The Missing 411 Mystery Has A Solution. You Won't Like It.

[@seattlegrrlie]

I've been an avid hiker for over 30 years in the Pacific Northwest. All the time people go out without checking weather reports, in the wrong clothing, and without supplies. I've done search and rescue, people end up far off trail, dehydrated and confused. It's easy to get disoriented - even experienced hikers get lost. Even experienced hikers die from dehydration, unexpected heart problems, exposure, and falls. The woods might appear like an amusement park... But they're dangerous and should be treated with respect.

[@mb-3faze]

My father was on the mountain rescue team in west Scotland near Ben Nevis - not a difficult walk up and down, not very far and about 4000 vertical feet. Of all years and call outs he went on, his team never brought anyone down alive.

[@xpndblhero5170]

Yeah but that leaves a body or footprints all over the place but most of these just disappeared.... No traces and that is really weird.

[@adamh9660]

@@xpndblhero5170 not really. you get disoriented and wander so far in the wrong direction that you're just never found. Plus you're dehydrated so you get desperate for water and rush up to a river to get a drink. But then since you're disoriented and weak from hunger or thrist whatever you fall in and bam. you're dead and washed out to the ocean. Then your foot decomposes off and you get added to the mysterious sneaker cases eventually

[@applegal3058]

I grew up around wilderness and barrens. My home area I'm comfortable going into the woods and knowing where I am. Living in Central Newfoundland now, and I won't go far into the woods alone for fear of getting lost, since I don't have experience with the landmarks and terrain. I think a lot of people are not aware of the dangers, and wander into the Forrest without realizing the real danger. It's important for people to share these stories so people can plan their hikes properly and be safe.

[@lindraeson]

People get lost in woods they grew up near and should know by heart. One time I was mushroom hunting and took a slightly different path than usual, also had a person who went out to the same woods more often than me. We walked out at a completely different exit point near a different village quite far away. 😅

[@daniellassander]

Im a Swede and i live in northern Sweden, during the fall chanterelles starts growing and they taste amazing and i just so happen to know a place where they grow. A few years ago, one weekend i decided to go and pick some alone. I park the car to the side of the road and i walk the 2 kilometers, its fairly open ground for the most part. I start picking some chanerelles but they are pretty scarce so i have to look around a bit to find them, then i found this sort of streak of chanterelles that just lead me further and further into the woods. I fill my two 10 liter buckets and decide to start heading back, i couldnt find my way back i was lost. I also made the problem worse because when i realized i was lost, i started to walk all over and around then decided to turn back and start again but i was now in a completely different place. After stressing around like an idiot for at least an hour i just sat down and decided to think things through properly. But that is hard when you are stressed, you think you recognize something so you walk there and then its not something you actually recognized. Anyway, this memory from school entered my mind, "moss only grows on the north side of the trees" and the road i had parked my car at was to the north, so i started walking, looking at trees and tried to figure out which way north was, because moss grows on the shaded side of trees and not only the north, and there are more trees in a forest which provides shade so you have to look at many trees to figure out "north is around that way". Walk for a bit look at more trees, walk a bit more look at more trees and i just kept doing that and in what felt like several hours i eventually stumble out on the road some 3 kilometers away from where i parked my car. Its scary when you are lost and it happens so bloody fast and without you even realizing it. Then you understand you are lost which brings with it a realization that out in the woods you have nothing you need in order to survive. I didnt bring any water with me, or even a bottle, nor food or warm clothes, certainly not a tent. If i had lost my balance and hurt myself id be doomed.

[@Baj64]

At least you could have eaten the chanterelles…

[@MseeBMe]

I’m glad you made it out safely.

[@RawOlympia]

Intense! Scary! Glad you made it out!

[@nikkireigns]

I need to know…did you carry the fruit (I assume it’s fruit, will Google after leaving this comment lol) or did you leave the buckets behind? Edit: mushrooms! 😅

[@waynebinks1091]

It happens fast, Elk hunting in Utah I had a similar experience. Turned into an unexpected overnighter!

[@MP-wg8pd]

They should be called National Wilds not National Parks because people think they are safe in a park.

[@rudeartichoke2567]

I think these Missing 411 shows may help people realize camping isn't the safest thing in the world to do.

[@tims8603]

@@rudeartichoke2567 Especially in a tent.

[@joekelly7505]

I guess not everybody had to sit through endless hours of Scouting lectures on wilderness safety.

[@davidkuhn3970]

So many people think that the wilderness is safe like Disneyland.

[@paulohagan3309]

Actually, that might be worth seriously thinking about. The kind of words used can evoke the [often wrong] feelings in people. Or could put in brackets at least, 'National Whatever Park [please remember this is a risky wilderness park. Please be careful]'. Yeah, some people take no notice but it might save a few lives.

[@itsROMPERS...]

I saw a video about a woman who was part of a couple extremely experienced in hiking, practically did it for a living for years, blogging, vlogging, etc, hiking virtually all the time. Then she decided to take a break and go for a multi-day solo hike in a fairly well-known hiking area in Spain. She disappeared, they had massive searches, and her bf wouldn't give up, kept searching by himself long after everyone else gave up. Then one day a year after she had disappeared, on a trail he had searched many times before, he discovered her remains just slightly of the trail. She had apparently fallen, injured herself enough that she couldn't get up. Just lying there, feet from the trail, she slowly died of exposure. It was nothing big, no predators, no foul play. To me the weirdest thing is that a modern experienced hiker wouldn't invest a few hundred in a Garmin satellite transponder that can send an emergency message with gps coords from any place on earth. She could've been rescued within hours. Less than $500.

[@PermanentExile]

I moved into (very) rural and wooded Texas four years ago. I still haven’t reached some parts of my property because the brush is too dense. I injured my back outside and had to crawl my way back to my house. It took 45 on hands and knees to reach my door. And I fell only 10 ft from the patio. If I had been in the woods, no one would have ever found me. The feral hogs, coyotes, buzzards, etc. would have turned me over fast. This gave me a new perspective on the Missing 411 cases and how small problems can be hard to overcome in isolated areas.

[@louiseevans6121]

Wow. Glad you’re ok.

[@melanieforyou]

Do you think there would have been a huge mess of clothes and shoes left behind, though? Searchers would find evidence, right? Then it would be explained.

[@potatopotato8360]

@@melanieforyou The woods are mindbogglingly vast and difficult to traverse, searchers can't possibly search every square inch.

[@Out_on_a_Limb_Life]

@@melanieforyou See the park rangers' comment above. Bodies can be very hard to spot in dense undergrowth.

[@xoxo2008oxox]

Its basically man vs man, man vs nature and man vs themself. No aliens. No mythical creatures. Just ill prepared, accidental, deviant or intentional (take own life, or create illusion of disappearance because failure to self, society or others)

[@zacharia1446]

I have a 2 year old and am speaking from experience: THEY LET A 2 YEAR OLD WALK ANYWHERE ALONE???

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

Its deeply suspicious

[@squallloire]

Letting a two year old out of your sight in the wilderness, even for a second or two, is utter madness.

[@crabinijig8403]

im sorry but being a parent looks really hard

[@Brdsh0t]

@@squallloire The parents when interviewing seem half stupid, half lazy. If the story is exactly how they spell it out it's beyond unlikely that is what transpired. One of the other kids that disappeared in a very similar fashion they found pieces of his clothing and bones years later. He was eaten by a mountain lion.

[@TheVtnova87]

​@@crabinijig8403it absolutely does, but not that part. Not allowing your 2 yr old to walk a distance solo in a national part is a cake decision

[@TotalContemplation]

Indeed. I agree. And, I'm a parent..

[@MikeP2055]

VINDICATION! You've confirmed my nagging suspicions about my parents' lunacy.

[@kevindavis9095]

I'm from Montana and it is amazing to me how clueless some people are in the wild. Just because an area has a title like 'National Park', tourists will believe everything is somehow under government control and protection. They think they are free and safe to walk right up to buffalo, bears, moose, etc. Every year, you read stories about people in Glacier or Yellowstone jumping out of their cars to get a picture with a wild animal and then getting killed. It's insane.

[@tcf_iceland]

It's the same here in Iceland, we have tourists dying almost every year, because they don't understand nature or listen to warnings. Even in Reynisfjara, there is a BIG warning sign (more than one I think) and still people get too close, they go into the ocean and get carried away in the strong undercurrent and there is no way to get to them. The sea is also very cold, even in the summertime, you'll die really fast. And now with endless eruptions, people actually trespass closed roads to get close to the still running lava. Even walking on top of it. While it's still glowing underneath the crust. If the crust breaks, there is NO ONE who can safe you, you will be gone for good 🤦🏻‍♀️ And then are the glaciers, constantly moving and crevasses shifting, mountains with steep drops and weather can change in an instant. The weather alone can kill you. Even if the country is a relatively small country, a vast majority of it is completely inhabitable.

[@LackofFaithify]

But my right to bear arms is still protected right?

[@yesbutactuallyno8305]

Your att!tude it's whats !gnorrant

[@literallylondonn]

@@tcf_icelandi was thinking about visiting. you've changed my mind lol

[@PBKittyCat]

My cousin went snowboarding in the White Cloud Mountains in Idaho in the summer of 2005. He didn’t check in at the ranger station beforehand. He had a backpack with a few snacks, and a camcorder to record his trip. He triggered an avalanche and was injured. He ate his snacks and recorded his last moments. His friends found him a few days later. He died from his injuries and exposure. His mother watched the video over and over. I didn’t watch it at all. She took her own life years later out of grief. My cousin was an experienced hiker, snowboarder and EMT, but made a mistake that cost him his life and had a huge impact on the whole family. I miss him still.

[@scienceface8884]

2 years old. Walking out of sight. In the wilderness. That's not a mystery, it's a tragic foregone conclusion.

[@justin80082]

I think there was something shady about the kid that went missing with his parents and Grandad, no way he just disappeared!

[@specialsause949]

I don't think the Missing 411 is all that mysterious but there are a few cases that makes you scratch your head. Don't go off of Paulidas' telling of the cases because he has several confirmation bias, whether on purpose or not. Check out the Lore Lodge if anyone is interested in the actual cases. They started the channel to prove the Missing 411 was real and they've actually come to the opposite conclusion.

[@Len124]

It's like asking why all the shark attacks seem to happen to surfers as opposed to cyclists. There's nothing mysterious about more people disappearing in the locations filled with miles of dense forests and predators compared to places with street signs and people to ask directions. In civilization, a victim has to encounter someone who wants to kidnap them and do them harm, which is relatively rare in the grand scheme of things, while in the wilderness they only have to walk fifty feet beyond the tree-line to disappear forever.

[@WramblinWreck2187]

I agree with this to some extent. But I'd also put forward that lots of transient people frequent national parks, so the idea of kids/women being abducted is not far fetched. But any conspiracy is just nonsense.

[@PeachysMom]

It’s confirmation bias. There’s no control group you can compare to, so disappearances in parks seem alarming. But the wilderness is very dangerous, and people underestimate it.

[@joekelly7505]

Not to mention the sheer volume of National Park visitors every year.

[@Billionth_Kevin]

Woah! Mind blown, never realized how few cyclists get attacked by sharks. Sharks really do have it out for surfers

[@amandatyler4324]

And also I see a lot of comments saying “I would never take my eyes off my kid for a second in the wildnerness.” Well yeah you would, because nearly all the time you do and everyone is just fine. And if you are watching your child literally non stop, you’re probably kind of a helicopter parent….you have to balance the likihood of something bad happening to letting your child gain confidence that comes with independence. Doesn’t mean you let your two year old go on a walk by themselves, but most people aren’t helicopter parenting their kids (and I have two younger kids so I’m around “today's parents,” all the time). It’s naive to think if you’re just a normal (non helicopter) parent that’s doing a good job watching your child, that nothing bad will happen. Because 1) two seconds IS all it takes for them to run off, but there’s about a one in a million chance of that happening (but as the comment above me said, “confirmation bias”) and 2) I find it hard to believe anyone that says they never take their eyes off their kids in places like this, and even if you aren’t, you’re more likely to be doing far more damage to your child by putting them in a bubble.

[@EArkham]

Years ago, I went on a hike with a friend in the North Carolina mountains. The trail was easy to read with lots of people on it until... suddenly it wasn't, and we were completely off the trail. We didn't even realize we were off the trail until we realized there was no way the elderly couple we had passed from the other direction was capable of climbing the rocky slope we were on. An easy two hour hike turned into six hours of us being lost and wandering the woods. It's VERY easy to get lost in the wilderness, even on trails that appear to be clearly marked.

[@brucebear1]

Occam's Razor. It's dependable.

[@Thousandpointsoflight]

😂

[@kdw75]

I am 50, according to my BMI, obese and spend way too much time on the couch and playing games on the PC. That being said I regularly walk steep hills in 100 degree weather and freezing weather. I usually keep it around 7-10 miles 2-3 times a week. So of course the average fit/thin person could probably do so much more. I just don't get these people that aren't overweight acting like they have trouble walking on trails or needing to drink water ever couple of hours. I will go out in the summer and clear brush on my property and not eat or drink for 5 or 6 hours even though I am sweating buckets.

[@LG123ABC]

@@kdw75 You better be careful because they might find your body someday after you were out clearing brush without drinking water. Hydration is for girly-men, right? What an odd thing to be proud of!

[@brittneybabeee4031]

@@kdw75Look man, it doesn’t matter what you feel you can do or what you have done in the past, it is a GOOD thing to drink water & stay hydrated, ESPECIALLY when you’re sweating buckets. Drinking water & taking breaks isn’t a flaw nor is it a sissy thing to do, or whatever other macho bull crap you may have been fed. Please, drink water & take breaks. My dad was a big, burly man who worked in the sun 24/7, starting in the military out in the desert & then when he got out & owned his own plumbing business that did great. & Yet, he drank water & took breaks, & made sure I did the same. If my “macho man” daddy could do it, so can you. 👍🏻

[@MONKeEeYboi]

Do you mind? I’m trying to work

[@Socar89]

the gaull of some people... just handing out the tiniest of excuses to people like us... the lazies, who are out there just looking for any reason at all to not do what we should be doing. shame on you joe!

[@_day_light]

hilarious comment, literally in the office right now myself, listening to this vid.

[@Makabert.Abylon]

Chill work monday, at home now packing the bowl.😶‍🌫️

[@J-Stoic]

Not anymore

[@mindbomb9341]

hahahaa

[@orionbarnes1733]

The reason I never could get into the whole missing 411 thing is because unlike most mysteries, it's approached like a conspiracy theory from the start. They start with their conclusion (there is something connecting every missing persons case in national parks) and then work their way backwards to figure out what it is. That's not how mysteries are solved. Every mystery is different, with a different answer. If you approach something with the mindset that somehow there's something that connects them all then you shouldn't be surprised when you're left with crazy stuff like aliens, that's going to happen every time because normal things simply don't work like that. Missing 411 has no solution, because it's not a mystery. It's hundreds of small mysteries being treated like the same thing, and having connections drawn between them and unrelated events.

[@MsManomen]

Exactly, plus the obvious danger

[@jwetzel3141]

You are completely full of excrement. No evidence to your conjecture. Make your own channel then.

[@davescott7680]

​@@jwetzel3141... Random...

[@lauracronbungusman1582]

A college classmate of mine went missing on a popular trail in Sedona. It’s a 7 mile hike that was moderate intensity, but he was prepared and went with his friend. At some point in the hike, they separated and the other guy thought they’d meet back up at the car. His friend made it back but he never did. They never found him. I hiked that same trail alone just weeks before, I haven’t been able to go back since.

[@katesun2957]

I'm so sorry. That sounds awful.

[@lauracronbungusman1582]

If anyone’s interested in the strange circumstances: I’ll be using “John” as his name for the sake of clarity. John was the one with the car keys. They made it to the top of the hike at 1pm. Once at the top, John’s friend wanted to explore. John said he would stay put, and the friend went exploring for 30 minutes. When he came back, John was gone. Johns friend looked for him, but decided to head down the mountain to see if he went down there. He got lost along the way, and wasn’t able to make it to a place he recognized until 11pm. Since John had the car keys, John’s friend slept in a park bathroom until daylight where he got help and reported John as missing. I wish we knew what happened to John in those 30 minutes.

[@twistysprinkles8586]

@@lauracronbungusman1582 are there mountain lions where you are? They’re very silent hunters and can take you without warning after watching you for HOURS. They wait till you’re alone and pounce. It’s not a great thought about what may have happened to your friend, but in Arizona you’re told to not hike alone in some places for that very reason. 😢

[@smoothbrainsquid1904]

​@@lauracronbungusman1582 The one who stayed put was the one who vanished...? What the heck.

[@lauracronbungusman1582]

@@twistysprinkles8586 there are a rising number of them being seen in Sedona. He was a smaller build guy too, I could see that as a possibility. That scares me considering I hiked that trail alone as a smaller woman. I won’t be going alone ever again.

[@NitroReviewsMN]

When I was a kid I thought I knew the woods around me pretty well. My buddy and I were exploring a new part where we hadn't been before. We got so turned around after an hour and couldn't find our way home. We called for help and my dad heard and came crashing through the woods to save us. We were literally 300 yards away from home. You can get lost pretty easy in heavy woods.

[@grifixed]

The cave systems matching up to the missing people is interesting, but some people suspect goblins

[@idontwantahandlethough]

goblins DO live in caves....

[@Someaddress555s]

Number of stories of people falling into caves, likely many more we don't know of too.

[@hollandjansky1410]

I've seen that map before, but the missing persons map that lines up with the cave systems map ALSO lines up with the population center maps.

[@katesun2957]

@@Someaddress555s I feel like Rip Van Winkle, like I've been asleep for two years.

[@DaveDuncanMusic]

Cave goblins of course.

[@Blaise2211]

Before I watch the video, my thoughts: - A disappearance in an area seems unlikely when viewed only on Google Maps and decades later, because the terrain appears more straightforward than it actually is. That’s why these cases seem 'mysterious,' as they appear inexplicable at first glance. - People who were present during the disappearance are not telling the whole truth. By that, I mean that perhaps parents say, 'I only took my eyes off him for a few seconds,' when in reality, it was 10 minutes. People who say, 'Everything was fine, he was having a great day, and then he suddenly vanished,' might leave out the fact that there had been an argument, and the missing person might have decided to go 'home' alone. Or perhaps the individuals played an active role in the disappearance. There are so many opportunitys, why people vanish and it sounds absolute mysterious to others who don't know the whole truth.

[@superjlk_9538]

No one wants to admit that they didn’t watch their kid for a few minutes while they looked at a stream. They just want their kid back. It’s sad but those kinds of lies can cost lives because the investigators don’t know everything

[@Stable_Genius]

Paulides has been called out for leaving out details to make these cases seem mysterious or even supernatural.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

@@superjlk_9538 Your comment just reminded me of the movie Don't Look Back. Yeah, tragic.

[@DaPikaGTM]

​@@Stable_Genius He's a conman who either explicitly lies or lies by omission about almost every case. The fact that he hides that he has a fraud conviction says all you need to know about the guy.

[@MyBestPalJimbo]

Okay then

[@elizabethpemberton8445]

Oooo possibly the best channel addressing missing people is The Missing Enigma. Super respectful, empathetic, skeptical in the most useful way, and he does great research, including hiking many of the sites.

[@gilliantague]

He does a great job. I'd definitely recommend his channel. He handles cases very respectfully.

[@cpeace3172]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@joeybluenote9268]

Another vote for Missing Enigma. He gets original search records and goes to some areas himself. Many 'mysterious' or 'paranormal' disappearances have possible explanations. Even experienced hikers have falls, are killed by landslides or avalanches, fall into abandoned mines, are swept away crossing streams, get lost, aren't equipped for the conditions, have substance abuse, mental health, or health conditions, are victims of foul play, etc... A few disappearances are very odd though.

[@Heytheresnoopy]

Missing Enigma is an excellent channel. Love the creepy artwork.

[@ShellyBellyBeans]

I love his channel.

[@NemrahG]

As someone who worked in parks as a ranger this really isn’t surprising at all. It can be very easy to get turned around in forests and it can be really hard to spot bodies or missing people in underbrush. Also, I’ve seen lots and lots of people do unbelievably stupid things out in the wilderness for seemingly no reason, idk how to explain it but some people just lose all common sense in the wild.

[@poolhalljunkie9]

You're being nice assuming that most people have common sense to begin with.

[@andyreznick]

Forget the wilderness. I even get lost at the zoo.

[@N0sf3r4tuR1s3n]

"unbelievably stupid things out in the wilderness for seemingly no reason" well don't leave us hanging, we want some details. Are you talking about people just forgetting to bring a good compass or trying to hand feed bears or something?

[@NemrahG]

@ yup there’s feeding bears, and walking up to moose. We had one group who almost started a forest fire about 200m from our campground because they were lost and trying to make a signal bonfire, even though they were at the shoreline and if they followed it for 5 mins they would’ve been back. We had one person try climbing up a cliff as a shortcut because a trail was taking too long, they fell down and broke their leg, could’ve easily died and the trail was only 2.5km so not that long. Then on the way one of our rangers broke their ankle on the way so we needed to airlift both out.

[@than217]

*feverishly searches for statues of limitation for illegal Ginseng hunting* "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck..."

[@Bye_Good]

😂 it’s not a statue, it’s statute.

[@milk11111]

​@@Bye_GoodNever let grammar police destroy a good joke⛷️

[@thestraydog]

No joke, worked with a guy who hunted for ginseng, and he made a good bit of money on the side doing that. Til one day ehen the cops and forest rangers paid him a visit... turns out, they had caught him and some buddies in the state woods with hidden trail cams, and had a whole file on the guy. I think he was only fined and they wanted to confiscate what he had harvested, but he didnt give them everything 😂 Just be careful, apparently they had photos upon photos of their little romps and the detectives found out eho they were with no problem.

[@user-dv6gt5iw4b]

@@milk11111 ok.. you've had long enough. what's the 411 on ginseng hunting ? Edit: sorry, that reply somehow got.. lost..

[@kieronparr3403]

It's a thing, I was off work sick one day and it was on TV. Can't remember whether it was a documentary or news or TV but it's a thing.

[@skydiver711]

I have a relative that is volunteer fire in a small mountain community and I can tell you people going to the mountains to commit suicide is real and happens more often than most of us would believe. These are not big news events and if it weren't for having this relative, someone that is involved in these calls I wouldn't know a darn thing about it.

[@asprout7190]

And that 1, people are notoriously bad at recognizing signs a loved one may be suicidal, and 2, there's a huge stigma around suicide so loved ones of a missing person would not want to publicly admit the possibility in case helpers decide to stop searching.

[@Zabiru-]

A volunteer fire. Interesting hobby hehe. Sorry, that was stupid but I couldn't resist.

[@adelahogarth2761]

I'm a desert hiker in Australia. Crossed the Simpson Desert on foot. Australian deserts are almost uniformily hot desert environments so they're on average a little harsher on those diurnal shocks you get in most desert environs worldwide, and you're entirely right. Wilderness disappearances seem mysterious and spooky, but it is because people have lost touch with natural world. Simple things like just how quickly the temperature plummets once the sun goes down. If you haven't properly acclimated your body to it, it can cause similar symptoms to shock. Heat stroke. Hell, some stretches of the Sturt Stony desert, you trip and fall over ... the ground itself will mess you up. To the point of possible lacerations just from the terrain. There's salt flats where the moisture will be leached from you at a shocking rate once the wind picks up. Dust storms can be downright murderous. Flash floods. The idea of big spooky predator ... yeah, kind of, when humans were more gifted outdoorsmen, depending on which part of the world you're in. But all humans today are so divorced from all the purely mundane and innocuous dangers that can just kill a person that isn't as wary as they had to be thousands of years ago. But I've been personally hit by a malo kingi jellyfish. Got a bad case of Irukandji syndrome. Irukandji jellyfish are tiny. Miniscule. And that will just incapacitate you and kill you through extreme pain to the point where people will beg to be killed by medical personnel if the elevated blood pressure and heart rate doesn't get you first.

[@Zabiru-]

I learned a couple of things from your. A new English word I was unfamiliar with, diurnal, and you lead me on an interesting Wikipedia jaunt about Irukandji syndrome. Some of the history there is wild. "In 1961 Jack Barnes confirmed the cause of the then mysterious Irukandji syndrome was a sting from a small box jellyfish: the Irukandji jellyfish, which can fire venom-filled stingers out of its body and into passing victims. To prove that the jellyfish was the cause of the syndrome, he captured one and deliberately stung himself, his 9-year-old son and a local lifeguard, then observed the resulting symptoms." Thanks for sharing your story :)

[@naynayhooray]

I was 8 years old when I got lost in a campsite. It was a developed site with paved roads in a crowded National Park. I thought I saw another little girl around a bend and I wanted to play with her. Hours later a lady found me walking alone and i sat with her until a big search party arrived. I remember my mother crying and hugging me. Since then I’ve never hiked alone and always stay within visible distance of my hiking partners. It’s very, very easy to get lost.

[@xyz7572]

As a Scandinavian kid, I was told MANY TIMES by school, my parents, kids’ tv, everything, exactly what you should do to if you get lost in the forest to make it as easy as possible for people to find you. Scandinavia being a large wilderness with a spatter of cities few and far between makes this a very important thing to teach children. It does not surprise me at all that people who are not taught that are more prone to considering conspiracy theories rather than the vastness of nature and the indifference of it towards a tiny, lost human.

[@shantishanti1949]

SO WHAT EXACTLY SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU GET LOST - what were you taught ????

[@MizRouge]

I think I can guess some of the advice, but I’m curious as to what exactly you were told to do as a child. Would you mind elaborating?

[@Di_Tre]

Teach us :o

[@svartrabatt]

Hugging a tree comes to mind /swede

[@seanmcdonald4686]

It’s depressing that you automatically know that as Americans, we aren’t taught anything actually useful as children.

[@davida.5456]

20:12 As person that grew up in the woods near a massive state forest in the US, I 100% agree. When a person disappeared in our area, investigations would find it almost always either intentional (they or someone else made it happen) or because they were unfamiliar with nature and got lost and/or grievously injured (by terrain or wildlife).

[@wompppwompwomppp]

David Polidas was someone I used to watch a lot of, but he has proven himself to have biases and ignore major clues in cases that could explain the disappearances. As someone who has worked with kids for over 10 years now, I very rarely am surprised by the missing 411 child cases. People GREATLY underestimate what kids can do, and that includes scaling up mountains/getting themselves into weird spots. An adult looks at these and goes "Oh, I could never do that as an adult so these kids could never do it" while forgetting toddlers regularly climb up things eye/chest level to them. They dont overthink it like adults do, and are more likely to end up in bizarre areas while delirious/lost.

[@buddhamack1491]

I too have worked with children for over a decade and feel the same way. Children are very capable and can cover a decent amount of ground in a short time. A lot of young children can and do have the energy to undertake physical activity all day. Some might have a nap if they're relaxed or you can get them to calm down and relax enough but most will happily run around all day. Throw in some adrenaline from fear of being lost and who knows how far they can go. Some would definitely freeze up in panic. Also agree with thoughts on David. Once you've been caught manipulating or omitting facts to fit your narrative then you lose all credibility.

[@paulhaynes8045]

One of the common aspects of missing people, where the person or body are eventually found, is that they are nearly always found either an unlikely distance away, or right where the most intensive searches were. It turns out that we are not very good at predicting where people can have gone (both alive and dead), or at actually searching...

[@adamh9660]

I was all in on Missing 411 for a while. But then watched other videos (The Missing Enigma; newer videos of Lore Lodge) which legitimately go to the police forces that investigated and got the reports and read old newspaper articles and realized that Paulides would just straight up omit really important pieces of information that clearly point to an accident or an animal attack. Paulides IS a grifter IMHO since removing info just cuz it doesn't fit your narrative is incredibly dishonest.

[@justinpyle3415]

Mountain lions are efficient, and often end their prey instantly with a bite to the neck. These areas are all home to big cats, who have been suffering from dwindling food supplies due to ongoing habitat loss.

[@JosephJanitorius-p5v]

That sounds a lot like Elon Musk.

[@justinpyle3415]

@@JosephJanitorius-p5v lolwut?

[@Leroset]

@@JosephJanitorius-p5vWut? Are you saying that Musk is a mountain cat? Are you saying that he has dwindling food supplies so he has taken to stalking people on hikes and grabbing them to eat like actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf? Trying to understand what you mean here.

[@notbeyonce]

But a bite to the neck would cause tremendous blood loss. Most cases there is no sign of a struggle, much less blood.

[@tiffanymarie9750]

My thoughts exactly 💯

[@tomburress4928]

It blows my mind how people are so shocked when someone, usually a kid, disappears when they only lose sight of them for “seconds” or “minutes”. People lose track of their kids for 30 minutes or more in Walmart after tacking their eyes off them for a few seconds only for them to be found at the opposite side of the store. These parks are hundreds or thousands of acres large and people really underestimate how far a kid can wander off and the random nooks and crannies they can get in too. We’ve really come to underestimate the wilderness and how “tame” it is. Just because there are well traveled trails does not mean the place won’t passively, or occasionally in regards to wildlife, actively kill you easily.

[@silversonic1]

I spent my teens living in Washington State. I only ever went on a trail once... It's WAY too easy to get lost. I found my way back ok using old-style navigation (because cell phones were barely a thing and I didn't have one back then). But you don't even have to be hiking to get lost in the Pacific Northwest. One wrong turn driving in a snowstorm could be your death. So always remember to have some emergency supplies on hand and use the buddy system. Have concrete plans. Don't let your ego get the better of you. And PLEASE don't end your life. If you're feeling suicidal, go to the hospital and get help. I did and am still alive. Trust me, you can and will survive. Hell, you can even THRIVE. Just don't make the decision that robs you of all future opportunities.

[@alison5009]

Thank you.

[@teresaellis7062]

I remember getting lost while driving in a forested area. It is WAY too easy to get lost in Western Washington. Something seems familiar and then you realize too late that it feels familiar because it is similar to a place a long ways away. I was lucky, I had plenty of gas and when I realized I was lost I turned right around and found a sign pointing me to a local hospital. I was so grateful for that hospital sign. I don't know how long I would have wandered if I hadn't seen that. It was before GPS and cellphones were common.

[@sarasmr4278]

Joe, your story of getting lost is terrifying. That's exactly how people die. Please be more careful going forwards, and take a daypack with the essentials. I'm so glad you're safe.

[@threerings13]

It's always baffled me why people consider this a mystery. It's simple statistics. Hundreds of thousands of people visit wilderness, and some of them disappear. Like you said, suicide or other mental illness is certainly behind some, falling or getting lost in cave systems, animal attacks, and just plain getting lost. It only looks mysterious when you pick and choose stories and present them together. I've only been hiking a handful of times and one of those was with a group of like 15 with an experienced guide who had done the trail before and we got totally lost and eventually found our way back only by scaling a small cliff back to the actual trail. I would NEVER go out by myself, but lots do.

[@paulfitzsimon517]

I fully agree with your opinion on missing 411. City folk disappearing in the wilderness?? How can that be??

[@RichardCox0]

I apparently went missing once. I was a scout and we were in groups of two given the task of following a map through a wooded area (in Denmark where there's no large predators). We had compasses and experience but something went wrong. A team of searchers came out of nowhere and told us that 5 hours had gone by and we had actually left the area covered by our map. We were surprised to learn that we'd been missing.

[@MidianNiles]

Mr. Scott, I wanted to take a moment to leave a comment, as well as extend my gratitude with your work. I'm a longtime viewer of your channel; my wife and I enjoy watching your content. I feel compelled to thank you for your content, but more importantly, I need to thank you for being a voice of reason and measure; providing insight toning down hyperbolic context. Thank you

[@rudeartichoke2567]

I don't know. I do think their are UAP's. Joe doesn't think so. Bigfoots, no...they would have found one by now.

[@andyreznick]

Seconded. Or possibly thirded.

[@Out_on_a_Limb_Life]

Fourthed

[@panqueque445]

"I'll stop short of calling David a scammer" I won't. He's full of crap.

[@DaPikaGTM]

He's a conman who either explicitly lies or lies by omission about almost every case. The fact that he hides that he has a fraud conviction says all you need to know about the guy.

[@panqueque445]

@@DaPikaGTM I've watched some videos on the more known cases, and it's incredible how much information he just hides and pretends doesn't exist. Not to mention he doesn't come out and say it outright (at least that I've seen), but he very strongly points the reader in the direction of "bigfoot did it". He's continuing the same old con, he's just trying to hide it better.

[@texasbluegrass567]

I grew up in Kentucky. My grandpa used to take me out in the woods and show me holes in the ground that were just big enough for people to fall into and also typical cave openings. These caves were literally everywhere. The fact that this country has so many people that believes in space lasers starting fires, hurricanes created by the government, etc. It's a miracle that millions of people haven't disappeared simply because they can't find their way back from Bass Pro. Another thing that has struck me about all of this, besides how some parents don't seem to understand how toddlers behave, is the fact that tracking dogs aren't that reliable and that aliens aren't looking for handicapped people. I mean, come on. They only want young/sexy people to make hybrids with, right? I can say that as a disabled person that aliens have ignored since I was in my 20s.

[@davidfasano4501]

Your transition is going very well, you almost look like a woman now

[@trustworthydan]

I call bullshit. I live legitimately in an old strip mining zone. Holes don't just open up. You've never been in the wilderness, you don't have to lie to sound cool.

[@texasbluegrass567]

​@@davidfasano4501And you are a dead meme. Congrats! ❤

[@MyBestPalJimbo]

I like the cut of your gib, lady. Got a good bluegrass song reccommendation?

[@BeaverZer0]

The map of the missing 411 perfectly aligns with the map from the USGS geological survey of caves. You can see the density of missing people perfectly lines up with the map of caves.

[@Utonian21]

Imagine finding a child's remains and not reporting it because you're afraid you might get in trouble for foraging a herb

[@leepurdy9069]

Yeah, why not just say you were hiking. Why even mention the ginseng. It isn't like they are going to ask. They will be WAY more focused on, ya know, the dead kid you found. Some people just suck!

[@nelliethursday1812]

Probably going to a pot growing area that is secret 🙊 🤔

[@poolhalljunkie9]

@leepurdy9069 tell me you don't understand how law enforcement works without telling me you have no idea how it works. 😂😂 If you report a dead body, even one that's just bones at that point is going to get a lot of questions placed on your head. They don't care how old they are. They care about solving the case whether it's the right person or not.

[@Utonian21]

@@poolhalljunkie9 Regardless of the detectives intentions, In order to be convicted of a crime, the prosecution has to prove without a reasonable doubt that you're guilty. Them simply reporting the remains wouldn't have been sufficient enough evidence for them to be convicted of anything. I know there's plenty of detectives who care more about "solving" a case than they do actually finding the truth, but your comment just screams paranoia

[@teresaellis7062]

I am so glad my son didn't become a missing 411. When he was young, he would pick a direction and just go. I was his constant shadow to make sure I knew where he was wandering. Though, one time when my family was camping, my son was running circles around our tent, as one does at that age, and he decided to pick a random direction and just go. Thankfully, we were in a well populated camping area and I realized very quickly that he wasn't running around the tent anymore. I had to chase him through several campsites and into someone's tent. Also thankfully, everyone thought it was amusing that I was chasing my little boy through their campsites. 😅 Later that day, we bought him a bell to wear. I am proud that my son has achieved adulthood with all his fingers and toes, both eyes and ears and most of his hearing. It was a difficult challenge, but I managed it.

[@gabe1929]

lol

[@stuffz4040]

When I was 16 I found a blog series where someone told the story of how their mom went missing on a daily hiking trip - she wasn’ t found till after she died. Hearing the firsthand account, they really emphasized how it only took a small moment - stepping off to go to the bathroom - to get helplessly lost. Every hike I’ve been on since I’ve kept this in mind with reverence.

[@Greenteabook]

Always keep your eyes on the trail! I've even been forced to do a #2 while making eye contact with a friend on accident because I refused to go further into the trees.

[@thedeathwobblechannel6539]

Look if you got to step off the trail to go pee and you need to have someone standing by the trail not watching you pee but close enough to keep an eye on you to make sure you come back to the trail

[@coreytaylor5386]

so many of the cases of children going missing in the woods sound so much like just mountain lions. "this kid vanished right off the path with no footprints anywhere and his body was found 200 feet up this cliff!" "this kid vanished and was found miles away and reports he remembers being carried but cant remember anything else, his winter jacket was cut to shreds too" etc

[@Quidisi]

When there is animal predation, the signs tend to be overwhelming, especially if someone was plucked from a trail.

[@notbeyonce]

Mountain lions don't carry prey by its jacket. They attack the back of the neck. There ABSOLUTELY would be blood. Everywhere. If a child says he was carried, it was 100% certainly not by a mountain lion.

[@tonyennis1787]

@@Quidisi pls explain.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

As a Canadian who is also a farmer and lives rurally, people need to understand just how big the wilderness can be. Where I live it is quite open farmland obviously, but there is very large forests to the north. Wolves, cougars, bears, hot summer weather, frigid winter weather, and the vast area can all be dangerous. I cringe when these city dwellers go trampling around in places they shouldn’t really be going to in the first place and are naive about everything. I hunt and fish and camp a lot, and am very familiar with the wilderness. However, I will say, the forest can be a bit creepy. You know that silent still people talk about that randomly happens? Yeah, it really does happen. If you go into the wilderness, take a compass, have a map, and have a rifle or shotgun. Have water, a first aid kit, some food, and a lighter or matches. If you go without any of these items, you can end up in trouble very quickly. Be safe out there and use common sense.

[@procrastinator41]

So many folks these days seem unable to grasp that natural environments are not inherently safe. They are what they are.

[@Out_on_a_Limb_Life]

Oh, right. That'll make the national parks so much safer, having people tramping around carrying rifles and shotguns. 😐

[@Pezled]

The other problem with the missing 411 cases is they span over decades. In that time, millions of people have visited the parks, of course some will go missing and be killed in some accident.

[@threerings13]

I knew a family who were friends with my parents who lost their son this way. He was a proficient and experienced hiker who went out by himself for a short walk in a European forest and his body was found two weeks later after a massive search. I was a child then, but I still remember the TONE of the conversations, the deep panic and grief and helplessness his family experienced. And the way they talked about him later, but never mentioned his death or how it happened. Yeah, these families should be left alone.

[@higherlearning9386]

As somebody that has thought about ending it multiple times in the past year due to financial issues, insurance doesn’t cover taking yourself out so going into a huge woods to end it so that family gets a big check to survive and they also don’t have to deal with the devastation of finding my body and/or dealing with the burden of a funeral service. I would imagine many others in my situation have that line of thinking.

[@e.k.4508]

Take care of yourself! I wish you all the best ❤

[@KLRN-qc7jp]

Interesting perspective...but that doesn't expain a 3 yo child missing in one place and than being found approx 12 hours later barely alive in a blizzard, 30 km away from the place that it was missing...and that 30 km was in a straight line, over harsh terrain that would give serious trouble to traverse even a well trained adult. There are quite a few 411 cases exactly like this where kids travel impossible distances over short periods of time or their bodies being found in places they just couldn't have accessed by themselves but there was no foul-play, animals or third pirson involved. What about their clothes being in mint condition, even despite they went missing 5 years back? I'm not saying that all 411 cases are legit. Far from it. But there are some that just make the hair on your neck raise up.

[@allisoncurtis4260]

I can guarantee that someone in your life would give anything to have you alive and well. Please take care of yourself. If you can not do it for you, then do it for the people that love you!

[@grahamcann1761]

In the 80s-90s I did Search and Rescue in the hills of Palo Alto, California (Silicon Valley). Some folks who went missing were Veterans from the Veteran Hospital in Palo Alto who wandered into the hills, some were people, sometimes tragically young (or old) who'd wandered away from roadside (most often Skyline Blvd.). More often than not we didn't find anyone, but I never thought it was a strange-mysterious. (But once... hanging next to my computer I have a homemade wooden necklace that I cherish that says "---'s hero 1992".) (One other time we did find an African Lion and a Tiger... at a rescue ranch.) Point is people get hurt, people get confused, people get lost, even in a small area like the hills in Santa Clara. As always, thank you so very much for the videos.

[@kaseyboles30]

Parents of a missing child are ALWAYS persons of interest.

[@ritzlarka]

Missing Enigma here on YT is a good one if people are interested in this topic with good research and none of the bigfoot/aliens bs.

[@poolhalljunkie9]

Lore Lodge is like that too. They're both really good.

[@deerichardz]

Add Zealous Beast, He shreds Paulides' BS.

[@tiagotiagot]

A cave that made the guy feel vibrations and and a strange psychological effect? Could it be some sort of gas outflow that was playing the cave like a giant a flute at an infrasonic frequency (bellow human hearing range), and the combination of the vibrations and the gas messed up with the brain? (it has been demonstrated certain infrasound frequencies have psychological and physiological effects on humans; and of course it's well known there are some gases that will mess you up if you breath them)

[@CineMiamParis]

Thé YT Channel The Missing Enigma does really good non-paranormal investigative work I think. The guy obtains police files, sometimes interviews witnesses, and lately has begun filming on-site. He is respectful, level-headed and likable. His hypothesis on the Yuba County Five actually makes more sense than anything I’ve come across.

[@davidbiagi2932]

David Paulidas (don’t know how you spell his last name) was a scammer in the 90s and still scamming people today with these books. Only good thing about them is it’s keeping these people that have went missing and whatnot stories alive and getting people to talk about them and go searching for them. If he would have left the paranormal/cryptic shit out of it, I’d have a lot more respect for him and these books. Unfortunately, he left out important details in many cases and wrote them in ways that were false to make them seem more paranormal or lean towards being Bigfoot or some other cryptids instead of actual scenarios.

[@deerichardz]

Best way to remember his last name, Paul 'LIE' deez.

[@keiththorpe9571]

I've participated in wilderness search-and-rescue, and I can tell you the wilderness (even that enclosed within the boundaries of a national park) can be so dangerous. Now, simple precautions and common sense can keep you safe, but jettisoning those can lead a person deep into the Hurt Locker. It can even happen to those who are experienced and well prepared. We need look no further than the case of actor Julian Sands who disappeared on a hike up Mt. Baldy in California, only to be found several months later, dead from undetermined causes. Now he was an experienced and, by all accounts, very cautious outdoorsman, yet he succumbed to whatever befell him on his excursion. Nature is pitiless.

[@Satire-Gaming]

Human kids are defenseless, super ez prey for animal and human predators. Do not leave your kids unattended.

[@GrimDim]

Parents overestimate their children alot of the time sadly

[@GrimJackal]

I've suffered bouts of depression in the past and fantasised quite a bit about just disappearing without notice, driving as far as I could into some remote area, getting out and walking into the wild into an unsurvivable scenario. Glad I never did but that headspace certainly exists.

[@kmari9819]

Nature far more dangerous than we give it credit for and we give far too much credit to human decision making or perception capabilities.

[@padrake444]

One thing I think you should have mentioned earlier on, when you said 600,000 people a year are reported missing a year ...... that of 85% or more of them turn up again (runaways,and people mistakenly reported missing make up alot of that)

[@urbandefinition]

3:35 I like how the ordering of the search parties makes the Boy Scouts sound more capable than Green Berets 😂

[@bb5242]

Green Berets aren't trackers, they are trained to help partisans fight asymmetic warfare. Might better get some hunters.

[@tickledtoffee]

The first time I heard about missing 411 was during a crime/mystery podcast. I had no idea what missing 411 was, but as the host explained the theory I got more and more irritated. That was 30 mins of my life I'll never get back.

[@kenon6968]

Paulidies has really engaging way of speaking and presenting the mysteries, and then all builds up to fucking Bigfoot?

[@DaPikaGTM]

​@@kenon6968 He's a conman who either explicitly lies or lies by omission about almost every case. The fact that he hides that he has a fraud conviction says all you need to know about the guy.

[@cartho1103]

The 411 cases that always scare me are when the missing person loses visual contact for a short amount of time

[@RNG-999]

That's not that bad. Oh no, I slipped and fell off the trail. Gone in a blink of an eye. Oh no, I slipped and fell into the river, gone never to be seen again.

[@RealBradMiller]

My thing is when people or kids are found ALIVE, and far beyond what they could trek on foot.

[@PeachysMom]

Predators in the wilderness can be very silent and fast.

[@davids5006]

@@RNG-999sure it's bad to the person who commented it

[@Mayakran]

@@RNG-999one could argue that the scary part is just how quickly you can disappear/suffer a serious accident/die

[@kstricl]

I grew up in the BC Interior. There was a body found within feet of a trail my wife used to walk down. It had been there for a few years. She wondered why she never smelled anything; well, nature and winter. The winters are frequently warm enough for the sun to keep decomposition going even in when people think it should be frozen. By the time the path was passable, bugs likely had taken the smelly parts. There was circumstances to make us believe this person was "assisted" in their disappearance - the body was identified. In more recent history, an older fellow in a community around there went for a drive on the extensive network of logging roads and trails. He never returned. No signs were ever found. Having driven those roads, many built in the side of a hill with thick brush below, it's no mystery to me why they weren't able to find him - that brush will swallow you whole with no sign you went through, even with a small truck.

[@Emanon...]

It's sad, but also very foreseeable. They're National "Parks", not National Gardens...

[@johndeere3486]

The number of people who die around Chicago swimming just off shore in Lake Michigan is shockingly high. Even strong swimmers are quickly overcome by cold water. The lake and the river also claim the lives of drunk young male adults all the time as well.

[@hot656moo658]

People have been fishing Lake Michigan for hundreds, if not thousands of years. What happens is, that person dives into the water, gets tangled up in the invisible fishing line, and drowns.

[@Iwasnevermeanttobehere]

We have a lot of deaths in the Potomac River... The current in some sections is astoundingly strong, to the point that even strong swimmers can drown. A friend of mine in college went out to bridge jump (a foolish but common pastime where we lived, and not on the potomac) with a bunch of our other friends one night. The cold water cramped his body and he never resurfaced. Technically, he surfaced eventually... But not alive. People just don't get how dangerous the natural world can be.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Trees / leaves are REALLY good at suppressing sound. People don't realize this until they experience it. I camp in woodlands with pretty dense tree cover. I can have a generator running a few hundred feet away and not hear it AT ALL.

[@superjlk_9538]

It’s scarier when you CAN hear something in the woods

[@ricardog.s2505]

Musician and geographer here, and can confirm! people underestimate how good trees and leaves are as a "tool" for suppressing sound and heat

[@trustworthydan]

Not sure you guys know how sound works.. it just sounds like you're all deaf.

[@itsROMPERS...]

I've thought that people and kids should carry small pressurized can air horns because voices don't carry, plus it's hard to yell very loud for very long.

[@frothyham]

Hanlon's razor comes to mind about the Missing 411 "phenomenon", and most unsolved mystery type stuff. Maybe not the most appropriate phrase for what's going on in this video, something more like "never attribute to conspiracy that which is adequately explained by ineptitude/bad luck."

[@NelsonBrown]

Now because of this video, Henson's razor will also come to mind.

[@MikeP2055]

I want to high-five you for five solid minutes. 🤣 I couldn't agree with you more. And the way you tweaked it is flawless.

[@JontysCorner]

Huh?! How do officials mistake a 6 year olds foot print for an adults foot print. There must be about 4 inches difference!

[@croncorcen]

there were Boyscouts in the search party

[@farmsalot1233]

Go join a search and rescue sometime. Not all footprints are flat perfect prints. A running adult could leave half a print for example

[@sarahakin]

​@@croncorcen What a terrible idea! 👍

[@aserta]

The boots were larger. This isn't just about a lost child, the incompetence of the search party. No, this is about an imbecile parent who let a child out of their sight, ill prepared for the terrain and area they were in.

[@croncorcen]

@@aserta joe never said that they confused the prints with bigger, adult sized ones. That is an assumption in the OG comment.

[@c97f]

That "re-entering the food chain" comment is right on. Having spent a lot of time in the wilderness, it's not an environment made for humans. Ever notice how you never see remains of dead deer, bears, heck, ever see the remains of a squirrel? I never have. Nature cleans up its messes, and dead humans would be just another mess to clean up.

[@benoithudson7235]

I frequently see remains of dead animals out on the land, sometimes chewed up. Not so common on major trails, sure.

[@andyreznick]

True. Nature doesn't waste handy proteins.

[@chrisc1140]

Reminds me of how I always like when I see deer or rabbits when out hiking. Sure the deer in particular _could_ be a threat to me (once saw one running almost directly at me, wasn't sure if he was charging until he saw me and veered to the side) but mostly having those prey animals around means there isn't likely to be a bear or mountain lion, and even if there is they're more likely to go for their normal food instead of for me.

[@dewiz9596]

Joe is the epitome of sanity. I loved the quote ”Deep Sea Diving is re-entering the food chain”

[@jasonsteane2355]

Joe, I know you don’t read the comments as there are thousands, but I hope this reaches you. Welcome back! I have been feeling a little sad to watch your channel lately, as it’s turned into a lightning round channel. I’m not a patron supporter and I appreciate you need to make your money. I don’t hold that against you. I just missed old Joe who did an in depth analysis on human decapitation! It was macabre, but you handled it so well and it’s hard to describe how you can turn weird topics into something very sensible and scientific. That’s what got me hooked. Please bring back random Thursday. Glad I stuck through the last few months, because seeing you back to form really makes me happy. Please keep up the great work. When I’m a little more flush I will buy merch.

[@AlaskaB83]

9:06 it pained me when you called the bighorn sheep a mountain goat.

[@stephenhoward4402]

The thing I have about the Missing 411 is that yes, these cases don't have obvious immediate explanations, but it's stupid to automatically assume that those explanations are paranormal or conspiratorial. And people jumping to those conclusions...all that does is make it harder to find the real answers.

[@alexaaronson876]

Hold up... She saw a fish she thought the kid would like? Was the fish just going to hang around and wait for the kid? That whole scene smells funny.

[@pantitapalittapongarnpim1581]

This is the only missing 411 video that I jibe with, honestly. Me and my buds don't go into the mountains much, but my dad and his friends did when they were in college. And he lost one of his pal while walking across a river. It was a shallow river, just going up to the knees, but that's how powerful flowing water is. One moment, he was with them. The other moment, he was gone. As my dad told it, there wasn't even a sound, so no one could turn around and help him. (I suspect, they wouldn't have been successful anyway.) That is how easy it is to disappear in the wilderness.

[@elocher4]

I'm only 1:35 into the video but I'm gonna call it right now: It's aliens. 👽👾

[@matydrum]

I was gonna write pretty much exactly that and your comment popped up!😅

[@siobhan5486]

Omg yesss I'm so excited yes ALIEENSS!! ahhh so exciting I love when the world is WEIRD instead of NORMAL, weird aliens so cool!!!! Normal "explanations" booringgg

[@watcher235711]

Went to Congaree Swamp in SC. Walking along boardwalk enjoying the trees, middle of the day. There was a sudden downpour and the water seemed like it instantly came over the boards. It seemed much darker and got incredibly slippery. Held onto the railing and got back fine, but wow, things can turn on a dime.

[@mathieuleader8601]

ooh loosing sight of your two old kid in the forest is dereliction of duty as parents

[@Jonasansu]

As much as I enjoy the woowoo aspect of it, I tend to agree. I do a lot of hiking, trail running, camping, armature adventurer stuff. Almost every time I go out for a longer trip I have a moment where I am like "well I could have died there" its so easy to just do something dumb. Like you said, we reenter the food chain. There are some really weird cases, but most of them can easily explained by mistakes.

[@alidaweber1023]

Carry emergency locator beacons and don't go into forests, mountains, caves, or other wilderness areas alone. Always have proper clothing and other supplies.

[@trustworthydan]

"be afraid of everything in life and sit in your house for safety, just like big daddy governments wants you to, so you can slave your life away." Go find a hobby brother.

[@alidaweber1023]

​@@trustworthydanThat's not what I said. Your username claims that you are trustworthy. That's just like "Honest Dan's Used Cars."

[@itsROMPERS...]

​@@trustworthydan This is what's called a "troll", folks.

[@kylesebring]

After hearing there was a 30-40% mortality rate by puberty before the 1800s, it really puts things in perspective when theres a fraction of a percentage of a mortality rate at national parks.

[@louiseevans6121]

Back in the mid-2000s I was really into Missing 411. I have several of his books and discussed cases with several people. Since then, I too have watched your channel and the Lore Lodge and Missing Enigma, which all kind of broke the spell I had been under. There are a few weird cases out there but really it’s not the crazy phenomenon that Paulides is selling. The one good takeaway is to be very careful out in nature. The possibilities for harm/danger are endless. Be safe out there. Love your content, Joe.

[@MsManomen]

You were lost in paranormal land but you found your way out.

[@deerichardz]

You could probably sell the books on eBay for a decent price. Or, burn em oO

[@reclawyxhush]

This phenomenon is not constrained just to US/Canada. Near the place I live in Poland there's a small alpine-type mountain range -- The Tatra Mts and there are literally tens if not hundreds of well documented stories of adult people gone missing in the area, most often never found and sometimes their remains emerging near frequently hiked trails. Some reports found in records of the Mountain Volunteer Emergency Service surpass anything I've heard on YT channels about 411 cases. So surely not a Bigfood or Area 51.

[@coleray1413]

Great job maintaining the intrigue of these mysteries with good writing while keeping it grounded and avoiding sensationalism

[@IainDoc15]

Honestly my immediate reaction to most of these stories is just "they obviously just got lost in the wilderness which is an extremely easy thing to do" I'm suddenly reminded of the phrase "when you hear hooves, think horses not zebras"

[@figuremeoutyourself]

grew up in a relatively rural part of the appalachian mountains, and from experience i truly just think people have gotten desensitized to the very real, very natural dangers of the natural world. living in the mountains on the shenandoah (which happened to be a very slow stretch), there was news every year of people dying on hiking trails or in the river. my sister had a friend in high school walk into the woods to take her own life and it took them weeks to find her body. it’s sad of course, but anyone who’s lived in a rural area will tell you just how easily things can escalate or how quickly you can get turned around. a healthy amount of caution is lifesaving and you shouldn’t be alone in the woods no matter your experience level. national parks are both large/isolated and more frequently visited than other nonpopulated areas which is absolutely why the rates of strange disappearances are so high. people also need to remember that infrastructure is much more limited, there’s plenty of places only accessible on foot or helicopter, and that means search and rescue is that much harder. there are situations, especially in inclement weather or water rescues where it is so deadly they can’t send first responders directly into. we’re not beyond the dangers of the natural world.

[@jandoel]

As an avid outdoorsman, I've always been skeptical of the missing 411. When you prepare for an outing, every possibility of what could go wrong is floating around in your head.

[@joshuadk13]

I think, especially in the modern era, people really underestimate just how dangerous the wilderness is.

[@erikhendrickson59]

Never, EVER, go hiking alone. A broken ankle becomes deadly serious when you're 25 miles into the bush and didn't plan any contingencies

[@ross-carlson]

This video is WHY I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL - THANK YOU for being a skeptic. I wish we had many MANY more.

[@AndImsomelady]

Me too.

[@tonyk4615]

I think people massively underestimate how easy it is to get lost in the wild. Behind my house is what people in our town call a “forest”. But it’s actually part of a church’s property that backs up to ours. In the summer, it looks like an incredibly dense woodland. Go 10’ in and you can’t see anything around you. In the winter when the leaves fall off the trees, you can see the church parking lot easily from our back yard.

[@CrystalRapoza]

I once made a TikTok about this. I showed everyone the terrain and how easy it is to get hurt and everything. What i learned is that: 1. Anyone who wants to believe in woo will find a reason. 2. Skeptics already agree with eachother. *le sigh* Nevertheless, I'm hoping this video changes some minds. ❤

[@snasturbate1087]

Just gonna put this here.. I spent my entire life in the deep wilderness of north america. still to this day I do many, multi days/weeks excursions yearly. I slept in dirt, ate roots and worms over the years. I have never ever ever witnessed anything "paranormal" I witnessed fear, my own, which made me at times imagine things( it's hard to sleep when all you see are pairs or eyes in the dark, looking at you sleep when you are days away from the closest help or humans). this is what I saw though : People going into the wilderness to secretly dump their trash, convicts fleeing prison and living out there, people going in the woods to k3ll their pet ( most likely this is happening to humans as well, but I never found a human c0rpse ). people trying to grow illegal things, alongs with every single animals you can imagine, short of a cougar, I saw everything up close, multiple times. My conclusion is if a man with my track record has never found anything of the sort, how can a city dweller who never did this, can pretend to know what is happening in the wilderness.

[@briondalion]

I'm sure a small amount of people are being disappeared by other people in these forests. I mean, yes you have first-hand accounts of being on your own in forests/wilderness for long periods of time, but you could only be in so many places, all at different times. people involved in trying to grow illegal things, especially if it gets to more serious illegal things, would "disappear" someone if they got to their operation, this likely wouldn't happen where you were out in the wilderness, this is probably more of a thing where people grow cocaine and other dangerous drugs, so...south america and other areas, but I'm sure there is an effort to traffic highly illegal substances through forests other than in south america. Probably not as common as by car, plane, or boat, but it's probably still done. Seems silly to think that there cannot possibly be ne'er'do'wells in forests and wilderness who would do weird things to other people. There was that Amazon killer guy, the one who left really disturbing reviews of disturbing products he bought off Amazon, who had a giant swath of wilderness of property despite being "part of society", and he did some really deranged stuff.

[@Dionaea_floridensis]

In Japan these kinds of cases are sometimes called "Kami-kakushi" 神隠し or being spirited away. Especially with children

[@Iwasnevermeanttobehere]

Wait, is that where the title of the anime movie came from? I learned something new today!

[@thedaveking]

Joe if you disappear without a trace we'll never hear the end of it. Please sew fluorescent dye packs into your clothes before entering the wilderness.

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

12:20 Does the Park Service have an incentive to downplay risks? By my understanding, their funding isn't directly tied to visitor numbers, and even if it were, visitor numbers are at an all time high (it's actually a bit of a problem). Also, presumably, every missing person costs them quite in search and rescue, so they are incentivised to educate people on risks (which they do).

[@superjlk_9538]

More like they just don’t want to be charged with anything I think. Downplaying risks means that they know something is wrong but won’t say anything. That’s just a conspiracy and doesn’t work unless there’s like some evil spirit or mystical creature they’re trying to hide 😂

[@philyeary8809]

Cia

[@travcollier]

The NPS is constantly warning people of the risks and trying to get them to behave more responsibly.

[@makotoisme]

The wilderness is beautiful but can also be incredibly dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Even the most experienced people get into trouble, nature is unpredictable. The wilderness is a great place to go missing whether you want to or not. A few years ago I climbed a mountain in the French Pyrenees and about a year later a hiker went missing there, (though her remains were eventually found). You don’t really think about it until it’s a place you’ve been or someone you know.

[@TrinityCodex]

some guy really gave ''getting lost in the wilderness'' a special name and started selling books

[@kirkhamandy]

Your story reminded of a similar one. Out back where live is a woodland, I've walked my dog there 1000s of times, literally, morning noon and night for years and I know it like the back of my hand. I've watched the paths change course over the years as trees have fallen etc. But this one time I remember going in a slightly different direction than normal, I've done this before. But this one time I had this, what I can only describe as "brain shift". As I walked I knew exactly where I was or thought I did. So when I shifted direction to return the the path I expected to arrive back at it after only 30 seconds of walking. But it just wasn't there and when I looked around I seemed to be in an unfamiliar part of the woods. There was like this 1 second of panic, where am I? And then, I just said to myself, stop look and listen and regather your bearings. And then, I just knew where I was and everything made sense again. I'll never forget it and I can see why in much larger forests or woodlands people can just simply get lost in a very short period of time. It was a spooky experience but that was just a few moments and it was over. I can't imagine the panic in a big park off trail.

[@Adventure-Media]

Even before I start watching this video, I'm just going to say: The whole Missing 411 thing is sketchy as hell. The whole thing was brought front and centre by David Paulides and his methodology for establishing the profiles of these "cases" is questionable. But what's most sketchy, is the things he leaves out when reporting these cases. Certainly, there are a handful of alleged Missing 411 cases which are genuinely strange. However, the majority of them are not. And even in the cases that /are/ strange, they don't inherently indicate anything paranormal, nor any kind of connection between them. However, the idea of the "Missing 411 phenomenon" does make for a great story and that's what draws people in.

[@rgh622]

As someone who has first-hand experience with missing persons and situations that ultimately result in death, I can assure you that there is a logical explanation for each of these incidents whether or not it is apparent to us as observers from the outside.