The Unexplainable Disappearance of Dennis Martin - Missing 411

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[@Wendigoon]

Let Audible help you discover new ways to laugh, be inspired, or be entertained. New members can try it free for 30 days. Visit Audible.com/wendigoon or text wendigoon to 500-500.

[@j1430]

i love you wendy

[@SalusKitty]

Keith Perkins? Hey that's one of my family members!

[@dylanball6851]

You should put a link to David Paulides' channel in the description

[@Teddy-rv8iw]

I'd love if you made a video about possible pre Sumer civilizations/ancient civilizations that have anomalies way more advanced than what should have been possible for the time.

[@pliskenx51mm83]

@Wendigoon. You make some of the best videos on YT my friend. Don't stop!

[@nibblesowo]

We had a kid get killed by a mountain lion out near our farm. The sheriff put out the statement, and two days later retracted it saying the kid fell into a gully and died from the fall. My grandad said it was to stop the folks from loading up their jeeps and killing every mountain lion in The Valley.

[@MerchantrRe4]

I'm glad that sheriff did that. I hate whenever someone goes off into the woods and gets killed by a wild animal, the reasonable response from everyone is to go out and kill it.

[@ShinFahima]

The town should have rounded up a posse to defeat all the gullies in the region. That oughta show 'em to take their kids!

[@SleepyTom2165]

If a predator encroaches an area in which humans dwell and already harmed a kid, you trap it, and put two in its skull.

[@sidney9796]

@@MerchantrRe4 100%, we cant assign moral responsibility to literal animals

[@pja6476]

@@sidney9796 yes we can, chimps are a good example for it. And at the end of the day, a human life always takes precedence over that of an animal, if an animal becomes a threat to humans you should hunt it to extinction.

[@DEFxRECON]

It’s pretty cool that Wendi has been playing around with different camera placement styles. It’s almost good at convincing us he’s not just a giant torso. Almost.

[@theomorphical]

Those “pants” he has are almost convincing

[@thunderpoche7662]

notice how he added a fake foot in some shots

[@ghostcat11]

@@thunderpoche7662 yea. maybe it's real, not his foot, but we all know what happened in 2007 with the bodies so it's not out of the realm of possibility for wen to get a human foot

[@ashisburning7786]

@@choppy2143 we did in the abandoned nuclear power plant video tho

[@drewo.127]

@@ashisburning7786 that could have been some really skilled VFX and animation….we can’t be sure if he really has legs!

[@linriana]

So, something i can add to this story are the weird holes in the ground filled with water/mud. When hiking with my family as a 6 year old, i stepped onto a patch of moss that looked perfectly normal. I immediately fell into a hole of water or mud, covered by the moss. It was extremely deep and the opening was slim. My grandpa saw me drop in and immediately dragged me out. My family says after me dropping in, the moss floated back over the water - and covered it completely. It would explain him not screaming for help, not Being found and vanishing Soon.

[@faded1887]

Except that they followed footprints up to the creek that were his

[@samfish2550]

​@@faded1887like..... It could have happened after the creek ...... Why does everyone just assume that a thing happening and him going to the creek and maybe beyond or up/down stream are mutually exclusive. Tbh almost every occurrence makes more sense on not being heard when you mix the family likely gathering to eat and talking plus the sound of the creek covering up suspicious sounds.

[@faded1887]

@@samfish2550 because he disappeared while with his brother in the bush, if he moved away before that then his brother would’ve known right?

[@samfish2550]

@@faded1887 or. His brother left him in the bush because he stayed to scare his dad, and ended up for some reason or another wandering off, maybe something got his attention while he was starting to get bored or something.

[@legoyoda9782]

Yeah, this disappearance is quite explainable. Kid just wandered off and his body is likely obscured by something or in a place hard to find.

[@kanrafingerguns]

​​When I was 7, I got lost in the woods while playing with other kids. I live where the woods are overrun by blackberry bushes, so you have to be really careful to not get snagged by thorns. I was so focused on getting through the bushes that I didn't notice the other kids I was playing with were no longer with me-I'd underestimated how far I'd traveled too. It was only when I slipped and fell that I realized I was alone. It's entirely possible this boy could have wandered off in a similar manner, only realizing he was lost when it was too late. Him suddenly disappearing is not crazy to me-it's actually familiar.

[@theblackcatgirl7013]

That's terrifying, thank you for posting this, truly.

[@yourgrandmasjzexboyfriend]

They sent green berets, to dispose of inbreds living in those mountains, sadly he was abducted. Theres no way a kid walked by himself to where the keys family spotted the "hairy man"

[@garrettshelton5788]

I don’t know why they think it’s impossible that a 6 year got distracted and accidentally wandered off without noticing his brother left him and he then panicked and got lost.

[@HelloSpaceDuck]

I think it's less the going missing in the first place and more the somehow getting further than an athletic adult could in the same time that people find unexplainable

[@amandalorian]

I wonder if he fell. Wendigoon said the area had steep hills. Maybe he lost his footing and slid down one. Could explain why he only had one shoe and if he hit his head, he could have become disoriented.

[@yueievy2182]

I can't help but marvel at the incredible self-control that Wendi displayed by calmly uttering the word "Giant".

[@idothings6685]

Who the hell is wendy

[@GrimReaping]

@@idothings6685 Wendi-goon

[@idothings6685]

@@GrimReaping who that?

[@GrimReaping]

@@idothings6685 wendi's nuts hit ya.

[@doppiossparefrogphone1906]

@@idothings6685Wendeez nuts hit your face

[@thomas7321]

How utterly heartbreaking it would be to lose a child on Father’s Day, forever associating a day of happiness with a traumatic loss.

[@krusher181]

I lost my dad close to Christmas and that itself is hard enough… cant imagine

[@wowitsfrostygames155]

My grandpa lost a mother and a brother in a single car crash during the holidays. Christmas hasn’t been the same for him in like 40 years.

[@lubtv8792]

On the other hand, like half the country is fatherless so that day kinda sucks for a lot of people regardless.

[@shanerulez79]

My dad lost his mother on mother's day.

[@shaneiles5672]

Well if you lost a child I gotta imagine fathers days gonna suck regardless

[@facetiousbadger]

The Dennis Martin disappearance is not as odd as it seems. The search, while having a lot of people, was handled poorly. This isn't a criticism of the people involved because they didn't know any better. This case was used to establish modern SAR procedure. I'm a SAR volunteer, and this case was covered in my training for that very reason.

[@nextcaesargaming5469]

There are still oddities about the case - a LOT of oddities, enough to still make it a 411 - but yeah, a solid half of the reason why Dennis was never heard from again was because of bad search methods. Unless the theory that he was found in a bad state and the family was privately informed is true. Then it was probably a doomed effort from the get-go.

[@Lornext]

Someone made Dennis disappear though, there is no reason in the world at all for him to leave the area on his own. Otherwise there never would have been a need for a search in the first place as simply his parents calling for him would have been enough.

[@Sparten7F4]

Kids wander off all the time. Many disapearances are just that. Someone wanders off, either unintentionally or because they THINK they know an area, and get lost. He wandered off, SAR patterns weren't good at the time so he was never found, and now paranoid people like it for conspiracism or people like me like it as a spooky story and an object lesson.@@Lornext

[@OkieDokieSmokie]

@@Sparten7F4yea but bears usually dont carry stuff when walk on two legs

[@Sparten7F4]

...yes, they will, particularly small prey. Very large fish, for instance. They will catch it and carry it to shore. Which is also not any response to any of the words I typed.@@OkieDokieSmokie

[@LonkinPork]

even on a hike in the woods, my man's rockin' a dad shirt. the commitment to his role as a fashion icon really is admirable.

[@aarongoeltl7090]

This dedication is further shown by the use of loafers on a hike.

[@kalay5651]

That's all fine and well but man is this other dude boring and annoying lmao

[@Murimz]

Its all fake, he was actually kidnapped by the CIA because of his videos, he is currently in a torture bunker in Saudi Arabia and this wendigoon is a fake.

[@jimboscooter432]

He's dressed like Mike Brady 😅

[@JCTheSniper15]

I mean the shirt is camo, so appropriate. The loafers however, I cannot excuse lol.

[@BewilderedAsshat]

To be honest, a lot of these cases under further scrutiny can be narrowed down to the parents not being a trustworthy source of adequate time keeping. What i mean by that is some parents will say " I swear i was just watching him just a minute ago, and it may have even felt like just a second". When in reality, they were not watching/paying attention for a much longer period of time, even 15-20 minutes longer then they thought they maybe did. The mind can play wierd tricks on itself , add survivors guilt, trauma, and the whole shabang, and youve got a perfect case of "time amnesia."

[@jjlfc7403]

Very true, people are so quick to jump to supernatural. Could easily be what you just said, could easily be an accident the family covered up and could easily be an intentional murder or case of abuse 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@zakazany1945]

Some people make everything worse because they talk figuratively when they are expected to be as literal and precise as they can. These types that almost require you to read their minds. Lots of these parents seem to be this type.

[@Boggythefroggy]

This happens a lot in these 411 cases. People are very notoriously bad at telling time, that and they intentionally lie to cover up mistakes etc. I feel like believing it’s supernatural is a way to make something simply seem fantastical.

[@asalwak315]

I mean the terrifying thing with 411 cases isn't the folks going missing, it's the fact they have full searches, which will find 90% of anyone lost in the area, along with the children's age factor, and then the time scale, for a person too just completely vanish throughout the rest of time tends to indicate something weird happening

[@worldsfinest6488]

yeah but you act as if the police havent considered that. “aha i know what the problem is”. theres much more to this story and missing 411 than just “parents say this but could be this”.

[@ayup3198]

There’s around 130 available FBI documents on this case implying that Dennis wasn’t found at all, the first 90ish documents are essentially just communications about Dennis’s dad and how adamant he is about opening a kidnapping case. Also 2 somewhat interesting points are A) a sus individual was lingering around during the search but not helping B) a man reported hearing screaming but this is dismissed as unrelated to Dennis due to this being heard in an area too far away to reasonably be related However 10 years later there is some more information: in a highly redacted series of documents 2 former prisoners are discussed in relation to a kidnapping- a prisoner allegedly admitted to stealing and selling Dennis to an unknown individual although there’s no evidence to support it his account of Dennis and the situation is described as “essentially accurate” although it is also stated that the account is from a habitual lier. Finally there’s a small number of documents where someone claims that Dennis is alive and living with them, the document says this will be further investigated but no subsequent investigation is available.

[@westonmorgan1337]

I'm pretty sure that it was the same family that heard the screaming that said they saw a man run out of the woods and get in a wight car that looked suspicious. Of the many accounts that said they saw Dennis after the disappearance one person said they saw him in a car with a man that matches the description of the guy that ran out of the woods and drove away

[@Sparten7F4]

A habitual liar in prison - where info could possibly glean them benefits - talked about a famous case? Say it ain't so

[@ninaalonso6331]

IMO, it's possible the reason the feds searched the other side of the river on their own after seeing the footprints could be concern over civilians finding a horrifying scene, like if they assumed the child drowned, was killed by animals, etc. Same way oftentimes you'll see people like medical examiners telling families (regarding a deceased person) that they won't want to see the body, because the person is so wounded or mutilated that they're grotesque or unrecognizable. A civilian stumbling upon, like, the bloody remains of a kid mauled by an animal could traumatize them, as opposed to special ops who would be better suited to deal with such a thing.

[@whatthefridge1o1]

Especially with the boy scouts

[@PunkThrashMetal]

Also since the great majority of searchers were civilians, it stands to reason that if they expected a crime scene, that someone who wouldn't know any better could destroy/affect the evidence in some way

[@NLMB_Josh150]

@@PunkThrashMetalno procedure for that is to call out that you found them and if dead to not touch just stay near and call out you found a body they don’t call searches off because they don’t want the volunteers to see a potential death or crime scene they volunteer for a reason and they know what they volunteer for and know the possibility of a dead body being found

[@justas423]

Being with Wendigoon is like the nicest hostage situation ever. Because, by affiliation alone, you're already on the same government lists as Wendigoon.

[@PannierLaw]

The park service got a sniper following him everywhere lmao

[@FlymanMS]

@@PannierLaw did you notice how Wendigoon is chill because he is so used to it while the other guy constantly makes glances around to spot a rifle scope?

[@Maoistan]

I'm not trying to be on anymore lists though

[@trevorgardner2647]

​​@@Maoistanyeah just being on the sexual predator list alone must be difficult or you. /S

[@Maoistan]

@@trevorgardner2647 Nah bro, your dad and I are two different type of people. Stop projecting.

[@heavyburnman47]

From what we saw in the beginning of this video, while they were exploring the creek, there are "leaf-bed traps" of water and mud along the creek. Dennis' last known location was crossing the creek. If they never found tracks suggesting he successfully fully crossed the creek, then I think it's likely Dennis sunk into a deep patch of mud under one of these "leaf-bed traps" and couldn't get out. His body might be somewhere in the mud along the creek.

[@-404notfound-74]

oh god that's horrifying-

[@heyhorinshi]

Is that really possible? A 5yo? How deep can they get? It would be very difficult to notice…but the K9 would sniff the child wouldn’t they? Would it work like quicksand?

[@TheLoreLodge]

@@heyhorinshiit was not that deep, about calf deep. I know from experience…

[@SamanthaCZimmerman]

@@heyhorinshi K9s are not as foolproof and capable as police make them out to be. sometimes they turn stuff up, sometimes they don't, sometimes they are responding to their handler's body language, sometimes they are genuinely well-trained and good at finding things.

[@nonamewizardemporium9226]

​@@heyhorinshi On my grandmother's farm her pond has a section that looks about 1 foot deep, but the visible mud is unstable to between 5-6 feet. throughout the whole pond, the mud is not solid between 6inches-6 feet. and the water is up to 9 feet deep. It would not be unreasonable to assume that some sections of the creek are deeper than others and that a child, not warned of the dangers, would accidentally fall in and be swallowed by the mud. a 12-year old I got my leg got stuck in the mud at the bottom of a deeper section of the pond. With how suction works, if I struggled (as is natural) I would have drowned. However, my grandmother told me to slowly move my leg out if it ever got caught. I obviously made it out, but it seems especially reasonable that a 5-year-old, who also has developmental delays, may thrash more & sink deeper into the mud.

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

I’ve lived in West Virginia all my life, heard all the stories of the things that go bump in the night, and always felt that a lot of it was just scary folktale but one night leaving work I heard what I thought to be a chimpanzee screaming in the darkness, ever since that night if I’m going outside at night I take a rifle with me because I don’t know what scares me more, a cryptid screaming at me or a chimpanzee let loose in the Appalachian mountains

[@doomguy2115]

Im in North Alabama in the ass crack of the Appalachians and i cant tell you the amount of times I've heard weird shit in the woods at night screaming at me. One story that comes to mind is that I was coming home from a friend's house one afternoon and it was getting dark which is why i was coming home, i was maybe 16 or so and didn't have a car or a license and he didn't live that far away so i took to the road up and on the way back , maybe 50 yards away from my driveway i hear this blood curdling screech echo from the woods and then the sounds of branches cracking and i don't even remember that I started running and booked it to my driveway and ran up to the house fighting with my keys because it was already dark with no moon and i forgot to turn the porch light on before I left but i finally got inside and grabbed a shotgun and locked the door and i haven't left the house without a gun since, even if its 1am and i forgot to take out the trash i do not step outside without my gun belt, my 1911 , 2 extra mags and a bright ass flashlight, there are unexplainable things out there that will not hesitate to hurt you. More than likely it was a bobcat or a mountain lion but I'll never know for sure. Also saw bigfoot while squirrel hunting with a different friend on the other side of the mountain , he was checking us out from behind a tree and turned tail when I told my friend to stop and after it ran we did the same thing out of the woods, we did do some knock testing trying to get a response by hitting a log against a tree and 4/10 times we got a response back , it was a quick rhythmic knock that wasn't an echo because we never got any echos before

[@Hjordtheskeleton]

@@doomguy2115 There must be something wrong with me because I spent most of my life in "rural" west virginia and the only scary thing I've run into at night were crack heads

[@doomguy2115]

@@Hjordtheskeleton gotta watch out for those nocturnal tweakers

[@owensks]

@@doomguy2115you’re insane lmao

[@doomguy2115]

@@owensks maybe so but im not unprepared

[@alisonguzman1949]

As a pediatric nurse that works with developmentally delayed kids, people constantly underestimate their abilities.

[@Sugarlipscrubs2417]

Are you saying this in a “they are smarter than you think” way or in a “they are more unpredictable than you think” way? I think it’s the latter but I’m not sure.

[@ethansmith2360]

@@Sugarlipscrubs2417don’t underestimate the sheer power of the tism

[@RoseWhitmore]

@@Sugarlipscrubs2417 probably more in the way of, they are capable of more than you think. just because a kid is developmentally delayed, doesnt mean that it wont find ways to traverse the woods in ways adults thought impossible. kids can be faster and more creative than people think

[@Peevee-xs4xq]

As someone who is y'know kinda slow I wholeheartedly agree with this

[@stratosfearful5441]

I recently described Wendigoon to my family during Thanksgiving when the subject of influencers came up, the best I could do was "a sweet Southern Belle who talks about monstrosities" and I stand by it.

[@LordVader1094]

Gotta agree tbh

[@allmyhobbiesareexpensive2676]

One part Brandon Herrera, one part Bee Gees.

[@wyatthendrickson5643]

Brandon Herrera with margaritas instead of vodka

[@bruhbbawallace]

the most angelic man you've seen in your life describes the least angelic things you've ever heard of (except when he talks about the bible)

[@godwarrior3403]

@@allmyhobbiesareexpensive2676 I thought I was the only one who saw it.

[@no1hereisahuman]

An old Celtic phrase comes to mind "Places where the world is thin" Also known as "Thin places" where the "distance between earth and 'heaven' are shorter" Its this concept that probably inspired the "backrooms" story. A place in nature where if you arent careful you can fall into a seperate realm/dimension/world/limbo

[@SavingSoulsMinistries]

You just inspired my next deep diving research study 🙏🏼🙏🏼 Ive never experienced an actual name for this event. I’ve had some undeniable supernatural experiences

[@tobysinbad]

Gorgeous turn of phrase, definitely also looking into this folklore, even if just for fairy stories. I often wonder why Britain has such a rich folklore history but basically nobody makes any reports like these. Likely it’s about the comparatively small areas of genuine wilderness shrinking massively in the last 200 years. Part of the regularity of bigfoot/ wild man stories in that area is I feel about the European colonial history of North America, with very distinct racial groups spotting people from another group and being frightened by their perceived strangeness- Native people, white Europeans and Black enslaved people escaping their captors. Anyone separated from their people and home would begin to appear very wild and unkempt in a matter of weeks, but the hugeness of the US and Canada always lend stories of cryptids, off-the-grid humans and undiscovered wildlife some credibility.

[@Sing_A_Rebel_Song]

It’s always been one of my favorite things. Just the concept of falling into a different reality is so interesting

[@gavinpetermichel3410]

I can't help but wonder if cases like these are results of small holes that open up above cave systems. The thick foliage would hide them decently well

[@abbym9954]

If you've ever been in the woods in Tennessee, you'd know that they're absolutely RIDDLED with caves. The entire area is basically honeycombed with them.

[@maggiesue4825]

The whole mountain chain, at least from Virginia down, if FULL of caves and caverns, many of which have never been discovered.

[@Tazzie1312]

Caves makes a lot of sense.

[@sahilshaji5709]

If a kid fell down into one of these hidden caves, would he not create an opening through the foliage that would expose nearby searchers that he fell through there?

[@vVPrototypeVv]

@@sahilshaji5709 not necessarily. Could just be like when you walk or fall through a bush and then it just rebounds back into place.

[@contessaeller4108]

The bush you're next to is either a Rhododendron or Mountain Laurel. They can get extremely dense and there are things in the woods called "Laurel Hells" which are HUGE laurel bushes that are basically like mazes. An adult can easily get lost in them. I'm not surprised they couldn't find him :(

[@contessaeller4108]

I'm a troglodyte

[@kyallon1213]

@@contessaeller4108and we love you for that

[@Sugarlipscrubs2417]

Omg sorry but.. Mitski reference

[@contessaeller4108]

@@Sugarlipscrubs2417Get a life

[@starmnsixty1209]

They both are rough, that's true. Still, doesn't explain everything.

[@marciwitcher5544]

I've been living both in and around these mountains for 31 years, and it's absolutely wild how ominous and scary it still feels. I still get goosebumps when I hear a twig snapping at night. I've never seen anything unexplainable or supernatural, but I've seen enough of what mother nature has to offer for me to know NOT to take unnecessary risks. I only went solo hiking ONCE in these mountains and I will never do it again. Nothing happened at all, it was a perfectly normal trip, but I absolutely could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. I was scared the entire time, and I didn't like being in that state of mind in the wilderness, so I never went solo hiking again. Respect the forest. Respect the mountains. Respect mother nature, and all the things that go bump in the night. That's all I can say.

[@Aryasvitkona]

The funny thing to me is that like, this is true in almost every case. Like in almost every case I hear where supernatural or extraordinary phenomenae are blamed, I can think of natural explanations that are, ultimately, so much more terrifying. The theory that Dennis was kidnapped and killed and eaten by a Bigfoot-esque creature? Scary. The theory that Dennis fell into a small crack far from a trail, hit his head, and woke up in a tiny cave where no one could hear him and he couldn't escape, either through difficulty or injury, slowly staying there until he either starved to death or died of thirst? So much more mortifying than the former.

[@starmnsixty1209]

Wise, Marcie

[@gemmarain]

@@AryasvitkonaI think you’ve misunderstood what “mortifying” means

[@elliottcoleman8225]

That footprint is the part that really gets me about this. Your child is missing and the dogs seem to be on their trail. Their search ends at a creek where there are child footprints. You're gonna turn around all because the footprints look a little too big? Besides, this is something any ranger in search and rescue should know; footprints very often look bigger than the actual foot of what left it. It's pretty much the first thing they tell you when you're learning how to identify footprints. There's no way they just turned around and looked somewhere else. The special forces were very much looking for something that National Parks thought wasn't within their jurisdiction or skill to handle. They had to have reason to believe that some kind of crime had taken place. Either nothing was ever found or they only released gruesome info privately. This story is so scary in so many real ways.

[@trala8911]

Dad in this story sounds sketchy AF.

[@skipper7371]

@@trala8911 yeah I agree the fact that he supposedly called all the kids back but just decided to leave the youngest child where he thought he was is pretty weird imo

[@thaoster209]

It was definitely the brother that killed him. Notice how they both went into the bush but only the brother came out.

[@fortnight5677]

@@thaoster209 That doesn't explain how he managed to hide the body from like 1000 people in like 5 minutes or something, no sound is made, the found footprints near the creek, more than 1000 people not being able to find anything, Special Forces and FBI getting involved and 3 days of log is missing. I guess the brother just made the kid disappear with a fucking magic trick or more competent than Special Forces?

[@esmeecampbell7396]

@@thaoster209 what? The brother went into the bush, killed him, dumped the body over a river miles away and then came back within a minute? They both went around a bush, the brother came back when called, the other kid didn't, left another few minutes and then people start looking.

[@inquisitorowl5215]

I'm loving this new genre of video that's basically just an excuse for Wendi to go out and have a field trip/play date with his buddies.

[@alexandriafaith2258]

PLAY DATE 💀

[@sethyredninja1422]

Play date?

[@lilatunez]

yes play date is what its called when 2 kids go and hangout together, usually a uk phrase

[@tonyfriendly4409]

@@lilatunez No, we say it across the pond as well

[@lilatunez]

@@tonyfriendly4409 yes thats why i said "usually"

[@kingbuddabudder5555]

I absolutely love wendigoons laugh, he doesn’t laugh too much when he does his solo videos but I love watching how friendly and charismatic he is with his friends

[@meowzfever]

23:53 “they don’t keep a list of people who go missing in the parks, except for the list that they keep of people who go missing in the pa-“ *ad plays* perfect cutoff omg

[@splitzyprime419]

One of my favorite quotes about this case, considering it's fairly likely Mr. Martin simply didn't look for a while/lost sight of his son, comes from Bob Gylman: "Looking away for a second is such a forgivable, but unforgiving mistake."

[@neonicon8500]

Your comment contradicts itself

[@speedracer739]

@@neonicon8500 it’s a paradox statement

[@mainlinemitch]

Bob Gymlan is the man

[@think_of_a_storyboard3635]

@@speedracer739 less of a paradox and more of a play on words. forgivable is not the opposite of unforgiving, although it may seem like it at a first glance.

[@speedracer739]

@@think_of_a_storyboard3635 Ohhh I see

[@seanlodge5633]

I can't wait for the day when Wendigoon inevitably "goes missing" and someone makes a compilation video of all the times he's thrown heat at the FBI

[@bombomos]

I think because he has so much evidence against them, he can't go missing

[@martielupin1981]

"I can't believe he chopped off his own head, fed it to the dog and threw his body in the river. So tragic :("

[@idonhaveanyideawhattocallm1472]

@@martielupin1981 still can't believe his dog threw his head up after digesting it in a way that made it appear as though he had been shot thirteen times in the face

[@natesmith2408]

Well I for one would be willing to go get him back if you catch my drift.

[@SpaceKebab]

these replies are too good

[@CappinMcGee]

The story Wendigoon tells at 44:13 about the Tree People sounds like a very effective Appalachian Folktale version of your classic stranger danger story. Like a more fanciful version of the guy in the white van offering you candy. They're slightly taller than regular people - To a kid, almost any adult could appear tall "They will promise you gifts" - That's the candy they'll take children into the tree line- tree line is their white van I am fascinated by stories of cryptids and such but you gotta wonder how many of these stem from stories designed to scare children into behaving, being obedient, etc.

[@Supercohboy]

There's a lot of subconscious zeitgeist and overlapping themes in ancient storytelling, you're absolutely right. 9/10 surviving folktales seem to be a warning against a specific or common threat (Thunderbirds were real, as were giant wolves, leviathans, and larger sapient species), but which story is the 1/10 which was actually a boogeyman story making fun of a previous ruler, or how ugly the last shaman was?

[@tearez13]

What's fascinating is that this is strikingly similar to the legends of fae folk from europe - perhaps this is just because strangers have always posed a threat, or maybe there's something more to it

[@chattycatty3336]

Thats what i thought of to

[@mousii3222]

The Little People is what we call them and they’re no joke! When you’re in the woods you mind your business bc they don’t like being seen. Sometimes they’re nice and sometimes they’re not

[@AbnerRaynes]

I've been stewing on this for quite awhile. I know it's been a month, but I have a theory that solves about 2/3 of the mystery. As others have mentioned caves are everywhere in Tennessee and northern Alabama. We haven't even properly documented them all. I think like other have suggest that after he crossed that stream, he fell into an obscured cave opening. Something I haven't seen mentioned is just how dangerous it would be to find exactly where his body is, not even mentioning trying to retrieve it. This is a small child, he could have easily fallen in a crack that an adult couldn't fit into. I think the reason that the investigation went dark is because they either found the body or the general location of the body. They then probably quietly told the family and then kept it a mystery to stop people from trying to get it out. Especially a child corpse, someone either brave or stupid would try it and die. Leaving bodies where they are is something that happens more than you'd think. Most infamously with mount everest. Edit: I know it's been like 5 months but I do appreciate the comments

[@AbnerRaynes]

The part I don't really have a concrete answer to is how and why he got away from his family. The only answer I got is that he wandered off. It's not really satisfying answer, but him leaving voluntarily is the only thing that makes sense to me.

[@emilym891]

it’s possible he got away just due to poor timekeeping on the fathers part

[@elizabethann3117]

this is a likely scenario. i went camping in the woods all the time and the concept of time would be very confusing at times. i remember one time we were playing uno with the door open for some breeze and a raccoon “suddenly” was eating our food from our cooler. my dad then said “how’d he get in here i just pulled a soda from there 2 seconds ago!” but his soda was almost completely empty. i definitely think the dad waited much longer to look than he thought he did, or he embellished the story because he accidentally didn’t look for a long time and didn’t want to be charged with something

[@kanrafingerguns]

​@@AbnerRaynesWhen I was 7, I got lost in the woods while playing with other kids. I live in WA where the woods are overrun by blackberry bushes, so you have to be really careful to not get snagged by thorns. I was so focused on getting through the bushes that I didn't notice the other kids I was playing with were no longer with me-I'd underestimated how far I'd traveled too. It was only when I slipped and fell that I realized I was alone. It's entirely possible the boy could have wandered off in a similar manner, only realizing he was lost when it was too late.

[@TheSquizzlet]

@@AbnerRaynes 5 minutes is a LONG time when it comes to things you're not keeping track of...

[@Hypophreniac]

I find missing cases and situations like this far scarier than any monster or spooky tale

[@angiestalesfromwales1590]

@YeaMan thats a really shitty way of trying to get traffic and views. why would you want to build your success off of tearing others down? grow up

[@Logan_93]

@YeaMan No it isn't. Go away.

[@deathwish1284]

@YeaMan and? Lmao

[@DeadCanuck]

Guys don’t reply to rhe bot. Just report spam and move on.

[@joshpeace2673]

@@DeadCanuck that's what I was going to say it's insane the amount of people that fall for the bot bait if you ingage with it at all you fail for it

[@zachary3367]

Its always weird seeing Gatlinburg mentioned. Such an amazing place Cougars like most cats like to ambush prey from behind preferably around the neck, if they get you you're not going to be able to scream or make much of a sound. Most attacks from such animals happen when someone is crouched over and the animal mistakes a human for another prey item.

[@TrippyTheShroom]

Gatlinburg has been my families vacation spot for decades now lol. I go about twice a year.

[@Sakiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

I’m going there next week so that’s nice

[@aviowl8945]

It was either a monster beyond comprehension, or cats. Two very similar things

[@Yappit]

It's really weird to me seeing Gatlinburg and these events there. I live just down the road from Gatlinburg and never heard of this.

[@Walthr44828]

It would have left blood

[@fruitymario3742]

My theory to explain how he disappeared is kinda based on an experience that I had when I was around the same age. When I was around 7 years old, me and my cousins and my brother would play hide and seek on my block, it's a safe neighborhood and we knew everyone on the block so it was safe. I would often hide with my cousin who was the same age as me since we were best friends, not in the same spot but in the same area so we knew where each other was. Anyway, one time, the seekers called out that they gave up and my cousin left but I stayed because I thought it would be hilarious if I went to a different spot. I moved spots and after a while I started hearing them call out for me for like ten minutes or so and then I heard my parents calling for me and I knew I'd have to come out. My point is, perhaps Dennis had the same idea. Let Doug go back, choose a different hiding spot and then jump out to scare both his dad and Doug now. And during those few minutes where the dad just waited for Dennis to come out, Dennis went looking for another spot to hide and then either got snatched up by an animal or a predator or what I believe which is he went deeper into the woods, having a small child's sense of direction, got lost and trying to make his way back, got even more lost and died soon after. Possibly falling into the creek and drowning as he was being carried away. Another theory I had with the green barrettes is that it's possible that they might've been suspecting that it might've been a murder covered up as a missing child and started investigating and cutting off communication so the family members aren't aware that they are being investigated. I'm assuming they found nothing to back that claim and left after exhausting everything.

[@lucasjustice7854]

I grew up around the Smokies my whole life. The atmosphere is unparalleled. My grandfather ran moonshine and I can’t tell you how many spooky/scary stories I’ve had during the nights on those adventures. Such a rich history in that place which, in my opinion, cannot be rivaled by any other.

[@eziekkiel5876]

A big part of me just really hopes that the final moments of young Dennis' life were not too dreadful for the poor little guy. No child should ever have to die alone and scared 😥

[@morganc.m1830]

So they should die with the company of someone? I'm sorry, I had to. I can put myself in others situations and vividly imagine things and how it was...I really freak myself out. Like, you hear about something, but that person was in the moment of this and we just hear about it later.

[@cruisepaige]

What dues the remainder part of you wish? 😂

[@starmnsixty1209]

Don't diss somebody showing some compassion. Am sorry for your own experience, but let's not dump on folks for the simple "fun" of it.

[@shangsty]

he did not die, dennis is most definitely being raised by the forest people.

[@revenreet6136]

Whenever I hear wendigoon talk about his grandpa I realize how similar they must’ve been

[@peteatkinson3500]

Yes, I can imagine that. I love the tradition of storytelling from one generation to another & appreciate Wendigoon sharing some of these stories with us.

[@giangtruc3376]

ok

[@thekidmanny377]

@@giangtruc3376 ok

[@GrubbyPigeon]

@@giangtruc3376 ok

[@hieuhoangthanh6814]

ok

[@linkcarter6664]

“He only looked away 2 minutes at most” Bruh that’s literally all it takes for a child to go missing

[@quinnie_here]

I think that’s the scariest part, honestly-such little time and something can go so horrifically wrong.

[@niclawton]

Really digging this 'into the wilderness with wendigoon' vibe. Huge fan of this new filming style, definitely do more like this!

[@SessaV]

My great uncle was a green beret and lives in Northern Michigan. He has no issue with us roaming the woods with bear, wolves, and big cats, but every once and a while he'd tell us not to go out. He never explained why. He would explain if there were reports of meth heads or something, but occasionally he'd just get this look and tell us to stay out of the trees. He once mentioned the fae folk while drinking, and that his great grandpa was one of them. He was also the sheriff of the town he lives in. My grandma on the other side who was ojibwe would talk of stories of beautiful people who would appear and tempt people, usually children, to follow them into the woods.

[@stevemadden3642]

The sidhe definitely came over from the old country.

[@ryan7187]

sounds like hes a liar and probably wasnt a green beret

[@SessaV]

@Steve Madden his great grandpa was from Scotland, and his great grandma's parents were from Ireland and were the people who started the town, so the correct region, for sure. The two daughters of the people who started the town married the 2 Scottish brothers because they were "cousins" and they wanted to keep the land in the family. That wasn't weird for the 1800s, what is weird is they're not cousins. At least not according to any records we can find. The boys were McArthur's, and their clan was pretty much wiped out (though there's some interesting stories about the start of their clan and dark knights from other realms). There were other Irish there by that time, so it wasn't even "cousin" in the way that a lot of natives call other natives cousin or aunt and uncle. My 3x great grandpa was written about in books, became the county treasurer, supposedly buried barrels of silver on the land, owned a tavern in a lumber camp, was terribly beautiful (according to newspapers)... and his bartender was found naked and insane in the swamp and my grandpa, who was an expert marksman, shot someone for telling false tales about him. When he was put in jail he claimed the iron bars were trying to attack him. He was sent to an asylum where he supposedly died in 1899, except he's got 3 different graves around the state, all with his correct name and date of birth, but with very different dates of death on them haha. IDK if my 3x great grandpa was one of the fae folk, but I 100% understand why people thought he was lol, and why my great uncle talked about it. The whole area up there still talks about my ancestors with a bit of awe. I called for information about a cemetery that's mostly my family and the lady on the phone got so excited when she found out I was part of that family lol. I grew up 4 hours south, so I never knew EVERYONE in that area knew about them.

[@PURENT]

He was having Vietnam flashbacks

[@arnantphongsatha7906]

A part fae green beret would make an awesome urban fantasy protagonist.

[@marikasdaughter6263]

They most likely found something that lead them to believe possible foul play. Steering the volunteers away from that area is smart because often in missing persons cases where someone else is involved that person will try to join the search for various reasons, one being the potential to cover up evidence.

[@hydieblack7686]

Or the crime scene or evidence could be trampled, or random volunteers could leave tracks or other things that might confuse green berets looking for any sign of human life

[@haileyo450]

i was thinking this as well!

[@danielshore1457]

Yeah we had a similar case in Wales where like the police had to manage the locals because like it would get in hhe way of the professionals as well as allowing a person involved with the missing child to get close to the investigation. Also like it then involves media which can fuxk up the investigation more. I believe jn most cases the police send them to areas that they have already searched to make people feel busy

[@Johnny_Colorado]

I posted the following paragraph elsewhere, but I'm pasting it here because I agree with you. I'm going to float a theory out there, that no one is going to like. One of the Green Berets 'in the area for training' could have been the abductor. They would have the stealth to do something like this. It could have been one who went rogue. Maybe the others uncovered it during the search , and kept it quiet to avoid bad publicity. It is also possible the training they were involved with was a classified program that involves abduction. In such a remote area, statistically, anyone that was present could be a likely suspect. When you consider things like the Tuskegee trials and Project MK Ultra, it is well within the established modus operandi of the U.S. Government to harm innocent Americans when they feel ends justify means. If this sounds unlikely just remember the alternative is Bigfoot... When I typed this: the phrase "and kept it quiet to avoid bad publicity" turned red. That must have been a hint...

[@merucrypoison296]

Why didn’t they tell the family it was foul play?

[@Cybersynthetica]

“Don’t move here. You will die” As a southerner, thank you for doing this public service

[@phoebeswildlife]

As a local, I can attest to how easy it is to get lost in the Smokies. Our forests are so think with vegetation that you take five steps off of a trail and completely lose it. You can get turned around so fast if you aren’t prepared and don’t know the area or very basic wilderness survival training. Even then, it just takes one wrong step.

[@duckheadbob]

So you're telling me it's not a secret government cover up by the national park service, like eluded to in the video?! Wow whata shocker.

[@SquadPoop]

I think the discrepancy with the shoe print has a more simple answer than anyone thinks: His parents just don't know his shoe size. Maybe it's different for other families, but I'm into my 20s now, and my parents STILL have to ask me my shoe size whenever my birthday and Christmas comes up. When I was younger around 9 and 10 my mom just took me shoe shopping by having me try on a bunch of shoes until one fit me. My shoe size was not something they kept up on.

[@CrytuLyd]

Plus, children grow so fast, especially really young children, that you might THINK you know your kid's shoe size, only to find out one day when you go to put their shoes on that they've somehow gone up two sizes overnight. When you see them all day evey day, it can be hard to notice how much they've grown since the last time you bought X thing. I can't count the number of times one of my friends or sisters has been surprised while getting their kids dressed because an item that fit just fine a week ago is now way too small. Personally, I'm pretty convinced that children are actually just sentient kudzu vines that have taken human form, because the moment you look away from them they shoot up another 6 inches, and they'll consume all nearby resources if left unattended for too long.

[@natatatm]

But I mean, if it's a camping trip the likelihood is high that they had other shoes of his on the trip with them, and if not it's easy enough to verify the size with shoes left at home (that they knew he still wore regularly, therefore hadn't grown out of).

[@jeffgoode9865]

@@natatatm is it? I went camping every year with my family since I was three, and I never had a spare pair.

[@thatdamncrow9197]

@@natatatm you cant really go all the way back home and grab a spare pair of shoes to test Not exactly a situation you can waste time in

[@Fubs_the_queen]

Also (considering the time this took place) I don’t think it’s weird for a dad not to know his sons shoe size, usually moms take the kids to shop for clothes, he could have just been mistaken.

[@premiumloser3988]

I had a dream where they found your body under a bridge and it lead to the down fall of the government

[@igorwest]

Wtf

[@pandemelocoton9685]

not too far fetched, honestly

[@NightSkyNyx]

Common Wendigoon W, sticking it to the government even in death 😎👍

[@Awe391]

Based

[@judasescariot4626]

He'd be a hero

[@user-xf7kg4dz1c]

I lived in Treemont, Gatlinburg, TN, and inside the GSMNP all my life. I was 11when Dennis went missing. My Dad and Dwight McCarter were great friends and was on the search team together. My Dad tried to protect us from this, but as a kid, you hear and learn alot. I remember my parents, praying and worrying about Dennis and his family. The Green Beret, were very busy, but kind and showed us the helicopter. I hope people like you continue to keep focus on this case , and maybe soon, we'll get an answer for his family. I hope his family sees this and know they have never been forgotten. We wanted to do a remembrance ceremony for Dennis, but the park had another tragedy at that time. The fire broke out at this time, with lives lost and properties and many acres of the park destroyed. Keep praying for all the families missing from parks.

[@wrath4002]

the tennessee wildman stories describe creatures that share a very suspicious amount of details with barn owls seen in poor lighting while shining a torch at it, from bright red eyes (eyeshine), to a grey color (originally white-ish), very loud screeching, tall (sitting on a tree branch or flying), strange hair (feathers can look like fur or hair), lives in tennessee. im rather convinced this is like the mothman, but instead of flying, it's just sitting there, guarding it's nest while a scared man fills in the details he couldnt see with imaginary ones. terror can really twist reality into whatever you think you saw

[@TimeBucks]

I love the on-location videos

[@somnathpal1656]

Hi

[@anowarislam1363]

Earning

[@ZaidKhan-mf8yl]

Thumbs

[@MyLoFuTureTuBe]

Good day

[@waaadahmad2691]

Nice

[@DracoGalboy]

Really grateful to the editors for not placing subtle red eyes in the fireside chat portion

[@TheLoreLodge]

Honestly same

[@rue6914]

Really grateful to the editors for editing out their natural glow-red-in-the-dark eyes in the fireside chat portion

[@treefingers1183]

But what the fuck are those lights behind them maaan they look like eyes made FROM THE TREELINE ITSELF, THE FOREST WATCHES MAN, IT SEES THEM, IT SEES YOU AND ME I gotta stop smoking and watching these in the dark late at night Edit: username unrelated

[@Stormiant]

@@TheLoreLodge bruv

[@designersheets]

I know it's not nearly a comparable scenario, but whenever people say, "There's no way a little kid could be that fast/have gone that far" I remember the stories about myself and cousins, etc. when we were little doing exactly that. My father was a cop a long time ago and had a call where a little girl was shopping with her mom, got tired of it and wanted to go home (which was just down the road, reasonable enough for her to remember the way), and so she did! Mom realizes, panics, cops get called, and they literally saw the little girl walking while on their way to the call lmao. So they brought her back to her mom. All of this just to say little kids can move surprisingly fast sometimes!

[@cruisepaige]

They were not kidding about those woods not being kind. I camped for 2 weeks in Cades Cove last winter. I’m am avid hiker-I live in the Italian Alps-but I cancelled more hikes than I took. Weather, no cell service, challenging terrain…I got bad vibes and turned around.

[@lavana7305]

Yeah many undersell the Appalachians because they aren't dauntingly tall but they are OLD and have more twists and turns then many younger mountains add on dense temperate forests that give no landmarks unless you are in a valley you can easily get turned around or lost or fall into a crack in the rock covered by leaves. Hell you can even fall into an old mine pit if your really unlucky.

[@StyxDescension]

I looked into this myself because it was a very disturbing case, apparently a hunter claimed in 1985 to have found "scattered, skeletal remains of a small child" in Big Hollow within Smoky Mountains, but a follow-up search found nothing. This case haunts me, man. Fantastic video

[@Red-Memes]

Cougars and bears are both large predators, both more than capable of snatching a small child.

[@StyxDescension]

@@Red-Memes Even if this was the case, blows my mind that no one saw a thing, much less the brother beside Dennis, and no one heard anything. Truly a haunting case. I honestly think it's very likely the theory within the video is correct, that the family had Dennis' fate privately disclosed.

[@Red-Memes]

@@StyxDescension I’d say it’s more likely to be a Cougar than a bear, simply for the fact that no one heard any screams from the child. Cougars are more efficient hunters and it’s likely that it would’ve ambushed the child and crushed their windpipe before the child could make any sound.

[@RATLANTIS]

I wonder if they stopped people from searching past the creek because they were worried about sending kids and untrained adults into dangerous terrain? It could be the kid went into a dangerous situation, and they thought "We don't want anyone else running in here, let's leave it to the people who do this for a living".

[@aaronhoy3410]

I mean search & rescue has evolved a lot since this time, but I imagine they were using the creek for what today would be seen as a base line or back stop indicating the bottom/top or left/ride parts of a area grid search. i.e. searchers start from [x] trail/road walking parallel to a gully/gulch on the right up to the creek. They just go up and down between the creek & trail/road until they reach the power lines on the left side. It's easiest to try & use any sort of natural barrier in an area when searching it for boundaries that way no one has to worry about marking it & potentially losing the mark at some point [or in causing significant damage of some sort if they tried to make a less temporary one.]

[@tonaerio]

The green beret thing seems like they wouldn’t have been covering up something sketchy, but literally just searching in the area they were told not to. Their communication stopped after the rangers tracked the kids scent to a creek, saw child’s footprints and then got told to call it off in that area. Seems like they just decided to search that area when told not to.

[@Brahkolee]

Just because there’s no record of any communication also doesn’t mean there was no communication. A lack of evidence is not evidence in and of itself.

[@micahspates4063]

Or they wanted to investigate it without hundreds of people rolling through.

[@pickyraincloud1231]

I've actually been told a story from my teacher about the Tennessee Wild Man. Idk if he was just telling a story or if it really happened, but he told us that he was camping amongst some friends in the mountains when at night they heard a loud scream. He grabbed his gun and walked outside to see a creature he could only describe as tall and black with red eyes. They shot at it, and it ran away, he said. However, he told us another story from one of his friends. They were hunting alone one day when, once again, he heard this sound getting closer and closer. Instead of waiting around to see the creature, he took off for his car. That's why I'll never ever spend the night in the woods in any of the mountains around the U.S.

[@LoverofChildren]

I adore how your production quality is steadily increasing too. Not that the regular sit down in your room videos are bad, those are why I'm here, these higher production quality ones just feel like opening your christmas stocking on christmas day.

[@simplesimon4374]

Damn a roach dog jr here?

[@Ufokiller]

Nice pfp roach dogg Jr

[@peachncherrie]

Even if we never know what happened to little Dennis, while I don’t know his family’s beliefs, may he rest peacefully. He was just a child, and either way, he was without his parents and family and must have been scared. May he be forever at peace.

[@sonvan6714]

ok

[@jonaut5705]

@@sonvan6714 ok

[@ok0_0]

@@jonaut5705 hi

[@ok0_0]

@@sonvan6714 hi

[@tridocao143]

ok

[@joshuafallgren8498]

My personal belief is that the time that he was alone was more than five minutes, people will often exaggerate time frames like that unintentionally.

[@alysuum2589]

No way! My grandfather has told me the exact same story about Tree people when I was younger as well. He told me he learned it from his father, and supposedly ‘my father learned it from his father, who learned it from his father, who learned it from his father’s father’ and so on. It’s interesting seeing somebody else know this story, as I’ve asked around and it seems nobody else really knows it at all. Also, another great video, it’s awesome!

[@thesouthshoreanglerfishing]

Back in the mid 90s when I was a young teen, I was fishing deep in the woods in South Carolina with my father and older brother and we heard tree leaves rustling and we looked up at what seemed to be a monkey but bigger, black and hairy, it moved from tree to tree until it was out of sight and we got the hell out of there…never spoke a about it again

[@thattimestampguy]

0:58 Live On Site Video 2:30 thanks to Audible 4:49 Pulling into Cade’s Cove 6:17 “Do Not Enter.” *1969, May 11th* 7:34 The Russell Field Trail • Dennis Martin’s family made this trip, he was 6 years old • Search efforts were hampered by terrain and weather 9:28 Day 2 • The Adults makes camp 🏕 on the trail • Dennis and his brother Doug hide and try to jump out and scare their parents. 10:56 [Rain begins 🌧] Bill Martin, the father of Dennis Martin, ran down a trail searching for Dennis 12:13 Authorities were called in to search for Dennis. 13:55 Search Dogs had a scent leading to the creek. 🐶 14:32 • Footprint Found 👣 ! Shoeprint Found 👟 • but the shoeprint is too big to be Dennis • 1 set of footprints, 1 foot had a shoe on, 1 foot was bare. 17:00 Tony Stark brought in the helicopters 🚁 to help find Dennis 17:43 *Another Child* Keith Perkins., a 3 year old, showed up 12 hours after his disappearance here. 19:33 2 Weeks Later, _The Search Is Suspended_ 20:35 Another Camping Couple 👫 saw some ????? in June, “a large hairy man” “a large hairless bear.” 21:32 Bear, Cougar, Person, grabs and drags a child away, without a scream? 22:27 The Failure of The Search 🔍 23:46 The National Park List 🏞 📝 26:33 what kind of shoes were Dennis wearing? 👟 👟 29:33 30:20 Is there any way the search found him and didn’t tell anyone? • found him in a gruesome condition that it would be upsetting? 32:29 Answer a question, get a new question. *The Scary Stories that came from the Dennis Martin Disappearance* 33:34 The Tennessee Wildman. A Creature. • Tall, Red-Eyes, Deep Voiced, Hairy, Man 35:15 35:40 Tennessee Wildman’s 1870 Origin Story • 1 Wildman or Many Wildman? 36:36 1995 Rob & Randy Account of The Tennessee Wildman 38:08 “That sounds a lot like Sasquatch.” 39:00 The Flintville Monster • black furred, dog-running man-looking creature, that left humanoid footprints 👣 blood 🩸 39:55 The White Screamer • 1920s account, farmer gets mad at all this noise outside his farmhouse. 🩸 😩 41:14 Cherokee Suo-Calu (spelling is my best attempt) • Cattle Thief Creature Romer, Skunkcave, Troglodyte Cave Creatures. 43:33 Essi Va-Kaki(?) 44:05 Tree People 🌲 existing among the trees, knocking on them. Offering gifts in exchange for the life of the child. 46:40 Dennis Martin Disappearance, Unfortunate, Unexplainable 47:34 Most disturbing part of all of this; _it could happen again_ 49:00 Thank you to Lore Lodge for help making this video. thanks to the viewers funding the Movie 🎥 . Summer 2023 Fan Film. 51:25 And I just want to say Thank you for watching I hope that you enjoyed And I will see you in the next one BYE!

[@Briggattonii]

Thanks time stamp guy, very cool!

[@thatonekid6677]

i love you timestamp guy

[@goose_president5504]

Thank you so much

[@jadennixon4343]

real nigga shit

[@DinkyWaffle]

cherokee spell it Tsul 'Kalu but it's pronounced closer to juda culla just a heads up

[@katofmine]

Lore Lodge saying that children dont have the strength to climb hills and trees is completely wrong. Children actually have much better upper body strength to weight ratio than adults. A kid will zip up a tree or steep hill way faster than most grown adults. EDIT: I'm speaking as an experienced challenge course technician, S&R personelle recovery trained, and have active duty wilderness survival training. Kids get lost in the woods because of how damn quick they can cover ground, and search parties often underestimate their capacity to do so

[@cartoonhistory353]

They’ll climb the tree fast asf then ask for help to get down

[@Bl4ckD0g]

Les Stroud saying it's impossible doesn't mean anything to me either. The dude is not exactly in great shape, and I've seen him slog pretty hard in some not that rough environments. He seems to just like to get his name out there, almost like those professional psychics that 'help' police.

[@funnyname2518]

Old Dennis Martin hiding behind them in the bush: I am SO GOOD at hide and seek

[@k3nny111]

Did anyone consider that Dennis might just be setting up the greatest jump scare of all time for his family, waiting for the perfect moment to jump around a corner?

[@georgeofhamilton]

Like that homeless guy in _Mulholland Drive._

[@breckbilbrey4053]

I have a theory. I think a lot about this story is super weird and I think part of that has to do with how reporting and recording info was done at the time. In addition, as a kid I could make my way through brush and undergrowth that my parents couldn't at all. It's not inconceivable for small children to be able to navigate brush that seems impossible for adults. Anyways, here's where the theory starts. First, it's stated the boy had a slight disability but was still a relatively functional young man. At that time that could be a lot of things, but let's assume it was ADHD or something similar for the theory. I think there may be a chance the boy wandered briefly into the forest as he just got bored waiting to scare the adults and needed to do something. Then he heard a call to come back, but the way echos in those mountains go, I've heard shouts from one direction that actually came from the exact opposite and I've personally walked off a few hundred yards before realizing my mistake. If he panicked and ran further into the underbrush thinking he was going back he could have made it to eagle creek. I just don't understand why they never crossed that creek after finding the footprints. Their theory about green beret/ FBI involvement leading to no conclusion and they just didn't report anything is likely, but still it's a strange that there's ZERO information on those three days. Unfortunately this doesn't account for why he has never been found, unless he squeezed into a small crag or under a root system to keep warm and passed there in his sleep. Another is that a boy of that size wouldn't be too hard for a mountain Lion to consume in more entirety than when they get adults. And if it pulled him into a den or a thicket, no one would ever find the random bones. This is just my attempt at rationalization though, and I know that it can b pretty easy for all these details to fit an entirely different story. Edit: i read the ranger report and there were heavy thunderstorms the night Dennis went missing that overloaded drainages and creeks briefly, and they mention the next day was very foggy for most of the day.

[@HeyLeFay]

It’s actually extremely common for dead bodies to be found later in areas that were previously searched, with the evidence showing they’d been there the whole time. It’s actually very easy to miss a dead body in a wooded area.

[@beetle149]

All respect to your parent's its possible you as a kid were better hiker than them, but you weren't better than a Ranger. If a ranger says the kid couldn't do it because he can't do it, its not BS, he knows what he's talking about

[@dee6864]

this is one of the most reasonable theories i’ve heard (coming from another AuDHD person)

[@breckbilbrey4053]

@@beetle149 I 100% agree with you on ability. Those rangers know those hills front and back and I have all the respect to them. Same time it's not that it's inaccessible due to large rock outcrops (there definitely are those) and the other case they mention in here with a kid found far outside his ability, I've looked at that one too and that one is way crazier I have zero clue how he got to where he ended up. This one I'm just not sure sometimes the brush down real low is thinner than up at chest height. But again I know I'm playing devils advocate and I want to reiterate that most of the time I take everything a ranger says as Bible.

[@loli_cvnt5622]

Doesn't even need the ADHD, kids just be like that sometimes.

[@Solaires_Little_POG_Champ]

I feel like if Dennis' remains were found and they only informed the family, the answer would've come out by now. By the family's choice or leaked online or something. Given how high profile this case is I feel like something would've come to light.

[@sylviancreedmarsh9171]

I hear about the Dennis Martin case 10 years ago and it still keeps me up at night. My dad was 10 and lived right near by when it happened. He had a very traumatic experience hiking when he was 12 or so and refuses to talk about it other than it’s why he’s so freaked out any time I’d wanna go off-trail while hiking as child or adult. Whatever happens to Dennis, I don’t think it was a human person that did it.

[@pocketfullofbees7071]

There are some pretty reasonable explanations in other comments if you look through them like hidden cave entries, if you were interested

[@Manderenn]

Something that doesn't effect you keeps you up huh

[@evoxis1058]

​@@Manderenni hope you realize how stupid your comment is. Just because it didn't happen directly to the original commenter doesn't mean it shouldn't bother him.

[@RoseWhitmore]

@@Manderenn ye, its called empathy, you should try it sometime!

[@RoseWhitmore]

please, please be very careful when going off-trail when hiking. there are a lot of dangerous things off-trail that could make you dissapear within seconds, so please for your own sake be save. there are these things called floating moss patches, or floating mud, where something just looks like a tiny puddle or a small patch of moss you can stand on, but in actuality its multiple feet of extremely wet mud or water, where you can easily fall into and drown as the mud sucks you in and gets you stuck while you suffocate. respect mother nature, she will not show mercy for a second. that and hidden cave systems, all it takes it one wrong step

[@cactus4president]

I think you could make a really convincing found footage horror movie just based on your tendency of going to find horrifying shit in the woods

[@TheLoreLodge]

We were in the video and watching this back it feels like a found footage movie 😅

[@cactus4president]

@@TheLoreLodge it really does 😂 you guys rock btw, by far the best content producers I've ever seen

[@easy8690]

I agree there's some creative stuff these guy's could do.

[@DEFxRECON]

Is that THE roach dogg jr?

[@zzzzzz9107]

Roach dog

[@iinathaniii2]

At a family reunion one year (we go on camping trips) I got lost (just like this while playing hide and seek with kids from my family there with me) and kept walking through the woods showing up in other campsites and shit for multiple hours, finally walked back into my campsite and nobody knew I was gone, the kids didn't say anything, and my family all figured I was with somebody else, and all it really takes is 1 of the 10 family members with false memory/bad sense of time (very common especially when on vacation/camping where you don't have a schedule) saying "I just saw him" or "he was just with me 20 minutes ago" to change the story entirely, it could've been the kids that didn't want to be blamed that said it (they could even not be intentionally lying), could be some family member who gets the kids mixed up, or is older with bad memory thinking they were with me very recently, and I could be missing and with the search happening with misinformation.

[@esmeecampbell7396]

Agreed, imperfect recollection means the kid could have been missing hours before on the trail. After you try to recall seeing him playing your memory would then just start to invent him into because you want it to have been true. He could have wandered off during the walk, or been taken, or whatever. The whole search was based on a radius of where they think the last sighting was but if that area is wrong then that explains why the massive search party couldn't find anything really useful. Except the footprints, but I suppose that really could have been anyone else prior we've no idea how long they were there, it was near a popular trail

[@victoriabonfim8806]

Very good point. Time and distance perception is also very flawed when you are out in the woods since the lighting is pretty different to when you are out in the open or inside your house. And if you’re a kid, you obviously already will have trouble with time and distance perception due to… well, being a kid.

[@AudreyLudlow]

​@@esmeecampbell7396 This point is invalidated by his brother. He would know if he was hiding next to his sibling, or next to another kid, in that bush. A person looking from further away? Sure, they could have mistook one kid for another. But his brother surely knows who his sibling is. This, with the account of his father saying they saw them together hiding, means that he did indeed disappear from that bush. Either by wandering off without anyone noticing, being taken by someone lurking nearby looking for an opportunity, or even someone from that campsite. But I don't think this is some "imperfect recollection" moment.

[@esmeecampbell7396]

@@AudreyLudlow you're assuming that a small young child has great recollection of a stressful moment. Imperfect memory and false created memories happens to intelligent adults in moments like these, the same could happen to young children even easier. When there are multiple children all playing together it would be easy to not notice one of them had been gone for a while. I'm just saying it is possible, even probable that significant mistakes were made in the early on part of identification of the area the child went missing in. Apparently the area is also reasonably cavernous, there are lots of holes in the ground where children could fall in and enter a cave from above, then of course cracking their head as they fall and dying while stuck down there, hundreds of small caves, scattered all around that area, each one difficult to properly search, almost none of them known, some of the entrances covered by leaves or branches. The likelihood of an accident like that or of imperfect recollection meaning the child was left behind long before and taken by a mountain lion (or other wild animal) I would say is far more likely than an opportunistic pedophile stalking a family along a trail for over a day without being noticed. And of course all of that is much more likely than aliens or evil spirits or whatever else nonsense people are coming up with.

[@Budtuhrdhj]

okay but there’s a documentary that mentions a family heard screeching and and had saw something run in the woods with something limp hanging from its back. Very possible it’s not true but true answer is we will never know

[@defy_charger39]

Tsul 'Kalu. This creature is in cherokee folklore and is also known as the cherokee devil. The reason I bring this up is it is known to have red eyes and be able to posses those who look in its eyes and take them away. when they started describing the wild man and mentioned red eyes this creature instantly jumped in my head. My theory is the boy saw this creature and was taken away this being the reason they couldn’t find him. edit:okay got to the point where the talked about the cherokee devil my bad

[@doubledee8677]

Sounds about as likely as him growing wings and flying away.

[@JSowder21]

​@@doubledee8677my thoughts exactly

[@garlust9588]

Hi there, I love this kind of content. America's folklore is something that doesn't quite get out of the land, in Europe we need to make a lot of searches to scratch just the tip of the iceberg, so please, please, go on with this series, I love this kind of content. Thanks

[@pur3_guava79]

Grew up in these mountains. Bout an hour from the exact location in the park he went missing. Ask anyone around here, and they'll tell ya, these mountains are full of unexplainable and mysterious stuff. especially when you come to my neck of the woods. Love the on site videos!

[@jared4505]

What do you mean? Like supernatural things

[@KelgorothTheFinalShape]

As an East Tennesseean can confirm

[@Skeleton_With_VR]

@@jared4505 dont listen to them, they where born in a parking lot

[@agathedabisch8825]

@@Skeleton_With_VR 😂😂😂

[@aclown9127]

How did you type with a accent

[@incineroar9933]

The cat that dragged the living kid 12 miles could have been dragging him home for her kittens to practice killing and eventually dropped him to take a rest, realized he wasn't what she thought he was, and bolted. Cats have an extremely strong prey drive and can sometimes even pose a danger to their own kittens.

[@annistar9693]

"realized he wasn't what she thought he was" like a cougar, who will stalk you for hundreds of feet, is going to give a crap if you're an animal or a human child.

[@Elle...]

@@annistar9693 kids are loud and stinky so she may have realized the threat of attracting other predators he would bring to the cubs

[@bredcubed1161]

@@annistar9693 They actually are fairly skittish, and won't attack humans, (yes, even children) unless very agitated, confused, or very hungry. That or she just thought it wasn't worth it.

[@fidgc6774]

Would one be that far away from her kittens? Im not a cougar expert or anything, just curious.

[@____________838]

@@fidgc6774 nope

[@nikaltesla9400]

My hypothesis is that Dennis walked away from that bush, left the trail, took a wrong step and rolled down an embankment. At the bottom of the embankment was a creek, he sustained significant injuries and was unable to respond. Meanwhile, it was reported heavy rains settled into that area the night of his disappearance and continued for a day or two. The creek filled up and the heavy rains swept him down and eventually underneath a bolder in a deep area of water. The pressure of flowing water wedged his body so far underneath the bolder that his body was never found. His body decomposed there. The Smoky mountains are basically a rainforest and they park gets nearly 60 inches of precipitation per year. The month of October is really the only "low" month of precipitation and the only month that averages under 4 inches. The month of June is the fifth wettest month inside the park.

[@clifton4566]

The Smoky mountains are so underrated. There's definitely some cool history, but it still feels wild and untouched. The scenery is insane. If you haven't been there, the name really does fit perfectly. The clouds/fog rolls over the hills and through the valleys like it's smoldering all the time. Of course the peaks aren't on a himalayan level, but let's see how fast those folks can get to Myrtle Beach. It's easy to get used to your surroundings and underappreciate what you have. I'm not saying it's perfect, but we got dealt a pretty good hand around here.

[@DavidMartin-qj8gf]

Our hills ain’t as big here in Oklahoma but I get wym by the hills holding a beauty that can get lost on ya if your around them enough that’s how I feel about are part of the ozarks

[@illyriashade56]

The dynamic of their friendship is just that child leash meme with Aidan in the child leash and Wendigoon holding him back from barraging some poor national park employee with questions about conspiracies

[@jay5467]

RIP to Dennis Martin, my heart goes out to his family. What a tragedy. Hope they found peace.

[@douggaudiosi14]

They never found him he's not dead

[@sr.365]

@@douggaudiosi14 4 year old is out in the woods by themselves for over 2 weeks, I doubt they're alive.

[@spunktaneouscumbustion8109]

@@sr.365 you really do never know. A girl went missing as a tot in Texas and was found 51 years later in NC. Til his body is confirmed to have been found, you can't rule anything out

[@itsicearmour]

The parents lost their son and never saw him again, how are they supposed to have found peace exactly? Just forget that they lost a child?

[@tcb6857]

I hope they did as well. Very sad story.

[@PreciousBoop]

I have loved watching the evolution of this channel. This has been the most "ghost-hunters on scene with evidence finding gear"-esque video yet, and I am living for it.

[@lordtachanka903]

I really hope we get another one of these soon. I love the missing 411 stuff and you two have great on camera chemistry together. Great work!

[@lanoosaurusrex]

“Who would wear loafers…”Wendigoon’s face 😂 it’s okay Wendigoon, I go hiking in the wrong shoes all the time.

[@hayleyholt5551]

it's drip, it's different lmaooo

[@johnbender49]

Ive hiked on* the Appalachian Trail, in the Smokey Mountains.. in Adidas slides last summer. 5100ft elevation

[@dr._.baldwyn]

also those are boaters not loafers, only a few slight differences but boaters are more comfortable and easier to walk on harsher terrain in

[@FylinB563]

My initial thought as to why the green berets went silent was that they were told not to look past the creek for whatever reason, and they just said "Fuck that were gonna find this kid" and went off the book for few days to look without getting punished

[@skyfox585]

It's morellikely that they found evidence of foul play and they wanted trustworthy teams searching the area. That stops the murderer from getting involve with the search or idiots from messing with evidence.

[@beepboppindodobird9148]

42:12 could you possibly imagine just waking up to sasquatch in your room just explaining why HE is the man for you

[@HighTidez]

me and and my parents went to a cabin in those woods a couple years ago. It’s a rather unnerving place and i remember hearing very strange noises coming from the woods at night but my parents told me they were probably coyotes or wolves. It’s weird seeing a video in the place about someone who went missing there when i had just been there a couple years ago

[@AliceCastelRossette]

When I first moved to the Appalachia I was very wary of the region. However, the longer you live there the more appreciation you get for the power of nature itself. With that comes an understanding of the outdoors and what lives there. It’s truly not as scary as some people paint it as, as long as you know how to protect yourself.

[@scareraven9669]

What’s the best state to live in if I were to move to Appalachia?

[@mr.chuggs5987]

@@scareraven9669 I have lived in East Tennessee all my life, which is where this video is filmed (I live in a small town not far from Gatlinburg). Honestly, I think it's a great area for the Appalachian experience. You have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, wonderful landscapes, and still have some semblance of civilization (although there are definitely more remote locations if that is your preference). There are a lot of great areas for hiking and camping, and most of them are within a relatively short driving distance.

[@tramnguyenduy954]

ok

[@rrchicken117]

Imagine if the Indigenous peoples had a point... nah let's carve our faces into a mountain

[@hexlart8481]

Generally nature is always like that. Its not that scary as long as you know how to handle yourself in whatever area you live in. The real danger comes in when youre unprepared, inexperienced, and/or isolated.

[@plantsbirdsandnature8783]

I definitely agree there was weird stuff going on other than this, but it can’t be understated how difficult it is to navigate through those “bushes” aka Great Rhododendron tangles. In most of the shots you showed, they were growing pretty sparsely but in some areas (especially near water) they can grow extremely thickly and cover many square miles. I’ve tried to go through large thickets for bird/salamander surveys and gotten legitimately turned around, it’s like a nearly impenetrable maze that continually forces you in different directions. Obviously getting out isn’t a huge (although occasionally time consuming) problem as not a 6-year-old but I can easily imagine a younger child getting seriously lost.

[@pinkgoth6]

Good info thanks

[@randall39]

I think they found evidence of an abduction but kept it from everyone so they could investigate without tipping off the abductor, then it went cold so they closed the case.

[@crp4514]

My favorite spooky tale comes from my grandfather. It is the story of the side hill grunjun ( pronounced like grunge un) which was a wolf like critter that has two legs of normal length and two legs that were small so it could easily walk on the side of a hill. He also mentioned that if one fell off the hill it would spin in circles at the bottom of the hill until it died

[@anonymousmuse9092]

watching Wendi n friends explore spooky places and talk about spooky mysteries makes me weirdly nostalgic. like i’m watching Wild Kratts, but for grown ups.

[@faithsspam]

that’s exactly what I was thinking lmfaoooo

[@djcoopes7569]

my thoughts exactly

[@nelly3683]

It’s such a comfortable vibe despite the content 😂

[@roboriffer3424]

He’s like the childhood friend that feels like he’s always been there.

[@blackdragon5274]

My old ass remembers the Kratt brothers

[@lovelyhatter]

The "They're holding me at gunpoint" joke is so on brand for Wendigoon that if he was actually in any sort of danger we'd be like "Oh that jokester. Can't wait for the next vid."

[@Anxiety_and_Green_Tea]

The idea a kidnapper could evade a frantic dad of a small autistic child(or other intellectual disability) within a few minutes is absurd. My stepdad/ adoptive dad would go insane if either me or his biological child went missing for a moment. Both me and my sister are autistic and adhd, plus I’m disabled and have trauma from my bio dad. If anything threatens either of my papi’s little girls it won’t get far he’s way too attentive (Edit spelling)

[@AboutThatTime420]

It'd be awesome if you could get an interview with David Paulides, the former police officer and author who helped shine a light on this missing 411 topic. David has a KZbin channel he uploads to fairly often.

[@neil-nx3ei]

Yes Call out to David. Thank you

[@SilverKyria]

I don't understand how Dennis' brother didn't notice he went missing when they both were trying to scare the adults together. As a kid, I was always aware of where my little brother was because I felt a huge sense of responsibility for him as his older sister.

[@spyrofrost9158]

That's just the unfortunate reality of the wilderness. You can be as responsible as you want but if you let your guard down for just a second, you never know what might happen.

[@neonicon8500]

Well, that's you... I'm sure there are plenty of people who truly wish harm upon their siblings.

[@thtswutshesaid]

Honestly same, I grew up always being told to watch my surroundings & if anyone was with me to watch out for each other. Wild how even just for a second, you could miss so much.

[@robertcastanpn288]

@@spyrofrost9158the thing is tho he was right next to him a lot of people would notice if a 6 years was walking somewhere else but that only came from his brother no other reports

[@CodeeXD]

Good for you

[@pl4net4ry]

I've been obsessed with missing 411 for years so having you do this series is so exciting :)

[@leninthebeaniesouhacker.2459]

same, i'm also waiting for the cryptid iceberg he said he was gonna do a video about

[@damailman8472]

@RedStar 123 cap

[@clasy5687]

@@damailman8472 If you went and checked then you lost.

[@zapmasterarts9996]

Same

[@magicman3163]

What do you think it is?

[@sekirk]

I would really love a little series of folk lore and criptid stories with you two by a crackling fire

[@itstk8828]

Its honestly SO cool to see you guys work together, I love both of your channels and youre both so fucking intellegent and bouncing ideas off eachother, Id love to sit around a campfire and drink a few beers and just shoot the shit about the universe and the world history etc with yall, please do another collab in the future like this, this one was excellent.

[@dome2919]

There's something much more visceral to seeing just how dense the terrain is and just how hard it would be for a child to make a great distance away from searchers, this video has so much more impact than a simple video listing these details because it gets the viewer's own head wondering "what the heck could've happened to this child, what could've come to simply snatch them away from the world without a trace like that?". Really strong video

[@-i6313]

As a once child living in the woods the smaller you are the faster you move through that terrain

[@FortuitousOwl]

Small children are exactly the right size to be able to move through dense terrain.

[@amoureux6502]

@@-i6313 agreed, as an adult I've tried to navigate some of the areas in the woods that I used to play in just to find that I had to take wildly different routes bc of my size difference. A lot of adults can't even see the routes that a child could take bc they're so low/narrow that they're practically invisible to someone over 4 feet tall.

[@Nick_CF]

A cougar got that kid

[@rosehipowl]

as a former child, now adult, living in rural England, children can get through a lot of dense foliage/terrain and easily hide. it's really not difficult. you don't need strength, you need speed and agility and most children have that in mass amounts. you just need to be small and speedy and you can get anywhere really quickly, including ways that adults can't normally go. I was terrified of being lost so I never ran away too far, but I would absolutely hide in bushes and whatever and get to places that adults would never be able to go. my honest opinion is just that he got distracted and wandered off and hid somewhere when people were searching for him. I know I would've - I have autism and I would've been terrified if people I didn't know were yelling loudly for me and marched through the woods looking for me. I would've thought I was in trouble or something bad was happening. I probably only would've ran if I heard a family members' voice, but if they weren't in the right area and I never heard them, I would've just tried to find my own way out. now, I would've probably been a lot easier to find because I basically cried all the time as a child and this definitely would've been a crying situation for me, but for a child who was less of a crier and more of a doer? sure, they could just wander off and be miles away having fun in the woods, picking up interesting stones and watching birds. I think Dennis is probably still hidden somewhere there, a place that adults couldn't easily get to or couldn't/didn't think to look in. I don't think there's anything supernatural about so many people not being able to find him because kids are good at hiding and he probably just found a small place eventually.

[@tracychallice1099]

“the woods are nice but they’re not kind” is such a beautiful quote

[@johanlahti84]

My grandmothers brother went missing in 1986 on a hunting trip. They were three men in their early 50s. Two of them started making their way to the car, the last one, my GMs brother, had some stuff to gather and get his backpack ready and said he would "be right there". He never came.. when they got back to the spot where they left him, all his stuff was there, the rifle was stood up against a tree. SAR, Police, Military searched for weeks. Not a single clue. No signs of an animal attack.

[@carsondoesstuff3487]

Incredible camera work/ editing on top of top tier spooky stories. 10/10 video as usual.

[@mrtortoise3766]

I think the theory that something was found that was so gruesome and vile that the public was not informed about it is the most realistic theory. But it was quite clearly giants

[@parkee8331]

I'm curious what Doug's perspective is. If he was with Dennis when they went behind the bush, what happened between them in those few minutes? I wish they discussed that.

[@kath9088]

That's what I was thinking - and are we aware of them having any arguments around that point? Because maybe it was some sibling argument gone wrong or something... Just theorising

[@bentucker2301]

That's what I want to know

[@alanwatts8239]

Since no one has ever mentioned anything as far as i know, it's more likely to me that they were in opposite sides of the bush and didn't see eachother. It's amazing to me that Doug didn't hear anything being as close to Dennis as he was. If Dennis started walking away, even if slowly, Doug would have heard him from all the leaves and twigs.

[@flechetterounds8889]

THANK YOU, that's what I thought

[@sweetsisfat]

@@alanwatts8239 Exactly

[@asphalt-cowboy9479]

It really aggravates the hell out of me how much people underestimate children..

[@matthewrogersmusic]

It’s so crazy to see these guys investigating things that happened in a town I live ~90 miles from, and have visited hundreds of times in my life.

[@BeEnNLGaming]

Do you have a local take? As in what does your neighbors think happend.