エピソード

  • The Hood Cairn: Eight Stones Found Dry on Frosted Jeep Hood

    The Hood Cairn: Eight Stones Found Dry on Frosted Jeep Hood
    2026/11/01
    The Hood Cairn: Eight Stones Found Dry on Frosted Jeep Hood

    A centered stack of eight native sandstone stones, fourteen inches high and dry on the undersides while everything else wore October frost, sat on the hood of a gray Jeep at 5:40 AM - and the owner never returned. How did a precisely balanced cairn, equidistant from both fenders and matching no known regional style, appear overnight on a vehicle in an empty trailhead with no eyewitnesses?

    In this episode, we follow the recorded timeline from the Alderman Creek trailhead register to the first search-and-rescue response, laying out the physical details and the discrepancies that made the cairn inexplicable. What do the measurements, the Jeep's last GPS point, and the missing hiker's routine call pattern tell us about that morning?

    Person: John Weber
    Date: October 7-8, 2019
    Location: Alderman Creek trailhead, Varro County
    Status: Jeep found with cairn; owner missing then returned with no memory of cairn
    Event: GPS recorder final log at 11:46 AM, two miles north of Pryor Bench

    - Cairn composition: eight native sandstone stones stacked with a wide flat base and decreasing diameters, topped by a capstone.
    - Cairn dimensions: stack measured fourteen inches high and placed dead center on the hood, equidistant from both fenders.
    - Discovery time: Lauren Carlson photographed the cairn at 5:40 AM and called the non-emergency line at 5:51 AM.
    - Trailhead register entry: John signed in at 7:22 AM on October 7, listed destination Pryor Bench via East Fork and wrote "return same day."
    - GPS/data recorder: John's field instrument logged its final entry at 11:46 AM on Monday, placing him two miles north of Pryor Bench.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • The Boot on the Granite: How He Walked Away Without a Shoe

    The Boot on the Granite: How He Walked Away Without a Shoe
    2026/10/31
    The Boot on the Granite: How He Walked Away Without a Shoe

    The sight was ordinary and impossible: a single dry leather boot, right foot, laces tied, sitting on an otherwise dew-soaked granite shelf-found at 6:40 a.m. on September 14, 2019-while the man who owned it had been missing for two days. How could search teams walk past that boot in the dark and later find the owner alive with an explanation that still left the coordinator unsettled?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a routine hike signed at 9:17 a.m. to a choice to investigate a thin column of smoke that pulled a precise, experienced hiker off his route. We trace the terrain, the search decisions made by the county SAR coordinator, and the unanswered question that stayed with the rescuers: what really happened between the granite shelves and Briar Basin?

    Person: Larry Petersen
    Date: September 12-14, 2019
    Location: Whetstone Basin trail / granite shelves above 6,000 feet
    Status: Found alive after two days missing
    Coordinator: Ruth Stein

    - The boot was discovered by Patricia Mills on September 14, 2019 at 6:40 a.m., dry on wet granite.
    - Larry Petersen signed the trail register at 9:17 a.m, on September 12, 2019 declaring Larkspur Lake as his destination.
    - Larry was 55 years old, a retired civil engineer, with 30 years of backcountry hiking experience.
    - The search was formally launched at 11:00 a.m. on September 13 after Frank Dubois reported Larry’s truck remained at the trailhead.
    - Two cadaver-detection dogs (a Belgian Malinois and a black Labrador) searched the Larkspur Lake inlet and found no trace of Larry.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • He Walked Eleven Miles In The Dark - Boot Tied, Rock Clutched

    He Walked Eleven Miles In The Dark - Boot Tied, Rock Clutched
    2026/10/30
    He Walked Eleven Miles In The Dark - Boot Tied, Rock Clutched

    Cold, precise details refuse simple answers: a twenty-three-year-old hiker found alive with a core temperature of 89.4°F, one boot still laced and tied in a square knot, and a pale rock clutched in his hand - eleven miles from the summit by any mapped trail. How did someone with a functional headlamp and years of wilderness experience end up where no route explains and with evidence that makes little geographic sense?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the physical scene, and the statements in the official search-and-rescue record to show what is known and what remains without a calculable probability. Follow the account from the last confirmed summit signature through the sudden weather change and the baffling details at Tenmile Drainage that force the central question: what happened in the dark?

    Person: Harvey Peterson
    Date: August 4, 2019 (call at 7:48 AM)
    Location: Tenmile Drainage, central Oregon
    Status: Alive on discovery; core temperature 89.4°F
    Item: Black Diamond Spot headlamp (rated 200 hours)

    - Peterson signed the summit register at Saddleback Peak at 2:47 PM.
    - The summit is approximately 7,200 feet; trail distance to Tenmile Drainage gate is 11.3 miles.
    - Temperature dropped 18°F in under an hour around 6:00 PM with wind and fog onset.
    - Peterson was found 600 yards past the locked service gate on a gravel maintenance path.
    - One boot was on his right foot while the other boot stood upright on the road with laces tied in a square knot.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • Lantern on the Hood: What Pulled Her Back Down the Mountain

    Lantern on the Hood: What Pulled Her Back Down the Mountain
    2026/10/29
    Lantern on the Hood: What Pulled Her Back Down the Mountain

    A brass-and-glass kerosene lantern burned steadily on the hood of a locked government pickup at 6:15 a.m. on July 17, 2011, with no authorized visitors at the trailhead for seven days - and the woman assigned to the tower had no memory of lighting it. What pulled Rebecca Thorpe down from a locked fire cab at 9,040 feet, carrying a personal lantern and leaving a cold mug of coffee inside?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the first call to the trailhead to the search that led dogs and rescuers into a boulder field off-trail, and explore the evidence that suggests her mind was failing even as her body kept moving. How did deliberate actions like bringing her own lantern and photographing the same cottonwood tree for months fit with a disappearance that ended where scent simply stopped on sun-warmed granite?

    Person: Rebecca Thorpe
    Date: July 17, 2011
    Location: Draper Knob tower, Cañada Fría Wilderness, 9,040 ft
    Status: Missing (no memory of leaving tower reported)
    Witness: Curtis Turner (ran County Road Nine, discovered lantern at 6:15 a.m.)

    - Lantern: brass-and-glass kerosene lantern found burning on hood of locked green government pickup at 6:15 a.m.
    - Tower elevation: fire lookout cab located at 9,040 feet, two and a half miles up a single switchback trail.
    - Time absent: cold mug of coffee inside locked cab indicated she had been gone at minimum four to five hours before discovery.
    - Authorization gap: ranger station log showed no authorized personnel at the trailhead between July 10 and July 17.
    - Search dogs: bloodhound and Belgian Malinois followed scent northeast into boulder field about 400 yards off the trail where scent ended on sun-warmed granite.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Boots Left on the Driveway: How Sharon Vanished from the Trail

    The Boots Left on the Driveway: How Sharon Vanished from the Trail
    2026/10/28
    The Boots Left on the Driveway: How Sharon Vanished from the Trail

    The morning a county meter reader found two hiking boots with laces tied, toes pointed to the road, and a dark smear near the toe, Sharon Richardson had already been missing thirty-four days. A phone with a precise timestamp shows a Juniper Flats trailhead photo taken at 5:47 AM while that same phone sat locked inside her truck - so who took the picture, and where did Sharon actually go?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of people, places, and timestamps that track Sharon's last known hours and the baffling gaps that followed. You’ll hear who saw her on the trail, what was left in her truck, and the one photograph that refuses to make sense: can those scenes be reconciled, or does the trail hide a different truth?

    Person: Sharon Richardson
    Date: June 5, 2019
    Location: Juniper Flats trailhead, Cerro Largo National Forest
    Status: Missing after last confirmed trail encounters
    Case: Multiple eyewitness contacts with two different hikers who saw the same injured woman

    - Two hiking boots were found on a gravel driveway with laces tied, toes pointing toward the road, and a dried smear of red clay plus a darker stain near the edge.
    - Sharon’s phone took a photograph of the Juniper Flats trailhead at 5:47 AM while the phone itself was later found locked inside her gray pickup truck.
    - Inside Sharon’s truck investigators found a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, a paper-bag lunch that was never opened, and her phone; trekking poles and summit pack were missing.
    - On June 6 at about 2:15 PM Jim and Sandra Holbert found a woman matching Sharon’s description with a swollen right ankle, walked her 1.5 miles to the parking lot, and watched her get into a gray pickup that did not move.
    - At about 4:50 PM the same day hiker Dennis Park encountered a similar woman about two miles out, walked her to the trailhead, and again watched her enter the same gray pickup truck that remained parked all day.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • Buried by Mist: How a Solo Hiker Vanished Then Returned Alive

    Buried by Mist: How a Solo Hiker Vanished Then Returned Alive
    2026/10/27
    Buried by Mist: How a Solo Hiker Vanished Then Returned Alive

    A man who knew every slope like a hometown street vanished on a familiar loop with full avalanche gear, and the only clue that brought him back was a stranger accidentally scanning a radio frequency. The search found a scent line that ended on bare rock, no tracks, no beacon signal, and a missing truck-so how did Bruce Sullivan disappear from a routine outing and somehow return alive?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline of Bruce Sullivan’s May 3, 2019 outing, the search organized around the Crossover route and Shepherd Finger couloir, and the puzzling evidence that forced rescuers to rethink where he might have gone. What single accidental act changed the course of the search and ultimately led to his return?

    Person: Bruce Sullivan
    Date: May 3, 2019
    Location: Shepherd Creek trailhead, Teller Range
    Status: Missing during active search; case moved to passive monitoring
    Lead Search Organizer: Monica Miller

    - Bruce sent his final message at 1:47 p.m. saying “Heading up. Back by dark or call Monica.”
    - He was 26 years old and had avalanche certification from 2017.
    - Dogs tracked scent to about 8,800 feet at the edge of a rock field where the trail stopped.
    - A helicopter search on May 6 found no tracks, no surface gear, and no beacon signal.
    - Pete Ochoa drove past the trailhead at ~9:30 p.m. that evening and Bruce’s truck was gone.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • The Stone on the Journal: How He Walked Nine Miles Unseen

    The Stone on the Journal: How He Walked Nine Miles Unseen
    2026/10/26
    The Stone on the Journal: How He Walked Nine Miles Unseen

    A palm-sized, water-tumbled gray granite stone from Harrow Creek was found holding open a green wire-bound journal beside the trail - nine days after the hiker whose initials were on the cover had last been seen. The journal and the stone point to nine miles of impossible off-trail travel and a GPS manually reset at night; how did the creek stone end up on a ledge with no outlet nearby?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events recorded in the recovered journal, witness statements, and the search-and-rescue findings to outline the timeline and the unexplained evidence that surrounds Terry Barrett's disappearance and survival. What route did he take, and who - or what - could have placed that creek stone on the journal?

    Person: Terry Barrett
    Date: April 9-19
    Location: Pine Shelf Lake and Harrow Creek Connector trail
    Status: Found alive after thirteen days of searching
    Case: Caspian County Sheriff's missing hiker file

    - At 7:45 AM on April 19, Marcia Wells found a green wire-bound journal held open by a smooth gray stone on a granite ledge beside the Harrow Creek Connector trail.
    - Terry Barrett signed the Harrow Creek Trailhead register at 9:22 AM on April 9 with a planned Pine Shelf Lake overnight loop, expected return the following afternoon.
    - The journal contains authenticated entries for April 10 (calm), April 11 (noting "the shelf above the ice" and "No wind. But the pines were moving."), and April 12, when Terry wrote he "Walked the eastern slope for two hours" and "Heading lower."
    - The GPS unit was manually reset to factory settings at 9:41 PM on April 11, erasing every waypoint and track; the hardware log shows the deliberate multi-step sequence for that reset.
    - Search dog Dozer followed Terry's scent from camp to a rocky outcrop above the ice shelf and then stopped; the scent trail ended abruptly at that point with no signs of travel onto the lake.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • Tent in Untouched Snow: How Gary Rice Returned Alone, Untracked

    Tent in Untouched Snow: How Gary Rice Returned Alone, Untracked
    2026/10/25
    Tent in Untouched Snow: How Gary Rice Returned Alone, Untracked

    The tent sat at 6,700 feet with its orange fly secured and a river stone wedged at the door - and the snow around it was unbroken in every direction. No footprints led to it, none led away, yet Gary Rice was found alive the next day a thousand feet below; how did his shelter appear in undisturbed snow with no trail in or out?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from Gary's last coherent memory through the search team's discoveries, laying out the physical evidence and the persistent unanswered question about the tent and tracks. What could explain a campsite that appears to have been "dropped" into pristine snow while its owner was elsewhere?

    Person: Gary Rice
    Date: March 14-20, 2019
    Location: Rim above Stony Creek drainage, Capstone Flats, Idaho
    Status: Found alive
    Tracker: Phil Moss

    - The tent was staked at 6,700 feet with an orange fly and a river stone wedged at the door flap.
    - Keith Crawford spotted the tent through binoculars at 6:15 AM on March 19 and called the sheriff.
    - Gary was missing for three days before the tent was seen and was found alive the next day in a rock alcove about 1,000 feet below.
    - Gary had been hiking since age 19, logged trips in a green spiral notebook kept in his pack, and was 32 years old in spring 2019.
    - Trackers found size 10.5 Salomon boot prints that went four miles up the drainage, turned left into old-growth fir for about 40 yards forming a loop, then returned to the drainage with nothing found inside the loop.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分