Are People Mysteriously Vanishing Around America’s Largest Cave Systems?

Our national parks represent the crowning beauty of our nation. Consisting of over 84 million acres and nearly 5000 caves these pristine wilderness areas are popular destinations for hiking, climbing, kayaking and canoeing, and cave exploration. With over 300 million recreational visitors each year to our national parks and recreational areas it’s not surprising that some individuals vanish from these remote areas.

map of people vanishing in US cave systems

National reports indicate nearly 600,000 persons go missing each year. And while the National Park Service doesn’t keep records of the number of missing persons in national parks experts estimate the number at about 1,600 annually. Many of these persons are found, but a significant number disappear never to be seen again. Around 1,400 disappearances are designated as occurring under strange circumstances. Tracking dogs that failed to pick up any scent, people later found with missing clothing, or personal items found unusual distances from the point last seen.

Bigfoot, UFOs, and the supernatural draw us in because of the mysteries they entail. Do legendary beings like bigfoot, aliens, lemurians, and chupacabra actually exist beyond the realm of humans? Do people ever come in contact with such beings? And could they be responsible for mysterious disappearances throughout the country? Or, as some believers claim, are such disappearances the result of paranormal and supernatural activity in these remote areas?

If such beings exist it would make perfect sense that they would be hiding in our nation’s most isolated areas, the last vestiges of wilderness. With civilization encroaching wouldn’t you like to retreat into the back country, kick back with your friends and family around a mountain stream, and pick off the occasional intruder to supplement your usual diet of venison?

We’ve all been victims of uninvited guests knocking on the cave entrance at odd hours asking for directions or a cup of sugar. Imagine a bigfoot family settling down for the night when a hiker stumbles into your home. Would you want them telling the world of your existence making you the next Kardashian craze? “Real Cavewives of the Rockies”? No, thanks!

What about the alien expedition looking for a quiet vacation or maybe just a bathroom break zipping through the Milky Way? Just stopping to pick up a snack of chip(munks) and an extra solar panel when you accidentally land the flying saucer on a kayaker camping for the night. I think we all can relate to a little fender bender when you’re tired and hangry.

But what if these disappearances are caused by something not just out of this world, but out of this dimension. History is rife with tales of disembodied voices or music luring travelers to their deaths. Did the fae folk of the old country travel across the ocean with settlers hundreds of years ago to infiltrate the wilderness or could they have been here all along living peacefully amongst Native Americans before Europeans came to drive them out?

Faeries are said to be impish, kind-hearted, or evil depending on who you ask. Imagine an intruder charging into your forest, stomping on your homes, and then pulling an attitude with you. A little supernatural kidnapping to put them in their place would be awfully tempting and if ancient lore is any indication not beyond the power of the fae.

Whatever the reason or reasons for these strange disappearances, take caution the next time you visit a national park. Don’t go uninvited into a cave at supper time, and definitely don’t follow the sounds of strange voices.

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