Lee fancies himself as being an expert hiker and survivalist. The great outdoors that comprises US national forests, preserves, and state parks is his exploratory playground. He’s done many a YouTube video on his exploits often doing selfies and rarely with an accompanying partner, which in itself is not only daring but foolish. Lee, will get some of the most up close and personal photos of Sasquatch yet, but at what cost? It all begins with a number of subtle clues that should have awakened gut feelings and set off alarms, but when one is supremely confident in their skills, perhaps even a bit self-deluded, those red flags go ignored.

Piercing the thick overhead canopy of wilderness that extends far beyond marked and maintained hiking trails is the first of mistakes. The sun barely breaks through the thick overhead curtain of Hemlock, Evergreen, and Douglas Fir as shadows permeate the forest in broad daylight. The forest floor consists of dried pine needles and leaves, crunching as a man or animal walk. However, in the presence of the paranormal or an apex predator, suddenly normal sounds of insects, birds, and rodents scurrying around is suddenly sucked into a disturbing vacuum. The silence is not only unsettling, it’s a warning that no good can come of it.

Lee, is casually shooting selfies and scenery footage when he stumbled upon the first signs that he has encountered territorial markers. Across the trail is a 5-inch tree snapped and crossed over on a stump acting as an archway across the path. The wood is fresh, not rotted and it is cleanly broken from great torque! Lee moves further in seemingly oblivious to the sign. Next, he sees a lean to of branches all neatly broken at the same length all aligned around a tree in a triangular shape. A definite form of shelter by an intelligent craftsman. Lee notes it and takes a photo of the structure. Perhaps now, he is acknowledging something is afoot.

At first, Lee is simply accumulating footage before reviewing any of it until he sets up camp for the first time. The later afternoon will soon turn to nightfall so he unfolds his tent and after gathering fire wood begins looking at some of the film he’s shot. After finding water to boil and setting up his pot, he sees something strange in the background. Movement of a large, dark, figure perhaps 60 yards behind him! Whoever or whatever it is maintains stealth, and it’s no bear! That evening he hears the crackle of pine needles underfoot as something or someone circles his tent at a discrete distance! He fetches a large hunting knife from his bag, but did not bring a rifle or handgun! Another grievous mistake!

He drifts off until the morning. After chewing some rations and drinking some coffee, Lee begins his trek further in. Now he notices a bizarre circle of stones and an arrangement of small rodent bones along with ribs of deer. This is not the work of scavengers or foraging animals it is a definite form of communication! Lee is unsettled. He goes further and at times seems aware of a presence maintaining a carful distance. Further along, he comes to another bone arrangement of deer rib cages and perhaps elk bones that are larger, all-in linear patterns! The bones are clean of any fur or any carrion! It’s as though they were intentionally put into pristine condition by careful hands. Then, he sees it and photographs the huge, fur covered, bipedal being that has become so brazen as to be visible though not approaching him! It is working on something that he can’t make out!

Now, Lee is thirsty and searching for some source of water for his canteen. He walks to the end of a trail that was not supposed to have ended so abruptly! His GPS locator is failing to get a reading and his compass needle is simply spinning! Lee is now getting disoriented! His well thought out plans seemed to have collapsed and still the creature remaining within view continues with its work! He happens upon a creek and gathers some water, lying behind a log on the ground for several minutes trying to hide from his unwanted visitor! After several minutes he thinks perhaps whatever it is has left so he moves to the area where he thought this Bigfoot was crafting something and he gets his answer!

A well-organized site of bleached white bones, a femur, a ribcage, a pelvis, all reconstructed with a skull! It is the remains of a human! This is what the ape man-like entity was working on! Was this a deadly message and that he was next? Lee will fail to emerge from the trail he’s taken so deep into the wilderness. Authorities could not find him from any signal given off by his GPS locator as he was in a dead zone! In Northern California and Oregon are places that, electronically speaking, are black holes where neither cell phones or GPS networks operate! Some say it’s the electro-magnetic field generated by fault lines where tectonic plates create friction between themselves and vibrations deep in the strata below.

When Lee’s belongings and tent are finally located by search parties so is his camera and film footage. Park rangers also note the bone arrangements and the skeleton but not of Lee himself. The skeletal remains are dated much too many years prior, but Lee is nowhere to be found! Although his vehicle was left at the trail head several miles from where Lee had hiked on foot, no clue of his whereabouts can be found. Aerial drone searches reveal nothing as the forest canopy is simply too dense.

However, authorities do have the cell phone images and the videocam selfies that Lee took and they do see and note some of the clearest photos of the Sasquatch yet to be taken! Once reports by the national park services and state wildlife commission are examined, a sanitized file is created as federal agents take over the investigation along with the film evidence. Only s few shots manage to somehow to be leaked onto the internet and YouTube, but much more of the film footage has vanished into the possession of the feds! Chalk up another classic Missing Persons 4-11 type case resembling so many incidents that David Paulides has investigated especially in a known cluster zone of places better left unvisited especially by a loner!