As is true of nearly any sufficiently old and popular legend, there are many variations on the tale of the Lost Dutchman's Mine, but most complete versions start with the Peralta family. However, it may be best not to know the answers as the truth may be too dark to handle. Even more bizarre than this was an odd report that came in from some hikers in the area in the early stages of the search, the very day after Alfred had vanished. author of the Missing 411 series of books, 27.15 - MU Plus+ Podcast - The Turquoise Scarab, 27.14 - MU Plus+ Podcast - The Pigman's Mistake, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Claims Aliens are Real and He Saw Them and Their Underground Base, Space News: Aliens Could Call by 2029, Voyager 2 Keeps on Trucking and 25 New Repeating Fast Radio Bursts, A Fascinating Theory to Explain a Large Piece of the World of Elusive Creatures and Monsters. It seems we may never know. They attract millions of tourists yearly from across the country and overseas. I came, I saw, I conquered. But they're even better known for something else: the legendary Lost Dutchman's Mine, a much-ballyhooed secret stash of wealth sought by daring adventurers known as "Dutch hunters." The puzzlers discuss a couple of cases that date back to the early 1900s. The weather was so mild that it was hard to believe that Thanksgiving was only two weeks away. One mystery in this land of secrets has outlasted all the rest, and still haunts local residents, many of whom are descendants of the chief protagonists. These include people who may have wanted to intentionally vanish, though the cases of other missing people have . Biology, nature, and cryptozoology still remain Brent Swancers first intellectual loves. His vehicle never left the parking lot hed parked it in. She had also been a happy and well-adjusted individual with no discernable reason to want to vanish. If she really fell off the ship, it would have been terrible, but if they had at least found her body, her family would have had closure. Have you visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? As George Johnston from the Superstition Mountains Museum suggests, there are a great number of tragedies linked to the Superstition wilderness, and the Prairie Ghosts website lists a large number of disappearances and deaths in the area surrounding the mountain and mine over the last century, though some of those may be as legendary as the mine itself, so take them with a grain of salt, even if (i.e., especially since) a shocking number of them involve headless bodies and mysterious gunshots. A ruse so the campers, who were not married to each other, could run away together? She was 183 meters (600 ft) from Igors body, making it appear as if they had been trying to crawl back to the tents. Brent Swancer is an author and crypto expert living in Japan. During a five-year period (1945 - 1950), five individuals, male and female, ranging in age from 8-years-old to 70+, vanished under mysterious circumstances. The group planned to hike to Andrews Bald, nearby the observation tower. Would you climb into a hellmouth? Depending on who you talk to or what you see on the internet there are some wild theories about happenings within the thick forests of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Kangtega peak (aka The Snow Saddle) is a mountain summit in the Himalayas of Nepal. They Werent The Police. It was one of the longest and most extensive searches for a lost person in the park. That sweltering summer, the body of Jim Barclay, 48, was found in a shallow grave not far from the cattle station he managed. When there is no closure, I imagine one could spend a lifetime looking for clues and answers online. Allegedly, he built a house on a nearby mountain and observed the Untersberg through high-power telescopes. Its easy to imagine that something could be lurking in the bush when night falls and fog covers the mountains of the Wonnangatta Valley. Our site produces editorial content for the purpose of entertainment. One example is when the Atadero family was allegedly threatened with arrest if they tried to go off snooping around on the Big South Trail, and although it was claimed by authorities that the trail was the only way in or out of the canyon, this turned out to be a falsehood, as Allyn found records of various other entry and exit points. Mount Shasta is known as one of the most sacred places on Earth and is called by many people the magical mountain. Over two months later, the final bodies were discovered under 5 meters (15 ft) of snow in a hollow they had apparently dug out of desperation. Wolf attributes the time anomalies to black crystals called the Gems of Dominion that were given to a group of Knights Templar by a god. After some time passed with no sign of her, the group at camp ventured out to see what was going on, but they found no sign of her. Its just become a tall story told around campfires, a local resident, Ben Large, said from behind the counter of the Mansfield bike shop. Maybe it was because they didn't like the way the miners were treating land sacred to them, maybe they wanted the gold for themselves, maybe they felt possessive about the mine and its treasures, or maybe it was just one of those run-of-the-mill, no-reason massacres that white people think happened all the time apparently. So, is there gold in them thar hills? Doesnt matter what angle you look at this case from, it simply doesnt make sense. Feb. 25, 2020 3 AM PT. See if you can crack the code on these bewitching cases. To this day, there is no explanation for the mysterious goings-on in the Nahanni Valley. Why couldn't we find him? How did someone overlook his body hanging from the rafters for 5 months? The Superstition Mountains are a mountain range east of Phoenix and are known for their picturesque volcanic peaks and jagged canyons. Another case was the 1908 disappearance of the McLeod brothers, who were searching for gold in the area. Mysteries of the Smokies: Five missing people never found. Arriving at the grassy plain where they had pitched their tent, Mr. Culican was taken aback by what he saw. The remains showed no obvious signs of trauma or injury, yet despite this the prevailing theory was that he had been attacked and dragged off by a mountain lion. On the dead boy's cranium were found a series of odd scratches that were assumed to be from a mountain lion, yet big cat experts pointed out that a cougar would have torn at the sweater and body near the neck and stomach, damage that was absent. Subscriptions. Nearby you might summit . More logical explanations state that people are ill, dehydrated, or falling into a partial sleep as they walk, which leads them to believe that they have been teleported. There is no official conclusion to the case, and most likely, there never will be. In that five-year span, several people went missing on or near Glastenbury Mountain. Was it a fatal run-in with illegal deer hunters? Its maddening to think back on those critical moments and wonder what might have happened, or how it could have been different. Iranian mountain climbers Aidin Bozorgi, Pouya Keivan, and Mojtaba Jarahi successfully completed climbing a new route on the Southwest Face of Broad Peak, Pakistan on 20 July 2013, which they had been working on . But perhaps of more interest was the note's casual postscript: "P.S. Dennis Lloyd Martin vanished on a camping trip with family June 14, 1969. The authors are Juanitta Baldwin and Ester Grubb. It is unclear who wrote it. There is no evidence that the Button Man had anything to do with the disappearances, or ever saw Mr. Hill and Ms. Clay at their campsite. 6-year-old Larry Jeffrey disappeared near the peak of 12,000-foot (3,650-meter) Mount Charleston in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, just a short drive from Las Vegas. They had met with another group visiting the area, ironically also named Martin. But George Johnston, president emeritus of the Superstition Mountain Museum, claims that more hikers disappear in the Superstitions than any other mountain range, with an average of four or five hikers disappearing or dying there annually. They reported finding areas on the mountain where their watches would run faster or slower than usual.[9]. There are rumors about what might have happened. Making the whole scene even more bizarre was that Melton was overweight, and suffered from high blood pressure and nausea for which she took medication, making it bizarre that she could have gotten so far away from her friends so fast. The Austrian writer Stan Wolf claims to have gone up the mountain with a friend to search for these time slips. Aaron Joseph Hodges, 38 years old, ventured into the Crazies on an elk hunt in September 2014, but he separated from his friends and wandered off-trail. When he acquired a number of maps to old mines, Ruth became something of an amateur treasure hunter, and in an attempt to find a mine in California, had fallen down a ravine, permanently injuring one of his legs. It was an easy trail that Melton had been hiking for 20 years, so she knew the lay of the land intimately, yet as they were hiking at a leisurely pace she rounded a bend in front of her friends and seemingly stepped off the face of the earth. Baldwin, a writer and psychologist, has also written Smoky Mountain Mysteries, Smoky Mountain Ghostlore and Smoky Mountain Tales. As for Haleigh it seems obvious dads girlfriend had something to do with the little girls disappearance but I still cant believe she was smart enough to fool the police. All exits had security cameras. It was rather baffling because that particular area was a barren mountaintop with only snow and rocks and there wasnt really anywhere for him to get off to without being seen. These stories are haunting. 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. Only one body was ever found, and he was apparently "squeezed to death" in a location filled with . The police do not believe that any of the cases are linked. Adding to this strangeness surrounding the case of Jaryd Atadero are allegations made by the boys father, Allyn Atadero, that authorities were very secretive and dishonest about the whole incident, and seemed to be almost intentionally botching the investigation. However, in the darkness that surrounded him, Gaisford reported that he had been circled by various creatures that appeared to be observing him. It seems as though she went missing in a very short span of time, but what happened to her is anyones guess. They had dreadful injuries, such as broken bones and brain damage, but no external wounds at all. Its almost assuredly unwelcome. The prevailing sentiment is that the whole affair is best left with the ghosts. Tourists in Dargo, Victoria. In January 1974, many reports were received of an enormous bang, tremors that shook the Earth, and a blazing light above the Berwyn Mountains in Wales. But he was not willing to divulge details not to outsiders. There had been no shout or sign of distress, and all calls to him went unanswered. Stacey told him she would explore ahead a bit and be right back. OK, what if, as some say, the mine isn't really a mine but rather a cache in which the Peraltas hid their vast wealth? There is no question many inmates at Michigan's First State Prison have never left. We are not endorsed by, authorized by, or affiliated with any mentioned attractions. Last year a women name Najal Ferrell went missing from my town. The mountain of Ben Macdhui in Scotland is allegedly inhabited by a large gray creature that many refer to simply as The Big Grey Man. The first reports of this beast were in 1925 when a member of the Cairngorm Club, who are well-known peak climbers, reported his experience at the summit of the mountain. She was seen by two witnesses alone walking down the highway. In the meantime, her car remained abandoned at the trailhead and there was no activity on her phone. In this book was a description that modern Dutch hunters believe proves he found the mine, which was punctuated with Julius Caesar's classic dunk on King Pharnaces II: "Veni, vidi, vici." Despite his age, Landers was an experienced hiker, avid mountain climber and distance runner, and was in good physical shape, and he also was very familiar with the area, as this was his second attempt to scale Shasta and he had spent much time practicing there and getting a feel for the terrain. A large number of people also claimed to have seen strange lights in the sky or a huge, apelike man walking among the trees. It rises around the picturesque mountains in the Siskiyou County at an altitude of over 4322 meters above sea level. It is a land steeped in them, from. It was such a thorough search, and there were so many resources used, you wonder why we couldn't find him there. Declassified US documents reveal that the Penn State University professor may have been murdered in Chile. Was this an animal attack, a kidnapping, or something more? They were both found dead, with their heads missing, along a riverbank.[2]. Many visitors to the Untersberg have reported missing time and waking up on another part of the mountain. Bennington Triangle Disappearances. No, of course not. For example, gold miner Martin Jorgensons skeleton was found without the skull in his burned-down cabin in 1917. There was no sign of any struggle along the trail, no evidence of an animal attack, and since this was all on easy terrain right next to camp it was seen as unlikely that she would have gotten lost within seconds like that. They share other stories of the mountains: a hulking hairy creature that visits campers in the darkness, hikers who find photos of themselves on their cameras, taken by an unknown hand. Today, over 800 years later, an elite tribe called the Darhad protects the land of their ancestor and will likely do so for generations to come. A weather front and terrible Blizzard had quickly come upon us while very close to the peak Pass of Clingmans dome area. Often, a reward is offered for any information. That man turned out to be (wait for it) Don Miguel Peralta, who, in gratitude, told the two men the location of his family's bountiful mine in the Superstition Mountains. After her lunch, she picked up her hiking poles and began her descent down the mountain, and was seen by many people climbing down and not experiencing any difficulty as she went over a ridge, but somehow after going over that ridge she vanished into thin air. He killed five children ranging between 6 and 11 years old. Between 1943 and 1950, several mysterious disappearances took place in these woods. But Mr. Bamford could not be questioned by the authorities he had vanished, only to turn up dead nine months later, a bullet lodged in his skull. During the mid-20th century, when Westerns were especially popular, the tale of the Lost Dutchman's Mine was a popular motif. The campsite was burned to the ground, with the campers charred belongings heaped in a pile. I heard a crunch, he said, then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own. This indicates that the creature is bigger than a normal human, meaning that it is Scotlands Yeti. Despite a massive ensuing search, Landers was never found, and it is a mystery how he could have so thoroughly disappeared within such a short amount of time under ideal climbing conditions on such an open landscape. They rented a scenic cabin for the night and Stacey put her things in her room and headed off on a short walk in the general vicinity, not planning to go far. The history of the island dates back thousands of years. An early bizarre vanishing of this type was related by missing persons researcher David Paulides, author of the Missing 411 series of books concerning people who have disappeared under bizarre circumstances, and it happened in the summer of 1938, when 4-year-old Alfred Beilhartz was on a fishing and camping trip with his family at Colorados Rocky Mountain National Park. The Heart Map features not one but two pop-out hearts, including the so-called Latin Heart, which bears a number of inscriptions in not entirely accurate Latin. There are multiple cases of missing persons in the Smoky Mountains that remain a mystery decades later (photo by Raggedstone/shutterstock.com). If you must hike alone,let someone know your routeand your expected return time. stay stoked. It remains one of Vermont's most enduring mysteries. She did not have access to the internet in her home- no chance she was trying to meet an internet stranger. But people also speculate about an affair that Mr. Barclay was rumored to be having. Tom Kollenborn, who is by far the most prolific author on the Superstition Mountains and its surroundings, says, "I have never found any evidence that really suggested the mine existed. To even get into the cave, he had to be a certified cave diver (this cave had a locked gate you had to show proof of your certification in order to get a key for the gate to go in). At one point, David asked his mother for the car keys so that he could go get a box of cookies that he wanted to eat. Perhaps the most well-known missing persons case in the Smokies is the mystery of Dennis Martin. It is unknown just what happened to Stacey Arras and she has not been seen since. There was nothing natural about it, said Mr. Culican, a 26-year-old cattle herder. BODY FOUND JUNE 26, 2019. One year later, hikers came across the decomposed remains of what were believed to be from David a mere mile away from the campsite from which he had disappeared from, in an area that had been already been well searched. They sent a camera into the cave, but the cave eventually become so narrow that the camera could go no further. Many better suited vehicles were unable to pass in that storm and were stuck road side on the way up the pass. But Dennis never emerged from his hiding spot. When they called out to her and got no response and talked to others on the trail who claimed to have not seen her, authorities were notified and a more intensive search was launched. According to the National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park drew over 12 million visitors in 2020 alone, making it the most popular national park. The Cairngorm Club member concluded that there is something queer about the top of Ben Macdhui and [I] will not go back there again by myself.[5] Whatever is on top of Ben Macdhui is still out there and still unexplained. What happened to these people? Others have said that the boy may have wandered off and been injured or died of exposure to the elements. Stay warm. Keith Leydon at home with research materials for his book on the unsolved murders of James Barclay and John Bamford. In this case, not a single scrap of clothing, backpack, or any other equipment was ever found, and it remains a puzzling enigma. As Jen Wolfe reports, many people in the area believe the Superstition Mountains were sacred to the local Native Americans, who believed it to be the home of the Thunder God, who housed a great treasure there that he would protect at all costs. It was found that the box of cookies that David had wanted were still in the car, meaning that he had never reached his destination. And then just disappears off the face of the Earth. Trenny, as mentioned above, was on a field trip with her classmates from Bearden High School to visit Clingmans Dome and hike to Andrews Bald off the Appalachian Trail. But the skeleton is an extremely important discovery because it gives archaeologists an insight into Greeces darker side of history. Nevertheless no trace of Polly Melton has ever been found and she remains missing. Deer carcasses were strewn about the valley. Derek Lueking disappeared about ten years ago. The book was first published in 1998 and then updated in 2009. However, the book notes that in many cases, a body is found. He embarked on the trip alone and planned to reach the summit and stay there overnight. Again, a massive search was launched, but no sign of Melton could be found. Three months later, Niels Becker, an avid bush walker, vanished in the middle of a five-day hike. Sadly, murders, disappearances, and abductions happen everywhere - even in Virginia. Could these far-fetched theories reflect some truth or are they purely the work of fiction? Around campfires, tall tales have blossomed in the absence of answers. And then, in March 2020, Mr. Hill and Ms. Clay set out for what they had told their families would be a weeklong camping trip although they had not mentioned that they would be going together. At any rate, the Peralta Massacre is a major element of the story and commemorated by place names such as Massacre Falls. It's also seen multiple disappearances, according to Knox News. This could be due to the range's sheer drop-offs, deep canyons, wild swings in temperature, or unfriendly wildlife. Legendary artist Jean Giraud drew his Western hero Lieutenant Blueberry hunting the mine in La mine de l'Allemand perdu, and equally legendary Duck artist Don Rosa had Scrooge McDuck sniffing out that gold in The Dutchman's Secret. During a search, a marijuana plantation was uncovered. In that same year, in July of 1981, 14-year-old Stacey Arras, along with her father and a group of seven others, went on a horseback riding trip to Yosemite National Park. The Police Put Him In Handcuffs And Took Him Away. A complete search of the surrounding area would turn up no trace of what happened to the woman, and although Jim Ramaker had been the last person to see her, police never found any reason to suspect he had done anything to her. Deering was owed $200 in a crack deal in 2000, so he doused a home full of children with charcoal lighter fluid and set the building on fire. 7 Steakhouses, Ranked, Who Has the Best Pancakes in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg? We were told the big cats can drag their prey one to three miles away, that they like to take it to a secluded area. Part of Yosemite National Park's history includes mysterious disappearances. The perplexing thing was how some bodies were fully clothed, yet some were nearly naked. Read Also: Feral humans in the Smoky Mountains? 5 months later, after complaining about the stench, neighbors find his body in his parents barn 400 miles from where he was supposed to be. Among the Berchtesgaden Alps on the Germany-Austria border lies the Untersberg mountain. Although we had more than enough supplies and luckily new tires. No one knows if this is the child of the legend. Dennis, at the age of only 6, disappeared in the mountains without a trace in 1969, never to be seen again. In November 2014, 20-year-old British explorer Thomas Gaisford set out alone to explore Mount Nyangani in Zimbabwe. Although the hike is considered to be difficult, the day was clear, she had picked the easiest route, there were many other hikers out along the trail that day, and she was an avid, seasoned hiker. Camping and hiking are popular activities in the area. As many left their homes when they felt the tremor, they saw a blinding light on the mountainside. He suggests that Adolph Ruth may have also gotten too close and fallen prey to this mysterious sniper (who apparently uses a revolver instead of, say, a rifle). John Adams would lament: We have exhausted all leads and tips. [3] It is also said that a forest was planted over the site to hide the leader in his final resting place. Even as I type these words, I find myself wondering if a loved one from these impacted individuals will ever come across my words. There is safety in numbers. The book is sold in visitor centers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and online at smokiesstore.org. The campers were nowhere to be found. Shasta as a part of their quest to climb the highest peak in every California county. They supposedly had not aged and believed that the war had only ended recently. Paulides also claims that he spoke to forensics experts on the case who told him that, although the source of the scratches could not be determined, they were not from any known animal. It was a well travelled route with good weather, yet at some point during the hike, at around 3PM in an area just below Clingmans Dome, it was noticed that Gibson was no longer with her group, and had somehow become separated from them or had wandered off. Another 320 meters (1,050 ft) from the bodies lay the corpse of Igor Dyatlov, the student who had put the expedition together.[1]. While this legend is likely complete fiction, there may be some truth to it. Of the many ghost stories that are linked to The Landmark . Mallory and Irvine on Everest. How could Alfred hike all the way up Mt. More people have simply gone missing, with 44 unexplained disappearances by 1969. The tribe allegedly consists of deadly warriors who wear masks and armor. What in the world happened to Jaryd Atadero? Sprawled out along the TennesseeNorth Carolina border in the southeastern United States, covering a vast expanse that includes 187,000 acres (76,000 ha) of old growth forest. Lots of people have written books about the area, but they dont know what theyre talking about, Mr. Purcell said. (She couldn't find it either.). MU Podcasts. He was sentenced to life without parole in 2006. I believe that at some part of our journey I was given physic information regarding the future of world and timeline. Author Tom Kollenborn reports that a prospector by the name of James A. Cravey thought he could beat the odds of finding the mine by using a helicopter in 1947. On October 8th, 1976, a 16 year old from Knoxville named Trenny Gibson went on a field trip with her schoolmates to the national park alongside her teachers. It seemed to have been dug by hand at night, using a makeshift pulley system to remove the dirt. No clear evidence has been discovered. We may never know. The hikers, who were a couple, had been on Old Fall River Road about 6 miles away over rugged terrain and around 3,000 feet higher from where Alfred had disappeared, and at the time had had no idea that there was a missing boy in the area, yet they reported seeing a rather worrying sight.