The statistics for people that go missing in national parks across the US stands in the thousands. According to NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System), more than 600,000 persons go missing in the United States every year. 

Between 89 percent to 92 percent of those missing people are recovered every year, either alive or deceased. How many of those disappear in the wild is unclear. 

Shockingly, neither the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service or the Department of Agriculture’s US Forest Service keeps track.

Strangely, the most reliable information on missing people in the wild comes from Bigfoot hunters. In 2011, David Paulides, founder of the North America Bigfoot Search, launched a database of wildland disappearances that occurred under “mysterious circumstances.” 

From his research, there are at least 1,600 people, currently missing in the wild somewhere in the United States.

When looking into the disappearance of children and adults, some taken from broad daylight, it is easy to plot clusters of them. Certain areas produce more missing people than others. Yosemite National Park hosts one of these clusters. 

The history of Yosemite Park, however, is by far the more interesting with bizarre sightings, experiences and legends connected to it. One of the most disturbing is the large number of missing children that are associated with the park. The figure is in the hundreds. If this is not concern enough, the supernatural circumstances that led to their disappearance are. 

The Child Disappearances

In some cases, the disappearances can be explained by mental health issues, bad weather, animal attacks and the regular dangers associated with being outside. Elisa Lam, being a popular case that involved a young woman who was in the middle of a manic episode. There are also the people that run away and don't want to be found. 

Bodies are often found in previously searched areas. Without clothing or footwear, even when hypothermia has been ruled out.

The disappearances are both baffling and on many occasions not reported by the national park system. Hundreds of missing children, some who were never seen again, and many with bizarre stories to tell.

There are other similarities as well as the location when you look into these disappearances. Most of the children are under the age of ten. There are no visible signs of a struggle at the scene. When dogs are brought in to find the missing person, they can't find or follow the scent, if they do the scent always leads investigators up the mountain. 

When Children are Found 

When survivors are found they are normally very far from the abduction certainly outside normal search limits. A retired investigator who looked into this stated Sometimes these kids that I write about are found, like a 2 or 3-year-old, are found 10–15 miles from the point they were last seen

In January 2019, a 3-year-old boy named Casey Hathaway disappeared near his great-grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina. Temperatures dropped below freezing and rain blew sideways. Three days later, the boy was found alive, entangled in briars a quarter of a mile from where he went missing.

Other children have been found in areas that have previously been searched by several volunteers on numerous occasions. Children have even been rescued from the other side of the mountain ranges. 

These children have travelled huge distance in harsh landscapes in severe weather. Seasoned professionals would find these journeys difficult. Adults have tried to recreate their journey's and failed.

The missing children cases in Yosemite get even more baffling. The surviving children tell stories of friendly bears or big wolves who took care of them. Leading some to suggest Bigfoot picks them up and travels with them. How else could you explain children travelling so far on foot?

What Happens in Yosemite National Park?

Who took these children and what happened to them has long been debated. Some people will point to Bigfoot, others will suggest alien abduction. Are the children the victims of a less supernatural answer such as child abduction gangs? The cases remain a mystery. 

The cases are made harder to solve as the parks are reluctant to report the missing persons, fearing it would harm their tourist trade. National parks like Yosemite operate almost as sovereign states. When somebody goes missing in their territory, they’re not inclined to seek help from outside government agencies.

Thankfully some of these children are found and returned safe and sound. My heart breaks for those parents who do not have this conclusion.