Scary Horror Stories

The Boot on the Rock: How Cynthia Vanished for Two Hours A single hiking boot, laces tied and standing upright on a flat rock forty yards from the trail, was found sixty yards uphill from where Cynthia Jones was later located - and no one saw it placed there. Cynthia, a careful fifty-four-year-old hiker with a broken fibula, was missing for nearly two days in the Brinnock Range; how did she end up thirty feet below the trail with no memory of placing that boot? In this episode, we tell the sequence of recorded movements and physical evidence from trail registers, infrared counters, and the search that followed, and we ask how a competent hiker could vanish from familiar terrain for hours without a clear explanation. What happened in the hours between her trailhead signature and when she was found? Person: Cynthia Jones Date: May 7, 2019 Location: Fetter Creek, Brinnock Range Status: Case closed May 22, 2019 Coordinator: Ryan Thompson - Cynthia signed the Fetter Creek trailhead register at 12:50 PM with destination “Morrow Flat, six miles out.” - A passive infrared counter recorded an outbound pass at 1:57 PM and never recorded her return. - Cynthia was found roughly one third of a mile past the fork, thirty feet below the trail in a drainage bank. - A hiking boot belonging to Cynthia was upright on a flat rock twenty feet above the trail and sixty yards uphill from where she was found. - The Harwick County Search and Rescue team closed the case on May 22, 2019, with Ryan Thompson noting “all primary anomalies resolved to the required standard.” To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

She Signed Out Twice - Found Alive Where Trails Vanish Cold and precise: a woman signed the Brauer Lake trail register twice the morning she vanished, a dry gas-station receipt was found inside a boot pulled from a fast spring river, and search dogs tracked cleanly for 4.5 miles before the trail stopped on an open alpine flat - so how did she end up alive on the Fennick River thirty-one miles away? This episode brings the unnerving facts together and leaves one question: what route did she take where no trail, no footprints, and no map explain her movement? In this episode, we go through the documented timeline, the search actions, and the field evidence exactly as recorded, and we follow the unanswered question of Linda Roberts's plan and the mountain's response that confounded searchers. Person: Linda Roberts Date: April 9-14, 2019 Location: Brauer Lake trailhead; Fenner Flat; Fennick River; Stanton Mills Status: Found alive - At 06:47 on April 9, 2019, Linda signed the Brauer Lake trail register listing Brauer Lake and a 6:00 PM return time. - At 08:51 on April 9, 2019, exterior gas station footage showed Linda at the Stanton Mills gas station buying water, a granola bar, and three disposable rain ponchos. - At 09:31 on April 9, 2019, Linda re-signed the same register; handwriting later confirmed as hers, with no destination listed and 44 minutes after the earlier entry. - Tracking dogs Corvis (bloodhound) and Pike (Belgian Malinois) followed a clean trail north from the 09:31 register for 4.5 miles and then stopped at the center/north edge of Fenner Flat after circling for about 11 minutes. - At 04:50 on April 14, 2019, Dale Brooks pulled a laced hiking boot from the Fennick River with a completely dry folded gas station receipt tucked in the inner heel. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Boots on the Boulder, No Frost - How She Vanished Below Cold precision: two hiking boots, heels aligned, toes pointing north, laces tucked, placed on a chest-high boulder after a white frost glazed every surface at 12°F - and the woman who owned them was missing for thirty-six hours. Why were the boots immaculate and frostless while Lauren Whitfield lay four hundred meters below with a core temperature of 89°F? In this episode, we follow the timeline from the morning Valerie O'Connor discovered the boots to the search-and-rescue findings that contradict every expected explanation. What choices did Lauren make that night, and where did the trail - and the scent - simply end? Person: Lauren Whitfield Date: March 14th (discovery at 8:40 AM); disappearance began March 12th (expected return by 4 PM) Location: Gray Tooth, Kantner Highlands; body found 400 meters below and east of the boulder Status: Missing person found non-responsive with core temperature 89°F Search commander: Shannon Gallagher - Boots placed side by side on a chest-high boulder, heels aligned, toes pointing north, laces tucked inside. - Surrounding rock was glazed with frost formed shortly after 2:00 AM at 12 degrees Fahrenheit. - Lauren Whitfield had been missing for nearly thirty-six hours when the boots were found. - Lauren was found lying in a hollow of scree 400 meters below and east of the boulder, wearing a base layer and wool socks. - Before leaving, Lauren left an intact camp nine miles in with tent standing, sleeping bag used, trekking poles lashed outside, and food canister unopened. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

He Walked In Whole, Came Out A Broken Stranger at Dusk A seasoned hunter’s untouched breakfast sat on his truck hood for five and a half hours in eighteen-degree cold while ravens normally strip food in under an hour - and no bird had touched it. An experienced tracker’s dogs followed Craig Vogel’s scent 300-400 yards into Kellum National Forest and then stopped as if the trail vanished; what happened to him in those trees? In this episode, we lay out the sequence of facts gathered on the morning of February 9, 2014, from the scene at the Schulte camp clearing through the first days of search and rescue, and we follow the odd details that broke the case open: the missing harness, the abandoned pack, the single latex glove - how do all these pieces fit together? Person: Craig Vogel Date: February 9, 2014 Location: Kellum National Forest Status: Missing then found injured and disoriented Investigator: Sarah Weaver - Breakfast left on truck hood: two biscuits, scrambled eggs, Styrofoam cup of coffee, untouched for 5.5 hours in 18°F. - Hunting experience: Craig Vogel had hunted Kellum National Forest for 30 years and held an 18-year permanent hunting license. - Dog tracks: One search dogs followed scent 300 and 400 yards into the woods before the trail stopped; both dogs went cold. - Safety gear: Blaze-orange vest folded on passenger seat and safety harness hanging unbuckled from climbing stick on Stand One. - Items at base of tree: Craig’s pack left in snow contained compass, lunch, hand warmer, and knife; a single left-hand latex glove was found on the platform. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Sneaker Pointing North: How Ruth Vanished Into the Cold A single pink sneaker, its toe pointing due north like a compass, lay eleven miles from the nearest road in undisturbed snow with no blood or drag marks-how did a 24-year-old receptionist vanish into Sablewood National Forest and leave such a precise clue? What happened to Ruth Vaughn in the nineteen hours between leaving the trail with a four-year-old and being found that makes the north-pointing shoe the only unsolved detail? In this episode, we follow the timeline of Ruth Vaughn’s disappearance and the search-and-rescue effort that nearly failed, tracing the choices, clues, and cold that defined the case and asking whether one stubborn detail holds the answer. Person: Ruth Vaughn Date: January 14, 2019 (shoe found at 7:40 AM) Location: Sablewood National Forest, eleven miles from nearest road Status: Missing at time of photograph; sneaker retained as evidence Search lead: Bloodhound Birch tracked a committed northeast line to an iced-over culvert - Ruth Vaughn was 24 years old and worked as a receptionist in Cavell, Oregon. - At approximately 2:15 PM on January 12, Maisie wandered into brush and Ruth went after her; Maisie returned but Ruth did not. - Ruth’s coat was found folded on a log at the trailhead at 6:17 PM with her car keys in the pocket. - The pink sneaker was dry, snow around it undisturbed, and its toe pointed due north at 7:40 AM on January 14. - Bloodhound Birch tracked a hard northeast line about 400 yards uphill to a culvert with an ice-coated gravel surface that held no scent. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Boot on the Gate: How a Trail Suddenly Vanished A single right boot, looped over a locked gate with no footprints around it, triggered a search that followed a scent two and a half miles into the backcountry - then ended on a bare rocky bench as if the person simply vanished. What could a solitary boot, soil in its tread that matches nowhere, and a campsite with a fire ring later dated by radiocarbon possibly mean for the man found alive eleven miles away? In this episode, we lay out the timeline and discoveries from the Dunmore Road gate through the search in Kessler Hollow, from the missing-man report to the scent trail and the odd footprint sequence in Orsen Wash, asking what the unexplained boot and the radiocarbon result reveal about where Edward Price had been and when. Person: Edward Price Date: December 3 (boot found); truck noted Dec 6-8; missing-persons filed Dec 9; search assembled Dec 10-12 Location: Dunmore Road gate, Kessler Hollow, Calverton County Status: Boot in Calverton County Sheriff's evidence inventory; man later found alive eleven miles away Event: Radiocarbon test on campsite fire ring conducted months after search - One right boot was found looped over the top rail of a locked gate at six fifteen a.m, on December 3 with no footprints nearby. - Search dogs followed a scent trail two and a half miles along a ridgeline before the scent ended abruptly on a rocky bench. - A green pickup was observed sitting in the Dunmore Road pullout on December 6, December 8, and reported on December 9, implying it had sat there at least seventy-two hours. - Boot prints in Orsen Wash showed a lug-sole size ten-eleven with a forty-two-inch stride measured over approximately sixty feet. - Edward Price was forty-eight, had eleven years’ experience walking remote ground, and kept laminated emergency cards in every pack noting blood type and penicillin allergy. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Jacket That Shouldn't Exist: Alone, Cold, Three Miles Lost Cold, alone, and dressed in trail runners in four-degree weather, a woman walked out of unmapped backcountry three and a half miles from where search dogs lost the trail - wearing a men's olive canvas jacket with the name "Tom Fleming" stitched inside, while the identical jacket hung in a closet forty-one miles away. How did Kathleen Fleming cross that distance in those conditions and leave behind a jacket that should not have existed at the scene? In this episode, we tell the events of a single night and the hours that followed, following search teams, a dog handler, and a county investigator as they try to account for impossible movements and conflicting evidence. What really happened between Tolliver Creek Trailhead and Millburn Pass Road that night? Person: Kathleen Fleming Date: November 14, 2017 Location: Millburn Pass Road / Tolliver Creek Trailhead Status: Alive Case: Missing-and-found with conflicting clothing evidence - Kathleen Fleming left work at approximately 4:30 PM on November 13, 2017 and drove to Tolliver Creek Trailhead. - Pocket, her ten-year-old Alaskan husky, missed scheduled feeding at 7:00 AM, prompting concern. - Tom Fleming called the sheriff’s department at 9:17 PM on November 13, 2017 to report Kathleen missing. - Search-and-rescue teams arrived at Tolliver Creek Trailhead by 10:45 PM and found Kathleen’s truck and phone locked inside. - At 6:15 AM on November 14, 2017, Alice Simmons found Kathleen seated against a rock on Millburn Pass Road wearing an extra-large olive canvas jacket labeled "Tom Fleming" while an identical jacket hung in a closet in Dunbar, forty-one miles away. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Seventeen Cairns, One Line: The Trail That Knew Her Name Something was waiting for her on a perfect bearing before she ever set foot on the trail: seventeen stone cairns spaced forty to one hundred feet apart, pointing northeast along a sixty-two-degree line toward an unnamed drainage at 9,440 feet - and when Holly Jenkins was found eleven and a half miles from the trailhead, she had been dead for nearly two weeks. Who built those markers and why did an anonymous email with coordinates matching her death site to within thirty meters end up folded in her pack? In this episode, we follow the facts of Holly Jenkins’s disappearance and the physical evidence that preceded her trip: the map in her classroom marked “check again,” fourteen months of online research into the Sawback Wilderness, Frances Adams’s pre-dawn discovery of the cairns, and the printed, partially legible email found on Holly that matched the location. What do the cairns, the map notation, and the untraceable message together reveal about where she was going - and who expected her there? Person: Holly Jenkins Date: October 14 (departure); found October 29 Location: Sawback Wilderness, unnamed drainage at 9,440 feet Status: Case open, no arrest Cause of death: Hypothermia - Holly Jenkins was 52 years old and had taught biology at Morrow High School for 19 years. - Seventeen stone cairns were built on a 62-degree northeast bearing, spaced between 40 and 100 feet apart. - The cairns led straight toward an unnamed drainage at 9,440 feet, ending 11.5 miles from the Hobson Trailhead where Holly was found. - An anonymous email printed in Holly’s pack contained coordinates matching her death site within 30 meters; server logs were purged before investigators could retrieve them. - Inside Holly’s classroom map, a penciled line to the same drainage terminated with the handwritten note “check again,” after 14 months of her online research into the area. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Upright Boot: How a Teacher Walked Away From the Granite Shelf A hiking boot, women's size eight, stood perfectly upright on a granite shelf - laces tucked inside, tongue folded flat - while the owner sat alive 1,300 feet below and three ridges east with a fractured ankle and a core temperature of 94.1°F. How did a meticulous, route-planning sixth-grade teacher with twenty years of local hiking experience leave a pole inverted in the trail and cross miles of rough terrain on a broken ankle in the dark? In this episode, we follow the timeline from Patricia O'Brien's signed trail permit to the search team's trace evidence, laying out the specific clues recovered on the Coldwater Range and asking how those fragments of evidence fit together to explain her movement and survival. Person: Patricia O'Brien Date: September 14, 2019 Location: Copper Basin Trailhead / Coldwater Range Status: Found alive with fractured ankle Profession: Sixth-grade earth science teacher - A left-foot women's size eight hiking boot stood upright on a granite shelf at 7:41 AM, laces tucked inside and tongue folded flat. - Patricia's core body temperature measured 94.1°F when rescuers found her 1,300 feet below the shelf and three ridges east. - She left Alder Street at 5:50 AM and signed a trail permit at 7:03 AM listing Harlow Lake, a 14-mile out-and-back with 2,200 feet elevation gain. - A trekking pole was found inverted in the soil at mile 6.2 (Copper Basin) with the handle down and tip up; Patricia had left with two poles and one was never found. - Trace evidence reconstructed across roughly four miles included a partial left boot print in decomposed granite, a strip of dark green fleece caught at hip height 15 feet northeast of the print, a handprint in soft soil, a scuff on a rock face, and a torn boot lace. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

He Came Down the Wrong Drainage: The Vault on Aldrich Creek A man in his twenties survived five days alone in a utility vault with his boots on the wrong feet after leaving a summit to follow something "angular" and reflective - seen from 11,200 feet through binoculars - into the Aldrich Creek drainage. What made a precise draftsman abandon a planned South Saddle descent and head into Class Three-plus terrain that would take searchers days to partially reconstruct? In this episode, we follow the timeline from a clear Saturday morning at 6:47 a.m. to the moment Erin Ramsey finds Philip Weber at a vault nine days later, tracing the decisions, gear, and map evidence that contradict his signed trailhead plan. How did a routine climb turn into a five-day, near-fatal detour down an untracked drainage? Person: Philip Weber Age: 29 Location: Aldrich Creek drainage, Crescent Range Date: last Saturday of August (incident began at 6:47 a.m.) Finder: Erin Ramsey - Philip signed the Caspian Lake Trailhead register at 6:47 a.m. listing South Saddle as his planned route. - He reached Ridout Peak summit at approximately 12:40 p.m. and used binoculars to scan the north face from 11,200 feet. - Philip had folded his topographic map until the Aldrich Creek drainage creases were almost translucent. - He was found alive but barely in a utility vault at 8,100 feet after being out for five days. - Philip kept summit records in a green spiral-bound notebook; that notebook was in his pack when found. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Lone Bootprint North of Rimrock Tower A routine check-in, clear skies and sixty-one degrees at 8:03 PM on July 13, 2019 - and by morning the seasonal lookout, Emily Williams, had vanished from Rimrock Tower with the door left open and every personal item in its place. The dogs followed a scent north across impassable plateau, binoculars were found set for a different face, and a single boot print was logged in a dry mudflat half a mile away - so what happened in the hours between her last radio call and dawn? In this episode, we walk through the official Clearwater County Search and Rescue record and the precise on-scene details that puzzled investigators: the timeline of Emily Williams's last known contact, the search decisions and findings, and the physical evidence that resisted every standard explanation. Can the bearing the dogs held and the lone boot print north of the tower point to a solvable route or something else entirely? Person: Emily Williams Date: July 13-15, 2019 Location: Rimrock Tower plateau, Crestwell, Idaho Status: Missing after last transmission Case: Clearwater County Search and Rescue report - Last radio log at 8:03 PM on July 13, 2019 recorded by dispatcher Marcus Webb with notes: clear skies, 61 degrees, no smoke, Williams noted a headache. - Emily Williams had held the seasonal lookout position for 11 consecutive summers and was 54 years old at the time. - At 7:40 AM on July 14 volunteer Diane Farrell found the tower door open and all items (cooler, clipboard, logbook, binoculars) in their usual places but Williams absent. - Dog teams led by search coordinator Christine Gardner tracked scent north-a direction with no maintained trail and a sheer canyon drop 400-600 feet roughly four miles out-and repeatedly held that bearing. - Ranger Phil Coates found the binocular interpupillary adjustment set for a face measurably wider than Williams’s, indicating recent use by another person. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

The Pink Boot on the Granite Shelf: What Amy Couldn't Explain A single child's pink rain boot sat upright, dry and unlaced, on a granite shelf thirty feet below a trail in the Montana wilderness - folded into its toe was one blank sheet of notebook paper and no name, no note, and no explanation. Who left a child’s boot in a place Amy Padgett had no reason to walk, and why did it appear two days before anyone knew she was missing? In this episode, we tell the sequence of verified events from Amy Padgett’s June 14, 2019 field day and the search that followed, laying out the physical evidence and the contradictions that refuse to resolve. How can a methodical twenty-two-year-old forestry technician vanish from a route she logged, leave a glove palm-up at a junction, and have a stranger later claim to have walked her to her truck? Person: Amy Padgett Date: June 14, 2019 Location: Vantage Creek drainage, Aldrich County, Montana Status: Found alive after a four-day search Occupation: Forestry technician - Amy signed the Vantage Creek trailhead register at 7:51 AM and left her gray district pickup as the only vehicle in the lot. - Two separate register entries later that afternoon claimed a limping, disoriented female had been helped to the parking lot and seen sitting on the truck tailgate. - A child's pink rain boot was filed as lost property on June 14, 2019, two days before weather would have soaked it and before a search had begun. - Searchers found an orange cache flag and a single left-hand forestry work glove, palm facing up, at the junction where Amy’s route deviated toward Copperhead Flat. - The search lasted four days; one of the strangers who signed the trail register was never identified and the pink boot remains in the Aldrich County Sheriff’s property room. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Signal Where Snow Shouldn't Be: The Trekking Pole in the Ledge An avalanche beacon was pinging in willow-thick, snowless terrain 1,400 vertical feet below the nearest mapped snowfield - a working signal that should not have been there. A trekking pole manufactured no later than 2006 was later found wedged in a limestone ledge where no human presence had been documented all season; how did it get there and who used it to survive for two days? In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the day Brenda Dalton signed into the Aldric trailhead to the moment search teams shifted course after a helicopter spotted a single ski track; we lay out the physical evidence and the unanswered questions that drove rescuers into the east drainage. What does the impossible location of a transmitting beacon and a lone trekking pole tell us about what happened on that mountain? Person: Brenda Dalton Age: 38 Location: Arder Creek / Aldric backcountry Date: May 7-10 (search from May 9-10) Item: Trekking pole manufactured no later than 2006 - Brenda Dalton signed into the Aldric Trailhead log at approximately 6:40 AM on May 7 and did not sign out. - The beacon signal was transmitting in willows along Arder Creek, 1,400 vertical feet below the nearest mapped snowfield. - Search and rescue was notified at 9:00 PM on the night Dalton failed to exit; an initial eight-person ground team deployed before midnight. - A wind event on May 4 loaded leeward aspects and created moderate-to-considerable avalanche danger in northeast couloirs according to beacon specialist Tom Reilly. - A helicopter search on May 9 identified a single ski track descending toward the Arder (east) drainage at about 8,200 feet, prompting ground teams to reroute on May 10. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Dry Notebook in Unbroken Snow: Where Nancy Vanished from the Trail A single dry composition notebook sat on a granite shelf in two inches of fresh snow at 8,400 feet-three and a half miles from the nearest road-with no bootprints around it; how did it arrive there after a storm that obliterated prints? This episode centers on that impossible image and the strange set of details that left searchers baffled: a parked tent with gear intact, missing trekking poles, a phantom trailhead entry, and a vanished hiker. In this episode, we follow the timeline of Nancy Draper’s last known days, the search response from Borden County teams, and the anomalies that forced experienced rescuers to question what they thought they knew about reading the wilderness. Which of these contradictions points to what really happened to Nancy? Person: Nancy Draper Date: April 14-19 (journal found April 19) Location: Wicker National Forest, high terrain above 8,200 feet Status: Missing after four days of search Finder: Neil Riley, land surveyor - Nancy signed the Crossfield trailhead register at 8:50 AM on April 14 with a planned return by April 16. - A purported second register entry in Nancy’s handwriting dated April 9 contradicted her attendance at an April 7 astronomy meeting. - Valley Pruitt’s two trailing dogs lost Nancy’s scent at a trail junction just below 7,900 feet after two miles of clean tracking. - Nancy’s tent was found at 8,200 feet with sleeping bag, stove, and food inside but her trekking poles lashed to the tent exterior. - The journal was photographed by Neil Riley on the morning of April 19, dry and sitting on a granite shelf in two inches of fresh snow at 8,400 feet, with unbroken snow around the post. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

She Climbed an Impossible Couloir - Found Alive, Stakes Unexplained A woman survived six nights above the cloud line after climbing a north-facing, thirty-eight-degree couloir described by the county as "impassable" under consolidated snow; a perfectly staked orange-and-gray tent sat alone on a limestone bench at 8,400 feet with no footprints leading to it. How did she climb that face without crampons or an ice axe, and why were two aluminum tent stakes found at her side? In this episode, we tell the sequence of decisions and conditions that led Angela Wagner off the registered Bench Loop and up the loaded couloir, describe what she carried and how she managed on the bench, and follow the timeline from her permit signature to the discovery that raises the central question: what explains the stakes and her route? Person: Angela Wagner Date: March 8-14, 2019 Location: Duvall Bench, Ochre Mesa Wilderness Elevation: 8,400 feet Condition: four inches fresh snow on March 10-11 - Angela signed the permit register at 7:14 AM on March 8, 2019 and declared the Bench Loop route. - The couloir she climbed was described as thirty-eight degrees for its lower two-thirds and forty yards wide. - She carried a minus-20-degree sleeping bag, a four-season tent, bivy sack, space blanket, lighter, whistle, full first-aid kit, and a week's worth of food. - She climbed for roughly four and a half hours, then crawled hands-and-knees for about two and a half hours to reach Duvall Bench. - A septic contractor found the intact orange-and-gray tent on March 14, 2019 on a limestone bench with no trail and no footprints in the snow. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

They Flipped the Stones: The Circle That Erased a Trail Cold and precise: every stone inside a roughly forty-foot circle on Fenwick Slope had been flipped dark side up, wet undersides exposed to 21°F air, and the scent dogs tracked stopped dead at the center. What erased the trail and why was there a yellow card on a trekking pole at the circle's edge? In this episode, we follow the timeline from the morning Earl Edwards found the overturned stones to the moment search teams and two dogs hit that same silent center; we cover Lori Hunt's background, her equipment, the search deployment, and the baffling scene that left rescuers with one question: how did a trail simply end? Person: Lori Hunt Location: Fenwick Slope, Harmon National Forest, Keswick County, Nevada Date: February 3 departure; found after six days Profession: Associate professor of structural geology at Brauer University Temperature: 21 degrees Fahrenheit during the search - Earl Edwards discovered the flipped stones at 6:47 AM on a February morning after eleven years crossing Fenwick Slope. - The turned-stone circle measured roughly forty feet across on a talus field three hundred yards wide and about one hundred twenty feet of vertical drop. - A yellow card was clipped to the wrist strap of a trekking pole found in the willows just below the circle's edge. - Lori left Elko at 6:20 AM on Sunday, February 3 and arrived at the Fenwick Creek access road lower lot at approximately 9:40 AM. - Rescue logs note scent conditions at 9:51 PM on Thursday as “as good as February gets” with wind four mph northwest and no precipitation in forty-eight hours. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

She Walked Toward the River - Then Every Trail Simply Ended The river that Darlene Holmes knew so well left behind a wading staff standing upright, a closed tackle bag, and two boot prints leading into the water - then nothing: two bloodhounds stopped and sat down sixty feet in as if the scent had been erased. How did a practiced angler vanish from a clear riverbank with no struggle and no trail out? In this episode, we follow the timeline of Darlene’s last known morning at the Broken Spine of the Yavarro River and the search that produced baffling, concrete evidence that contradicted every expected pattern; what did the lead investigator quietly file away that still had no answer? Person: Darlene Holmes Date: January 9 Location: Broken Spine of the Yavarro River, central Idaho Status: Missing Search lead: Gary Patterson - Darlene was 32 years old and left a note saying “River. Back by noon. Chili in the crockpot, start it at ten.” - Kevin Stroud called 9-1-1 at 7:58 AM after noticing Darlene gone within two to three minutes. - Temperature at arrival was 11 degrees Fahrenheit with a forecast of 22 and clear skies; they arrived at the access point at 6:45 AM. - Two bloodhounds tracked Darlene’s trail into the tree line about 60 feet from the gravel bar, then both sat down simultaneously and stopped tracking. - A single fresh size ten boot print was found on day two pressed into mud at the river’s edge with no accompanying or preceding prints. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Chain Down, Car Gone: How a Solo Hiker Vanished in the Fenn Range A deserted trailhead, a chain lying off its hook, and a Subaru with one crescent of clear glass-tiny details that turned a routine Wednesday into a winter disappearance in the Fenn Range. Temperatures dropped to 18°F overnight; a laminated map was missing and a water bottle was found without its cap-what happened on the Upper Stringer that broke Marilyn Kowalski's careful pattern of solo hikes? In this episode, we follow the timeline from the 6:22 a.m. snowplow note to the search teams and tracking dogs on the Bridle Run corridor, tracing the exact clues that led volunteers into one of the coldest corridors in December and toward an unexpected recovery; how did a boot wedged forty feet from the crossing change the story? Person: Marilyn Kowalski Location: Bridle Run corridor, Fenn Range Date: December (week before recovery) Status: Recovered after search Event: Solo hiker missing, search and recovery - Chain across Decker Spur trailhead logged down at 6:22 a.m, by snowplow operator Harvey Myers. - Subaru in the lot had frost on every window except a half-moon of clear glass, defroster run within the prior 12 hours. - Donna placed six phone calls between 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. the night Marilyn missed their 6:30 p.m. Wednesday dinner; car was missing by midnight. - Day pack found about 80 meters downstream from the Upper Stringer, saturated and snagged in exposed roots; water bottle inside was empty and missing its cap, laminated map absent. - Marilyn’s right boot recovered wedged between submerged rocks forty feet from the Upper Stringer crossing; heel still laced while the foot had come out. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

He Walked Out of the Map - Returned with One Boot and No Memory Cold and disoriented, a man walked out of an unmapped service road at 6:41 a.m. with one boot laced and one foot bare; three hours later that missing boot was found standing upright in the road, double-knotted, toe pointing north. What did the Kasson National Forest do to a seasoned hiker for eight of the eleven days he was gone, leaving him with no memory and a core temperature of 89 degrees? In this episode, we follow the recorded movements, the search efforts, and the small physical traces left behind to ask how a precise, experienced hiker named Dale Phillips could vanish into familiar terrain and return altered beyond recognition; where was he during those eight days, and why did the dogs lose his scent on a granite shelf? Person: Dale Phillips Date: November 8-19 Location: Kasson National Forest, Taber Ridge and an unmapped service road Status: Missing for eleven days; found alive with amnesia and core temperature 89°F Search leader: Judith Walker - Motion-sensor camera captured three images of him walking north at 6:41 a.m. on November 19 from thirty yards off a gated service road. - The right boot was bare on frozen ground while the left boot was laced; the boot was later found standing upright in the road three hours and six minutes after the photos. - He began leave and signed the Hendrick Trailhead register at 2:17 p.m. on November 8, and texted his daughter "good first day" the next morning - his last contact for eleven days. - He crested Taber Ridge at roughly 6,200 feet, intended to camp on the ridge that reaches 6,200 feet with a 300-foot talus drop on the west side. - Search dogs tracked his scent northeast from the trailhead with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain before the scent stopped entirely on a granite shelf. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

She Came Back Wearing Her Own Vest - With No Memory Why Her GPS was manually paused at 9:51 AM, her name was written on the clean orange hunting vest hanging from a broken pine branch four and a half miles from the trailhead, and she returned with no memory of the four days in between-what happened in the Vanek drainage that could erase an experienced hunter's memory? In this episode, we follow the timeline and physical evidence left on the landscape: the paused GPS, the scent that ends at a stream, and the vest found at shoulder height in terrain that required rope to reach. Can the sequence of concrete trail details explain where those missing days went? Person: Marcia Sanders Date: October 13-17, 2019 Location: Vanek drainage, central Idaho Status: Found alive on October 17 Occupation: Water-quality technician - GPS track shows movement from 7:14 AM to 9:51 AM on October 13, then a manual pause. - GPS unit recovered October 15, upright on a flat rock, battery at 62%, oriented downhill. - Vest found October 16 hanging from a broken pine branch at shoulder height, 4.5 miles from the trailhead. - Vest was clean and had Marcia's name written on it in her handwriting. - Scent trail picked up by dog teams ended at the west bank of a stream in a narrows with no evidence of crossing or climbing out. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.