Speaker 1: Hello friends, Steve Stockton here with you. Welcome to our
Speaker 1: latest video. In this episode, we take a look at
Speaker 1: the history, legends, and disappearances in Everglades National Park.
Speaker 2: Join US now.
Speaker 1: Everyglades National Park is located just outside Miami, Florida, and
Speaker 1: is home to the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.
Speaker 1: The park covers about one point five million acres of
Speaker 1: land and hosts one of the most diverse ecosystems currently
Speaker 1: found nowhere else in the world. It's home to an
Speaker 1: abundance of wildlife, including rare and endangered species like manatees,
Speaker 1: the American alligator, and the elusive Florida panther. The scenery
Speaker 1: is striking, with thousands of miles of sawgrass, intermittent Cyprus domes,
Speaker 1: and countless water sluice. The park offers a variety of
Speaker 1: outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, wildlife viewing and photography,
Speaker 1: guided tours the area, and even gambling in the Native
Speaker 1: American casinos. The Everglades tropical climate means there are two
Speaker 1: primary seasons, wet and dry between December and April. The
Speaker 1: dry season provides low humidity and mild temperatures that range
Speaker 1: from the low fifties to the high seventies and fahrenheit.
Speaker 1: The dry season is the peak for tourism, when water
Speaker 1: levels are low and the wildlife congregate in central water locations.
Speaker 1: The wet season from May to December, however, brings about
Speaker 1: harsher conditions. Temperatures can reach the high nineties with high
Speaker 1: humidity and near constant rain. This makes for dangerous environment
Speaker 1: for those who go unprepared. To many people, the Everglades
Speaker 1: are a reminder of the beauty and wonder of nature,
Speaker 1: but there is a sinister site to these wondrous marshes.
Speaker 1: We're going to look at the history of the Everglades,
Speaker 1: as well as local legends, mysteries, strange disappearances, and one
Speaker 1: survivor's account.
Speaker 2: A little bit of history.
Speaker 1: First humans inhabited the Everglades area as early as fifteen
Speaker 1: thousand years ago, well before South Florida turned into the
Speaker 1: present wetlands. They would have found an arid landscape that
Speaker 1: supported plants and animals adapted for desert conditions. However, sixty
Speaker 1: five hundred years ago, climate changes brought a wetter landscape.
Speaker 1: Large animals became extinct in Florida and the Paleo Indians
Speaker 1: slowly adapted and became the archaic peoples. They conformed of
Speaker 1: the environmental changes and created many tools with the various
Speaker 1: resources available. Florida Native Americans developed into three distinct and
Speaker 1: similar cultures that were named for the bodies of water
Speaker 1: near where they were located Okechobee, Calusa, Hatchie, and Glades.
Speaker 1: From the Glades people, two major nations emerged in the area,
Speaker 1: the Calusa and the Tequesta. With Spanish colonization, both tribes
Speaker 1: gradually declined during the next two centuries. Then the Seminole tribe,
Speaker 1: mostly formed of Greek people who had been warning to
Speaker 1: the north, assimilar did other peoples and created an entirely
Speaker 1: new culture after being forced from northern Florida into the
Speaker 1: Everglades region during the Seminole Wars of the early nineteenth century.
Speaker 1: After adapting to the region, the Seminole people were able
Speaker 1: to resist removal by the United States Army. The Seminole
Speaker 1: called the area Pahokee, meaning grassy water. They learned to
Speaker 1: survive in marsh wetlands, behinding the local game, fishing the waters,
Speaker 1: and eventually cultivating select crops. In eighteen ninety seven, Andrew
Speaker 1: Jackson invaded Florida to hasten its annexation to the United
Speaker 1: States in what became known as the First Seminole War.
Speaker 1: After Florida became a US territory in eighteen twenty one,
Speaker 1: conflicts between the settlers and the Seminoles increased. The Second
Speaker 1: Seminole War lasted from eighteen thirty five to eighteen forty two,
Speaker 1: and afterward the US forcibly removed about three thousand Seminole
Speaker 1: an eight hundred black Seminole to Indian Territory, which is
Speaker 1: now Oklahoma west of the Mississippi River many others in
Speaker 1: the war. Conflict broke out again in the Third Seminole
Speaker 1: War from eighteen fifty five to eighteen fifty nine, when
Speaker 1: a few hundred Seminole fought off US forces from the
Speaker 1: swamps of the Everglades. The US finally decided to leave
Speaker 1: them alone after failing to dislodge them. By nineteen thirteen,
Speaker 1: the Seminole people left in the Everglades numbered no more
Speaker 1: than three hundred.
Speaker 2: And twenty five.
Speaker 1: The construction of the Tamiami Trail, beginning in nineteen twenty
Speaker 1: eight and spanning the region from Tampa to Miami altered
Speaker 1: their ways of life. Some began to work in local farms, ranches,
Speaker 1: and souvenir stands. Some of the people who interacted more
Speaker 1: with the European Americans began to move to reservations in
Speaker 1: the nineteen forties. These were their bases for reorganizing their government,
Speaker 1: and they became federally recognized in nineteen fifty seven as
Speaker 1: the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Speaker 2: People who kept more.
Speaker 1: Traditional ways had settlements along the Tamiami Trail and usually
Speaker 1: spoke the Makasuki language. They were federally recognized in nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty two as the Mikosuki Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Speaker 1: As metropolitan areas in South Florida began to grow, the
Speaker 1: two groups were closely associated with the Everglades. They struggled
Speaker 1: to maintain privacy while serving as tourist attractions. They earned
Speaker 1: money by such diverse ways as wrestling alligators and selling
Speaker 1: handmade crafts. As of two thousand and eight, Seminole Tribe
Speaker 1: of Florida had five reservations, and the lands of the
Speaker 1: Mikosuki Tribe of Indians were collectively considered a sixth reservation.
Speaker 1: The two tribes have each developed casino gaming on some
Speaker 1: of their properties to generate revenue for support services and
Speaker 1: economic development. The idea of a national park for the
Speaker 1: Everglades was first pitched in nineteen twenty eight when a
Speaker 1: Miami land developer named Ernest f. Coe established the Everglades
Speaker 1: Tropical National Park Association. It had enough support to be
Speaker 1: declared a National park by Congress in nineteen thirty four.
Speaker 1: It took another thirteen years for to become a dedicated
Speaker 1: national park, work which happened on December sixth.
Speaker 2: Nineteen forty seven. In nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 1: Congress approved the Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood
Speaker 1: Control and other purposes, which divided the Everglades into basins.
Speaker 1: In the northern Everglades were water conservation areas and the
Speaker 1: Everglades Agricultural Area. Bording to the south of Lake Okachobee.
Speaker 1: In the southern Everglades was Everglades National Park. Levees and
Speaker 1: pumping stations released water in drier times or removed it
Speaker 1: and pumped it out to the ocean during times of flooding.
Speaker 1: The water conservation areas took up approximately thirty seven percent
Speaker 1: of the original Everglades. During the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties,
Speaker 1: the Miami metropolitan area grew four times as fast as
Speaker 1: the rest of the nation. Between nineteen forty and nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty five, six million people moved to South Florida, with
Speaker 1: one thousand people moving to Miami every week. This population
Speaker 1: and economic boom wasn't without constant quints, however, With the
Speaker 1: production of more agriculture came an ever changing Everglades environment. Specifically,
Speaker 1: the production of sugarcane nearly destroyed the water quality due
Speaker 1: to phosphorus runoff. In two thousand and eight, the state
Speaker 1: of Florida agreed to buy US Sugar and all of
Speaker 1: its manufacturing and production facilities for an estimated one point
Speaker 1: seven billion dollars. Florida officials intended to allow US Sugar
Speaker 1: to process for six more years before dismissing its employees
Speaker 1: and dismantling the plant. This area, which includes one hundred
Speaker 1: and eighty seven thousand acres of land, would then be
Speaker 1: rehabilitated and water flow from Lake Okachovie would be restored.
Speaker 1: In November two thousand and eight, the agreement was revised
Speaker 1: to offer one point three four billion dollars allowing sugar
Speaker 1: mills in Cluiston to remain in production. Further research is
Speaker 1: being done to address the problem of the runoff. Everglades'
Speaker 1: restoration received ninety six million dollars of the American Recovery
Speaker 1: and Reinvestment Act of two thousand and nine. A result,
Speaker 1: A mile long bridge to replace the Tamiami Trail, a
Speaker 1: road that borders Everglades National Park to the north and
Speaker 1: has locked water for reaching the southern Everglades, was begun
Speaker 1: by the Army Corps of Engineers in December two thousand
Speaker 1: and nine. Governor Charlie crist announced around that time that
Speaker 1: fifty million dollars of state funds would be designated for
Speaker 1: Everglades restoration. In May twenty ten, five and a half
Speaker 1: miles of bridges were proposed to be added to the
Speaker 1: Tamiami Trail. These protection measures have been imperative to the
Speaker 1: survival of the Everglades and the people who live in
Speaker 1: the area. Today, most of South Florida relies on the
Speaker 1: Everglades for their drinking water. Multiple agencies are still working
Speaker 1: towards complete restoration of the Everglades, and the national Park
Speaker 1: is an important part of our country and its history.
Speaker 1: And we should continue to do all we can to
Speaker 1: protect it. Now, let's look at some of the legends
Speaker 1: and mysteries in the Everglades. Probably the most well known
Speaker 1: and most discussed is a creature as the skunk Cape.
Speaker 1: While many people don't even believe in its existence, tales
Speaker 1: and reports of this cryptid called the skunk cape, also
Speaker 1: known as the swamp ape or Florida's Bigfoot, have been
Speaker 1: around for centuries. This ape like creature is said to
Speaker 1: inhabit the swamps of the southeastern United States, most notably Florida.
Speaker 1: The skunk cape is generally described as being a bipedal
Speaker 1: ape like creature, standing five to seven feet tall and
Speaker 1: covered in blotchy reddish brown hair. The skun cape has
Speaker 1: been part of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama's folklore since the
Speaker 1: European settler period, at least. Even the Seminole culture going
Speaker 1: far back includes stories that have been passed down about a
Speaker 1: foul smelling, powerful, and secretive creature they call st. Kupkake,
Speaker 1: which roughly translates the cannibal giant. There have been over
Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty three sidings in Florida archived by
Speaker 1: the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization or the BFRO, as well
Speaker 1: as one hundred and thirty seven from Georgia and one
Speaker 1: hundred from Alibis. Most of these reported sightings ranged from
Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties all the way to today's time, though
Speaker 1: legends of the ape like creature's existence have been around
Speaker 1: much longer. Reports of the Skun Cape were had logged
Speaker 1: in newspapers as early as eighteen eighteen, in a report
Speaker 1: from what is now known as Appalachicola, Florida, which spoke
Speaker 1: of a man sized monkey raiding food stores and even
Speaker 1: stalking fishermen along the shore.
Speaker 2: In nineteen forty.
Speaker 1: Two, there was a man in Sawanna County, Florida, who
Speaker 1: reported a similar creature had rushed out from the brush
Speaker 1: line while he was driving down an isolated road. The
Speaker 1: creature allegedly grabbed his vehicle and began beating on his
Speaker 1: door and running board, continuing the salt for half a
Speaker 1: mile before finally letting go and falling off and then
Speaker 1: running into the woods. During the nineteen seventies, there were
Speaker 1: more than a dozen reported sightings of the Skun Cape
Speaker 1: in Palm Beach County alone. Eyewitnesses claimed the creature was
Speaker 1: up to eight feet tall and weighed five hundred pound more,
Speaker 1: and that it could rapidly when frightened or pursued. The
Speaker 1: most notable and agreed upon feature of the skunk ape
Speaker 1: is its smell, with a stinge described as a cross between.
Speaker 2: A skunk and aged roadkill.
Speaker 1: In June of nineteen seventy four, a farmer named Buddy
Speaker 1: Sterrett reported that a skunk ape had picked up and
Speaker 1: attacked one of his dogs that weigh one hundred and
Speaker 1: ten pounds. Buddy is quoted as saying it had the
Speaker 1: smell that would make the hair on the back of
Speaker 1: your head stand up. Reports continued in the nineteen eighties,
Speaker 1: including one from a college psychology professor who encountered an
Speaker 1: upright ape like animal reported as having quote, non human
Speaker 1: body language and movements unquote. This was in Ilachua County, Florida,
Speaker 1: and sightings have happened into our current years. In twenty fifteen,
Speaker 1: a video was taken by a kayaker named Matthew mccameey
Speaker 1: had to let Us Like Park in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Speaker 1: The video shows a bipedal ape like creature wading through
Speaker 1: a cypress marsh reports like this still come in, though
Speaker 1: the creature has managed to elude capture for further study.
Speaker 1: Next up, let's have a look at the Lost Patrol.
Speaker 1: Flight nineteen, which has been mistakenly called the Lost Patrol
Speaker 1: wasn't really a patrol at all, but a naval training flight.
Speaker 1: It was December fifth, nineteen forty five, several months after
Speaker 1: the end of World War Two. The weather was warm
Speaker 1: sixty seven degrees with billowing clouds in a southwest wind.
Speaker 1: These were considered average conditions for training flights. This endeavor
Speaker 1: was supposed to be a routine navigation exercise as well
Speaker 1: as a mock bombing run. A squadron of five TBM
Speaker 1: Avenger torpedo bombers carrying a total of fourteen men, were
Speaker 1: to fly to the Hen and Chicken Shoals in the Bahamas,
Speaker 1: where they would practice dropping their torpedoes and then return
Speaker 1: to the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station. The flight was
Speaker 1: to be their last practice run before graduation, and these
Speaker 1: guys had done this before. Took off without incident and
Speaker 1: made their way to the Bahamas. Those aboard Flight nineteen
Speaker 1: completed their exercise and were heading back to base. Then
Speaker 1: about ninety minutes after takeoff, Lieutenant Charles C. Taylor reported
Speaker 1: that he was somehow lost, and the weather and sea
Speaker 1: conditions were worsening over the next several hours. It is
Speaker 1: believed that Lieutenant Taylor mistakenly led Flight nineteen further out
Speaker 1: the sea, and that the planes eventually ran out of
Speaker 1: fuel and crashed. A massive and extensive search and rescue
Speaker 1: effort was launched for the five lost planes, with units
Speaker 1: from the Navy, Army, and Coastguard sent out the search
Speaker 1: for the lost aircraft. The disappearance of the five bombers
Speaker 1: parked one of the largest air and sea searches in history.
Speaker 1: The last location given was seventy five miles northeast of Cocoa, Florida.
Speaker 1: There was little more than one hour's worth of fuel left.
Speaker 1: It's believed the group may have actually been as far
Speaker 1: as two hundred miles out at sea. Weather and sea
Speaker 1: conditions were steadily worsening as the evening war on, and
Speaker 1: what began as decent conditions for their training flight soon
Speaker 1: turned out to be dangerous.
Speaker 2: For Flight nineteen. It was reported by.
Speaker 1: The Airport Weather Station in Miami that a large area
Speaker 1: of turbulence rolled out of a storm that was centered
Speaker 1: over Georgia, sweeping over Jacksonville, Florida around noon and reaching
Speaker 1: Miami by nightfall. There were squalls on the surface forty
Speaker 1: miles per hour winds at one thousand feet, and a
Speaker 1: full hurricane reaching seventy five miles an hour at eight
Speaker 1: thousand feet, all recorded at four PM. There was a
Speaker 1: radio conversation between the flight leader, Taylor and a fellow
Speaker 1: Navy pilot, Lieutenant Robert F. Cox, a senior flight instructor
Speaker 1: who was also in the air but not a part
Speaker 1: of the planes in Flight nineteen. This conversation was uncovered
Speaker 1: in the Board of Investigation records. The last transmission from
Speaker 1: Flight nineteen took place at seven oh four PM, when
Speaker 1: Lieutenant Cox was on air communicating with Flight nineteen until
Speaker 1: their signal got weaker. Lieutenant Cox wanted to search for
Speaker 1: the squadron at that point, but was told not to
Speaker 1: by NASFL officials who feared losing another pilot. However, within
Speaker 1: minutes of learning a Flight nineteen's predicament, two PBM marin
Speaker 1: Or flying boats were dispatched from nas Banana River in Melbourne, Florida,
Speaker 1: which is now Patrick Air Force Base. Both planes were
Speaker 1: carrying rescue equipment and planned to render aid to Flight nineteen.
Speaker 1: Less than an hour after takeoff, at approximately seven to
Speaker 1: twenty seven PM, one of the PBMs called Trainer forty nine,
Speaker 1: radioed back that they were nearing the last assumed position
Speaker 1: of Flight nineteen. There were thirteen crew members on board
Speaker 1: Trainer forty nine. After that last radio call, the thirteen
Speaker 1: men on Trainer forty nine were never heard from again.
Speaker 1: The search for all these missing aircraft involved hundreds of
Speaker 1: ships and planes. The Navy ordered two hundred and forty
Speaker 1: eight planes into the air, eighteen surface craft, including the
Speaker 1: Baby flat top USS, Solomon's, and numerous merchant ships. At
Speaker 1: that time, it was the biggest rescue effort to ever
Speaker 1: take place in times of peace. Search and rescued crews
Speaker 1: covered more than two hundred thousand square miles of the
Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. While on land,
Speaker 1: they combed to Florida's interior, searching virtually every mile of
Speaker 1: open water.
Speaker 2: Off the coast.
Speaker 1: Were six planes from the Third Air Force, one hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty planes from the Navy Air Advanced Training Command,
Speaker 1: and several aircraft from the Air Transport Command. The Bocareton
Speaker 1: Army Airfield, the Coast Guard, and the RAF and Nassau
Speaker 1: all participated. Additionally, dozens of Navy and Coast Guard surface
Speaker 1: craft joined in the search. The efforts were directed from
Speaker 1: the Coast Guard headquarters of the seventh Naval District in Miami.
Speaker 1: Many naval officers also participated in the massive search. Frank
Speaker 1: Daily from Alfaretta, Georgia, a Naval Reserve captain, flew in
Speaker 1: a pby seaplane to look for the missing aircraft. He
Speaker 1: recalls that for three days, six hours a day, they
Speaker 1: plowed up and down the whole coast of Florida looking
Speaker 1: for wreckage, but never saw a thing and loving memory
Speaker 1: of the Flight nineteen crew, as well as pb M
Speaker 1: five Mariners rescue crew who will now read the names
Speaker 1: of those we lost in this tragedy from Flight nineteen.
Speaker 1: Ballock B E. Junior, Buzzy, J. T. Devlin, GF Gallovan,
Speaker 1: R F Gerber, F J. Gruble, RP Lightfoot, W E. Valanessa,
Speaker 1: g R, Parpark W R Powers, E J. Stivers, G W. Taylor,
Speaker 1: Charles C. Squadron Leader felnder A H. And Thompson H. O.
Speaker 1: From the NA S Banana River PBM five Mariner, Allen
Speaker 1: Roger m Arsenal, Charles D. Cameron, Robert C. Cargill, Wiley D. Cohen,
Speaker 1: Harry G. Eliason, Lloyd Day, Jeffrey Walter G. Commanding pilot
Speaker 1: of PBM five Mariner, Jordan James F. Menindez, John T. Niemann,
Speaker 1: Philip b Oster Held, James F. Peterson, Donald E. Suwicki,
Speaker 1: Alfred J. May all these men rest in peace. We
Speaker 1: thank you for your service. The mystery and intrigue over
Speaker 1: what really happened has kept interest high. In this case,
Speaker 1: the mystery of Flight nineteen help spread awareness of the
Speaker 1: legend of the Bermuda Triangle, which is the area between
Speaker 1: Fort Lauderdale, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico where dozens of airplanes
Speaker 1: and boats have disappeared over the years. How could an
Speaker 1: entire group have experienced airmen disappear without a shred of evidence?
Speaker 2: Then?
Speaker 1: How did one of the rescue planes, upon nearing Flight
Speaker 1: nineteen's last known location, also seemingly disappeared in the thin air.
Speaker 1: No trace of any of these planes was ever found.
Speaker 1: Some theorized strong electromagnetic currents in the Bermuda Triangle area
Speaker 1: may be to blame. Others think perhaps it was extraterrestrials.
Speaker 1: What do you think happened to Flight nineteen in the
Speaker 1: rescue plane that disappeared? Next up, another strange tale from
Speaker 1: the Everglades, the story of the Red Eyed ghost Boy.
Speaker 1: The story of the Red eyed ghost Boy in the
Speaker 1: Everglades dates back to the early eighteen hundreds, although there
Speaker 1: is some discrepancy as to where the ghost boy originated
Speaker 1: his most distinguishing feature.
Speaker 2: Or his blowing red eyes.
Speaker 1: One version of the ghost Boy's origin states that he
Speaker 1: was a ten year old settler in the Native American
Speaker 1: territory who was cursed by one of the indigenous people
Speaker 1: because of how the settlers were wreaking havoc on the
Speaker 1: land and treating the natives. Another theory is that he
Speaker 1: was a kid who accidentally drowned while participating in his
Speaker 1: swimming race with one of his friends. Regardless of where
Speaker 1: the spirit came from, his glowing red eyes give him
Speaker 1: away whenever he's near. There have been many stories told
Speaker 1: over the years about encounters with this spirit. One story
Speaker 1: on your ghost stories dot com, written by a user
Speaker 1: whose name on the side is Jones Blue, tells him
Speaker 1: he encountered with the boy while canoeing in the Everglades
Speaker 1: with his mom, dad, sister, aunt, and cousin. It was
Speaker 1: a breezy, cold day and user Jones Blue and their
Speaker 1: family got to the canoe rental place and waited a
Speaker 1: few minutes for their aunt and cousin to arrive. After
Speaker 1: getting things settled for the canoe rental, Jones Blue and
Speaker 1: their aunt and cousin took one canoe, while the mom, dad,
Speaker 1: and sister took another. They paddled for about fifteen minutes,
Speaker 1: just enjoying the scenery and chatting. Jones Blue states, then
Speaker 1: he looked down into the water and saw a human
Speaker 1: figure swimming beneath the group. The water was shallow, but
Speaker 1: the figure was moving like it had all the room
Speaker 1: in the world. It seemed to be passing through everything
Speaker 1: in the water that should have halted it. Upon closer inspection,
Speaker 1: they could see that it was a young boy, possibly
Speaker 1: thirteen fourteen years old, with beautiful blonde hair. They gasped
Speaker 1: and the boy looked up with dark red eyes and
Speaker 1: rings of black around him. Jones Blue says in their
Speaker 1: story that they sensed evil, sadness, and cruelty from the
Speaker 1: boy after seeing he was noticed the boy swam deeper
Speaker 1: into the water, fading away. The user's family was alerted
Speaker 1: by that point, and the mom began asking, what's wrong.
Speaker 1: Are you okay? Jones Blue replied, bibbing a little. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm just fine. I thought I saw something in the
Speaker 1: water and it scared me. It was nothing, though, Jones
Speaker 1: Blue's mom said okay, and the family continued on. But
Speaker 1: not even five minutes had passed when something else happened.
Speaker 1: Jones Blue was looking all around and enjoying the scenery
Speaker 1: when they saw the boy again. Focusing through the layers
Speaker 1: of thick mangrove trees, they could see the boy staring
Speaker 1: back with an angry face, but this time was completely
Speaker 1: full and bright red eyes. The storyteller thought the family
Speaker 1: needed to get out of there immediately. Their canoes went
Speaker 1: into an open air of the river, but Jones Blue
Speaker 1: was still focused on the boy. The wind picked up
Speaker 1: suddenly and the air grew colder. The cousin was standing
Speaker 1: up at that moment taking a video. The aunt barely
Speaker 1: had hold of her legs for support as Jones Blue
Speaker 1: continued staring at the boy. The wind worsened. The canoe
Speaker 1: then tipped, causing the cousin to lose balance and fall overboard.
Speaker 1: After quickly looking away from the boy and to their cousin,
Speaker 1: Jones Blue stood and reached for the cousin who had
Speaker 1: fallen into the water. They looked back towards the boy,
Speaker 1: but he was gone. Jones Blue panicked and yelled, take
Speaker 1: my hand, take my hand, get back on the boat.
Speaker 1: Cousin did so and swam quickly, reaching for their hand
Speaker 1: with both arms. Jones Blue quickly pulled her back onto
Speaker 1: the boat, and she seemed fine. Jon's Blue, states said,
Speaker 1: he worried. The rest of the time they were in
Speaker 1: the water, they spotted the boy again. He gave an
Speaker 1: evil wink and rolled his eyes back, then faded away. Ouch,
Speaker 1: my back hurts all of a sudden, the cousin exclaimed.
Speaker 1: The user lifted her shirt up, and, to everyone's surprise,
Speaker 1: her whole back was a big black and blue bruise,
Speaker 1: one that had been there before and shouldn't have been
Speaker 1: so far progressed if it had just happened. Everywhere they
Speaker 1: looked on her back had a bruise. I don't even
Speaker 1: remember getting hurt, she said, who knows, Jones Blue said, back,
Speaker 1: fainting indifference. But knowing internally that the boy had something
Speaker 1: to do with it. The family left after that. Jones
Speaker 1: Blue goes on to say that they went back a
Speaker 1: few years later and asked one of the workers there
Speaker 1: about the area's history and explained their experience. The worker
Speaker 1: told them that many years ago, a boy in his
Speaker 1: teens was playing around with his friends in the water.
Speaker 1: One of his friends placed a bet with him to
Speaker 1: see who could hold their breath the longest. The boy
Speaker 1: was from a poor family and wanted to win the money. Desperately,
Speaker 1: while competing for the prize, the boy accidentally drowned. They
Speaker 1: saw the boy again while leaving the Everglades visitor Center,
Speaker 1: only this time they knew the boy's story. They could
Speaker 1: send sorrow from the entity. They felt the boy's spirit
Speaker 1: would always be there, stuck in the place of his
Speaker 1: bodily demise. Now, this is just one account of someone
Speaker 1: coming into contact with the infamous Red eyed ghost Boy.
Speaker 1: Others are not so sure of the boy's harmless past.
Speaker 1: Some believe it is indeed the cursed spirit of a
Speaker 1: young boy. There have been recollections by locals of large
Speaker 1: masses of wildlife suddenly dying off after the ghost boy
Speaker 1: appears like they were perhaps poisoned or came down with
Speaker 1: some mystery illness. Whatever the case, it's certain that encountering
Speaker 1: the spirit isn't a good sign, and one shouldn't taunt
Speaker 1: the boy if they find themselves in his territory. Next up,
Speaker 1: the legend of the owl witches. An old Seminole legend
Speaker 1: holds that there are owl witches or stinginy who live
Speaker 1: among us. Owl witches are ominous beings that roam the
Speaker 1: swamp plans at night looking for victims. They are sinister
Speaker 1: shape shifters that appear as ordinary people during the day.
Speaker 1: At night, however, they transform into massive, great horned owls,
Speaker 1: standing nine feet tall with huge feathers, and they're extremely vicious.
Speaker 1: They would prey on the Seminole tribe at night, so
Speaker 1: much so that it became common practice to warn their
Speaker 1: people not to go out alone after dark, especially kids.
Speaker 1: The owl witch's metamorphosis is said to occur by them
Speaker 1: vomiting their souls and internal organs each evening, basically turning
Speaker 1: themselves inside out. So they can take on their true identity.
Speaker 1: They must hunt, and they prefer the hearts and flesh
Speaker 1: of whatever they come across, so they may continue to
Speaker 1: pierce human during the day. Although stincgini translates to horned owl,
Speaker 1: they've been known to take on other forms, like a
Speaker 1: bear or wolf, sometimes even coyotes. Some Seminole groups warned
Speaker 1: that simply speaking their name aloud puts one at risk
Speaker 1: of turning into an owl witch, and as such, there
Speaker 1: are some groups where only revered tribal elders are even
Speaker 1: allowed to tell the stories of their existence. The Seminoles
Speaker 1: were unable to tell the difference between an owl witch
Speaker 1: and a real human because of the creature's ability to
Speaker 1: take on the human form so convincingly. There have been
Speaker 1: large taguine totems on Earth, showing how ingrained their existence
Speaker 1: is to the Seminole culture. Similar legends exist in various
Speaker 1: cultures around the world. The chaer key have spear finger.
Speaker 1: In Mexican folklore, the La Choosa is a large magical
Speaker 1: bird who seeks revenge on those that have wronged her.
Speaker 1: West Virginia, of course, has legends of the Mothman, a
Speaker 1: mysterious winged humanoid that's said to be an omen of
Speaker 1: impending doom. Ancient Greek mythology spoke of Streege, a wicked
Speaker 1: vampire like screech owt that was forced to live in
Speaker 1: an upside down world. All that said, probably best not
Speaker 1: to wander around alone at night should one happen to
Speaker 1: come across as Tecguinea and be consumed by the creature
Speaker 1: or any other predatory bird being said to exist throughout history.
Speaker 1: Perhaps the seminoles had it right, and it's best not
Speaker 1: to speak of them aloud, just in case the swamp
Speaker 1: is listening. Now, let's take a look at some disappearances
Speaker 1: from the Everglades.
Speaker 2: Rogers Saw You.
Speaker 1: Sixty seven year old Roger Sawyer and disappeared on March five,
Speaker 1: twenty eleven, from Everglades National Park. He had traveled from
Speaker 1: Oregon with his family on a cross country trip and.
Speaker 2: A motor home.
Speaker 1: He was a retired butcher and very experienced in the outdoors.
Speaker 1: He and his family were staying in the park as
Speaker 1: the last part of their vacation. Roger was last seen
Speaker 1: at a remote campground in the Flamingo area of the
Speaker 1: park when some of his relatives left the campground to
Speaker 1: check out the visitors center. Roger, along with his wife Paula,
Speaker 1: stayed behind, though they were in different parts of the camp.
Speaker 1: He was wearing a green sleeveless T shirt with the
Speaker 1: words got Milt written on it, khaki shorts, crocs, a
Speaker 1: black Hard Rock Cafe baseball cap.
Speaker 2: And a gold wedding band.
Speaker 1: The last time anyone saw Roger was around six pm
Speaker 1: on the beach that evening. By thirty pm, everyone except
Speaker 1: for Roger had returned to the motor home, at which
Speaker 1: point his family alerted authorities of his disappearance. An extensive
Speaker 1: search and rescue effort was launched, but there was no
Speaker 1: indication of his whereabouts. Park officials as well as Miami
Speaker 1: Dade Fire Rescue participated in the search, which continued for
Speaker 1: ten days to no avail. Roger's family had to return
Speaker 1: home with no answers as to what had happened to him. Now,
Speaker 1: it's unclear whether Roger became lost or if there was
Speaker 1: some other reason for his disappearance. Nobody has seen or
Speaker 1: heard from Rogers since that day. As of April twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two, Roger remains missing and there have been no
Speaker 1: further updates. Next, we have Jacob Michael Olivier. Twenty three
Speaker 1: year old Jacob Olivier disappeared on August twenty fourth, twenty eleven,
Speaker 1: from Everglades National Park. Jacob lived in Texas and worked
Speaker 1: as a mechanic at a car shop, but are driven
Speaker 1: alone to Florida and was visiting the national park. His
Speaker 1: family was unaware that he was in Florida at the
Speaker 1: time of his disappearance. Jacob is described as a Caucasian male,
Speaker 1: standing five foot six inches tall and weighing one hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty pounds. He has black hair, green eyes, double
Speaker 1: pierced ears, and his hair was styled in a mohawk.
Speaker 1: When he went missing, he was driving a dark Grain
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety eight, a Suzu Lombrey pickup truck with a
Speaker 1: Texas plate. In August twenty seventh, twenty eleven, his vehicle
Speaker 1: was found by Everglades National Park rangers in a parking
Speaker 1: lot besides Pine Glades Lake in Homestead, Florida. They noticed
Speaker 1: the vehicle had been parked there for several days. Nobody
Speaker 1: knows where Jacob was or what he was doing for
Speaker 1: those three days. The receipt inside his truck indicated he
Speaker 1: got to the park on August twenty fourth, as surveillance
Speaker 1: video showed him driving alone at one pm that day.
Speaker 1: His cell phone last pinged off a tower at four
Speaker 1: forty five PM. No further evidence of his whereabouts was discovered.
Speaker 1: It wasn't like Jacob to goes along without being in
Speaker 1: contact with his family, and he had no friends or
Speaker 1: relatives in Florida. It's unclear as to why he was
Speaker 1: even in the area at the time of his disappearance. Now,
Speaker 1: there had been some drug problems in Jacob's past, but
Speaker 1: he had been through a rehab program and there was
Speaker 1: no evidence of drugs or parafernet at the scene, so
Speaker 1: anything related to this is unlikely. There was a gun case,
Speaker 1: but no gun in the truck, which isn't uncommon in
Speaker 1: a place like the Everglades. There simply isn't a plausible
Speaker 1: explanation as to what happened to Jacob. However, rangers searched
Speaker 1: the park for any sign of him, but nothing was found,
Speaker 1: and there were no reported sightings of him aside from
Speaker 1: the video surveillance when he entered the park. Police and
Speaker 1: park officials conducted grid searches and used canines, but there
Speaker 1: wasn't a trace of evidence outside of his abandoned truck.
Speaker 1: Helicopter searches also came up empty. Investigators thought that perhaps
Speaker 1: he left the park in another vehicle or maybe even
Speaker 1: on foot, but nothing conclusive ever surface. Jacob's mom, Laurie Brossard,
Speaker 1: said she got reports two weeks before he went missing
Speaker 1: that he was in Effingham County. She asked for the
Speaker 1: public's help, and Jacob's case was shared far and wide,
Speaker 1: but absolutely nothing more came to light. The search went
Speaker 1: on nearly two weeks, with multiple search methods at play
Speaker 1: and law enforcement from forty five different agencies, but officials
Speaker 1: found nothing the entire time. Jacob is classified as endangered missing,
Speaker 1: and anyone with any information on his whereabouts is asked
Speaker 1: to contact Everglades National Park Dispatch at three zero five
Speaker 1: two four two seven seven four zero. As of this recording,
Speaker 1: Jacob Oliviate remains missing and there have been no further updates. Next,
Speaker 1: we have Kyle Andrew Karl Eppler, twenty euro Kyle Epler
Speaker 1: disappeared on July twenty ninth, nineteen ninety nine, from Monroe
Speaker 1: County in Florida. Kyle graduated from Leley High School in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven and was studying zoology at Santa Fe
Speaker 1: College at the time of his disappearance. He loved animals,
Speaker 1: had five pet lizards, seven turtles appaired, and two dogs.
Speaker 1: He also volunteered for the Humane Society and animal control,
Speaker 1: and he had also worked at several snake farms. In addition,
Speaker 1: he enjoyed the outdoors and traveling. Kyle was last seen
Speaker 1: by his mother when he went to Germaine Honda BMW,
Speaker 1: where she worked, and asked to borrow twenty dollars for gas.
Speaker 1: Kyle said he was going to visit his girlfriend then
Speaker 1: go to his four thirty PM shift at the Grouper House,
Speaker 1: where he was a waiter. He also promised that he
Speaker 1: would drop off for dry cleaning. Kyle never arrived at
Speaker 1: his girlfriend's house, nor did he run the airr and
Speaker 1: for his mother. He did leave a note on the
Speaker 1: kitchen counter saying gone to find my river and myself.
Speaker 1: His mother reported missing the next day when he didn't return.
Speaker 1: Kyle was described as a Caucasian male, five foot ten
Speaker 1: inches tall and one hundred and sixty pounds. He was
Speaker 1: last seen wearing a short sleeved brown shirt, brown shorts,
Speaker 1: and birkenstocks at the time of his disappearance. He has
Speaker 1: brown hair and green eyes, and a scar near his
Speaker 1: right eye. He also has two tattoos on his right shoulder.
Speaker 1: Kyle Silver nineteen eighty eight Toyota cameray was found by
Speaker 1: authorities where it was abandoned in the visitors park looking
Speaker 1: area at the Coastal Ferry Trail in Flamingo, Florida, about
Speaker 1: three hours from his home. This is in the Evergvidge
Speaker 1: National Park in what is described as a wet, boggy,
Speaker 1: dangerous area. The park re seat in his camray was
Speaker 1: dated July twenty eighth, though he's also found camping gear,
Speaker 1: a bag full of clothes, a framed backpack, peanut butter crackers,
Speaker 1: and some journals inside the vehicle. His shirt was found
Speaker 1: three miles down the trail from where his car was parked.
Speaker 1: Kyle's mother also stated that at least one pair of
Speaker 1: his hiking boots was missing from home, along with a
Speaker 1: navy blue hat with a white star on it that
Speaker 1: he frequently wore. Despite an extensive search, no other clothes
Speaker 1: or evidence was found, and Kyle has not been heard
Speaker 1: from since that day. As of this recording, in April
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, Kyle remains missing and there have been
Speaker 1: no further updates. And finally an amazing tale of survival
Speaker 1: from the Everglads. Mark Meehl, Sixty seven year old Mark
Speaker 1: Meely was last seen before his incident on January twenty second,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, when he left for a solo kayaking trip
Speaker 1: in the Everglades National Park. Mike lives in Virginia with
Speaker 1: his family, but was visiting Florida for some outdoor recreation.
Speaker 1: He set out in his kayak on January twenty second,
Speaker 1: hearing his wallet, phone, and general supplies. He was supposed
Speaker 1: to return a week later, but his family never heard
Speaker 1: from him. The exact circumstances of his ordeal are unclear,
Speaker 1: but Mark somehow got separated from his kayak towards the
Speaker 1: end of his swampy excursion. Park rangers found Mark's bag
Speaker 1: containing his belongings, including his wallet and cell phone, several
Speaker 1: days later when it washed upon the bank of the
Speaker 1: Lopez River near the Monroe County line in the ten
Speaker 1: Thousand Islands area of the park. Rangers alerted the Collier
Speaker 1: County Sheriff's Office with their findings. Staff at the Sheriff's
Speaker 1: department were able to download data from Mark's phone, which
Speaker 1: showed the device's last known coordinates on January thirty first,
Speaker 1: which was nine days after his trip began. His belongings
Speaker 1: weren't found until Sunday, February second, so Mark had already
Speaker 1: been gone for over eleven days. Thordies began a targeted
Speaker 1: air and water search of the area based on the
Speaker 1: last known coordinates, and shortly before noon on Monday, February third,
Speaker 1: an aviation unit spotted Mark a few miles away from
Speaker 1: where his belongings were found. He was floating face up
Speaker 1: in the river and didn't appear to be moving. The
Speaker 1: aviation unit guided rescue boats to his location. From there,
Speaker 1: aviation pilot Ed Henderson of the Collier County Sheriff's Office
Speaker 1: flew into a helicopter that spotted Mark in the water.
Speaker 1: Corporal Henderson told CNN of Philly w I in k
Speaker 1: News their first concern when they found him it didn't
Speaker 1: look like he was moving, and they didn't know if
Speaker 1: it was going to be a rescue or recovery. He
Speaker 1: had been in the water for two solid days at
Speaker 1: that point, when it had been really cold. Mark was dehydrated, hypothermic,
Speaker 1: and convulsing when the rescue crew got to him, but
Speaker 1: he was thankfully and amazingly alive. The rescue operation was
Speaker 1: captured on video by the Sheriff's Aviation Department. Mark was
Speaker 1: floating along a stretch of water that was about eighteen
Speaker 1: to twenty four inches deep. He was wearing a life jacket,
Speaker 1: which most likely did indeed save his life. Mark rangers
Speaker 1: pulled Mark into their skiff and brought him to shore.
Speaker 1: He couldn't even have a conversation when he was first
Speaker 1: rescued because he was in such bad shape when he
Speaker 1: first set out on the rescue mission, Corporal Henderson said
Speaker 1: he had his doubts that Mark would be found alive.
Speaker 1: It's really a feeling of elation when you're able to
Speaker 1: find somebody alive, knowing the circumstances that they were in.
Speaker 1: He said, everything happens for a reason, and we were
Speaker 1: fortunate that we found him. We were certainly fortunate that
Speaker 1: we found him alive. It was hard work by everybody.
Speaker 1: Mark was taken to a physician's regional hospital and treated
Speaker 1: by medical staff for hypothermia and various problems stemming from
Speaker 1: exposure to the olmens. Nevertheless, his life was saved and
Speaker 1: he is expected to make a full recovery. Mark's family
Speaker 1: was extremely grateful to have him back safe and alive,
Speaker 1: and they thanked his rescuers in a statement released by
Speaker 1: the Sheriff's office on their behalf. We couldn't have worked
Speaker 1: with a more wonderful, caring, kind, and straightforward group of people,
Speaker 1: the family said in the statement. It's a miracle he's
Speaker 1: alive and in the condition he's in. We would also
Speaker 1: like to thank the professionals and physicians Regional Hospital for
Speaker 1: their competency and caring ways. Michelle Batten, a spokesman for
Speaker 1: the Sheriff's office, said that deputies hadn't been able to
Speaker 1: interview Mark to learn how he got separated from his kayak.
Speaker 1: She didn't know if it had been recovered or any
Speaker 1: further details of the incident, while the circumstances of the
Speaker 1: surrounding marks incident remained unclear. Fortunately, he was found alive
Speaker 1: and in full recovery, and that's what matters. Things like
Speaker 1: this continue to happen daily in the Everglades. In fact,
Speaker 1: all of our national parks are hotspots for all manner
Speaker 1: of strange occurrences. While there could be any number of
Speaker 1: causes to blame for these instances, one thing is certain.
Speaker 1: We can never be sure something won't happen to us.
Speaker 1: We recommend that everyone who plans on being within our
Speaker 1: national parks or out in the wilderness in general, carry
Speaker 1: a personal locator beacon.
Speaker 2: At all times.
Speaker 1: When triggered, it'll transmit a distress signal with its location.
Speaker 1: What do you think is happening in the Everglades? Let
Speaker 1: us know in the comment session, but please keep it
Speaker 1: veryly in respectful and if we've earned your subscription, hit
Speaker 1: that button and turn on the post notification so you
Speaker 1: won't miss any new content or case updates. Meanwhile, be
Speaker 1: good to yourselves and each other. Stay safe out there.
Speaker 1: As for me, I'll see you a little farther on
Speaker 1: down the trail. I'm Steve Stockton and I'll talk to
Speaker 1: you next time.