Curse of Skinwalker Ranch: Who is Kaleb Bench?
You’ve seen Kaleb Bench on Sky HISTORY’s Curse of Skinwalker Ranch. How did this former US Marine join the security team at the eerie Utah property?
Image: Kaleb Bench | Curse of Skinwalker Ranch
Why is there so much strange activity at Skinwalker Ranch? In the last few decades, many scientists have endeavoured to solve this stubborn conundrum. Tales of spooky happenings - from poltergeist activity to peculiar aerial lights to cattle mutilations - have kept pouring out of this 512-acre property in northeast Utah.
As the ranch’s notoriety has grown, members of the public have sought to encroach on its land in the hope of finding answers. Not that you should even think about attempting it yourself. You’d only find yourself coming up against the ranch’s fearsome security personnel — including Kaleb Bench.
Kaleb became a familiar face to TV viewers after Curse of Skinwalker Ranch began airing back in 2020. Though his appearances in early seasons were sporadic, he has since cemented himself as a prominent member of the on-screen team investigating the oddities of the ranch. Here’s a look at his lengthy, life-affirming journey to stardom on the hit Sky HISTORY show.
Kaleb Bench’s background
In May 2025, Kaleb Bench guested on the Todays The Day podcast to tell his life story and how he got the Skinwalker Ranch gig. According to Kaleb, he grew up in southeast Idaho - specifically Pingree, not far from the city of Blackfoot. ‘I’m a farm kid. Yes, my family does potatoes, all that good stuff.’
Kaleb later attended Snake River High School and Utah State University. By his own admission, Kaleb wasn’t the most academic sort. Football and rugby were his true outlets, and his passion for such physical pursuits led him to join the US Marines as a tank reservist. Kaleb later joined the family business, a trucking company run by his father, who would pass away in January 2013.
How Kaleb got involved with Skinwalker Ranch
His father’s death had a momentous effect on the then-24-year-old Kaleb. However, after rediscovering his lapsed religious faith, he began to turn his life around. This included getting married to his long-term sweetheart. His new brother-in-law, Thomas Winterton, reached out to him with a phone call that changed his life in 2017.
Thomas had been working at Skinwalker Ranch since the year prior, and the property owner Brandon Fugal needed someone to help with security. As a big guy with a background in the Marines, Kaleb Bench appeared to fit the bill. Apparently, he just needed to stock up on black clothes.
Kaleb’s biggest moments on the show
Fittingly, Kaleb’s first day on the ranch was 31st October 2017. Since then, he has worked closely with onsite security chief Bryant ‘Dragon’ Arnold to prevent curious strangers from trespassing on the property.
Over the years, Kaleb has been witness to more and more of the eerie occurrences for which the ranch is famous. So, he knows firsthand how important it is to ensure that the phenomena there are scientifically investigated as safely as possible.
Curse of Skinwalker Ranch viewers have seen for themselves how Kaleb Bench has helped the team shed light on the ranch’s quirks. Here are just some notable instances captured on the show…
Kaleb’s phone goes haywire
One legend about Skinwalker Ranch is that bad things happen when people dig there. How much truth is there to this mantra? In the second-season episode ‘Breaking Ground’, the team attempts to find out. While Thomas is busy with the physical digging, physicist Erik Bard notices something going very wrong with Kaleb’s phone.
Kaleb reports to engineer Dr Travis Taylor: ‘It goes into different apps, it’s taking a couple of screenshots. I don’t have any control over it, it’s shut itself off, it’s turned it back on, and it just goes right past my passcode.’ It’s not even the first time Kaleb’s phone has been seemingly hijacked in this way on the ranch.
Kaleb is freaked out by a blinded calf
Skinwalker Ranch has had disturbing documented effects on cattle kept there. Many of the animals have been found dead. In the fifth-season episode ‘Spinning Out’, the team are drilling into the ranch’s mysterious Mesa when they notice one of the calves suddenly spinning around.
Thomas and Kaleb approach the calf to investigate — and realise that its eyes have chillingly turned pure white. The calf had apparently been blinded by exposure to microwave radiation. The incident shook Kaleb to the core, reminding him of the genuine danger posed by the phenomena on Skinwalker Ranch.
Kaleb Bench is back in the new Curse of Skinwalker Ranch season 7, now landing on Sky HISTORY. Where else have UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena) been spotted? For answers, subscribe to our newsletter.
