Morbid Outdoors

In 2021, search crews at Grand Canyon National Park made an unexpected discovery while looking for another missing person: skeletal remains believed to be of another missing person. His backpack had been found years earlier with prescription bottles bearing his name, but no trace of him was located until the 2021 aerial search. His remains were there the whole time, blending into the canyon until chance and persistence finally brought him home.Sources:https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/8-facts-about-grand-canyon-you-never-knewhttps://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm\https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/body-of-hungarian-man-missing-since-july-recovered-in-grand-canyonhttps://npshistory.com/morningreport/incidents/grca.htmhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-canyon-search-human-remains-scott-walsh/https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Scott_Walshhttps://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/89603https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/cold-cases.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/gibbs-missing-person.htm?utm

The first month of 2026 brought some interesting headlines in the natural world--from animal attacks to rescues, this month's headlines were wild. Sources:https://www.thv11.com/article/news/nation-world/colorado-woman-dies-suspected-mountain-lion-attack/507-c23ac026-e5e5-4897-871f-5811acbc3e95?fbclid=IwdGRleAPFAZZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeFaeFGJpYini2DrTiWQNHZmP10JwHlzPh-NtEgHrspvyHj3wzhnZLTUla9i4_aem_4H4diXeXFAGf4wDg1WW-Pghttps://people.com/teen-vanished-on-mountain-without-phone-days-later-he-walked-over-12-miles-to-safety-11879774https://people.com/sos-signal-leads-to-rescue-hypothermic-teen-hiker-after-7-hour-search-11882589https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/washington-county/ten-hikers-rescued-from-yankee-doodle-canyon-in-washington-countyhttps://katu.com/news/local/two-missing-climbers-found-dead-at-9600-ft-elevation-in-mount-rainier-national-park-hiking-outdoors-recreation-snow-cold-forecast-storm-temperature-investigation-search-rescue-permit-teamhttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-22/hiker-dies-mt-whitney-third-fatality-of-seasonhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/23/two-confirmed-dead-and-more-presumed-buried-after-landslides-hit-house-and-campground-in-new-zealandhttps://people.com/15-hikers-rescued-from-utah-canyon-in-same-day-11891061#:~:text=Fifteen%20hikers%20were%20rescued%20from,Yankee%20Doodle%20Canyon%2C%20Backpacker%20reported.

It was the summer of 1933, and Rocky Mountain National Park was still young — wild, untamed, and only partly mapped. On August 15th, a 22-year-old University of Chicago student set out on a solo hike. He told his friend he was heading toward Taylor Peak — just another day in the mountains before he had to return home to Chicago. But he never came back and his disappearance remains unsolved to this day. This is one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s oldest active missing persons cases.Tips: You can call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation 303-239-5764 or the Glendale Police Department 303-759-1511. Sources:https://charleyproject.org/case/joseph-laurence-halpernhttps://www.dailycamera.com/2010/01/24/joseph-halperns-family-continues-search-for-lost-hiker/https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/4185dmco.htmlhttps://defrostingcoldcases.com/guest-post-joseph-halpern-part-1-by-silvia-pettem/https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/08/10/inside-rocky-mountain-national-parks-1933-missing-hiker-mystery-joe-halpern/940601002/https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/national-park-service-finds-rudi-moder-hiker-missing-38-years/

Mount Everest: the world’s highest peak above sea level. It's iconic and stands against the sky like a giant. Everest is covered in snow and ice…and dead bodies. It is famous for its “Death Zone” which has extremely thin air, making breathing difficult, requiring supplemental oxygen for climbers. This beautiful mountain is dotted with many climbers who never made their way down. Sources:https://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/mount-everest-bodies-left-dead-frozen-at-the-top/https://www.instagram.com/p/C8svfgApUsy/?hl=enhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everesthttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/climbing-mount-everest-1

Utah has many missing persons cases and mysteries within its national forests and national parks. One of those happen to be the disappearance of a Finnish man who went missing in the Ashley National Forest in March 2025. He went to look for gold in the Uinta mountains and hasn’t been seen since. He is just a young man far from home, drawn to a wilderness he may not have fully understood. In places like this, it doesn’t take a dramatic moment for things to go wrong — just cold, isolation, and one missed turn.Tips: If you have any information about Onni’s whereabouts or have been in contact with him, please reach out to Cpt. John Crowley at Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office by calling 435-738-1126 or emailing jcrowley@duchesne.utah.gov.Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_National_Foresthttps://www.deseret.com/1989/6/15/18811507/moon-lake-unique-yet-little-known/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Rhoades_Minehttps://kamasvalleyhistory.org/2020/05/11/the-lost-rhoads-mine-the-back-rhodes-of-our-genealogy/https://www.foxnews.com/us/tourist-vanishes-after-leaving-utah-airport-backpack-mountainshttps://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000011139740.htmlhttps://www.abc4.com/news/missing-in-utah/duchesne-county-man/https://www.kpcw.org/state-regional/2025-04-02/finnish-man-missing-in-uintas-duchesne-county-sheriff-sayshttps://websleuths.com/threads/ut-onni-llmari-raassina-29-came-to-visit-utah-from-finland-missing-since-5-march-2025.740278/https://disappearedblog.com/justin-coursey/https://www.westkentuckystar.com/Obituaries/Funeral-Homes/Lindsey-Funeral-Home-(1)/Justin-Wayne-Coursey

When taking in the sights at beautiful overlooks many people don’t give a second thought to if the platform they’re standing on is safe…because why wouldn’t it be? But what happens when governments don’t appropriately fund high tourist areas such as national parks? When parks are underfunded and people still visit, fatalities are more likely to occur. This is what happened in Paparoa National Park in April of 1995. Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paparoa_National_Parkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_Creek_disasterhttps://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/14-die-cave-creek#:~:text=On%20April%2028%2C%201995%2C%2014%20people%20died,the%2014%20deceased%20were%20recovered%20by%20nightfall.https://cavecreek.weebly.com/long-term-consequences.htmlhttps://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/28/sadness-gratitude-cave-creek-survivors-reflect-30-years-on/

Welcome to Nature News, where we bring you the latest headlines from the wild places that shape our world — and sometimes take us by surprise. From hikers trapped in quicksand to ancient lakes returning after decades, here’s what nature has been telling us this past month. Sources:https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/hiker-trapped-quicksand-arches-national-park/https://people.com/human-remains-believed-to-be-missing-kayaker-found-river-nevada-11864854https://amp.fresnobee.com/news/california/article313522123.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/05/karl-bushby-walk-around-world/https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/death-valleys-ancient-lake-returned-173807792.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHhuxw-IzSi8xRP7GbKT0XRLiVhcMKbs81bByK3jADBAQQYRWukhBdG2kmVoEuZSjVdKXCNN5tBXMilFhP8sq8kWVDGwgUZHqzgGi4zQEnOCY9Oyssc8Y3xWXc5VIbHps7PAW1Dl2t41QQhk_-bYnXPjJ1I3t83Or_qKAf-jYTfPhttps://www.ksl.com/article/51418439/great-salt-lakes-latest-species-discovery-gets-a-name-fit-for-the-lakes-native-historyhttps://www.ksl.com/article/51418184/backcountry-santas-deliver-christmas-to-navajo-nation-familieshttps://www.vice.com/en/article/worlds-largest-dinosaur-tracks-site-found-in-bolivia/https://people.com/womans-car-found-in-parking-lot-near-national-park-days-after-she-was-reported-missing-11873381https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cz7n4px7e41ohttps://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/12/26/lds-church-returns-sacred/https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/3-hikers-found-dead-search-rescue-effort-mount/story?id=128787732

Horror doesn’t come from nowhere. Some of the most unsettling films we watch in the dark are rooted in something real — a crime, a disappearance, a moment that was too strange to ignore. Art imitates life, and in horror, it often does so with disturbing precision. And maybe that’s why these movies hit harder than pure fiction. Because somewhere beneath the jump scares and soundtracks, there’s a reminder that the most frightening stories are the ones that already happened.Join me for a fun NYE special episode! I had the pleasure of having Ryan & Chris from Roasted Snow Horror Show on to talk about what they know best: horror movies. I love the horror genre and I could talk about horror movies all day. So we got together to discuss outdoor horror films (& went on lots of tangents!) Ryan and Chris are so fun and their podcast is very entertaining, I can’t recommend it enough. Check them out & go give them a follow. Happy New Year everyone! 

In July 2010, an experienced outdoorsman goes missing while with friends during a climb on Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier is majestic, but it’s also merciless. Eric’s story is a haunting reminder that even experts can vanish—and often without explanation. His disappearance remains one of Mount Rainier’s most baffling modern mysteries, a reminder of how quickly climbers can be swallowed by the mountain’s brutal weather and treacherous terrain.Sources:https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/eric-lewishttps://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201109100/Climber-Unties-from-Team-Disappears-During-Severe-Weather-Inexperienced-Climbing-Partners-Washington-Mount-Rainier-Gibraltar-Ledges