settle his affairs. While in Denver, Louisa was approached by representatives from the Denver Post newspaper and the city of Denver who offered her $10,000 each to bury Cody in the area where they felt his grave would be a tourist attraction.

Although Bill Cody was at one time regarded as the best-known person in the world and his Wild West Show was incredibly popular and profitable, he was also prone to bad investments and was incredibly generous. As a result, he and his wife were broke when he died, and Louisa accepted this offer.

When Louisa returned to Wyoming and the town of Cody, its residents turned out to greet her with the expectation that she was bringing the town’s founder home to be buried. The townsfolk were shocked and upset when Louisa informed them that she had sold Cody’s body and that he was to be buried in Denver.

Among those who were especially unhappy were the town’s undertaker and two of Buffalo Bill’s old friends, Fred Richard and Ned Frost. Buffalo Bill had long ago told his friends that he wanted to be buried on Cedar Mountain, with sweeping vistas of the town he founded.

Buffalo Bill’s three heartbroken friends hatched a plan to travel to Denver to switch bodies and bury Cody on Cedar Mountain. When a local ranch hand died and his body went unclaimed, the three put their plan in motion. After trimming the unfortunate ranch hand’s beard in the Buffalo Bill style, the three loaded the body in the undertaker’s vehicle and drove to Denver.

At Denver’s Olinger Mortuary, the undertaker, Frost and Richard presented themselves as old friends of Cody and asked if they could view his body. After their request was granted, the three returned later that night, switched bodies and returned to Wyoming. “All the way home they were convinced that the sheriff in every town they drove through was waiting to arrest them,” says Bob Richard, Fred Richard’s grandson. “Instead, they returned to Cody and quietly buried Buffalo Bill on Cedar Mountain overlooking his town.”

Once they had completed their job, they proceeded to make the rounds to all 13 of Cody’s saloons where they riled up the townsfolk and convinced them they should all go to Denver to bring Buffalo Bill back to be buried where he belonged. A caravan of 100 cars with three to four men in each then left for Denver. In Denver, meanwhile, the locals heard about the plan to retrieve Cody’s body, and they hurriedly and unsuspectingly buried the ranch hand’s body on Lookout Mountain even though permission to do so at the site had not been granted. For good measure, 20 tons of concrete was poured on top of the casket.

The caravan was met by law enforcement officials who convinced the disheartened townspeople to return home since the retrieval of the body was now impossible. They complied without incident, deeply saddened that their friend and leader would never get his wish.

Buffalo Bill’s friends quietly told others about the showman’s true resting place, although they closely guarded the exact location. Except to say that it has an expansive view of Cody, just as Buffalo Bill would have wanted.

Or so the story goes.

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Home of the Great American Adventure, Cody Yellowstone is comprised of the northwestern Wyoming towns of Cody, Powell and Meeteetse as well as the valley east of Yellowstone National Park. The region is known for rodeos, authentic guest and dude ranches, world-class museums and recreational adventures that reflect the adventurous spirit of the visionaries and explorers who brought the remote region to the world’s attention.

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Media contact:

Mesereau Travel Public Relations

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