Look out, here comes Grify with her novel length posts again!
I haven't read the books of David Palaidies. the following statement is based solely on his interviews on Paracast, Coast to Coast am, Dark Matter's Radio.
I think we have a break away civilization of feral humans who have grown to be expert survivalist. Expert enough to time their abduction of people with rain storms to cover their tracks, Who have learned expert tricks to smuggle people out from under our noses. While we meer mortals have to have campfires and semi urban comforts to camp well.
I think that there may be the possibility that some cases may involve "wild" humans who are hiding in the wilderness (maybe hiding from civilization for their own reasons kind of like
this guy). That was even mentioned in some of the interviews. I just have my doubts about that being the answer in even a fraction of the cases Paulides covers, and here's why:
- I don't think a normal human being would be capable of predicting the type of weather patterns that appear with oddly "good" timing after an abduction. I get that someone who is more in tune with nature may feel the heaviness of the air before a thunderstorm or something like that, or they may be familiar with local climate enough to know it's a good time for snow or rain. The problem is that these cases don't fit into that. In many situations, the weather is completely abnormal, unexpected and even record breaking in severity. How can someone know that it's going to rain for many days or snow for days and how can they know soon enough to plan and execute a random abduction in the forest (where you aren't always going to see other people)? I'll give you that some may be opportunists but I think the idea that someone is that accurate predicting the weather and manages to pull off a flawless abduction in an unpopulated area is a bit of a stretch. And if they are that accurate they could probably make some good money as a weather forecaster.
- The other issue is: why? If someone is living in the wilderness as a way of escaping or not being a part of society, why risk giving yourself away? When someone goes missing, hundreds or more people usually come out and comb the area in SAR efforts. That seems like it would be the opposite of what you would want if you wanted to hide away in the forest.
-Part 2 of the "why?" is: what benefit is there in taking these people and why do it the way it would have to be done to produce the end result we see so often in the cases covered? A high number are small children with no valuables other than the clothes on their backs (which wouldn't fit an adult anyway). And often times the bodies of those who are found deceased appear to have no trauma and nothing stolen (or the occasional missing item, but usually nothing worth killing over). They simply died of "exposure" or dehydration. So, if someone is in the woods, they would have to not only be abducting people but trapping them somewhere where no one will find or hear them then just waiting it out until they decide to die. Again, if someone was murdering people wouldn't you just kill them and move on rather than wait days and hope to not get caught? And if they are feral, and lets say they view us as a possible meal, again the bodies usually aren't devoured or otherwise harmed. There are some cases where there is...devastating damage, but it seems like most of the time when someone is found it's fully intact (no teeth marks no "meat" removed - sorry to get a little morbid there
).
The interviews on all of those programs are well worth listening to. Paulides has actually been on C2C three times (I think) discussing this. But I also highly recommend checking out the books. I was struck pretty hard when I heard the interviews (I guess it shows with my obsession here, doesn't it?) but reading the books just put it all into a whole new perspective. I definitely think things are going on, and I think at least one or two of those things may be the type of thing that would blow the general public's mind.
All that being said, I guess I should clarify: I was responding as if you meant regular people who were born into society and chose to leave and live a "wild" secluded life in the forest. I suppose you may have also meant a different group (maybe almost a different species) that may have evolved long, long ago along side us without our knowing it. And that could be leaning towards the whole bigfoot phenomenon. I'm not entirely sold on that idea yet, but I won't dismiss it as a possibility. There seems to, at times, be a supernatural aspect to some of these stories as well as others I have heard elsewhere not related to the 411 books (primarily odd occurrences involving alleged bigfoot/dogman encounters). Which is why I have a hard time seeing it as just another animal at this point.
And the similarities between the really weird cases and the questionable (read: not quite so weird, but suspicious) cases makes me think there must be some common thread. There were some events I read about in the 411 books that made me think "ya, that could have easily been another person" but when you read the others you start to wonder. For example, removal of clothing and footwear was especially prominent (meaning it looked like someone took their garments/shoes off not that they were torn off like you would see in an animal attack). Then I read one short case about a man who's body was found in a half dug hole, partially buried. Well that could have been a murder by another human being (while very violent, still what I would consider mundane). Yet his shoes were missing and, if I recall correctly, I don't remember any mention of trauma or an obvious sign of death. Which kind of makes you go back to all the other really strange cases with similar elements. It's almost like a ritual, or at the very least clearly must involve the same culprit with the same methods and motives.
If you ever get around to reading the books, I would love to hear your opinion on these cases. I found that mine evolved as I went through all three, and continues to evolve as I learn more about this and what I consider possibly related phenomena.
