The Stranger on Mount Washington

I'm Hannah. I've lost 75 pounds in 20 months with GLP-1s, plus diet and exercise. On Rho, I've gone from struggling to run a mile to running farther every day. You can access FDA-approved GLP-1s online. Get the support you need to reach your weight loss goals. Go to Rho.co slash weight to see if you qualify. I'm a paid Rho partner. 20% average weight loss in one year in non-diabetics with obesity or overweight with a weight-related medical condition versus 3.1% in placebo arm. RxOnly. To stay informed about serious side effects, go to Rho.co slash safety. Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in, and that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. We don't just alert. We help stop crime before it starts. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70% off your new system with professional monitoring at SimpliSafe.com slash Spotify. SimpliSafe. Ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Observe the North American dad. 50s. Great polo collection. He enters his vehicle information on Carvana. An offer appears in minutes. Remarkable. He squints, reads it again, smiles and says, Dang, that's a good offer. The highest form of approval. No haggling. No hassle. No one called him boss. He's still on the couch. Astonishing. Sell your car today on Carvana.com. Pickup fees may apply. Today, we're starting on Mount Washington, where a hiker follows a set of footprints into a brutal storm and finds a stranger who seems almost unwilling to be saved. But then, days later, a mysterious letter arrives that explains everything. Then we're looking at three national park disappearances where the clues only make the cases harder to understand. And then finally, a 19-year-old woman, walks naked into the Washington Wilderness. And what followed would become one of the most bizarre cases in national forest history. If you're enjoying this podcast, please hit the follow button. Less than half of my listeners are currently following the show. It's totally free and it really helps our standing with Spotify. Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it. I'm Kyle. Listen on if you dare. On an October day in 2010, experienced hiker and volunteer rescuer Pam Bales began climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire. She thought this would be just a routine solo hike, which is something that she had done countless times before, even on this very mountain. But as the skies darkened and the temperatures plummeted, the mountain transformed into a deadly battleground of snow, wind and freezing cold. But as brutal as the weather was in this moment, it would soon become literally the least of Pam's concerns. While she was battling through these near whiteout conditions, something caught Pam's eye. She noticed footprints in the snow and these tracks led her off of her planned route and straight into a mystery that she could not ignore. It would turn out that Pam wasn't alone on the mountain that day. Somebody else had wandered into that very same storm. And by the time Pam found him, he was mere inches away from death. Pam quickly realized that this was not going to be an ordinary rescue. This man that she found wouldn't tell her his name. He barely spoke to her and he refused to look her in the eye. The storm raged on and every decision that Pam made meant the difference between life and death as she literally risked everything to try to save this anonymous and evasive stranger. Pam would make it off the mountain that day, but reaching the safety and the warmth of her car did not mark the conclusion to this story. In fact, at that point, it was just getting started. She was left completely and utterly baffled about what had just happened. She wondered about who this man was that she had just encountered. She wondered about why he went up the mountain that day so dangerously unprepared. And perhaps the most puzzling question that she couldn't shake from her head was why had he barely spoken to her as she guided him to safety? Why wouldn't he tell her his name? What the hell was he hiding? Pam pondered these unanswered questions during the days that followed. But then she got an anonymous letter. In the mail. And as she read it, its contents revealed a chilling secret that changed everything Pam thought she knew about that fateful day on Mount Washington. And so without further ado, this is the unbelievable story of Pam Bales. When your average person thinks of dangerous mountains, New Hampshire's Mount Washington probably isn't on the list. I mean, maybe it is if you're a Northeast hiker like myself, but I don't know, mountains like Everest or K2, I mean, these high Himalayan mountains are usually what come to mind. And I'm not saying that Mount Washington is as inherently dangerous as these peaks, but you might be surprised to know that despite only being 6,000 feet tall, just over Mount Washington has proven time and time again, that it's a killer. Again, if you're from the Northeast, you, you probably know this, but if you're not from the Northeast, you'll probably be surprised to hear that more than 160 people have died on Mount Washington which makes it by far the most deadly mountain on the east coast of the U.S. and honestly makes it one of the deadliest mountains in the entire country. Its notorious reputation stems from its treacherous and unpredictable weather especially during the winter and the unforgiving shoulder seasons but at the same time, its accessibility also plays a role. I mean, this mountain is so close to Boston, to New York City, and just about every urban area in the Northeastern United States. And so because of this, tons of people, myself included, hike Mount Washington. But most of those people hike it during the summer. By the time October starts to bring the onset of winter weather, the traffic, the numbers of people that are going up the mountain start to die down, and only the true hardos, as I call them, find themselves climbing the deadly peak. And one of those hardos that can take on Mount Washington any time of the year is Pam Bales. So with that said, let's take a virtual trip together right now to Mount Washington. All right, here we go. Ready? In October of 2010, Pam Bales started up the Jewel Trail, planning to complete a solo loop hike, which included tagging the summit of Mount Washington. Now, Pam was no ordinary hiker. She was a seasoned outdoors woman, and she was also a nurse, which, by the way, is a combination that made her an ideal member of the Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, where she had volunteered for over five years. Pam had ventured into New Hampshire's White Mountains countless times in order to save the lives of others. But on this day, the hike was meant for herself. It was a personal journey, some time to unwind. And yet, unbeknownst to her, within just a few short hours, her peaceful solo trek would transform into a desperate struggle for survival, both her survival and that of a complete and total stranger. Now Pam Bales took safety very seriously. I mean, how couldn't she given her experience working search and rescue? She had all the proper equipment for this cold shoulder season hike. She had scribbled down her plans and left the paper visible in her car just in case someone needed to come find her. And of course, she did what every responsible hiker should do before they set out. She checked the weather forecast before she started up the mountain. Now, this forecast called for wind chill temperatures around zero degrees Fahrenheit or negative 18 degrees Celsius. And the forecast also called for wind speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. And so clearly this forecast was not ideal, but it was also the kind of weather that a prepared, seasoned hiker could deal with. Pam had hiked this route countless times before. she knew that she could do it. She knew the areas that weren't that exposed. And she also knew that if the weather made a turn for the worst, well, then she had multiple bailout points, you know, trails that of course she had also done countless times before. In this type of weather, someone like Pam Bales would be just fine. However, for anyone less prepared, we'll say, this brutal weather could quickly become a death sentence sealing their fate as mount washington's next unsuspecting victim so pam bale sets off up mount washington and as she climbed higher and higher some selfies. In the progression of photos, you can see that she's adding more and more layers in order to compensate for the weather which was rapidly deteriorating. Eventually she had to even reach for her snow goggles, and by the time she did this, the wind had become absolutely fierce, whipping snow into a blinding swirl all around her. She was only a few miles into her hike before she began to weigh her options. Pushing for the summit, well, that was starting to feel like a gamble with death. Less than 1,000 vertical feet remained, but Pam, no stranger to life or death situations once again because of her search and rescue work, well Pam knew how easily things could spiral out of control, and how quickly. As she contemplated this decision, she took one more selfie, and then, she noticed something that caused her heart to sink. Pam had been following a series of footsteps in the snow as she climbed up the Jewel Trail, but in this moment. she realized that something about these footprints was different. Something was off. I'm Hannah. Go to rho.co/weight to see if you qualify. I'm a paid Rho partner, 20% average weight loss in one year, and non-diabetics with obesity or overweight, with a weight-related medical condition, versus 3.1% in placebo-armed. Rx only. To stay informed about serious side effects, go to rho.co/safety. PrizePix packs are here. Rip digital packs, and get real basketball, football, and Pokemon cards. Sell cards instantly for cash, or ship 'em home. PrizePix packs gives everyone the opportunity to pull the one-of-one Cooper flag rookie card, worth $8 million, and a Pikachu illustrator card, worth $2.8 million, and packs as low as just $1. Download PrizePix, and use code SPOTIFY. To get $25 instantly in bonus packs when you buy your first $5 pack. PrizePix. Run your game. 18+ eligible areas. Terms apply. Collect responsibly. We're all here. It's family. Presents for the ones you love. And run. Observe. The North American Dad. 50s. That's it. It's time to go. See you next time. Observe the North American Dad Bye. Bye. See you next time. 50s, great polo collection He enters his vehicle information on Carvana An offer appears in minutes Remarkable He squints, reads it again Smiles and says, dang, that's a good offer The highest form of approval no haggling no hassle no one called him boss he's still on the couch astonishing sell your car today on carvana.com pickup fees may apply this holiday all plans even unlimited are just 15 a month a holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song like all i want right okay we can't afford that you don't forget the music budget we're gonna stick with whatever's in the public domain give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch upfront payment of 45 for three months 90 for six months or 180 for 12 month plan required 15 per month equivalent taxes and fees extra new customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes Term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. These footprints didn't belong to the sturdy winter hiking boots that she expected. They were instead the unmistakable mark of sneakers, tennis shoes, the typical thing you just wear to the gym or to the mall or whatever. As soon as she noticed this, Pam knew that whoever she had been following was likely in deep trouble because venturing into such treacherous terrain in sneakers, especially with how bad the conditions were, well, that was nothing short of reckless. So in this moment, Pam could have just turned around. The weather had gotten so bad. And after all, she was only responsible for herself. She could have turned around. She could have, you know, just kind of shook her head at this anonymous person who made such a dangerous choice in footwear. And she could have just returned back to her car. However. That's not who Pam Bales is. I mean, she knew deep within her gut that something was wrong. And so instead of turning back to safety, she continued on through the biting wind and bitter cold. And she followed these footprints. And it wasn't long before Pam noticed the prints veering sharply off of the trail, heading directly into the treacherous expanse of the Great Gulf. The Great Gulf is a very unforgiving area on Mount Washington. And it's not the kind of place you want to just be wandering into off trail in the middle of a storm like this. And so when she noticed the footprints heading in that direction, she just got very, very anxious. And she really had to just pause and contemplate what her next move would be. It was evident to her that the person behind those tracks was struggling to navigate the harsh conditions and would likely perish in the freezing cold. If, Pam did not find them soon. And yet, at the same time, she understood that her own safety had to come first. And the deeper that she ventured into this perilous landscape off trail, the greater the chance that she would also find herself in a life or death situation. She's contemplating all these things, but ultimately she knew what she was going to do. Pam was not about to give up. And so she cautiously moved off of the trail, following the footprints while shouting out and blowing her whistle. Nobody replied to her screaming, but it didn't take long until she stumbled upon the origin of those footprints, a discovery that had swiftly transformed her solo hike into a rescue mission. Pam walked up to a man who was sitting eerily still against a boulder, covered in ice, a man who was clearly, clearly freezing to death. And just as she had suspected, given the footprints, this man was wearing sneakers. And by the way, the rest of his outfit was just as inappropriate for Mount Washington's dangerous weather. This man reportedly had on a light jacket, you know, not some winter parka, just a light jacket. He apparently had on shorts and he also had on gloves that were so thin and, and basically useless. So thin that he might as well have not been wearing them. At all. And yet despite his poor clothing choices, this man was still alive, at least for the moment, seeing this site unfolding in front of her, Pam knew that she had to act fast. And so she began her rescue mission with a simple yet determined. Hello. She greeted the man and she noticed his eyes kind of flickering towards her, which revealed that he was in fact conscious and he was aware of her presence. But at the same time, when she greeted him, he stubbornly remained silent. He didn't say anything, which was very strange. But regardless of that, Pam quickly helped him into some extra warm clothing that she had brought along. Again, she was very prepared herself, took safety very seriously. And then she began assessing him for injuries. It seemed like he wasn't actually injured. He was just freezing to death. And so she continued to help him. And she also continued trying to engage him in conversation. You know, asking if he even knew where he was. And when she asked him this, the question just kind of hung in the cold air and was met with silence. Just like her first question had been undeterred. She followed up with yet another question. Pam asked the man quote, what is your name? And once again, there was no response to this. So this man is just refusing to talk, refusing to share his name. But again, this didn't deter Pam. She actually decided to just completely take matters into her own hands. And so she gave this anonymous man, the name, John Pam worked for nearly an hour to get John warm and stable enough so that he could return to his feet and begin hiking down the mountain. She gave him some hot chocolate that she had stored in her thermos. She covered her body in those hand warmer packets that a lot of people take skiing and stuff. And she, she also gave the man some electrolytes. After all of this effort, the man did eventually start to speak and he offered a very confusing explanation for why he had ended up in this predicament. It didn't really make sense to Pam, but at least he was talking a little bit. But one thing that he still refused to do was to give Pam his name while his evasiveness was both confusing and probably a little bit unsettling. To be Frank, Pam, didn't have the luxury of pondering the strangeness of this situation. That would have to wait. She understood that if this man didn't start moving soon, his chances of survival would plummet. And so with determination, she got him to his feet and she basically forced him to descend the mountain by her side. And just in case you had forgotten by this point, the conditions on Mount Washington had deteriorated so badly, even worse, than they were when she first found him. I mean, it was to the point where Pam could barely make out the footprints that she had left in the snow just an hour earlier. It was that white out. It was just absolutely brutal. And so the two of them trudged forward, moving slowly, moving cautiously, but. then all of a sudden, John just collapsed onto the ground. And by the way, at this point, they hadn't really made it very far. They'd only traveled about a half mile from the site where Pam initially found him. John collapsed and then he curled up into a ball, essentially giving up on continuing on and thus by extension, essentially giving up on his own life. Uncharacteristically, in this moment, he actually spoke to Pam and the words that left his mouth were not encouraging. He told Pam that he was too tired to go on and that he had just given up and that she should just continue down the mountain without him. When Pam heard this, folks, she was having none of it. With fierce determination, she essentially told John to suck it up, buttercup. And after a bit of coaxing, she managed to get him back on his feet. Now, the descent down the mountain was extremely difficult for Pam. Not only was she navigating treacherous terrain in harsh conditions, but she was also haunted by this fear that John might collapse again at any moment and refuse a lot more strongly to go on. His erratic behavior was really puzzling to her. When she first found him, I mean, he was clearly in early stages of hypothermia. Which is a condition that often leads to irrational actions. So that can kind of explain it. But at the same time, Pam, through her search and rescue work, had encountered people suffering from hypothermia before. And something about John just felt different. Pam really couldn't put her finger on it. But despite that, she continued to push John down the mountain, trying to encourage him in any way. She even found herself singing to him, you know, just doing anything at all to try to lighten this heavy burden that they were both bearing at the moment. The pair hiked on the sunset. It's now pitch black. And by headlamp, they finally reached the trailhead where their vehicles were parked a full six hours after Pam had managed to get John onto his feet. Miraculously, both of them were alive. They were both safe, albeit a bit shaken. But John hadn't left any dry clothing to change into in his vehicle. And thus, Pam didn't quit quite yet. She turned on her car and she began warming his clothing so that he could drive home in comfort. And she also used this moment as an opportunity to figure out what the hell had just happened. She once again tried to engage John in conversation. She asked him why he had set out into the bad weather so unprepared, you know, with the bad shoes and clothing and stuff. She asked him what his original plan was, like, what was he thinking? Those are my words, not hers. And she also asked him what he would have done if she hadn't been there to rescue him. And after she asked him all these questions, John predictably had no response. Pam warmed his clothing for a few minutes, and then she returned them to him. John thanked her at this point. He started his car, and then he drove away into the night. The entire time, up to and including this moment, he refused to give his name, and he refused to say anything at all that would identify him. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. We don't just alert. SimpliSafe. My life is booked and busy. I don't have time to try on a million outfits that still don't feel right. That's why I get styled with Stitch Fix. My personal stylist sends outfits picked for my size, style, and budget so I can get dressed and get on with my day feeling confident. It's no risk, all style. Free shipping, free returns, no subscription required. Get started today at StitchFix.com. That's StitchFix.com. This episode is brought to you by TXU Energy. If you're looking for a better way to save on electricity, both night and day, look no further than TXU Energy. Free nights and cool summer. It gives you free energy all night, every night, all year long. Plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use every summer. It's the only plan that lets you use free energy to get more savings. So while nights are always free, summer days are now always discounted. With savings like that, you'll never look at a free night's plan the same way again. Learn more at TXU.com. Rep number 10004. The best holiday finds aren't always the ones you went looking for. At Ross, discover unexpected gifts, fashion, decor, and plenty of reasons to keep looking. Ross, expect the unexpected. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com. Pam stood frozen as she watched John's taillights fade into the darkness, trying to grapple with the surreal reality of what had just happened. I mean, this was unlike any rescue mission that she had ever experienced before. John, you know, he had expressed gratitude and yet he remained so evasive, so bizarre. It was just weird. In fact, that word weird is probably an understatement because this entire situation was just downright unsettling. After he drove away, Pam was left with an avalanche of questions crashing over her, drowning out any sense of resolution. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Pam managed to gather her thoughts enough to drive home. As she navigated the scene, her mind raced with how she would tell this story to her teammates at Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue. I mean, of course they would want to know about this. It's what they do. And she knew that they would be probably just as confused as she was, maybe even more so. But she also knew that possibly there was a chance that they could shed some light on the situation and offer some sort of explanation that Pam herself wasn't thinking of. Pam bails spent the following days discussing the strange rescue with her search and rescue teammates, hoping to uncover this explanation, but as expected, no answers surfaced. John remained as much a mystery to them as he was to Pam. But then, exactly one week after that harrowing ordeal, a letter arrived at Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue addressed to the organization's president. It soon became the most astonishing correspondence in the organization's history. Straight up. This letter revealed everything. It explained why John had ventured into the wilderness so dangerously unprepared. It explained why his behavior had been so, again, unsettling. And it explained why he refused to give his name to the very woman who had undeniably saved his life. The truth behind John's silence on the mountain that day was more shocking than anyone could have imagined. Now, I usually don't read, like, really long quotes in my videos, but I think I would be remiss if I left any of the details of this letter out. And so, I'm going to read the entire thing to you guys, word for word. Now, this letter was sent along with a letter from a friend of mine, and I'm going to read the entire thing to you guys, word for word. Along with a small donation to Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue, and here's what it said. Next thing I knew, this lady was talking to me, changing my clothes, talking to me, giving me food, talking to me, making me warmer, and she just kept talking and calling me John, and I let her. Finally learned her name was Pam. Conditions were horrible, and I said to leave me and get going, but she wouldn't. Got me up and had me stay right behind her, still talking. But I wanted to only take my life, not anybody else's. else, and I think she would have tried to find me. The entire time, she treated me with care, compassion, authority, confidence, and the impression that I mattered. With all that has been going wrong in my life, I didn't matter to me, but I did to Pam. She probably thought I was the stupidest hiker dressed like I was, but I was never put down in any way. Chewed out, yes, in a kind way. Maybe I wasn't meant to die yet. I somehow still mattered in life. I became very embarrassed later on and never really thanked her properly. If she is an example of your organization slash professionalism, you must be the best group around. Please accept this small offer of appreciation for her effort to save me way beyond the limits of safety. No, did not seem in her mind. I am getting help with my mental needs. They will also help me find a job and I have temporary housing. I have a new direction thanks to wonderful people like yourselves. I got your name from her pack patch and bumper sticker. My deepest thanks, John. All of a sudden, everything about that fateful day on the mountain, it just kind of fell into place for Pam. She had believed that she was merely saving a man from the cold grip of poor decisions, you know, bad gear and bad planning. But in truth, she was rescuing him from far darker, far more dangerous demons. In what was perhaps the worst, most desperate moment of John's life, Pam emerged like a beacon in the storm. She didn't just pull him from the freezing wilderness. She reminded him through her actions that he mattered. John's letter revealed that this encounter, these fleeting moments of human connection had ignited something profound within him. It was the spark that drove him to seek help. The first step towards reclaiming a life that had seemed lost in the shadow of despair. To this day, the identity of this John man, well, it remains a mystery. He never stepped forward. He never reached out to Pam again, at least that we know of. And maybe that's just the way that it was meant to be. What truly matters is not whether their paths crossed again, but that both Pam and John made it off the mountain that day, which is something that I encourage all of you to celebrate in the comments section right now. Pam's extraordinary rescue would later inspire a movie, the 2022 drama called Infinite Storm with Naomi Watts bringing Pam's bravery to life on screen and Billy Howell embodying the troubled soul of John, which I think is pretty cool. They made a movie out of this, um, definitely gave Pam some more recognition, which she absolutely deserved. But at the same time, you know, despite all of the attention and the praise, it seems to me that Pam Bales, has kept a pretty low profile since the rescue and also since the release of this film. She's done a couple interviews, you know, a couple articles and stuff, but for the most part, she's really kind of just stayed out of the spotlight. And I think that speaks to her character because this entire situation, her actions on the mountain that day were obviously never about anything else other than saving the stranger in front of her. She was simply just doing what she thought. Now, you'll recall that John didn't just send that letter to Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue. He also left a small donation to the group, which was very nice of him. And I've spent more time hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire than anywhere else in the world. I absolutely love the whites so much. I want to have a cabin there or something someday. And with all that said, I can tell you firsthand over the years that I've been hiking there, I've heard countless stories of Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue saving the lives of people who were killed in the Pemigawasset Valley Search and Rescue. I was familiar with them long before I ever made this video or heard this story. And they're the obvious give back call out for this video. I've made a donation to them. And I encourage you to do the same, even if it's just a few dollars. I'll have their link in the description. And I'll tell you right now, if you're feeling generous, and especially if you live in New England, there is not a better cause that you can donate your money to. I would appreciate it so much. Hit that link, send them some money, show them some love, and just please join us. And I'll see you in the next video. Bye. And speaking of showing love, show some love for Pam and for John in the comment section. Do it right now. I really hope that John was able to find some purpose in his life. And on that note, I also hope that any of you that have been struggling lately, well, I hope that you can find the same thing. Pam's story is a reminder that sometimes the strangest wilderness mysteries do actually have an answer. But our next three rapid fire stories are what happens when they don't. People disappear inside national parks, leaving behind just enough evidence to make you think the truth should be obvious. For most people, visiting a national park is a relaxing, fun adventure. But for the three people I'm going to tell you about today, their national park trip became a death trap. And the part in my language here, the most up part about these stories is that they all remain to this day. None of these people have been seen alive in years, and two of them haven't even been seen dead either. From a man who left a disturbing note at the most popular trailhead of the most popular national park in the entire United States and then disappeared, to a high school girl who vanished on a hiking trail despite the fact that she was within eyesight of her classmates at the time of the incident. And I'm not just going to be telling you these stories, by the way, I'm also going to be highlighting the plethora of unanswered questions that surround each of these cases. And so, without further ado, I invite you on a virtual trip to perhaps the most beautiful national park on the entire east coast of the United States. That would be Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Still waiting in line? Again? That's time you'll never get back. Save time and money with Stamps.com. Over 4 million businesses have skipped the line with Stamps.com. Join them to save up to 90% off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail, registered mail, and packages in seconds. Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to Stamps.com and use code podcast for a free welcome gift. Taxes and fees apply. You're listening to a quick ad. You know what else is quick? Selling your car on Carvana. Just put in your vehicle information and we'll give you an offer. Done. No hassle, no negotiation, no guy from an online listing lowballing you. Which means by the time I'm done explaining this, you could have basically done it. Still haven't started? Hey, better late than never. Sell your car today on Carvana. Taxes low as just $1. Download prize picks and use code Spotify to get $25 instantly and bonus packs when you buy your first $5 pack. Prize picks. Run your game. 18 plus eligible areas terms apply. Collect responsibly. I'm Hannah. I've lost 75 pounds in 20 months with GLP-1s plus diet and exercise. On Rowe, I've gone from struggling to run a mile to running farther every day. You can access FDA approved GLP-1s online. Go to Rowe.co slash weight to see. If you qualify, I'm a paid Rowe partner. 20% average weight loss in one year and non-diabetics with obesity or overweight with a weight-related medical condition versus 3.1% in placebo arm. Rx only. To stay informed about serious side effects, go to Rowe.co slash safety. March 15th, 2012, a phone call was made to the parents of 24-year-old Derek Luking. And folks, this was not your ordinary phone call. This was the type of phone call that every parent has nightmares about receiving. It was their. Their son's roommate calling them to say that their son, Derek, had gone missing. Derek had strangely not stopped his alarm clock from going off in the morning for like a long time. And soon after that, he failed to show up at work. Nobody had any idea where Derek was. And so his parents immediately began driving through the night from their home in Virginia down to Louisville, Tennessee, where Derek lived at the time. It had been determined that the last time Derek was seen was on the previous day, that would be March 14th, when he left. his home. When his parents finally arrived, they started looking through Derek's computer and they discovered that he had been researching the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park and that he had made a hotel reservation just outside of the park for the night of March 16th. That just so happened to be the same date that they were looking through his computer. And so his parents were fresh on his tail, but by the time they reached the hotel, it was unfortunately too late. Derek was spotted on surveillance cameras leaving the hotel in Cherokee, North Carolina around 4 a.m. on March 17th. His parents were able to get access to his hotel room and when they entered it, they found a Bible and a bottle of liquor left on the floor. After leaving the hotel, Derek's parents began driving west back to Tennessee in order to continue their search. They reached the North Carolina-Tennessee state line at Newfound Gap Deep. Inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and there's a little parking lot and like look out there and the state line crosses right down the middle of it. When Derek's parents pulled into the parking lot right there on the state border, they accidentally spotted a clue that would soon change everything in the search for Derek Liu King. Now, before I go any further, I got to warn you that this story is about to get incredibly frustrating and, so very, very disturbing. When Derek's parents pulled into the parking lot at Newfound Gap, they were shocked by what they saw. Sitting there right on the state border between North Carolina and Tennessee was Derek's vehicle, his white Ford Escape. But Derek himself was unfortunately nowhere to be found. The discovery of Derek's vehicle came at roughly 8.30 a.m. on March 17th, and you'll recall that Derek was spotted on his car. Derek's parents pulled into the parking lot at 4 a.m. on March 17th, and Derek's parents pulled into the parking lot at 4 a.m. on March 17th, leaving the hotel that very same day at 4 a.m. According to my calculations, i.e. my Google Maps-ing, Newfound Gap is roughly a 33-minute drive away from the hotel that Derek stayed at. And this means that his parents arrived at his car only about four hours after he would have parked it, which is just astonishing. I'm generalizing here, but in most missing person cases, entire days go by before anyone realizes that the person was missing, let alone knows their last location. But in this case, his parents arrived at his point last known, yeah, only four hours after he had been there. I'm sure that Derek's parents hoped that he had simply gone hiking. It was a trailhead that he was parked at after all, and they hoped that he would return within a few hours. But after they looked inside his car, they became extremely worried and immediately contacted rangers to start a search. Derek had apparently gone out and purchased over $1,000 worth of camping, hiking, and survival equipment in the days leading up to his disappearance. And by the way, remember, that's a 2012 $1,000, not a 2024 $1,000. I mean, that's a lot of expensive equipment. And yet for some unknown reason, Derek didn't take all of it with him when he presumably set out into the wilderness from Newfound Gap. Derek's family wrote, quote, we believe he had at least a backpack, a waterproof watch, a Bear Grylls survival tool pack, including a multi-tool small flashlight fire starter rod, a Gerber pack ax, several pages of a military survival manual, a knife sharpener, a compass slash thermometer, 100 feet of black parachute cord, a headlamp, pocket knife, iPod touch, and some granola bars. And so clearly he did take a lot of gear with him, but he apparently did not take a tent, a sleeping bag, or his wallet and car keys. And the reason we know that he didn't take those items is because, well, they were found inside the car. The fact that he didn't take those items was a very bizarre sign, but it wasn't anywhere as bizarre, as the next thing that they found inside Derek's car. This next discovery is one of the most puzzling and honestly disturbing twists to this entire story. Derek Liu King left a note inside his car, which read, quote, don't look for me. The note was not addressed to anybody specifically, so it was unclear if it was meant for, Derek's friends and family, or perhaps if it was meant for park rangers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But either way, this was an incredibly eerie sign and more than enough needed to justify a search. In the weeks that followed, park employees, rangers, volunteers, and ridge runners combed the trails surrounding Newfound Gap, looking for any additional clues related to Derek's disappearance. Hundreds and hundreds of miles were hiked, much of which was done with tracking dogs, by the way. I mean, helicopters were brought in for multiple days, even once to search at night. Over 3,000 missing person flyers were handed out in the national park. And yet, despite this incredible effort, no sign of Derek Liu King was found, absolutely nothing whatsoever. And if you flash forward 11 years later, this is unfortunately still where Derek's case stands. There haven't been any updates, any signs of him, and, it's really just gone cold. I have a lot of unanswered questions about this case. First of all, I've been to Newfound Gap before. The Appalachian Trail crosses right over it, and so I hiked through it on my AT through hike. And there's also a bunch of other trails that start and intersect Newfound Gap as well. I'm saying this to illustrate that it's a very popular area. There's all that hiking traffic, certainly. And then the road also goes right through Newfound Gap. There's that scenic overlook and parking lot there. And it also sits right on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. And so all this stuff makes Newfound Gap an extremely popular place. I don't know this for a fact, but I would be willing to bet that Newfound Gap is probably the most popular trailhead in all of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And on that note, I should also mention that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the number one most visited national park in the entire United States. Now, again, Derek, was there early in the morning when he parked. I think it's important to remember that, but I don't know. I just, it's weird. Like how the hell did he show up to the most popular trailhead in the country's most popular national park, walk into the woods and not be seen or noticed by anybody? Again, I guess it's certainly possible, but it's just bizarre to me. And another question I have is why did he buy so much expensive gear just to leave a lot of it behind? And, perhaps the biggest question of all, is what the hell could have happened to Derek Liu King? There's a few different theories floating around out there about, yeah, what could have happened. The first of which is that he deliberately went off trail into the woods in an ill-fated attempt at solo survival. Derek Liu King was apparently a fan of the TV show Man vs. Wild, which features survival expert Bear Grylls. I'm sure many of us have seen it. Derek's family believed that it was possible that he actually set off into the woods from Newfound Gap, attempting to mimic the TV show, and then he died in the process. This theory would explain why Derek wasn't spotted on any of the hiking trails in the area. I guess he would have taken an off-trail route to do this. It would also explain why he left behind the tent and the sleeping bag in the car, perhaps he was planning on building his own shelter or something like that, but it still doesn't explain why he bought that stuff in the first place. Perhaps he just changed his mind last minute. Another theory is that Derek Liu King set off into the wilderness somewhere and then took his own life. This would be consistent with the bizarre note that he left in his car, as well as apparently some of his behavior leading up to his disappearance. I'm Serena Williams and I'm healthier on Roe. I've lost 34 pounds in a year with GLP-1's diet and exercise. On Roe, you can access GLP-1 options, including the first FDA-approved GLP-1 pill for weight loss. Go to roe.co slash journey to see if you qualify. 14 to 20% average weight loss in one year in non-diabetics with obesity or overweight with a weight-related medical condition versus 2.2% to 3.1% in placebo R. Rx only. To stay informed about serious side effects, go to roe.co slash safety. Prize picks packs are here. Rip digital packs and get real basketball, football, and Pokemon cards. Sell cards instantly for cash or ship them home. Prize picks packs gives everyone the opportunity to pull the one of one Cooper flag rookie card worth $8 million and a Pikachu illustrator card worth $2.8 million and packs as low as just $1. Download prize picks and use code SPOTIFY to get $25 instantly in bonus packs when you buy your first $5 pack. Prize picks. Run your game. Collect responsibly. My personal stylist. sends outfits picked for my size, style, and budget so I can get dressed and get on with my day feeling confident. When an intruder approaches a home, they expect a camera. What they don't expect. Stop. This is simply safe. Using smart AI cameras, live U.S.-based agents help deter intruders in under 30 seconds. Don't just record a break-in. Stop it from ever happening. Plan starting around a dollar a day. 30 seconds response time requires monitoring plan with outdoor protection starting at $49.99 a month. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just $15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously. Expensive holiday song like All I Want. Right. Okay, we can afford that. You don't forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes. May slow when network is busy. See terms. Derek's father was quoted saying he, referring to Derek, started drinking a little bit and smoking cigarettes. Which was highly unusual for him. He wasn't happy with his job or where his life was going. But if Derek had planned to just walk off into the woods and then take his own life, then why did he buy all of that survival gear beforehand? It should also be mentioned that theories of foul play are always a possibility in a missing persons case like this. Now, I'm not aware of any evidence that Derek was kidnapped or killed, but until we know what happened to him, we can't really. rule this theory out. It's such a bizarre and sad case. I don't know. Leave a comment down below and let me know what you think of all of this. And of course, anyone with information about Derek Liu King's disappearance should call investigative services with the National Park Service at the phone number I have in the description. My heart goes out to Derek and of course his family. And I really hope they get some answers soon. And I hope that by talking about his story, it'll shed some more light on his case and that, yeah, maybe one day his family will know what happened. The family of the victim in our next National Park mystery did eventually get not all, but some answers about their loved one's disappearance, unlike Derek Liu King. But unfortunately, the answers that they got were not very good. In August of 1996, Sheila Kearns needed a fresh start. The 43-year-old had a heart attack, but she was still alive. She was still alive. She was still had previously been married and had apparently paid her husband's way through medical school. But once she had paid everything off, Sheila's husband apparently just up and left the marriage. It's unclear to me exactly what Sheila Kearns did immediately after her divorce, but by the summer of 1996, I know that she found her way to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state. It's here that she got a job working at the front desk of the Paradise Inn, which sits on the southern slopes of Mount Rainier and is within the boundaries of the national park. Though little is publicly known about Sheila's past, one of her former co-workers recalled Sheila mentioning that she had spent some time in the Peace Corps and also she mentioned the heartbreaking story of her former marriage. This co-worker affirmed that Sheila Kearns wanted a fresh start at her life and that's why she took the job in the beautiful national park. And this makes sense to me. I'm sure it does to you as well. What better way to start over than by living and working in the kind of place that a lot of people only get to visit once in a lifetime. On October 1st, 1996, the Paradise Inn closed for the season. The crowds of fair weather tourists had long since passed, and though the park was still open, it was now much, much quieter. There would be far less people around to potentially notice anything out of the ordinary. But just because the Inn was closing and the crowds were thinning out, that did not mean that all the park employees were just done for the season. There was still work to be done, and thus Sheila Kearns, who had recently been hired on for the Winter Crew by the way, remained in the park. She began the process of moving into a new employee housing building and she also attended some end of the season parties thrown by some of her fellow employees. One of these parties took place on October 4th, 1996. Sheila Kearns went to the party, I'm assuming she had a good time, and then she left and she was never seen alive ever again after this. Two days later, on October 6th, Sheila Kearns failed to show up for work. Now this was highly unusual for her and it really concerned her coworkers, one of whom actually went to her residence hoping that they would find her there. But unfortunately, Sheila wasn't there, and her residence revealed no additional clues about where she could have been either. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and there was certainly no sign of a struggle. A search was immediately launched in the park, which consisted of dozens of park rangers, many of whom were using search dogs by the way. Sheila's car was also searched and investigated, which revealed no additional clues just like her residence had. Her apartment and her car were both completely undisturbed. Investigators initially believed that Sheila, who was an avid hiker apparently, had gotten lost on one of the many remote trails nearby in the park. But after three days of intense searching, investigators ended up scaling back the search and they unfortunately started to change their tune. They now believed that Sheila Kearns had been abducted. After the search was halted, the case basically went cold. I mean, it literally went cold. Winter set in, which complicated the matter even more. But then, as the snow melted the following spring, it revealed a very disturbing sight. On May 10, 1997, a park volunteer found skeletal remains scattered around a 300-yard area near the Longmire Campground, which was within the National Park. The location of these remains was roughly one mile away from the Paradise Inn, where Sheila had been working. Dental records were used to confirm that the remains did in fact belong to Sheila Kearns, and by this point it was also made public that her death was likely a result of homicide. Because this occurred inside the National Park, the FBI was in charge of bringing the killer to justice or figuring out what had happened. They interviewed multiple people that were possible suspects, but everybody that they interviewed was cleared. The case quickly went cold once again, and it's unfortunately remained unsolved ever since it happened. It's now been about 28 years since Sheila Kearns was presumably killed. So this brings us to the unanswered questions portion of this story. And by the way, if you have a potential answer to any of these questions that I pose in any of these stories, by the way, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think. The first unanswered question that I have is how did her remains go undetected for so long? I ask this question because I'm a little bit suspicious of the location where her remains were found. It would have been one thing if they found her like miles into the back country, like that would make sense if it took a while to find her there, but that's not what happened. Her remains were found very close to a well used front country campground, and some buildings there. And again, it was only a mile away from where she had been working. I don't know during the three day search that followed her disappearance before any of the snow and the weather. That's my understanding. Anyways, it just really perplexes me how they didn't discover her remains. Now there's not very much information available about this case, unfortunately. So it's definitely possible that I'm just missing something obvious here, but I don't know, unless we learn more, I am really, really puzzled by this. The next unanswered question I have is this. Is it possible that Sheila was not killed by a human, but rather by an animal, like maybe a bear or a cougar? The FBI has never indicated that they even came close to finding a suspect in her murder. So maybe it's possible, yeah, that she wasn't even murdered at all. The fact that her remains were so like scattered and not in one exact place could also potentially suggest that an animal was responsible. But then again, no evidence that this was the case has been found either. And I can't help but think that if there was a wild animal kind of roaming around near the park's buildings, one that was bold enough to attack a human, it seems likely to me that there would have been other sightings or encounters with this animal before or after Sheila was killed. And of course, this is a national park we're talking about. So I'm sure the employees sometimes saw animals, but I feel like there would have been repeated sightings of this same animal. But then again i i don't have much information about the case so maybe that did happen and it just wasn't reported for some reason i really don't know fbi special agent terry postma postma i'm not exactly sure was quoted saying maybe she referring to sheila was attacked by a mountain lion or you know some critter while she was out for a walk there's also the theory that she was abducted and killed. This special agent also said, quote, just because a person was cleared in an investigation a number of years ago doesn't mean that new information might come to light, which makes them a subject or suspect again. I don't know, guys, leave a comment right now and let me know what you think might have happened. And of course, if you have any information about the unsolved mystery of Sheila Kearns, please contact the FBI. May she rest in peace. And my heart goes out to her, her friends, and of course, her family. For our next story, we're going to go back to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In fact, we're almost going back to the exact spot that Derek Liu King went missing from, except this time we're going to be visiting the park over 10 years before Liu King was even born. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business from designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond. Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into. Sign up for your $1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. We don't just alert, we help. Stop crime before it starts. SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time. Done. No hassle. No negotiation. No guy from an online listing low-balling you. At Ross, discover unexpected gifts. Fashion, decor, and plenty of reasons to keep looking. On Friday, October 8th, 1976, a high school class of over 35 students took a field trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Among them was 16-year-old Teresa Gibson, who went by the nickname Trenny, and also her friend Robert Simpson. Trenny and Robert shared a seat together in the back of the bus. The class arrived at the Klingman's Dome parking lot, which is the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in the state of Tennessee, by the way. They arrived at Klingman's Dome right around noon, and they began a hike to the summit of Andrews Bald along the Forney Ridge Trail. Now, if the names Andrews Bald and Forney Ridge Trail sound familiar to you, it might be because I actually covered another case that happened on the exact same trail, in a previous video, which was the case of Susan Clemens. Now, these two cases are unrelated, but it is bizarre that they both happened on the same section of the same trail. I'll link that video above if you want to watch that one. The weather on October 8th was rainy and cold, and since the group was starting from the literal highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I can imagine that it was a pretty unpleasant day to be in the mountains. That didn't stop the high schoolers, however. They were instructed by the only teacher on the trip to hike the 1.8 miles to Andrews Bald and return to the Klingman's Dome parking lot by 3.30 p.m. Trenny and Robert Simpson hiked together all the way until they reached the summit of Andrews Bald. Once they arrived, they stopped and they ate some lunch, and then Trenny, probably cold and wet and uncomfortable, decided that she wanted to begin hiking back to the Klingman's Dome parking lot by 3.30 p.m. For whatever reason, Robert decided that he wanted to stay behind and wait on the summit of the Bald for just a little bit longer. Trenny encountered a few different groups of students as she hiked back towards the parking lot. The last group that she passed had actually been taking a break on the side of the trail, and they actually invited Trenny to join them on this break, which was an offer that she declined. This resting group of students then watched Trenny stroll just a little bit more, and then they decided to hike back to the parking lot. Trenny and Robert Simpson hiked a little bit further down the trail before she suddenly just stopped. This is where things start to get really bizarre in this story. Trenny apparently stopped, and then she crouched down, I guess to look at something on the right side of the trail. Then she stepped off of the trail on the right side and out of view of the resting group. This would be the last time that Trenny was ever seen dead. When the resting group of students began hiking again, they walked up to the spot where Trenny had exited the trail, and they were very confused at what they saw. They expected some sort of herd path or small trail to have branched off at that location, but instead there was seemingly no place to go. It was simply just a mess of shrubs, rocks, and mud with no path to follow. One of the students asked Trenny if he could go back to the trail, and Trenny said yes. Trenny said yes. Trenny said yes. One of the students actually called out for Trenny, but got no response back. Another student hiked up to the group from the direction that Trenny would have traveled, and when asked if he had seen Trenny, he said no, he hadn't seen her. Unsure of what to do, the students figured that Trenny had just continued back to the parking lot, and so they left, intending to do the same thing. But when this group of students reached the bus back at Clingman's Dome, Trenny was still nowhere to be found. It didn't take long before. The teacher that was overseeing the trip was made aware that Trenny had gone missing, and after this teacher and another student re-hiked the trail in order to search for her, which proved unsuccessful, they reported her missing to the National Park Service. The search for Trenny Gibson was on, and no resource was spared trying to find her. The bad weather on the day Trenny went missing made the search difficult right from the start, and things didn't get much better. By the time nightfall came, helicopters were used, large teams of searchers on foot scoured through the woods looking for any sign of the missing girl, dogs were also utilized, at least six different dog teams were brought in apparently, and at one point, a few of these dogs supposedly succeeded in tracking her scent. Where her potential scent led to, though, is yet another wrench thrown into the already perplexing case. These dogs locked into her scent near the top of Clingman's Dome along the Appalachian Trail. They followed the scent past the summit tower, and then led searchers part of the way down the Clingman's Dome road. When they were roughly a mile and a half from Newfound Gap, the dogs suddenly lost the scent, which possibly suggested that Trenny had been picked up by a vehicle at this location. They also apparently found some discarded cigarette butts and beers, in that same spot. The search continued for four days, but after this, it was scaled back largely due to lack of evidence. Searchers went out again the following spring, but they still found nothing related to Trenny Gibson's disappearance. To this day, she has never resurfaced, and her body has never been recovered. And so, what could have possibly happened to her? To be honest, I should probably just do an entire video dedicated to this story, because there's a number of different theories floating around about what happened. Leave a comment if you'd be interested in me making that video, but for now, I'll briefly touch upon a few different theories and potential clues. An abduction seems plausible here, especially given that the search dogs lost her scent along the road. But I do want to point out that they tracked her scent through a very heavily trafficked area. I went up to Clingman's Dome myself. Once again, on my 2018 Appalachian Trail through-hike. And as you can see from this video here, I was also up there on a bad weather day, just like it was on the day that the group was there. And yet, despite that, I can personally assume attest to the fact that there were still plenty of people around. Nobody reported seeing Trenny Gibson near the Clingman's Dome tower or on the road where the dogs lost her scent. And again, because this area is so popular, I really have no idea how this could have happened. There's a number of other theories out there too. A lot of them foul play theories, the details of which I'll save for that future video. But I do want to note that some people have speculated that Trenny's friend, Robert Simpson, might have had something to do with her disappearance. Apparently Robert was found with Trenny's hair comb after she disappeared. And apparently this raised some alarm bells because Trenny never went anywhere without her comb. However, Robert Simpson was never charged with anything. And I don't know, this just seems like a theory. There's not really any strong evidence. Once again, let me know if you guys want me to make that follow-up video about Trenny and what happened. And in the meantime, please keep Trenny Gibson, her friends, and her family in your hearts. Since two of the stories I covered today took place in the Smoky Mountains, my search and rescue call out for this video is going to be Team Bussar, which is a non-profit and all-hazard search and rescue team supporting and assisting search and rescue operations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I've made a donation to them, and though I'm not affiliated with them at all, I'm going to be doing a little bit of a little bit more research. I'd encourage you to do the same. I've got a link to their website in the description. Those national park cases all leave behind clues that seem like they should lead somewhere, but never do. And our next story takes that idea even further. A 19-year-old woman walks naked into a Washington forest, and the trail she leaves behind ends almost as strangely as it begins. July 9th, 2013. This is the infamous day that one of the most bizarre disappearances in national forest history took place. A 19-year-old girl and some of her friends were staying at a remote campground in Washington State, and their trip had started off uneventful. However, this would soon change, because during the evening, the girl stood up and told her friends that she would be going out on a spiritual quest. She then stripped completely naked, and she was able to get out of the forest. She was able to get out of the forest naked, and marched out of the campground, carrying only a small fanny pack. She wasn't even wearing any shoes. And while this basic explanation of the story might already seem extremely bizarre, I assure you that the more details you learn, the more confused and perhaps disturbed you will become. As this mystery has dragged on, more and more important yet unanswered questions have emerged. Why did she take off her shoes? Why did she take off her clothes? Where was her intended destination when she left the campground? Had she taken any drugs before she departed? And perhaps the biggest question of all, what the hell happened to her? After Maureen Kelly left the campground, she would never be seen again. Her departure would mark the very beginning of a mystery that has lasted over a decade with no end in sight. This is the Unsolved Mystery. Unsolved Disappearance of Maureen Kelly and the Unanswered Questions that Surround It So, if you couldn't tell from that intro, this is one of the strangest stories I've ever covered on my channel. And one of the things that makes it so strange is the fact that there's not that much information out there on it. Now, don't get me wrong, it was covered by local news and briefly touched upon by national publications, and there's also been some Reddit threats, but I don't know. Compared to a lot of the stories I've covered, this one, for whatever reason, hasn't received that much attention. And given the nature of this case, I really can't believe that more people aren't talking about it. And so my hope is that by making this video, we can do just that, get more people talking about it, and just maybe inch a tiny bit closer to a resolution for Maureen's loved ones. 19-year-old Maureen Kelly and some of her friends went camping in Washington State. They chose the Canyon Creek Campground, a remote spot located in the southwestern part of the state. Now, my understanding is that Canyon Creek Campground has since been closed, and I'm not exactly sure of the details. I saw some conversation on various Reddit threads talking about the road into the campground being damaged and impassable, but I also saw some comments saying you can still camp there, even though it's not officially open. I'm honestly not exactly sure what's going on there. Canyon Creek Campground is located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, an area that encompasses well over 1 million acres and is home to most of Mt. Adams, which is the second highest peak in Washington State. The Pacific Crest Trail also passes through Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and by my best estimation, it runs some 15 miles east of Canyon Creek Campground. Maureen Kelly is not the only hiker to have disappeared in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. In fact, a few months after she vanished, Christopher Zitzowitz disappeared further east in the National Forest in the vicinity of Goose Lake. He has never been found, and it's suspected that he fell into one of the caves or lava tubes in the area. But back to Maureen Kelly, she actually went by a nickname, which was Anu, and she was from Vancouver, Washington, which is a suburb of Portland, Oregon, just a bit north of the city. I'm not going to lie, there isn't too much public information available about Anu, but I did find that she graduated from Lewis and Clark High School, and that she was a very talented musician. In a disturbing twist, this video right here of her playing was recorded only two days before she went missing, and she was known as a great singer and ukulele player by her friends. Her half-sister described her as, quote, a very laid-back, carefree girl. Now, I swear I'm not trying to come across as insensitive here, but perhaps Anu was a bit too carefree, given the next series of events that I'm about to cover. On June 7th, 2013, just two days before her disappearance, Anu posted this on her Facebook page. I don't know the details and logistics of her camping. But clearly, she found some people to go with, because the camping trip that she is referencing here would end up being the start of this entire mystery. I find this Facebook post incredibly disturbing. It's also reported that Anu called her half-sister before she left on the camping trip and asked her about borrowing some gear. She said that she was excited to go, and nothing on the call seemed suspicious or out of the ordinary. On June 9th, 2013, just two days before her disappearance, Anu posted this on her Facebook page. Anu and her friends made their way to campsite number 3 at Canyon Creek Campground, where they presumably set up and hung around for a while. Everything seemed completely normal until 5pm rolled around. It's around this time that Anu announced to the group that she was going on a quote spiritual quest. It's unclear to me if she told the group when she was expected to return. One source stated that she told the group she would be back by midnight. But another source said that she never gave a return time, and so I'm not really sure. I am, however, sure of the next bizarre part of this story. After announcing that she would be going on this spiritual quest, Anu apparently stripped naked and headed off into the woods. And by naked, I really mean naked. She wasn't wearing any clothing. Apparently, she wasn't even wearing shoes, which I can't even imagine trudging off into the wilderness with nothing to protect my feet. That's, that's, wow. The only thing that Anu took with her was a small fanny pack, which apparently, I'm not exactly sure of the contents, but it's been reported that she had a knife, some matches, and a compass inside that fanny pack. Another thing that's unclear to me is how the friends she was camping with responded to her departure naked, but I did find this quote from Sheriff David Cox, who was involved in the incident. In the investigation, he said, quote, Anu had talked about doing this spiritual quest for evidently quite some time. The folks that she was with, they felt that this was something she needed to do. Now, on this note, I do want to say that I noticed a number of people in various threads and online discussions being quite harsh towards her friends for allowing Anu to just venture off on her own. I think it's safe to say that, yes, allowing your friend to just head off. Into the wilderness alone, completely naked was not the right move. But before you start ripping on her friends in the comment section, let me just say this. It's easy to criticize people's actions in the wake of a tragedy like this, but I'm assuming these friends were similar age to Anu. They're probably, you know, 18, 19, young adults with limited outdoor experience. And let's be honest, we all made bad choices when we were that age. And also, imagine you're out camping with. with a group of friends, I don't know, it's a lot, easier said than done to be the one person who kind of speaks up and objects to what one of your other friends is going to be doing and their decision making so i don't know just keep all this in mind before you start blaming anew's friends it's like yeah they they probably should have said something but i don't know i just i think it's a little more complicated than that and at the end of the day anew and anew only is responsible for the choices that she made after anew left canyon creek campground she was never seen again and to her friend's credit they did actually report her missing quite quickly i would even say a lot faster than usual compared to other stories i've covered on this channel just after midnight so this is going to be really early on june 10th at this point her friends called the sheriff's office and reported that anew had not returned to camp a search was quickly launched and initially it actually seemed like anew was quite promising very quickly searchers located some bare footprints that were the same size as anew's feet and they were able to follow them across canyon creek which would have been the first obstacle that anew would have faced after leaving the campground the footprints then led up out of the canyon until they intersected forest road 54 this meant that anew traveled roughly 600 feet ish at least 600 feet i should say which might not sound like much but i do want you to keep in mind that this is very difficult terrain especially if you're walking barefoot one of the volunteer searchers was quoted saying it's very very steep so how she got down there barefoot referring to the creek that is is a wonder and how she came up out of the bottom is a wonder once searchers reached forest road 54 they were unable to follow anew's tracks any further they even brought in canine units but unfortunately the dogs couldn't pick up any further they continued searching for the rest of the day finding no further clues searches resumed the next day with similarly disappointing results maureen kelly was nowhere to be found now i'm a little bit confused about the details of the search after the second day apparently the search was suspended i don't know that just seems pretty early to me but then it resumed shortly after i guess i didn't know what happened there but regardless of this temporary pause the search continued until june 15th and on that day 75 volunteers combed through four square miles of terrain all the way until 6 p.m and at that point they still hadn't found anything and the search was officially called off to this day the fate of anew remains a mystery so that's the story essentially but it's not the end of the video i'm guessing that although those details left you confused and with a lot of unanswered questions and if that's the case you're not alone i feel like the official reporting on this case left a lot to be desired and to be clear i'm not trying to blame the searchers or even the media here we just don't know very much about what happened and unfortunately we're really only left to speculate so yeah i have a lot of unanswered questions and the first one is related to forest road 54 where searchers lost anew's tracks so this seems like an obvious lead i mean doesn't it if her tracks stopped at the road is it possible that she was picked up by a passing vehicle either voluntarily or against her will this would be and i guess still is a promising theory but the police have come out and stated that they don't believe foul play was involved with her disappearance but i don't know can we be so sure about that it's also possible that if she got picked up at the road it was not foul play it was something else and i did see some chatter online about her potentially getting picked up to go join a commune but this just seemed like wild speculation to me i don't really have any information about it and so if anyone in the comments knows more about this please let us know another question i have and i i want to be careful with this one because again this is just speculation and nothing more but is there a chance that anew was either intoxicated or on the road or was it just speculation and nothing more but is there a chance that anew was either on drugs when she wandered off into the woods i did read one media report that stated the sheriff specifically said that there was no indication that she was on drugs at the time of her disappearance and to be fair that account is probably more credible than the next ones that i'm going to mention i do just want to say though i read a number of comments online from people who claimed to have known anew who stated that she had in fact taken hallucinogenic drugs that she was using in the evening that she disappeared now i in almost every case i've covered i've seen wild speculation on reddit forums and other places online and i normally don't take these comments very seriously in this case i saw a number of comments from different people stating that she was not sober and given the bizarre details of her disappearance mostly the fact that she stripped naked to be honest i don't know this does seem like consistent behavior from someone who was maybe not in the room or maybe not in the room but i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't the right state of mind but again make no mistake about it this is just speculation and so while i do think it's worth a mention here i'm still hesitant to really take these claims seriously and also i can't help but wonder what her intended destination was when she wandered off from the campground now it's definitely possible that she was just planning on strolling around but if we do find out that she had a specific end point in mind that could really help to narrow down the areas to investigate and also i gotta ask i mean another pretty obvious question why was she naked i guess you could chalk it up to the whole spiritual aspect i mean that is probably the reason why i guess but like i don't know even with that in mind it still just feels bizarre that she would take off all her clothes especially her shoes and let's be honest perhaps the biggest unanswered question of this entire mystery is what the hell happened to maureen kelly and i don't know and there's a few possible scenarios at play here one of them being the aforementioned possibility that she got picked up at the road but then again the authorities don't really seem to believe that this happened at least that's the interpretation i got from researching this case which leaves the obvious theory that she just wandered off into the woods maybe got lost or injured and died as a result now in my opinion this is probably the most likely outcome she easily could have become immobile due to a foot injury because again she wasn't wearing shoes or maybe she could have fallen more easily because she didn't have good traction on her feet and another thing i need to mention here is that the weather around the time of her disappearance makes this theory even more probable temperatures were mild the evening that she disappeared but they did apparently drop into the 40s later on that night and there was also some light rain as well this makes hypothermia a very real possibility so perhaps she died as a result of that especially given she didn't have any clothing to keep her warm or to protect her from the elements but again if that's the case then why hasn't her body been discovered i mean it's been over 10 years and a lot of searching at this point i always do my best researching these stories but this is such a wild one and honestly there's not that much information so there's definitely a chance i missed something so if you have any more important details please leave them in the comments below and i hope that someday her friends and her family are able to get some closure it's a bizarre and tragic situation and i don't know i hope that some increased awareness of this case will someday help lead to a resolution i send my best wishes to her loved ones and i encourage you to do the same in the comments section please keep maureen kelly her friends her family all of her loved ones in your hearts we're all here it's family my life is booked and busy i don't have time to try on a million outfits that still don't feel right that's why i get styled with stitch fix my personal stylist sends outfits picked for my size style and budget so i can get dressed and get on with my day feeling confident it's no risk all style free shipping free returns no subscription required get started today at stitchfix.com that's stitchfix.com you're listening to a quick ad you know what else is quick selling your car on carvana just put in your vehicle information and we'll give you an offer done no hassle no negotiation no guy from an online listing lowballing you which means by the time i'm done explaining this you could have basically done it still haven't started hey better late than never sell your car today on carvana pickup fees may apply when an intruder approaches a home they expect a camera what they don't expect stop this is simply safe police are on the way using smart ai cameras live us-based agents help deter intruders in under 30 seconds don't just record a break-in stop it from ever happening plan starting around a dollar a day right now get 70 off your new system with professional monitoring at simply safe.com spotify 30 seconds response time requires monitoring plan with outdoor protection starting at 49.99 This episode is brought to you by TXU Energy. If you're looking for a better way to save on electricity, both night and day, look no further than TXU Energy Free Nights and Cool Summer. It gives you free energy all night, every night, all year long, plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use every summer. With savings like that, you'll never look at a free nights plan the same way again. Learn more at TXU.com, rep number 10004.