MOORE: Missing person cases offer more mysteries

Paulides, a former police officer, turned researcher after his retirement. His focus? Missing person cases, often in the middle of nowhere and in our National Parks. As an avid hiker, I’ve been to many remote areas and forests, and I’ve only ever experienced their beauty. But according to Paulides, something else lurks in these wildernesses — a series of cases that are as baffling as they are unsettling.

Now, I know what you’re thinking — people get lost, wander off the trail, or are attacked by wildlife. And while these situations happen, a subset of missing person cases don’t fit those typical explanations.

In his Missing 411 series, Paulides doesn’t speculate or offer wild theories. He presents the facts — just like a detective — and leaves the conclusions up to the reader. His work is compelling because he doesn’t rush to label any disappearance as a Missing 411 case. A specific set of criteria must be met before a case qualifies.

These are the disappearances where people seem to vanish without a trace —no signs of a struggle, no evidence of an attack, no clues. Search and rescue teams comb the area, and dogs are brought in — but in some of these cases, the dogs refuse to track the scent.

One case that stands out for its oddness is the story of Keith Parkins, a 2-year-old boy who disappeared on April 10, 1952, near his grandfather’s cattle ranch in Ritter, Ore. Keith was playing outside with his older brothers near a barn when he suddenly vanished. A frantic search began when his mother realized Keith hadn’t returned for lunch with his brothers. The conditions were cold, with snow patches still on the ground.

Initially, locals and family members searched, quickly spreading out in a line, covering as much ground as possible. As the day wore on, the search grew larger, and by nightfall, more than 200 people were involved, combing the area in hopes of finding the boy. Despite the cold and rough terrain, they were confident they’d see him nearby. But the search dragged on through the night, with no sign of Keith.

Then, at around 7 a.m. the next day, searchers found footprints three miles away, walking through a herd of cattle — one set of footprints. Hours later, a searcher found Keith 12 miles away in Skull Canyon, lying face down in the snow, his hat and coat beside him. Remarkably, he was alive but suffering from exposure, unable to move because his body was stiff from the cold. His face was covered in scratches, and his clothing was torn.

Keith made a full recovery, but his case left many unanswered questions. How did a 2-year-old travel 12 miles in freezing temperatures overnight without shoes, food or water? Yet, against all odds, he survived. I have a hard time believing he could do this without help from someone or something.

This case has a happy ending — Keith was found alive — but he was two years old, 2-year-olds don’t walk 12 miles, especially barefoot in the snow.

Parkins’ case isn’t an isolated incident. There are hundreds of cases that are even stranger and far more terrifying.

Mysteriously, these cases often occur in clusters — specific locations where disappearances appear more frequently. The patterns suggest that something strange is at play in these regions, though no one has been able to pinpoint a solid explanation.

The forests, mountains and wilderness may hold more mysteries than we care to admit. So, as you carve pumpkins, watch scary movies and enjoy Halloween, understand that real-life mysteries can be far more frightening than any old ghost story.