4 Chilling Stories of People Who Disappeared in National Parks

Have you ever heard the stories of the people who disappeared in our beautiful National Parks?

The national parks in America are some of the most stunning places you could ever experience. The nature is fantastic, the views are breathtaking, and the scenery is absolutely out of this world. There are truly no words to capture just how impressive these landscapes are.

However, a walk in the park isn’t always as carefree as it sounds, and it can sometimes lead to unexpected and tragic events. Over the years, many disappearances and disasters have occurred in some of the most popular national parks. Sadly, these are terrifying stories of people who never made it home. So, brace yourself—things are about to get creepy.

But if you have a strong heart and a curious mind, I invite you to delve into these unsettling tales. Without further ado, here are the chilling stories of those who disappeared in America’s national parks:

1. Yosemite National Park – Ruthanne Ruppert

Yosemite National Park is one of the loveliest places in California, and it surely impresses every visitor with its gorgeous waterfalls and rocks. But as beautiful as it is, it’s also home to countless disappearances. Experts even say that finding a missing person there is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Ruthanne Ruppert was a brave woman, passionate about nature and lovely landscapes, and she planned a hike from Yosemite Falls to an unincorporated community called Foresta, around a six-hour walk southwest. Sadly, she didn’t make it to the destination. As medical reports say, one of her eyes was a prosthetic, while the other one was in recovery. She had been treated for an infection the day she embarked on the hiking journey.

Even though the experts can’t tell for sure what happened during that terrible day in the 2000s, it’s believed that her eyes were one of the reasons she got in trouble. What’s even more disturbing is that her backpack was found eight years after her disappearance in the region of Fireplace Creek, which is about halfway between Yosemite Falls and Foresta. Chilling, right?

2. Rocky Mountain National Park – Alfred Beilhartz

Regrettably, adults aren’t the only ones who disappear in the beautiful American national parks. In 1938, a cute boy named Alfred Beilhartz was on vacation at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park with his family.

He was on a hike with his family when suddenly he reached the back of the queue and simply went missing. A thorough search was carried out both on land and in the water, but it was unsuccessful. A while after the three- or four-year-old boy vanished, some witnesses claimed to have seen him with an unidentified individual, and Beilhartz’s father thought his son had been kidnapped.

3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Thelma Pauline Melton

Another disappearance that shocked the country was in 1981, when 58-year-old Thelma Pauline Melton was in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a group of friends. They wanted to hike on the Deep Creek Trail, but her husband decided to remain at the camp.

Her friends stated that she picked up the pace and walked ahead of them during the hike and suddenly disappeared beyond a hill. Everyone thought she had gone back to her husband, but when they got back to the camp, the man stated Pauline never arrived.

A thorough search was soon launched, but Melton was never located, and even more mysteriously, there was no proof that a hiker had strayed from the path. I don’t know about you, but this story gives me goosebumps.

4. Grand Canyon National Park – Glen and Bessie Hyde

Glen and Bessie Hyde were two adventurous people who got married on April 10th, 1928. They wanted to spend their honeymoon in style: travel the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and tackle the legendary rapids there. Bessie Hyde was going to make history by becoming the first woman to run the Grand Canyon without incident.

After Glen built his own wooden boat, the recentlyweds sailed away. Sadly, they were last seen on November 18th, and Glen’s father knew something was wrong and filed a missing person’s report. Their boat was discovered floating in the water on December 19th, with all of their supplies. Numerous theories have been put forth regarding the disappearance, but it’s more than likely that the Hydes simply fell out of the boat while running the rapids and drowned.

What do you think about these disappearance stories? Have you heard of any of them before? If you’re intrigued and eager to uncover more terrifying tales of people who vanished in national parks, share your thoughts in the comments below. And if you’re still craving something that will send chills down your spine, don’t miss this other bone-chilling post we’ve prepared for you: Inside the Mind of Mass Shooters: Why, How, and When It Happens