Peterson, Ron: - Runaway Groom is the fifth book by bestselling true crime author Ron Peterson, Jr. He is the author of Under the Trestle, recognized as one of the top one hundred true crime books of all time, and Chasing the Squirrel, optioned as a television series on a streaming service with Los Angeles-based Urban Legends Film Company. The Oxygen television network based a 2025 television show on his book In the Wind. Peterson is a Radford University journalism graduate, where he played NCAA baseball and was an editor with the university newspaper. His professional experience includes a background in television advertising, developing ad campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. Peterson makes his home in the historic downtown of Smithfield, Virginia.