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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Part two of The Missing Hunter. The

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<v Speaker 1>Search that wouldn't Settle. The search for Wade Harlan didn't

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<v Speaker 1>fail all at once. It failed slowly in pieces, the

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<v Speaker 1>way things do when too many people are involved and

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<v Speaker 1>no one wants to admit what they're really afraid of.

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<v Speaker 1>It failed in the pauses between shouted names, in the

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<v Speaker 1>way radios crackled and then went dead in the creek bottom,

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<v Speaker 1>in that long look that men gave the tree line

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<v Speaker 1>when they thought no one was watching them watch. On

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<v Speaker 1>the second morning after Wade vanished, the number of people

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<v Speaker 1>on some late ridge doubled. Word traveled the old way,

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<v Speaker 1>through kitchens, through diner booths, through phone calls made from

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<v Speaker 1>wall mounted handsets, where the cord twisted tighter the longer

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<v Speaker 1>you talked. By mid morning, trucks lined the logging spur,

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<v Speaker 1>not official vehicles, mostly pickups with mud on the tires,

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<v Speaker 1>and coolers in the bed. Men brought their sons, Brothers

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<v Speaker 1>brought brothers. A few wives showed up too, handing out

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<v Speaker 1>thermoses and trying not to ask questions that might be

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<v Speaker 1>misconstrued that would lead somewhere they didn't want to go.

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<v Speaker 1>Deputy Harold Finch stood near his truck, with the legal

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<v Speaker 1>pad tucked under one arm and a folded paper map

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<v Speaker 1>spread across the hood. He drawn gridlines and nothing fancy,

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<v Speaker 1>just enough to give the impression of order. This isn't

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<v Speaker 1>a rescue mission anymore, Finch said quietly to Cal Morrison,

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<v Speaker 1>as the crowd gathered. We're looking for answers. Cal didn't respond,

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<v Speaker 1>he was watching the ridge. Finch noticed, you expecting something,

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<v Speaker 1>Finch asked. Kl shook his head slowly. No, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm hoping not to. They'd split the search into loose groups,

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<v Speaker 1>not enough manpower for anything more disciplined. Finch paired men

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<v Speaker 1>who knew the woods with men who didn't, hoping familiarity

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<v Speaker 1>would keep panic from spreading if things went sideways. It

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<v Speaker 1>didn't work. The woods had other ideas. By late morning,

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<v Speaker 1>the first argument broke out near the creek bottom. A

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<v Speaker 1>handler tried to force his dog forward, cursing under his

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<v Speaker 1>breath as the animal dug in and refused to move.

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<v Speaker 1>Another man said they should try a different approach angle.

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<v Speaker 1>A third suggested the dogs were reacting to old scent,

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<v Speaker 1>nothing more. Then the smell returned stronger than before It

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<v Speaker 1>rolled in low, heavy, like a wet blanket throne over

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<v Speaker 1>the ground. Conversations stopped mid sentence. Men wrinkled their noses,

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<v Speaker 1>some covering their mouths, as if it would help. Who died,

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<v Speaker 1>someone asked, Cow's jaw tightened. Nothing died, he said, not here.

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<v Speaker 1>The dogs backed away completely, now tails low, whining. One

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<v Speaker 1>sat down and refused to move it all. Finch rubbed

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<v Speaker 1>his forehead. He was already behind. He knew it. The

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<v Speaker 1>sun wasn't cooperating, the terrain wasn't co operating, and whatever

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<v Speaker 1>was happening down there wasn't playing by rules. He understood,

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<v Speaker 1>all right, he said, loudly. Pull back from the creek.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll circle higher ground. No one argued that alone worried him.

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<v Speaker 1>Higher up near the ridge, the woods felt different, not better,

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<v Speaker 1>just watched. Finch couldn't explain it. He'd been in woods before,

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<v Speaker 1>He'd tracked drunks, lost kids, even a couple of armed men.

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<v Speaker 1>None of that prepared him for the sensation crawling up

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<v Speaker 1>his spine. Now. It fell like walking into a room

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<v Speaker 1>where someone had just stopped talking. By early afternoon, someone

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<v Speaker 1>shouted over here. Men converged on a small clearing not

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<v Speaker 1>far from the ridge, trail. A broken sapling, ly twisted

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<v Speaker 1>at an unnatural angle, snapped clean, nearly eight feet off

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<v Speaker 1>the ground. The wood inside was pale and fresh. That

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't weather, someone muttered. Finch measured it with his eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>then raised his hand to compare height. That's about shoulder level,

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<v Speaker 1>he said. Cal nodded once. Yeah, bear, Finch asked, though

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<v Speaker 1>he already knew the answer didn't fit. Cal didn't reply. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>he pointed across the clearing. Faint impressions marked the ground

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<v Speaker 1>where the soil stayed damp longest, not deep enough for

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<v Speaker 1>clear prints, but enough to suggest weight movement. Someone crouched.

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<v Speaker 1>Looks like big boots, he said, trying to keep it light.

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<v Speaker 1>No tread, another man said, and too wide. The word

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't spoken yet, but it was there waiting. By dusk,

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<v Speaker 1>the search stalled again. Light faded quickly under the canopy,

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<v Speaker 1>turning shapes into guesses and guesses into threats. Finch called

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<v Speaker 1>it for the night, ordering everyone back to camp. That

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<v Speaker 1>decision came too late. As men gathered their gear, someone screamed,

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<v Speaker 1>it was Danny. He came running out of the trees,

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<v Speaker 1>face pale, eyes wild. He tripped over roots nearly fell,

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<v Speaker 1>then staggered into the firelight. Something followed me. He gasped.

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<v Speaker 1>Cal grabbed him by the shoulders, slowed down. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>tell it clean. Danny swallowed hard. I was up on

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<v Speaker 1>the trail, he said, I heard footsteps. Thought it was

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<v Speaker 1>Reese or someone else. But every time I stopped, it

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<v Speaker 1>stopped every time I moved parallel. Cal asked quietly. Danny

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<v Speaker 1>stared at him. Yeah, he whispered, how did you know?

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<v Speaker 1>Cal didn't answer. Finch stepped in. Did you see it?

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<v Speaker 1>Danny shook his head violently. No. I didn't want to.

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<v Speaker 1>That night, the Knox came again, not three, this time four.

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<v Speaker 1>The extra strike landed wrong, like a word mispronounced on purpose.

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<v Speaker 1>Men jumped, a few cursed. Someone reached instinctively for a

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<v Speaker 1>rifle before thinking better of it. Cal stood up slowly.

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<v Speaker 1>Nobody fire, He said, you fire, you own what happens next.

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<v Speaker 1>The Knox didn't repeat. Instead, something moved along the ridge,

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<v Speaker 1>not crashing, not running, walking. Bootsteps sounded wrong out there,

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<v Speaker 1>too heavy Two measured the sound crossed behind the tree line,

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<v Speaker 1>staying just far away enough to be felt but not seen.

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<v Speaker 1>Finch stood rigid, hand resting on his belt, his flashlight

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<v Speaker 1>stayed off. Is that a man? Someone whispered, cal listened,

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<v Speaker 1>head tilted slightly. No, he said a man would be louder.

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<v Speaker 1>That was the first night. Finch slept in his truck

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<v Speaker 1>with the doors locked. The third day brought reporters, not many,

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<v Speaker 1>just one from the county paper and a stringer from

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<v Speaker 1>a regional outlet who smelled something worth printing. They asked

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<v Speaker 1>polite questions and took notes. Finch gave careful answers. Search

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<v Speaker 1>on going, no evidence of foul play, multiple possible abilities

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<v Speaker 1>being explored behind him, men muttered someone laughed too hard

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<v Speaker 1>and said Bigfoot probably got them. The reporter's pen paused,

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<v Speaker 1>what makes you say that? She asked. The man shrugged,

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<v Speaker 1>just stories, he said, tracks knocks. You know how it is.

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<v Speaker 1>She nodded slowly that sentence would appear in print two

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<v Speaker 1>days later, and once it did, something shifted. The search

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<v Speaker 1>changed tone. People started talking louder about things they'd once whispered.

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<v Speaker 1>Stories poured out, sightings from years past, screams heard during

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<v Speaker 1>winter hunts, silhouettes crossing roads at dawn. A woman from

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<v Speaker 1>town claimed she'd smelled something foul near her clothesline one

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<v Speaker 1>night and heard footsteps circling her house. Finch interviewed them all.

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<v Speaker 1>None of it helped. What did help, what made things easier,

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<v Speaker 1>was the narrative forming around the search. People stopped asking who,

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<v Speaker 1>they started asking what and what had already made answer.

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<v Speaker 1>On the fourth day, they found Wade's hat. It hung

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<v Speaker 1>on a low branch near the creek brim, facing outward,

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<v Speaker 1>as if placed there deliberately, not snagged, not crushed. Placed.

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<v Speaker 1>Finch stared at it for a long time. That hat

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<v Speaker 1>didn't fall, he said, No one contradicted him. By now,

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<v Speaker 1>the dogs refused to come near the area at all.

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<v Speaker 1>One handler packed up and left, claiming illness. Another followed,

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<v Speaker 1>unwilling to argue. That afternoon, Finch pulled Cal aside. Talk

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<v Speaker 1>to me, Finch said, off the record, Cal looked tired,

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<v Speaker 1>older than he had a week ago. You don't want

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<v Speaker 1>what I have, Cal said, I already have it, Finch replied.

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<v Speaker 1>Cal exhaled that thing on the ridge, he said, it's

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<v Speaker 1>been there longer than any of us. It doesn't hunt people.

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<v Speaker 1>Then what does it do? Cal thought? For a moment,

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<v Speaker 1>It watches, he said, and sometimes it lets people see it.

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<v Speaker 1>Why Cal shook his head. I don't know, but it

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<v Speaker 1>never comes into camp, never crosses certain lines. Finch frowned.

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<v Speaker 1>What lines the creek cow said, and whatever happened to

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<v Speaker 1>wade The implication hung heavy. That night, Finch walked alone.

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<v Speaker 1>He shouldn't have, he knew that, but the noise of

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<v Speaker 1>the camp, voices, arguments, speculation had begun to drown out

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<v Speaker 1>his instincts. He needed quiet. He followed the ridge trail

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<v Speaker 1>until the firelight was gone, the lantern glow swallowed by trees.

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<v Speaker 1>His boots crunched softly on gravel and leaves. The moon

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<v Speaker 1>was thin, offering just enough light to be misleading. Halfway

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<v Speaker 1>along the ridge, the woods went still. Finch stopped. He

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<v Speaker 1>didn't move for a long time. Then he heard it,

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<v Speaker 1>a breath not behind him, beside him. Finch turned slowly, nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>but the sensation remained thick and undeniable, like standing too

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<v Speaker 1>close to a heat source you couldn't see. He swallowed

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<v Speaker 1>and spoke softly, more to himself than anything else. I

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<v Speaker 1>know you're there. The woods didn't answer, But when Finch

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<v Speaker 1>turned back toward camp, he noticed something on the ground

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<v Speaker 1>near the trail, a single impression, large deep facing the ravine.

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<v Speaker 1>He didn't photograph it. He didn't measure it, he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>mark it. He stepped around it and walked away. By

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the week, the search was officially scaled back. Unofficially,

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<v Speaker 1>it had ended days earlier. Men returned to work, the

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<v Speaker 1>camp was dismantled. Trucks pulled away one by one, leaving

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<v Speaker 1>ruts that would fill with water and leaves and disappear

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<v Speaker 1>by spring. Wade Harlan was declared missing, presumed dead. The

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<v Speaker 1>paper ran a final story, local hunter vanishes near Slate Ridge.

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<v Speaker 1>Search on going theories very the word theories did a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of work in town. People said the woods took him.

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<v Speaker 1>Said it with a shake of the head and a

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<v Speaker 1>sigh that meant these things happen. They said it because

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<v Speaker 1>it allowed life to continue without looking too closely at

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<v Speaker 1>the men around them. Cal stopped hunting Slate Ridge after

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<v Speaker 1>that season. Finch transferred two years later. The ridge remained,

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<v Speaker 1>and whatever stood on it remained too. Because the search

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<v Speaker 1>hadn't failed for lack of effort. It failed because something

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<v Speaker 1>else had already decided how the story would be told,

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<v Speaker 1>and the woods, ancient, patient and watching, let it happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Big Fittzwilderness Part three coming next Sunday.

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<v Speaker 1>Have a great night,