There’s another one of the cluster zones of missing persons reports that fails to render the location of such people who have vanished, but promises a wide variety of paranormal beings in its arsenal of the unknown. It’s known as the Appalachian Trail. It begins in the dense woods of the State of Maine extends to Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and proceeds in a southwesterly direction. Much of the Appalachian Trail is marked by poverty, superstition, myth, and folklore. It is a perplexingly mysterious region.

David Paulides, author of the 411 Book Series of Missing People adds this perilous swatch of the US wilderness to his reports of the persistent loss of people who have been attracted by the raw charm of these woodlands and mountains, but have ended up as mute testimony on the pages of reports of those who will never be seen again. Once the province of moonshine makers, feuding Hillbillies, and poor settlers, the Appalachian Trail continues to remain an ominous adventure into the unknown. A place where hikers optimistic of an exciting scenery, rich foray with nature, who end up swallowed by the inexplicable disappearances that leave rescuers puzzled.

Such manifestations as “Sheep Squatch” “Skin Walkers” “Shape Shifters” “Wendigo” "Feral People" and even reported werewolves leave an eerie impression in the history of this massive landscape of foreboding forests. North American Indian tribes have these creatures embedded in their folklore. Only adding to the sense that the area is a haunting ground of demonic entities if not only a habitat of Bigfoot, but are these elusive terrors the true reason behind the incessant disappearances that David Paulides has investigated?

A number of people have set out to traverse the entire Appalachian Trail. A daunting task in itself, but to also have to potentially face a list of weird creature that supposedly lurk in the dense mountainous terrain is just one more concern that some people seem oblivious to. Experienced woodsman, athletic hikers, hunters familiar with the region, are among those who simply become a memory to their loved ones and friends they have left to venture into a dangerous path that is not well understood. Keep in mind part of the “Bennington Triangle”, infamous and unsolved is part of this wilderness.

David, a former special investigator for the state of California when asked if knowing what he knows, does he still pursue recreation in the wilderness? Yes, David loves being out in the wild. One might think not, with all he has researched and those that have disappeared for no apparent reason, but he advises these tips!  Major things if one wants to go into the National Forests and do some exploring. 1) Take a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon), 2) Never go alone 3) Tell some family or friends when you’re going and when you expect to return 4) When hiking with family keep the children ahead of you where you can see them at all times 5) I’m sure Paulides agrees with this too, carry a firearm!

One of the most frustrating aspects of David’s investigation efforts is the refusal of the National Park Wildlife management and Park Rangers offices is that they claim not to have any files of past missing persons, which Paulides does not believe since he can go into any small police department or sheriff’s office and get files on people who have vanished. Why not the National Park Service? This leads many people to conclude that there’s something going on they don’t want us to know about! In his book “Aliens in Space” author, Donald Keyhoe, describes the UFO sighting made by National Parks official E.T Scoyan as far back as 1953! This adds another dimension to the possible entities who might cause disappearances.

In Part II we’ll discuss some of the more unnerving deaths and the commonalities that surround them