Down the Chupacabra Hole

For decades people have been disappearing from National Parks and forests under incredibly chilling circumstances. Author David Paulides, a former Los Angeles police officer, has painstakingly investigated this bizarre phenomenon for over nine years. Missing 411 is a book series which chronicles incidents which seem to defy all logic. Hundreds of unusual missing persons cases have been analyzed and share eerie similarities. Frequently the victims’ bodies are never recovered, other times they are found deceased in puzzlingly unexpected spots. Those lucky enough to survive have no recollection of the events that transpired. Thousands of strange vanishings have occurred and only a handful of individuals have surfaced with any memories intact. One such example is the mystifying case of a young California boy.

On October 1, 2010, three-and-a-half-year-old ‘John Doe’ and his relatives were camping by a popular fly fishing location near Mount Shasta. Around 6:00 PM the child’s parents realized their son had suddenly gone missing. According to Mr. Doe, his youngster was ‘there one second and gone the next’. They scoured the area he had last been seen in complete panic-stricken horror. After hours of feverishly searching the little boy still had not turned up. Now desperate, the distraught father decided to call local police deputies and United States Forest Service officers. Rescue personnel combed the forest well into the night yet there was no sign of the toddler. 

Five hours after John had disappeared authorities found him laid down on the brush directly next to a trail that had been previously searched. He appeared to be in a dazed, semi-conscious state. Mr. and Mrs. Doe attributed this to exhaustion and were simply grateful their little one returned physically unharmed. Medical staff gave full clearance so the freshly reunited family were permitted to return home. Everyone’s lives quickly went back to normal. Yet only a few weeks later the small boy would share a disturbing tale about his terrifying ordeal.

One day John’s grandmother Kathy, who is called “Kappy,” was playing with her grandson. Suddenly he looked towards her and said that he didn’t like the other Grandma Kappy. Confused, she asked him what exactly he meant. John explained that while he was lost in the woods he had been taken deep inside a mountainside cave by a woman he thought was Grandma Kappy. She led him into a cool, dark spider-infested room filled with motionless humanoid robots. Scattered across the floor were dusty purses, guns and various types of other weapons.

As John anxiously faced his ‘grandparent’ he noticed an eerie light radiating from her head. In this moment he realized she was not his real granny. Kappy firmly instructed the boy to defecate on a piece of paper. When he refused she became increasingly agitated and repeatedly requested him to do so. Eventually the grandma-lookalike succumbed to frustration and moved onto a different topic. Allegedly, she informed John that he had been planted in his mother’s womb and was actually from outer space. Shortly after this extraordinary account she took the boy back outside to a thicket and advised him to wait for help.

Upon hearing this disturbing story, an outraged Kathy called her son and demanded to know what he was allowing her grandchild to watch on television. Mr. Doe lamented that he had heard an identical recollection only a few days prior. Initially the two chalked it up to an overactive imagination. Yet the more Kathy thought about it the more John’s story perplexed her. What kind of TV show would feature some of the ludicrous topics that the boy described? Even more chilling was the idea that she might have some kind of doppelgänger assuming her identity in order to abduct innocent victims.

With those particular thoughts in mind, Kathy decided to share a haunting experience of her own. Only a year before she had gone on a camping trip within close proximity to where John’s ordeal occurred. In the morning she awoke face-down in dirt. Somehow she had been inexplicably removed from the sleeping bag within her tent and transferred a short distance away. Upon rousing, she felt an intense pain at the base of her neck. Two puncture wounds were present and the surrounding skin was red and inflamed. Another friend who accompanied her on the excursion suffered a matching affliction. The pair originally attributed these injuries to a possible spider bite.

Both Kathy and her travel companion became violently ill. In fact, she was so sick that she could not even muster the strength to pack her things. Her mind raced as she desperately tried to recall what happened mere hours ago. Only one thing surfaced: glowing red eyes. While she was drifting into slumber she remembered seeing several creatures gazing through the darkness. At the time she assumed they were produced by a herd of deer. Following this traumatizing outing, Kathy felt completely drained of her creativity and emotions. Several months would pass before she felt like her old self again. Admittedly, Grandma Kappy would have dismissed her episode had John not come forward with his firsthand encounter.

Legends and lore pertaining to Mount Shasta have existed throughout the centuries. Indigenous tribespeople chronicled a fallen race of prehistoric giants that were said to inhabit the region. Others claim beings known as Lemurians use local caves as entrances to an underground crystalline city called Telos. Some allege a large energetic vortex is present within the territory. In modern times there are many UFO and Bigfoot sightings reported. Each year twenty-six thousand visitors flock to this revered mountain from countries across the globe. There has been alarmingly high numbers of curious missing persons cases within this picturesque terrain. While John Doe’s incident seems unbelievable it’s important to consider the odd history and happenings afflicting the area. An open mind may be the only thing that will finally resolve this age-old mystery.

What do you think is responsible for the unusual disappearances in Mount Shasta? I’d love to hear your thoughts!