Joshua Beardsley

Joshua Beardsley was an incidental character who appeared in Exit Wounds.

Background
Joshua was born in Franklin, Alaska around 1987. His father, a skilled hunter, taught him to “live of the land”. He killed a deer himself at the age of seven, the youngest in town to do so. Growing up, he was a close friend of Owen Porter, with whom he spent most of his time despite their age difference. After attending middle and high school in Anchorage, he majored in Hotel Management at Seattle University. In his admission essay, he wrote about what an impact being an older brother had had on his life, referring to his friendship with Owen. When Joshua’s father died, he had to move back to Franklin to help his mother, Caroline, run her inn. Around this time, Owen, who was abused by his father and developed severe abandonment issues after Joshua left, killed a man and began serial killing.

Exit Wounds
When the BAU were called in to investigate, Garcia was the first to meet Joshua at his mother’s inn. Later, Joshua became a suspect for the murders, as he was very fond of hunting, his father had died (an event which could cause an individual to develop abandonment issues) and he was the right age. He was brought into custody as a precaution. During the night, Owen, since the BAU had placed his next intended victim in protective custody, broke into Caroline Beardsley’s home and killed her. The next morning, Joshua was told the bad news. When the BAU gave him a profile, he left. They realized from his calm behavior that he knew who the Unsub was and had a member of the local police tail him. Later, when the BAU realized it too, Joshua had managed to shake off his follower and assemble a hunting party to apprehend Owen. Chasing him through the woods, the group stopped at the Franklin harbor, from which Owen was planning to take a boat and go to a small fort near Lake Lafayette which he and Joshua had built when they were younger. The BAU and local police held the hunters at gunpoint, with Owen caught in between the two groups. Eventually, another group of police appeared behind the hunters, who were talked into surrendering, all except Joshua. He raised his rifle in an attempt to kill Owen, but was shot non-fatally in the shoulder by Rossi. At the end of the episode, he is seen standing outside Owen’s cell. It is unknown whether he was arrested for instigating the chase of Owen or was released.

Appearance

 * Season Five
 * Exit Wounds