WEBVTT - Season 08 Episode 24: Vanishing Point

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<v Speaker 1>In the beginning, before the world was shaped, the earth

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<v Speaker 1>lay in darkness, covered only in water. No mountains rose,

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<v Speaker 1>no rivers ran, and no people walked upon the land.

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<v Speaker 1>In the vastness beyond the sky lived Chirea, the old

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<v Speaker 1>man above, a being of great wisdom and power. One

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<v Speaker 1>day he looked down upon the empty world and decided

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<v Speaker 1>it should be made ready for life. He descended from

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<v Speaker 1>its high place, stepping carefully upon a great cloud, before

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<v Speaker 1>coming to rest on a shallow reef in the sea.

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<v Speaker 1>With his mighty hands, he gathered stones and earth and

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<v Speaker 1>shaped the first lands. He piled high the mountains and

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<v Speaker 1>carved deep valleys. He traced the paths of the rivers

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<v Speaker 1>with his fingers, and where his hands lingered, water began

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<v Speaker 1>to flow. Jaraya saw that the world needed light, so

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<v Speaker 1>he reached into the sky and brought forth the sun,

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<v Speaker 1>setting it in its place. He took the cold and

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<v Speaker 1>placed it in the mountain tops, where it would rest

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<v Speaker 1>as snow and feed the rivers below. He made the

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<v Speaker 1>trees to hold the soil, the animals to roam the land,

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<v Speaker 1>and the fish to swim in the waters. Then he

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<v Speaker 1>created the first people. He taught them how to hunt

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<v Speaker 1>how to build shelters, and how to live in harmony

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<v Speaker 1>with the world he had created. When his work was done,

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<v Speaker 1>he climbed back into the sky and returned to his

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<v Speaker 1>home above. Among the mountains he raised, one stood above

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<v Speaker 1>all others, Ui Taku, the White Mountain. In time, others

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<v Speaker 1>came to the region, Klamath, Wintu, a Chumawee, Art, Sugawe, Modoc,

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<v Speaker 1>and Kaho Sadi or Shasta, as they came to be

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<v Speaker 1>known by later settlers to the region, and that mountain

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<v Speaker 1>would eventually take that name too, becoming known as Mount Shasta.

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<v Speaker 1>All agreed the mountain was a sacred place, a place

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<v Speaker 1>of visions and power, and for seeking communion with the

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<v Speaker 1>unseen world. Some even say, if you're not careful, there

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<v Speaker 1>are places on the mountain where you can fall into

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<v Speaker 1>this unseen world too. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Richard mclin Smith. The volcanic peak of Mount Shasta looms

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<v Speaker 1>out of the Shasta Trinity National Forest in the North California.

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<v Speaker 1>Its upper slopes are devoid of trees and often clad

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<v Speaker 1>in a blanket of snow. Tackling. The peak is fraught

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<v Speaker 1>with danger in winter The ascent is slick with ice,

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<v Speaker 1>requiring at least crampons to make the summit. In summer,

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<v Speaker 1>the snow melts to reveal steep slopes strewn with loose rocks.

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<v Speaker 1>Over seventy climbers are known to have died attempting it

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<v Speaker 1>since records began, none of which deterred sixty nine year

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<v Speaker 1>old Carl Landers, who was on a mission to climb

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<v Speaker 1>the highest peak in every county of California. Back in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety seven, Carl made a failed attempt to summit

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<v Speaker 1>Mount Shasta. It had haunted him ever since, so naturally

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted to try again. Carl's wife, Bobby, was nervous

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<v Speaker 1>about its latest adventure. After summitting the mountain, Carl planned

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<v Speaker 1>to climb two more peaks in the area, but once

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<v Speaker 1>he had an idea in his head, there was no

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<v Speaker 1>stopping him. It was a warm sunny day in May

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety nine when Carl arrived in Mount Shaster Town

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<v Speaker 1>at the foot of the mountain. He grinned widely at

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<v Speaker 1>his friends Billy and Milt, who were there to greet him.

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<v Speaker 1>The three men became climbing pals through a local organization

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<v Speaker 1>for older exercise enthusiasts. Both had accompanied Karl on his

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<v Speaker 1>failed trip in nineteen ninety seven. Being a little younger,

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<v Speaker 1>it was their arrangement that they would walk ahead they

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<v Speaker 1>wait for Karl to catch them up. Back in ninety seven,

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<v Speaker 1>after Barry and Milt made it to the summit, Carl

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<v Speaker 1>failed to appear. They found him on their return down

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<v Speaker 1>the mountain, having been too exhausted to continue. They teased

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<v Speaker 1>him gently about it that morning, but Karl was having

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<v Speaker 1>none of it. This would be the day, he told them.

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<v Speaker 1>The men bought some provisions, then made the winding drive

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<v Speaker 1>up to Bunny Flat trailhead, a popular place to begin

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<v Speaker 1>the trek to the summit. A gusty wind picked up

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<v Speaker 1>as the men laced up their boots and strapped on

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<v Speaker 1>their fifteen pound packs. Karl gazed up to the snowy

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<v Speaker 1>tip of the mountain, a steely intent in his eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>This time, he thought, I'm going to get you this time,

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<v Speaker 1>and with that they set off, winding through a dense

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<v Speaker 1>forest of fur. The men savored the fresh, tingly scent

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<v Speaker 1>of the trees and serenity of the great outdoors. Before long,

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<v Speaker 1>the forest began to thin and the paths deepened, leading

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<v Speaker 1>up into more desolate rock strewn to rain. It wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>long after they left the forest that Carl's stomach began

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<v Speaker 1>cramping up, and he was forced to take regular toilet breaks,

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<v Speaker 1>possibly due to the drugs he'd been taking to offset

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<v Speaker 1>altitude sickness. By the time they'd reached nine thousand feet

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<v Speaker 1>above sea level, Milt and Barry were stopping every ten

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<v Speaker 1>minutes or so to wait for their friend. They agreed

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<v Speaker 1>to carry his pack for him, taking it in turns

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<v Speaker 1>to hold it as they trudged on together. Barryon Milt

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<v Speaker 1>then tried walking behind Karl, hoping it might help to

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<v Speaker 1>spur him on. Not wanting to hold his friends back, however,

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<v Speaker 1>Karl suggested they go on ahead without him. The friends

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<v Speaker 1>reluctantly agreed and arranged to rendezvous with Karl at their

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<v Speaker 1>first waypoint, an area of flatter, snow covered ground called

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<v Speaker 1>fifty fifty, but they planned to camp for the night.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just approaching eight p m. As a hazy

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<v Speaker 1>dusk to send it when Barrion Milt arrived at fifty fifty.

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<v Speaker 1>The pair watched on as more hikers appeared in drips

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<v Speaker 1>and drabs, but there was no sign of Carl. With

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<v Speaker 1>the sun inching closer and closer to the horizon, the

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<v Speaker 1>pair had no choice but to head back down in

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<v Speaker 1>search of their friend. It didn't take long to spot

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<v Speaker 1>him about two hundred yards below, making steady but achingly

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<v Speaker 1>slow progress. Having been worried that his climbing jacket wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>right for the conditions, Karl's wife had lent her his

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<v Speaker 1>a bright purple and red number, meaning even in the

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<v Speaker 1>low light of dusk, he was easy to spot. Barry

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<v Speaker 1>and Milt moved quickly down to get him, then escorted

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<v Speaker 1>him back up to fifty fifty. The wind had picked

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<v Speaker 1>up considerably by the time they arrived, whipping dry snow

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<v Speaker 1>up off the ground as they set to work digging

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<v Speaker 1>an igloo like shelter to keep it at bay. Once finished,

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<v Speaker 1>it took them almost an hour, wrestling with the near

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<v Speaker 1>fifty mile pro hour gusts to pitch their tent inside it.

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<v Speaker 1>Finally nestled inside the tent, the men cooked chicken noodle soup,

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<v Speaker 1>but Karl refused to eat it, worried it might make

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<v Speaker 1>him sick. The following morning, the men awoke as the

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<v Speaker 1>first neon rays of daylight emerged above the horizon. Though

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<v Speaker 1>Carl's stomach hadn't quite settled, he was well enough to

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<v Speaker 1>share breakfast with Barryon Milt and insisted he was fit

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<v Speaker 1>enough to continue the climb. Barr and Milt were happy

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<v Speaker 1>to take his word for it. The next stage was

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<v Speaker 1>a two mile stretch across steep but mostly open ground

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<v Speaker 1>to an area known as Lake Helen, with only the

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<v Speaker 1>occasional pile of rock and some minor ridges to negotiate

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<v Speaker 1>after that. In any case, they planned to make another

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<v Speaker 1>assessment at the weather to determine if it was safe

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<v Speaker 1>to continue or not. Since they had a fairly unobstructed

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<v Speaker 1>view of the summit, it was agreed that Carl should

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<v Speaker 1>go on ahead while Barrion Milt took down the tent.

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<v Speaker 1>This way he could get a head start, but they

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<v Speaker 1>could also keep an eye on him if he got

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<v Speaker 1>into any difficulty. When nearing an especially high summit, climbers

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<v Speaker 1>are written often of the strange sense of serenity and

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<v Speaker 1>focus it can engender. The wind house, the snow crunches

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<v Speaker 1>under foot, and the sky feels closer, almost oppressive. Some

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<v Speaker 1>describe it like having entered another world. Your mind suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>detached from the world down below. Striding out for the

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<v Speaker 1>summit of Mount Shasta is no different. Perhaps something of

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<v Speaker 1>that was going through Karl's mind as he stood outside

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<v Speaker 1>the tent that morning, staring quietly off into space. When

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<v Speaker 1>Barrion Milt suggested he start walking, he replied simply okay,

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<v Speaker 1>then promptly set off up the steep, rocky trail. Milt

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<v Speaker 1>was the last of the three to leave, having needed

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<v Speaker 1>to make some adjustments to his crampons. About an hour

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<v Speaker 1>after Karl's departure, Milt could still see him just about

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<v Speaker 1>among a steady line of fellow climbers. He was slowly

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<v Speaker 1>edging higher up the mountain, stopping to rest briefly every

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<v Speaker 1>five paces. Barry, meanwhile, was some distance behind, but quickly

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<v Speaker 1>closing the gap. But when Milt caught up with Barry

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<v Speaker 1>soon after, he found him looking pale and feeling unwell.

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<v Speaker 1>As a wind picked up, the pair sensed stormy weather approaching.

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<v Speaker 1>With both of them now also struggling with the effects

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<v Speaker 1>of altitude sickness, they make the difficult decision to abandon

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<v Speaker 1>their effort to reach the summit. The stronger of the pair, Milt,

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<v Speaker 1>volunteered to fetch Carl, while Barry headed back down to

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<v Speaker 1>the Bunny Flat trailhead, where they'd part their car. With

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<v Speaker 1>only one path to take, Milt soon arrived at Lake Helen,

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<v Speaker 1>surprised not to have yet caught up with Carl. Seeing

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<v Speaker 1>another group of hikers there, he asked if they'd seen

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<v Speaker 1>a man wearing a bright purple and red jacket on

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<v Speaker 1>their travels. Thankfully, they had, as one of the group

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<v Speaker 1>explained the man had asked him for advice on how

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<v Speaker 1>best to reach the summit. He told him about the

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<v Speaker 1>two possible routes he knew of. One was a lot

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<v Speaker 1>harder than the other, which he discouraged him from taking.

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<v Speaker 1>Wilt gazed up toward the easier route to the summit,

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<v Speaker 1>where he could see around twenty people winding their way

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<v Speaker 1>up to the top, and on the harder route, he

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<v Speaker 1>saw one single climber wearing what seemed to be a

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<v Speaker 1>bright purple and red jacket, stopping to rest briefly after

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<v Speaker 1>every five steps. Dismayed, Milt promptly took off after him,

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<v Speaker 1>trying to keep the man in his sight. Milt suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>lost him as he disappeared behind a small ridge. When

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<v Speaker 1>he finally arrived at the same spot. He saw then

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<v Speaker 1>that the footprints of whoever it was merged with a

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<v Speaker 1>number of others, suggesting the solo man had in fact

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<v Speaker 1>been walking with a group. Milt realized that this climber

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<v Speaker 1>was also moving way too fast to have been calm,

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<v Speaker 1>Dangerously tired and despondent, and with no sign of his friend,

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<v Speaker 1>Milt had little choice but to head back down the

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<v Speaker 1>mountain in the hope that he might yet pass Karl

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<v Speaker 1>on the way back At fifty fifty, where the men

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<v Speaker 1>had camped for the night, there was no sign of

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<v Speaker 1>his missing friend, and a few hours later he was

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<v Speaker 1>back at the Bunny Flat trailhead, but only Barry was

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<v Speaker 1>there waiting for him. By the following day, Karl had

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<v Speaker 1>still yet to return. On hearing that her husband was missing,

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<v Speaker 1>a distraught Bobby was quickly on hand to assist. She

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<v Speaker 1>insisted to police that she and Karl weren't experiencing any

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<v Speaker 1>financial or marital difficulties, or anything else that might suggest

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<v Speaker 1>he'd intended to go missing. The police wondered also if

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<v Speaker 1>Karl had any enemies, but Karl was well liked in

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<v Speaker 1>his local community, and though Barry and Milt agreed he

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<v Speaker 1>could sometimes be stubborn and bad tempered. They'd never seen

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<v Speaker 1>him have a violent disagreement with anyone, though poor weather

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<v Speaker 1>had moved in across the region. Since Carl was an

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<v Speaker 1>experienced hiker with enough provisions to survive the coming days,

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<v Speaker 1>there were reasons to be optimistic that he would soon

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<v Speaker 1>be found. But one day turned to two, then three,

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<v Speaker 1>and four. A week after he disappeared, more than seventy

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<v Speaker 1>people were searching daily for any sign of him. Trails

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<v Speaker 1>stretching down from the summit were scoured, and the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the mountain meticulously searched using a systematic grid. Even

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<v Speaker 1>cadaver docks were deployed to help, but they found nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>What Barrion Milt couldn't understand was how Carl could have

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<v Speaker 1>disappeared within such a short time window, during which he

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<v Speaker 1>would not have been out of view from either themselves

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<v Speaker 1>or other hikers on the trail for more than a

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<v Speaker 1>period of thirty minutes, which at the pace he was moving,

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<v Speaker 1>would have made it near impossible for him to venture

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<v Speaker 1>off track without being seen. And if he had been

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<v Speaker 1>overcome by fatigue and exposure, where could his body, in

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<v Speaker 1>its brightly colored jacket be on wide open slopes with

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<v Speaker 1>no dense vegetation, cliffs or crevices to conceal it. The

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<v Speaker 1>searchers didn't find any traits of Karl's clothing or equipment.

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<v Speaker 1>It was, as one rescuer described it, like the mountain

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<v Speaker 1>had just opened up and swallowed him. On June third,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety nine, the search to find Karl was called off.

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<v Speaker 1>There was simply nowhere else to look. Entry nine five

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<v Speaker 1>six three seven is still up on the US National

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<v Speaker 1>Missing and Unidentified Person's website. The entry has a picture

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<v Speaker 1>of Carl Herbert Landers as he was shortly before he disappeared,

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<v Speaker 1>a man on the cusp of seventy with receding white hair,

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<v Speaker 1>a hand and somewhat weather beaten face, and a rye grin.

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<v Speaker 1>If he was still alive today, he would be ninety

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<v Speaker 1>six years old. Carl Landers is just one of many

0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.840
<v Speaker 1>people who have vanished without a trace on Mount Shasta.

0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:19.560
<v Speaker 1>Back in July nineteen sixty five, a much more experienced

0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:22.960
<v Speaker 1>mountaineer by the name of John Nez had set off

0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:27.680
<v Speaker 1>up the mountain one bright summer day. At eighty years old.

0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:30.800
<v Speaker 1>It might have seemed foolish for Nezer to go alone,

0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:35.440
<v Speaker 1>but he'd climbed the mountain many times before, summitting successfully

0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:40.400
<v Speaker 1>no less than forty times. So confident was Nezer of

0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.040
<v Speaker 1>the weather and his abilities that he left a lot

0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.920
<v Speaker 1>of his equipment at a cabin below the tree line,

0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:50.080
<v Speaker 1>expecting to summit and return the same day. When he

0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:55.040
<v Speaker 1>failed to return, a search was initiated. Two snowslides were

0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:59.680
<v Speaker 1>spotted on the mountain, while a buzzard circled ominously overhead,

0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:05.720
<v Speaker 1>but like landers, Nesser's body was never found. It's hard

0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.879
<v Speaker 1>to find solid numbers of just how many people go

0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:13.760
<v Speaker 1>missing in America's wild places every year. There's no mandatory

0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:18.400
<v Speaker 1>centralized repository where search and rescue teams must file reports,

0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.879
<v Speaker 1>but in twenty twenty one, nearly three thousand, four hundred

0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.280
<v Speaker 1>people needed help getting out of the wilderness in u

0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:31.920
<v Speaker 1>s national parks alone. In his twenty twenty book The Cold,

0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:36.880
<v Speaker 1>Vanish author and journalist John Billman researched the people currently

0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:41.040
<v Speaker 1>missing in North America's wilderness. He found that most of

0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 1>these disappearances were likely easy to explain, caused either by hypothermia, falls, avalanches,

0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:53.760
<v Speaker 1>or attacks by wild animals like mountain lions or bears.

0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:58.399
<v Speaker 1>But Billman is most fascinated by vanished without a trace

0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:05.320
<v Speaker 1>cases that defire conventional logical explanations like that of Karl Landers.

0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:10.040
<v Speaker 1>In his book, he says these happen more often and

0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:16.199
<v Speaker 1>a lot closer to human habitation than most people realize. Unexpectedly.

0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:20.480
<v Speaker 1>During his research, Billman found that often the most reliable

0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:26.800
<v Speaker 1>information comes from bigfoot hunters. Their database of disappearances occurring

0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:31.040
<v Speaker 1>under what they call mysterious circumstances was set up by

0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:34.840
<v Speaker 1>the founder of the North America Bigfoot Search, David Paul

0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:39.920
<v Speaker 1>Idy's in twenty eleven. According to this data, it's likely

0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:44.480
<v Speaker 1>that there are currently around sixteen hundred people missing across

0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:49.440
<v Speaker 1>North America's wild lands in circumstances that are hard to explain,

0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:56.679
<v Speaker 1>but Mount Shasta is among the stranger regions for inexplicable disappearances.

0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.760
<v Speaker 1>For years, Mount Shasta has been at the center of

0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:10.800
<v Speaker 1>numerous myths, legends, and every kind of paranormal sighting, from

0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:17.280
<v Speaker 1>bigfoot to UFOs and even ghosts. The mountain's ice clad peak,

0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:23.920
<v Speaker 1>steaming fumaroles, and actively eroding shape shifting surface or contribute

0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.480
<v Speaker 1>to its eerie mystique. Some have speculated that the rare

0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:33.520
<v Speaker 1>mysterious portals to other dimensions hidden around the mountain, which

0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:38.400
<v Speaker 1>the disappeared to have stumbled into, adding to its mystique.

0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:43.800
<v Speaker 1>It turns out that significant electromagnetic anomalies have been recorded

0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:47.720
<v Speaker 1>around the mountain, leading some to wander if the mountain

0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:51.600
<v Speaker 1>has become a repository for the phenomena of X points.

0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:56.159
<v Speaker 1>X points are formed when the magnetic fields of the

0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:59.879
<v Speaker 1>Sun and Earth cross each other, suddenly joining to create

0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:05.760
<v Speaker 1>openings in the combined magnetic fields. These openings can propel

0:20:06.000 --> 0:20:10.280
<v Speaker 1>uninterrupted jets of charged particles at high speed from the

0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:17.560
<v Speaker 1>Sun's atmosphere to Earth. Invisible, unstable, and elusive, these electron

0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:21.439
<v Speaker 1>diffusion regions, as they are called, appear to open and

0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:27.800
<v Speaker 1>close without any warning. Observations by NASA have suggested that

0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:32.800
<v Speaker 1>these magnetic portals open and close dozens of times each day.

0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:37.719
<v Speaker 1>Most are small and short lived, but others are vast

0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:43.400
<v Speaker 1>and sustained, during which time tons of energetic particles can

0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:49.160
<v Speaker 1>flow through the openings, heating Earth's upper atmosphere, sparking geomagnetic

0:20:49.240 --> 0:20:55.600
<v Speaker 1>storms and igniting bright polar auroras. Typically, X points are

0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:59.639
<v Speaker 1>located tens of thousands of kilometers above Earth, where the

0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:04.960
<v Speaker 1>geol magnetic field meets on rushing solar wind. So far,

0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:09.520
<v Speaker 1>it's not known whether large magnetic anomalies on Earth, like

0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:13.840
<v Speaker 1>the one known to extend underneath Mount Shasta, have any

0:21:13.840 --> 0:21:19.520
<v Speaker 1>interaction with these invisible and elusive magnetic portals out in space.

0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:25.480
<v Speaker 1>Scientifically speaking, this is highly unlikely and far less likely

0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.399
<v Speaker 1>that these points would create pockets in space and time

0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:35.920
<v Speaker 1>through which someone might fall. We hope. To the Modoc,

0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:40.399
<v Speaker 1>a Native American community local to the area, the volcano

0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:43.800
<v Speaker 1>is home to a creature they call the matter Cagmi,

0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:47.840
<v Speaker 1>their word for Bigfoot, a race of giants who they

0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:50.679
<v Speaker 1>consider to be the keepers of the woods who have

0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:55.000
<v Speaker 1>existed as long as their own people, and modern sightings

0:21:55.040 --> 0:22:00.000
<v Speaker 1>of Bigfoot are rife around Mount Shasta. Back in eighteen ten,

0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:04.960
<v Speaker 1>twenty six European traders arrived in the area. They introduced

0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.920
<v Speaker 1>cattle ranching and lumber practices, which were used successfully by

0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:13.720
<v Speaker 1>incoming settlers and the Native American communities alike. But as

0:22:13.800 --> 0:22:18.800
<v Speaker 1>conflicts between local communities and settlers grew, the Native Americans

0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:22.720
<v Speaker 1>were eventually forced to seed twenty three million acres of

0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:27.840
<v Speaker 1>their land and moved onto reservations. Then the new settlers

0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:32.760
<v Speaker 1>began to weave their own folklore around Mount Shast None

0:22:32.760 --> 0:22:37.719
<v Speaker 1>were stranger than the tale of a British geologist called J. C. Brown.

0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:48.040
<v Speaker 1>In nineteen o four. J. C. Brown was said to

0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:50.760
<v Speaker 1>have been hired by the Lord Cowdry Mining Company of

0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:54.159
<v Speaker 1>England to prospect for gold in the Mount Shasta area.

0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:58.679
<v Speaker 1>During his explorations, it was said that he discovered a

0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:03.159
<v Speaker 1>large tunnel hidden beneath a rock, which sloped downward for

0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:07.919
<v Speaker 1>eleven miles into the mountain. According to Brown, at the

0:23:08.040 --> 0:23:11.840
<v Speaker 1>end of the tunnel was a strange village like complex

0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:17.280
<v Speaker 1>of caverns which contained machinery of fortune in gold and copper,

0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:22.280
<v Speaker 1>and twenty seven giant skeletons, some of them as much

0:23:22.320 --> 0:23:26.440
<v Speaker 1>as ten feet tall. Two were said to be shrouded

0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:29.520
<v Speaker 1>in robes and appeared to be a queen and a king.

0:23:30.840 --> 0:23:35.240
<v Speaker 1>Brown was reported to believe he'd found Telos, the City

0:23:35.280 --> 0:23:39.440
<v Speaker 1>of Light, or that remained of an ancient lost kingdom

0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:45.160
<v Speaker 1>called Lemuria, first proposed in eighteen sixty four by zoologist

0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:51.040
<v Speaker 1>Philip Sclater. Lemuria as a hypothetical lost continent that supposedly

0:23:51.160 --> 0:23:56.240
<v Speaker 1>sank somewhere beneath the Pacific Ocean. Brown seemed to believe

0:23:56.600 --> 0:24:00.080
<v Speaker 1>that the remaining le Murians had fled and established the

0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:07.280
<v Speaker 1>city under Mount Shasta, but then Brown disappeared. What happened

0:24:07.320 --> 0:24:11.360
<v Speaker 1>over the next thirty years is unclear, but in nineteen

0:24:11.440 --> 0:24:16.320
<v Speaker 1>thirty four, in Stockton, California, the local newspaper reported that

0:24:16.400 --> 0:24:20.359
<v Speaker 1>a man calling himself J. C. Brown was in town

0:24:20.760 --> 0:24:25.639
<v Speaker 1>preparing an expedition to go back to Mount Shaster. Eighty

0:24:25.760 --> 0:24:30.680
<v Speaker 1>local men signed on to join the expedition after attending

0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:34.920
<v Speaker 1>a series of daily lectures apparently given by Brown, who

0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:38.879
<v Speaker 1>they described as a cultured gentleman with white hair. Brown

0:24:39.040 --> 0:24:43.280
<v Speaker 1>told them there were incredible treasures waiting inside the mountain,

0:24:44.160 --> 0:24:48.240
<v Speaker 1>and so on June ninth, nineteen thirty four, the men

0:24:48.480 --> 0:24:52.400
<v Speaker 1>assembled at Stockton Harbor, ready to board boats they hoped

0:24:52.440 --> 0:24:56.119
<v Speaker 1>would take them north to help Brown excavate his discovery,

0:24:56.760 --> 0:25:00.360
<v Speaker 1>But J. C. Brown didn't show up and was never

0:25:00.480 --> 0:25:07.720
<v Speaker 1>seen again. To this day, people continued to disappear inexplicably

0:25:08.119 --> 0:25:12.720
<v Speaker 1>on and around the mountain. As recently as July one,

0:25:13.000 --> 0:25:17.080
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four, a new missing person's case was opened

0:25:17.400 --> 0:25:20.720
<v Speaker 1>after a grandmother and her daughter failed to return to

0:25:20.760 --> 0:25:26.840
<v Speaker 1>their home in Chico, California. Deloras Sakamoto eighty four and

0:25:26.960 --> 0:25:31.560
<v Speaker 1>her daughter Vivian Luna sixty four were reported missing by

0:25:31.560 --> 0:25:36.200
<v Speaker 1>a neighbor for some unknown reason. The pair had apparently

0:25:36.359 --> 0:25:39.680
<v Speaker 1>rushed from their house to go somewhere, leaving food out

0:25:39.760 --> 0:25:45.040
<v Speaker 1>on the kitchen counter. Police investigations revealed that on the

0:25:45.119 --> 0:25:48.760
<v Speaker 1>day of their disappearance, Luna had taken money out of

0:25:48.800 --> 0:25:52.120
<v Speaker 1>an eight m in Susanville, a two hour drive from

0:25:52.160 --> 0:25:57.040
<v Speaker 1>their home. Two days later, California Highway Patrol issued an

0:25:57.080 --> 0:26:02.240
<v Speaker 1>alert for Luna's black Lexus car. The last trace of

0:26:02.280 --> 0:26:05.600
<v Speaker 1>the pair came from a cell phone tower near Mount

0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:11.240
<v Speaker 1>Shaster Ski Park. Despite a multi agency search effort, including

0:26:11.320 --> 0:26:16.880
<v Speaker 1>the use of airplanes, elliicopters, deputies, and sniffer dogs, no

0:26:16.960 --> 0:26:28.200
<v Speaker 1>trace of the two women has ever been found. This

0:26:28.320 --> 0:26:32.119
<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Diane Hope and Richard McLain Smith.

0:26:33.680 --> 0:26:36.600
<v Speaker 1>Diane is an audio producer and sound recordist in her

0:26:36.640 --> 0:26:39.280
<v Speaker 1>own right. You can find out more about her work

0:26:39.480 --> 0:26:43.480
<v Speaker 1>at Dianehope dot com and on Instagram at In the

0:26:43.600 --> 0:26:49.360
<v Speaker 1>Sound Field unexplained as an Avy Club Productions podcast created

0:26:49.400 --> 0:26:53.040
<v Speaker 1>by Richard McClain smith. All other elements of the podcast,

0:26:53.119 --> 0:26:57.200
<v Speaker 1>including the music, are also produced by me. Richard McClain smith.

0:26:58.400 --> 0:27:02.520
<v Speaker 1>Unexplained the book and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide.

0:27:03.040 --> 0:27:06.919
<v Speaker 1>You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and

0:27:07.040 --> 0:27:11.359
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0:27:11.400 --> 0:27:14.000
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0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:17.560
<v Speaker 1>touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've

0:27:17.600 --> 0:27:20.320
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0:27:20.359 --> 0:27:23.080
<v Speaker 1>your own you'd like to share. You can find out

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