The Mystery Of The Missing Person In Bankhead National Forest!

Chad was missing for over two weeks. He was an experienced hiker and loved The Bankhead National Forest. He went there many times looking for Native American Indian Artifacts. He entered the forest at Indian Tomb Hollow on January 25th, however he did not let anyone know that he was going into the wilderness. Since Chad was single his family did not get concerned about him for a couple of days. After 3 days they began looking for Chad and finally contacted the authorities on day 4. It took another 3 days to locate his truck at the Indian Tomb Hollow Trailhead. He went into wilderness in the early to midafternoon on that day and it started raining around that time. The temperature also dropped that night to around 35 degrees.

[@bearcubs9497]

i'm a complete stranger to you and chad, but i'm taking this pretty personally. my son and i hunt indian tomb hollow and high house hill. sorry there wasn't a happy ending to chad's story.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

It is a very sad story indeed. His family miss him greatly , and this will be a difficult year especially as the holidays come and go. One of the main reasons that I shared this video is to encourage everyone who ventures into the wilderness to take simple precautions no matter what your experiecne level. My son and I just got back from the Bridger- Teton National Forest , and I have personally raised my awareness level when venturing into the back country.

[@nicksangetta8874]

In addition to the GPS and batteries, throw a $20 Lifestraw in too. It's basically weightless but will provide virtually unlimited clean water if you can find some.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Your are correct about that for sure. I wanted to say a great deal more but I was afraid that the video would be too long.

[@Rationalmethod995]

You are right about the "its the experienced people who make mistakes" sentiment. Complacency is often our biggest threat. I experienced this once when my friends and I accidentally got off trail in North Carolina and decided to push on and bushwhack instead of backtracking because we had years of experience bushwhacking the Sipsey Wilderness. What should have been a 1 hour leisurely hike to our campsite turned into a nightmarish 8 hour grind down a rugged, thickly vegetated mountainside. We ran out of daylight so most of it was in the dark, making it difficult to find traversable paths down and to judge when we were on the edge a dangerous drop-off. To make matters worse, we found out when we reached camp that at some point in the ordeal, the thick vegetation knocked our water filter out of the side pocket of our backpack. We were able to boil to get by, but it meant the margin of error was even lower. We were very fortunate that we made it through that alive and uninjured. I learned a lot of lessons on that hike.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Wow!

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Thank you for sharing your story. Things can go wrong really quickly. I have friend who was backpacking in GSMNP with snow on the ground and they got off trail. They thought they were on trail, but actually they were hiking down a creek. They didn't get to camp until 2 AM, and they were also very experienced.

[@nicksangetta8874]

Great video. Very well done. Its always sad to hear about people who are lost to hiking.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Over the past 3 years I have watched many videos on people who go missing in the wilderness and are never found. I used to wonder how can the be, but after actually searching for someone missing I realized that it is very possible for someone to go missing and never be found. We were searching in a six square mile area and that may not sound that large , but it is huge.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

I learned several important lessons during the time I spent looking for Chad. I had always wondered why and how people missing in the wilderness are never found, and now I know. Just searching a 3 square mile area is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Lone hikers, backpackers and hunters often make critical mistakes which sometimes ends up costing them their lives. I hope that this video encourages people to take the simply necessary precautions that may save their lives or at the very least make it easier for them to be found.

[@leisa2054]

Thank you❤

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

You're welcome 😊

[@intuitivegal2731]

So sorry to hear about Chad. My daughter and I go hiking in BH all the time. Have to be very careful.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Thank you for the comment. BH is a very beautiful place , but as you stated you have to use caution anytime you go to the wilderness.

[@annjoyce579]

Informative! Thanks.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Thank you for the comment. We appreciate comments and questions for viewers,

[@steve26791]

Excellent information. Sorry for your loss.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Thank you for your encouraging words. We appreciate the like too.

[@trippickers1024]

We just discovered your channel and being tailend boomers ourselves, we can relate. We also love the outdoors, camping and hiking. We love your content, however we miss new videos. We hope all is well.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Thank you! We have new video coming about out overnight backpacking trip in the Smoky Mountains. Dustin put up the final video on his trip to the Wind River Range. There were 3 parts. Thank you for your kind comment!

[@trippickers1024]

@@boomersoutdoors8898 we’re in Florida and just got back from one of our trips to Sapphire, NC. We’ve hiked so many trails in that area since we began visiting many years ago. We’re going to be empty nesters in about a month. Although we’re sad to see our boys leave the nest, we’re excited for the next chapter and more hiking camping adventures. We’ll look for the new video.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

We have five grown children and we experienced that same sadness when they were all gone. However, we have a great relationship with both our children and son and dauther -in-laws. In my opinion our relationship to our grown children is different now that they are grown, and it is even better. Karen and I are closer than ever and are enjoying spending time together especailly getting out in the wilderness and seeing the beauty of creation. We are having our own adventures together and it is awesome.

[@philipedwards8762]

I am sorry to hear of this tragedy, but thank you for the safety information. I enjoy hiking on my family’s 162-acre property in Franklin County, AL, so I know how rugged some of the NW AL hollows can be.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Thanks for watching and yes this was a tragedy for the family. His greatest mistake was not telling his family that he was heading out for a trip and not telling where he was going and when he was going to return.

[@NoOneCaresAnyway1234]

I'm still in the beginning of the video but years ago I tried to make it to Indian Tomb Hollow a few times. I can't remember what happened the first time that made me leave, the second try i got nearly to the big opening and heard some animal i couldn't figure out what it could be but not being armed in any type of way, decided to not take the risk. The third time, some how got turned around and wound up near old Beulah 😢 started raining, fell and twisted my ankle on the way back had to hobble out the best i could and go to the er. Never tried to go again. This was ten plus years ago.. But i don't remember hearing about this.. when did this happen? ❤

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

Hello . That’s scary!!! That place is very wild. We all have to be on our guard in the wilderness. This was January 2023. It was such a tragic ending. He was very much loved and will be missed.

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

It is truly a wild and rugged place. And there are some people who live near there that are pretty unruly. One of our search teams walked up on 2 different moonshine stills one of which was still in use. You will see my son and I armed in some of the video because we were advised to do so by some of the men from that area. The man who we were searching for was off trail which made it more difficult to search for him.

[@Markthemanx]

I was out their with my brother and friend along with another man that I would say that is my brother, we went for a hike out in bankhead and a tragic event happened to my non biological and he ended up passing, we were not prepared for what happened that day, nobody was and it incredibly difficult to get help rescue to the location, people I hope you take what this man says into thought and be aware of the situation your getting into anything can happen out in the woods, especially somewhere like bankhead

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

I am sorry for the passing of your friend . We never know when someone is going to have a medical emergency or an accident, and this is especially true when you are in a wilderness area. Bankhead National Forest is a beautiful area, but it is wild and rugged for sure. Thank you for the comment.

[@independentthinker8930]

You can get soo busted for removing artifacts from there

[@boomersoutdoors8898]

You are correct on that for sure.