Morbid Outdoors

Deserts can be dangerous places if you aren’t prepared for their unforgiving terrain and weather. White Sands National Park has seen its share of tragedy within its boundaries, with victims succumbing to the white sands nearly every year. But one boy survived in 2015 and made it out alive.Sources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Parkhttps://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/safety.htmhttps://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/david-ornella-steinerhttps://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/mariah-reading-national-park-art/https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/10/us/new-mexico-french-deaths

If you’ve been on social media, you’ve probably seen videos or pictures of bison attacking tourists in our national parks. Online articles will tell you it's pretty rare but with the plethora of pictures and videos and stories online says otherwise. With many more people getting outside these attacks seem to be becoming more frequent, and not just for bison, but for all animals. Antelope Island State Park in Salt Lake City, Utah saw two gorings in 2019. Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_IslandThis is Love Podcast https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/woman-gored-bison-utah-same-park-where-date-had-been-n1060741https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49898709https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/8/29/21407152/bison-davis-county-man-critically-injured-at-antelope-island-state-park-likely-gored/

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/

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