Key Takeaways
- TLC’s two-hour documentary The Mad Pooper revisits the unidentified jogger who repeatedly defecated on lawns and sidewalks around Colorado Springs in 2017.
- Resident Cathy Budde said the woman kept returning despite nearby restrooms, a direct confrontation, and a sign asking her to stop, prompting a police search that never publicly identified her.
- The special premieres Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will use archival footage, witness interviews, and new clues before streaming on HBO Max and Discovery+ on Nov. 20.
Nine years after an unidentified jogger turned her Colorado Springs running route into an open-air bathroom, TLC is reopening the case of The Mad Pooper. The network’s new two-hour documentary revisits the woman who repeatedly defecated on neighborhood lawns and sidewalks before disappearing without ever being publicly identified.
The Mad Pooper, premiering Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, promises archival footage, witness interviews, and a fresh investigation into the mystery that left police searching for answers—and residents searching for somewhere safe to step.
The case exploded in September 2017 after Cathy Budde revealed that a female runner had been relieving herself outside her family’s home at least once a week for nearly two months. Budde’s children found the jogger mid-squat and alerted their mother, who confronted her outside the house.
“Are you really taking a poop right here in front of my kids?” Budde recalled asking. The runner reportedly answered, “Yeah, sorry!” She then returned on other days, suggesting the apology came with some fine print.
This was no emergency pit stop gone tragically wrong. Public restrooms were nearby, including facilities at a park and a gas station, and the woman allegedly even carried napkins to clean herself up afterward.
Budde even posted a sign pleading with her to stop, but said the runner passed it repeatedly and continued using the neighborhood as her personal rest area.
Other residents and businesses eventually reported similar deposits, turning one family’s deeply unfortunate lawn problem into a citywide hunt for what some called the “poop bandit.”
Colorado Springs police joined the search but appeared nearly as confused as everyone else. “It’s abnormal, it’s not something I’ve seen in my career,” Sgt. Johnathan Sharketti told KKTV at the time. “For someone to repeatedly do such a thing ... it’s uncharted territory for me.”
Authorities said the jogger could face public defecation and indecent exposure charges, while officers asked Budde to photograph her in hopes that someone could identify the serial squatter.
The story quickly escaped Colorado and became an international punchline. Photos of the suspect circulated online, theories multiplied, and Charmin offered her a year’s supply of toilet paper if she turned herself in.
“If the #MadPooper turns herself in, we’ll give her a year’s supply of TP to help with her ‘runs,’” the company wrote in a 2017 social media post.
Neither the free toilet paper nor the possibility of criminal charges produced a publicly known culprit.
TLC will now sift through the evidence with help from residents, journalists and former law enforcement officials who followed the case. The special also examines new clues while returning to the question that has lingered over Colorado Springs since 2017: Who was she, and why did she keep coming back?
The Mad Pooper will be available on HBO Max and Discovery+ beginning Nov. 20, giving viewers another chance to crack the case authorities could never flush out.
