WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.240 A video called Son of an Area fifty one technician 2 00:00:04.599 --> 00:00:09.160 was making the rounds on YouTube in twenty fourteen. Someone 3 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:13.839 ended up sharing something that stopped people mid scroll through 4 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:17.359 the comments, and people wanted to know more and suggest 5 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:21.440 to this person go back to this location and film 6 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.079 his adventure, and that's where the story starts to go wrong. 7 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:40.520 I'm Danielle, I'm Megan, and this is Off the Trails. 8 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.719 Okay, so I think I know what this one is 9 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:50.240 and I'm very much looking forward to hearing the detailed 10 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.359 version of it because I only know the surface level 11 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:54.079 version of it. 12 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.320 Yeah, so this has been on my list since we 13 00:00:58.439 --> 00:00:59.560 started this podcast. 14 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.000 Yeah, yeah, it's definitely been like hovering there on the 15 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:03.600 to do list. 16 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:05.760 So I'm excited that you're doing it now. 17 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:10.719 And if you are on Patreon then you are already 18 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:16.920 aware that I have no voice. But for everyone else, yeah, 19 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:19.159 we were really hoping that it would come back by now, 20 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:24.840 but it's really doubling down on not wanting to be working. So, 21 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:28.359 like we were saying earlier, it's a good thing. It's 22 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:31.840 your week and I'm just listening with you guys. 23 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:38.120 Well, maybe better luck next episode, but if we record 24 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:41.519 our next Patreon this week. There sounds like they're going 25 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:45.799 to get this as well. Very sorry. All right, So 26 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:51.120 the comment that kicked off this whole story was that 27 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:54.519 ain't nothing. I'm a long distance hiker. One time, during 28 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.680 one of my hikes out by Nellis Air Force Base, 29 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.480 I found a hidden cave. The entwest to the was 30 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.879 shaped like a perfect capital M. I always enter every 31 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:07.280 cave I find it's but as it began to enter 32 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:11.719 this particular cave, my whole body began to vibrate. The 33 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:14.159 closer I got to the cave entrance, the worst the 34 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:18.199 vibrating became. Suddenly, I became very scared and I high 35 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:20.080 tailed it out of there. That was one of the 36 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:23.560 strangest things that ever happened to me. So I guess 37 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:25.000 I probably should have live in a little bit of 38 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:29.039 context like that this video. I mean, I guess everybody 39 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.080 probably knows what Area fifty one is for the most part, 40 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:39.319 I write, well, maybe not international listeners. So Area fifty 41 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:48.319 one is supposedly where there was UFO crash activity or 42 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:52.199 I don't know. Now, I'm like, do I know what 43 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:53.360 Area fifty one is? 44 00:02:54.439 --> 00:03:00.599 It's a restricted government area essentially where the I I 45 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:07.159 think that there's speculation of like top secret experiments and 46 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:11.400 projects are going on. And as you said, like back 47 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:15.800 in the would it have been like the fifties sixties 48 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:20.120 with like UFOs that were supposedly crashed there and the 49 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:25.280 government found these aliens and were you know then just 50 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.039 studying them and all of that, and that's where they're 51 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:33.199 being kept. So to this day it is still restricted 52 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.280 and there is government activity there and they do have 53 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:41.439 armed guards that keep people from it. So it is 54 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.879 very much real. The question is what is actually going 55 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:47.479 on there? 56 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.560 I think regardless of what is or isn't going on there, 57 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:56.000 the mystery and the allure and the draw of it 58 00:03:56.039 --> 00:04:01.120 still exists. Yeah. So it's actually on like my bucket list. 59 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:03.919 The closest town. 60 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:06.639 To it, like the closest you can legally be to it, 61 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:12.080 it's this town called Rachel, Nevada, and I want to 62 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:17.879 go so bad. It's this like kitchy little desert town. 63 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:22.279 You can stay in a hotel that's called the Little Alien, 64 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.399 and then they have like this little diner slash I 65 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:28.399 don't know, maybe it's a restaurant and a bar, but 66 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:32.480 it has all the UFO kind of like merchandise and 67 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.839 decor and they really lean into the reputation of the 68 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:38.399 area and it just looks so fun to visit. 69 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:42.360 That does sound fun. So the user who left this 70 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:48.439 comment was forty seven year old Las Vegas resident Kenny Veach. 71 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:55.240 He also had his own YouTube channel and his username 72 00:04:55.480 --> 00:05:00.000 there is snake snake bit McGhee, like I want to 73 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.439 snake bite McGee, but there's no eats snake bit McGee. 74 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:10.160 And on his channel he had a few videos posted 75 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:16.480 of his desert hikes and his shark take submission inventions. Okay, 76 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:21.319 so I think very a very passive channel, Like definitely 77 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:25.560 he did not have well at the time, he did 78 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.639 not have a lot of viewers or subscribers or anything 79 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:33.879 like that. And he got that user name because on 80 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.720 one of his adventures he was bitten by a rattlesnake, 81 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:40.279 and obviously it was like this would make a great 82 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:41.759 user name. 83 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:46.680 Yeah, yeah, I suppose that's like a very distinct event 84 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:47.759 to happen in your life. 85 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.120 I mean, I think I've mentioned it before, but like 86 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.160 my first like AOL screen name was Captain Desani because 87 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:58.560 I would get a Dasani water out of the vending 88 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.800 machine every day in high school. You know this was 89 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:06.839 pre having an emotional support water bottle at all times, 90 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:08.079 but you know. 91 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:11.959 Yeah that is true. Yeah, I do still see your name. 92 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.199 I feel like I randomly see it on different things 93 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:17.240 where you've kept that used your name on it. 94 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:22.839 Yeah. My bank account from again when I like was sixteen, 95 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:28.680 I user name as captain Desani. Still so funny. I'm 96 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.000 like here, I am a full fledged adult, still using 97 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:37.480 my Aol screen name as my financial product logins. So 98 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.959 most of his inventions were kind of a bust. But 99 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:47.839 he was pretty serious about hiking, and that was a 100 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:52.439 hobby or interest that he really took interest in and 101 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:56.000 spent a lot of time doing. There is I mean, 102 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:59.160 I think even more so now than say ten or 103 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:04.480 fifteen years ago. But everybody, I think a little bit 104 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:09.439 of everybody at least likes to live vicariously through other people. 105 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:14.040 I think that's a straw of the Internet, and when 106 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:17.680 people travel to or live in places that most of 107 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:21.399 us will never make it to in person, everybody loves 108 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:24.160 to do the magic of the internet be able to 109 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.959 also visit these places. So Kenny was, like I said, 110 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:33.079 he wasn't super active posting videos on his channel, but 111 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:40.199 he was very active in other forums and like comment 112 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:44.079 sections and things like that, and he would often discuss 113 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:49.279 his solo trips through the Mojave, the Great Basin, and 114 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:54.959 hikes out in the Nevada backcountry. He would spend sometimes 115 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.839 days at a time out in the desert alone, a 116 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:02.000 lot of times minimal supplies. Although he hadn't even bitten 117 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.319 by Riddle's sake, he continued to enjoy picking them up 118 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:09.240 whenever he saw them, which is a hard pass for 119 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.279 me and doesn't seem like a good idea. On some occasions, 120 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:17.199 it sounds like he would have what most people will 121 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:22.439 consider an unsafe level of supplies, just like, Oh I 122 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:24.759 had a candy bar and a single bottle of water. 123 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.519 You know that's that won't even get me through an afternoon. Yeah, 124 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:32.720 that's not enough. That's not enough to have on you. No, 125 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:38.159 Although Kenny didn't post these kinds of videos, but like 126 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:43.159 whenever I watch people posting videos of content of them 127 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.480 being like out in the wilderness or like doing like 128 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:51.200 survival type content, I always wonder what's really going on 129 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.279 when the camera isn't rolling or what ends up getting 130 00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:00.799 edited out? Yeah? Yeah, because you know, I think I 131 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.480 had watched several videos of a guy who like does 132 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:08.279 these type of excursions on his own in Australia, and 133 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:12.440 you know he's like, oh, I'm always I'm out here alone. 134 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:17.080 I have no supplies, I have no GPS, no maps, whatever. 135 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.679 But are these people really alone or are other people 136 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:24.279 just not in the camera footage? Are they really doing 137 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:27.320 this diy water filter thing and drinking out of a 138 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.279 swamp for three days or are they like, say, I 139 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.679 get my like water bladder filled. 140 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:35.320 Yeah, And I think there are some people who are 141 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:40.480 actually accurately portraying, like for sharing what their experience is. 142 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.360 But you do see so many of those behind the 143 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:48.720 scenes of content creation, where so much of it is fabricated. 144 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:56.480 So it's always curious trying to differentiate between who's being 145 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:00.000 more kind of genuine and what they're sharing versus who's 146 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:01.080 not right. 147 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:08.200 Because creators have the advantage of showing viewers what they 148 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:10.600 want them to see, we have no way of knowing 149 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:14.279 if this guy who says that he is eating scorpions 150 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.879 and ants for a week, we don't know. He could 151 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:19.000 turn off the camera and be like, yes, I have 152 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:25.399 this killer sub and a soda and ice and it's great, yep, 153 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:29.000 and Honestly, I guess either way, if you're just looking 154 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:32.879 at it at entertainment value, enjoy it. Because I don't 155 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.399 even want to pretend to eat scorpions. So yeah, I'm 156 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:41.559 all set. Yeah, But Kenny, this is not, I guess 157 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:45.080 a little bit of a sidetrack, but like just thinking 158 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:53.080 about these forums and videos and things like that, where 159 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:57.559 there are people doing these things, and just I think 160 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:02.399 the the secure already also of having of just being 161 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:08.799 like a keyboard what is the term keyboard warrior keyboard troll? 162 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:13.360 Yeah, I mean keyboard warrior is like people who are 163 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:18.240 like argumentative from the safety of their side of the 164 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:23.440 computer screen. But I think there are there terms for 165 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:24.919 depending on yeah someone. 166 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:28.480 But basically like you can you can say whatever you 167 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:32.320 want on the Internet, and if you just have like 168 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:34.919 a username, people don't know who you are, people aren't 169 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.240 fact checking you there. You can say whatever you want, 170 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:43.519 whether it's true or not, people will never know. But 171 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.919 but Kenny shared in a lot of these comments and 172 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:49.279 forums that he was alone on most of his adventures 173 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.759 and he typically went places most people won't dare to go. 174 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:57.120 And I do think that he's right about that last part, 175 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:00.000 at least because he said he'd been in more case 176 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:03.120 then he can count, and I've been so few caves 177 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:04.600 I don't even need to count. 178 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.480 Yeah, yeah, I means as cool as it is to 179 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:13.240 the idea of coming across an old cave. I don't 180 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.639 know if I'd want to venture into any I'll save 181 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.519 that for when I'm like playing Red Dead or tomb 182 00:12:19.559 --> 00:12:20.360 Raider or something. 183 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:23.240 But I'm not doing that in real life. You send 184 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:28.039 your digital version in exactly. Kenny wasn't a person who 185 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:34.519 scared easily, it seems, and that was very much part 186 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:38.519 of the vibe that he would share online, that he'd 187 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:41.559 go out these places alone and do all kinds of 188 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:46.320 exploring and he had no fear in this environment, which 189 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.960 is great if you can pull that off. Yeah, but 190 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:55.200 that brings me back to the comment that started all 191 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:59.399 this about the cave scaring him. And here is how 192 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:03.320 Kenny just described originally finding that particular cave. He said 193 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:06.919 he was hiking out near the Sheep Mountains, which are 194 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:14.080 maybe forty ish miles north of Las Vegas. And these 195 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:19.480 mountains also aren't far from the Nevada Tests and Training Range, 196 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:23.960 which includes the Nellis Air Force Base, and that whole 197 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:29.519 area fifty one compound. While out on this hike, he 198 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:33.679 found the cave and like I said earlier, it was 199 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:38.840 shaped like a capital M and it was about like 200 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:41.519 he said, it was about The opening was about his height, 201 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.360 so I don't know, let's say to say six feet, 202 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:49.039 wells reminded six feet. Yeah. So he planned to go 203 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.759 inside because that was a thing he did. And he's 204 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.000 not afraid of caves. He enjoys being in them. He's 205 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:00.240 been in plenty, but this time was different. As coach, 206 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:05.559 he immediately felt something was off. He started feeling that 207 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:10.120 vibration and it was continuing to get stronger the further 208 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:14.039 he went towards the cave. There wasn't any noise that 209 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.360 accompanied this vibration. You would think if there was some 210 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:21.000 sort of equipment or I don't know what else would 211 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:24.080 make a vibration like that, but you would think that 212 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:30.240 there'd be some noise to accompany whatever is producing this feeling, right, 213 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.799 But there was no sound. There wasn't anything to indicate 214 00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:38.559 what was causing this sensation. It was just a very 215 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:45.480 unsettling feeling. And as he continued to approach and it increased, 216 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.960 he was like, Nope, this cave is not for me today, 217 00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:52.120 I'm out of here, and ultimately ended up sharing that 218 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.279 this was one of the strangest things that he had 219 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:59.320 ever experienced. But when you share something like that on 220 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:03.200 the internet, people want proof. I'm probably one of those 221 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:06.360 people say prove it. Yeah. So he got all kinds 222 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:10.320 of comments on his comment from people suggesting he go 223 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:16.480 back and get some evidence or some video. Other people 224 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:19.840 just want to be able to experience this weird cave 225 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:23.720 themselves without having to go there, which that makes sense also, 226 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:28.240 So there were a lot of calls for him to 227 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:33.240 go back and get video and share it. Some people 228 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.840 they just wanted to see it, and other people were like, 229 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:41.440 that's some bullshit. I don't believe you. Yeah, And to 230 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:46.799 Kenny's credit, he was like, all right, fine, I'll go back. 231 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.759 I'll prove it. Not a big deal. So he started 232 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:53.240 planning a trip to go back, and among all of 233 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.320 the comments of people wanting him to go back, there 234 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.840 were some comments from people telling him not to go back, 235 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.200 including one that warned him that if he found that 236 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.440 cave again and he went in, he wasn't coming out 237 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.480 very ominous mm hmm, and I'd be like, prove it. 238 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.799 So in October twenty fourteen, he posted a video called 239 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.639 m Cave Hike. In the video, he's standing next to, 240 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.399 or the beginning of the video, he's standing next to 241 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:26.799 an abandoned mind shaft, and he's talking about the landscape 242 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:30.559 and talking about where his car is parked and where 243 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:35.240 he's going on this hike, and just explaining what he's 244 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:37.399 been doing, what he's planning to do, just kind of 245 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:40.120 a regular like, hey, come with me while I hike 246 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:45.320 the desert type video. But ultimately he hiked for hours. 247 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.879 He found a tortoise and a tarantula, but no cave, 248 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.000 And he even said in the beginning of the video 249 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.679 that he was hoping to be able to find the 250 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:01.759 cave again, but just the vast of the terrain, he 251 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:04.480 seemed a little uncertain he was going to be able 252 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:06.359 to find his way back to where this cave was. 253 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:11.920 And he was unsuccessful in finding the cave. And once 254 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.200 people watch this video, they were like, all right, this 255 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.880 was a failed mission. There's no cave, there's no evidence. 256 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:25.279 What the heck. So, as you might guess, people were unhappy. 257 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:30.400 And when you're unhappy, obviously you just share those comments 258 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:37.599 online as everyone does. Yeah to play Devil's advocate. I 259 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:42.680 do think if you are going to share something crazy 260 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:45.759 and you want people to believe it, you have to 261 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:48.680 expect that people are going to want evidence, are going 262 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.519 to want to have you to have a way to 263 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:56.559 back up your claim. Absolutely, So Kenny ends up saying, 264 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:00.799 all right, I'll go make a third trip find this cave. 265 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:04.079 This time, I'll bring my go pro and get even 266 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:10.240 more footage, and let's do it. In this cave m 267 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:14.400 hike video, he just seems so relaxed and so at 268 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:18.000 ease in this setting. He seems like a very just 269 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.680 like a chill guy, like you could just kind of 270 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:22.839 hang out. I just picture like sitting around a fire, 271 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:25.119 and he's got like good stories and stuff. It's very 272 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:31.079 like relaxing, easy to talk to. Right in November, Kenny 273 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:33.559 tells his girlfriend that he's going for a short trip, 274 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:37.359 just two overnights and three days and he'd be back. However, 275 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:42.920 three days past, then four, and then five, and with 276 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:46.720 no word from Kenny for a full week. His girlfriend 277 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:57.000 this name I struggle cherry on Sharyon, Sherryon Shreyon. Is 278 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:01.440 that how his girlfriends? Yes, his girlfriend share well, it's 279 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:05.400 s h E r y o n but like my 280 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.079 brain because my mom's name is Cheryl, like it just 281 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.559 it can't do a different sound ending sound. Yeah. 282 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:16.519 I suppose the why could also be like uh, like 283 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:19.079 the I sound like sharyan Oh. 284 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:23.920 I didn't think of that pronunciation. Well, if anybody has 285 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:28.400 a better pronunciation, because because now pronounce dot com makes 286 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.039 you watch a video before you can hear the pronunciation, 287 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.319 and I think that name might even throw off that 288 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:39.240 not chance. I did not find a lot of options 289 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:44.599 for listening to it pronounced yeah anyway, So on November seventeenth, 290 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:48.920 she ended up reporting him missing. Search and rescue teams 291 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.920 headed out to the area. They found his vehicle parked 292 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.240 at the trailhead, basically where his girlfriend had expected it 293 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:59.039 to be, so they know that he at least made 294 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:04.400 it to his planned destination. Aerial and ground crew aeral 295 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:09.000 and ground searches got underway. At some point it was 296 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:11.960 discovered I don't know if it's by his family or 297 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:15.880 some type of authorities went to his house, but they 298 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:19.680 found that his go pro camera was at home. Oh, 299 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:23.279 so he hadn't brought it with him, right, which feels 300 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.759 very strange. The whole point of your trip is to 301 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.880 document things to later share online. On November twenty second, 302 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.880 searchers found his cell phone. It was sitting on the 303 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:38.000 ground near that same abandoned mind shaft where he had 304 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:42.759 previously filmed a video. It appeared to those who found 305 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:45.640 the phone that it had been set down rather than 306 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.720 being dropped, And obviously there's no way to know for sure, 307 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:53.519 but it at least seemed like the phone had been 308 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:59.480 set down intentionally. Maybe it was just pleased somewhere that 309 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:01.519 makes sense that you put it down, rather than like, oh, 310 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:04.440 I dropped it or fell out of my pocket. The 311 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.960 mine and the surrounding area was searched, but nothing was found. 312 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:14.440 His car and phone became the only indications that Kenny 313 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:19.759 had been out there, and nothing additional was found. Months 314 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:24.200 after Kenny's disappearance, his girlfriend posted a long comment on 315 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:32.440 his mcave video. Apparently she didn't realize how much activity 316 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:35.799 this video had been getting. One of her friends had 317 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:38.680 reached out and told her about this video and all 318 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:40.920 these comments, and that's why she kind of jumped in 319 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:44.200 and was like, Wow, I didn't realize that there was 320 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:48.000 so much conversation about this m cave and this adventure 321 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:53.039 in this search. She didn't think that whatever happened was 322 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:57.039 an accident, and she didn't think that Kenny had found 323 00:21:57.240 --> 00:22:00.240 the cave. Her belief was that Kenny lost his with 324 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.519 depression and had gone into the desert to die. According 325 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:07.880 to her, Kenny had suffered from depression for years at 326 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:12.519 that point, and he was unwilling to seek medical help. 327 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:17.720 He was against taking medication, and he just didn't want 328 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:21.160 to see a doctor. And you can only push somebody 329 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:27.400 so much to seek help or talk to your doctor, 330 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.559 or talk to anybody. So I'm sure that was really 331 00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:35.240 tough for people who knew his situation. In the months 332 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:39.240 before he disappeared, things had just kind of gotten worse. 333 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:43.960 He quit his job, maybe like a year or so 334 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:49.559 before his disappearance, and he had been hoping that he 335 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:52.359 would be able to spend that time and become some 336 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:56.039 kind of inventor, you know, the shark tank pitches and stuff, 337 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:00.640 but that was not going well. I just picture Dad, 338 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.119 that's the only reference point for inventors. I have no 339 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:06.400 I got a picture of it too, And at some 340 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:11.480 point Kenny had told her that if he ever decided 341 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:15.279 to end his life, that no one would ever find 342 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:19.559 his body, which I'm sure there's contexts of this conversation, 343 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:25.759 but that's a very dark comment, yeah, very And she 344 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:30.319 agrees that his phone probably was placed down intentionally because 345 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:32.880 Kenny would have known that it could be tracked. It 346 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:35.799 had GPS, and if he didn't want to be found, 347 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:37.640 he wasn't going to be taking that phone with him. 348 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:41.480 She also strongly believes that he left his camera at home, 349 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:46.319 again intentionally, because he never planned to document or share anything. 350 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:50.000 And she isn't even sure that the m Cave story 351 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:54.359 was ever a real thing to begin with. That perhaps 352 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:58.519 it was something he had said or written, not really 353 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:03.880 expecting to get much attention from it or gain any traction. 354 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:07.880 It was just kind of like a throwaway little comment 355 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:12.680 or story maybe, but then it spiraled into this much 356 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:16.799 bigger story, and she thinks it still maybe was never 357 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:18.279 never a real thing to begin with. 358 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:23.559 So does she question if an m cave even existed 359 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:26.799 or what he experienced when he went in it, if. 360 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:30.000 The cave ever existed. The second part of her comment 361 00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:33.279 was a warning of sorts, and I am going to 362 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:38.160 share that verbatim. I share this with you for two reasons. First, 363 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:42.400 so that you have more of an understanding who Kenny 364 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:46.920 was and to bring some peace or understand into the situation. Secondly, 365 00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:49.319 if any of you decide to go out into our 366 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:51.880 desert to look for him or the m cave, be 367 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.119 careful and bring enough food and water. Walking sticks are 368 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:00.279 a good idea, and not doing a solo hike. Bring 369 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:03.319 a GPS and make sure you've let family or friends 370 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:05.799 know that you're heading out for the hike and where 371 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:09.839 you where and when you will be returning. A search 372 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:14.039 really can't be on a one day hike. You would 373 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:16.519 be repeating much of the same hike just getting up 374 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:19.559 to the mountain, and then be left with not many 375 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:22.000 hours in the day to do your search. She's talking 376 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:24.960 about searching for the cave, right, You would need two 377 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:27.079 or three days at a time, and in the summer 378 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:30.319 or even late spring. This cannot be done because of 379 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:32.680 the heat of our desert. I do love how much. 380 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.799 How she says, sorry, I'm breaking the quote, how she 381 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:39.319 refers to it as our desert. Yeah, you would not 382 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:42.680 be able to carry enough water, so please please be careful. 383 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.519 I had many wonderful experiences with Kenny, and I'll always 384 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:48.720 remember them and have a place of love in my 385 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:51.039 heart for him and the wonderful things we did together. 386 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:54.319 I am healing from my loss and look forward to 387 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:59.160 new experiences with desert hiking, camping, and taking beautiful pictures 388 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:02.680 of our desert. Enjoy your adventure of life, and thank 389 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:05.400 you for the kind, loving comments sent my way. Oh 390 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:09.079 that was a really nice message. It was. I think 391 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:15.240 she obviously very clearly recognizes the dangers that can be 392 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:19.720 out in the desert, and I think she realized that 393 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:23.279 Kenny had created a big draw to this location for people, 394 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:26.519 and as much as she didn't want people to put 395 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:30.400 themselves at risk going out there, she also knew that 396 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.519 saying don't do it wasn't going to cut it. People 397 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:37.480 were still going to do it. So just I think 398 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:39.880 hoping that people do it safely. 399 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:44.079 Yeah, she's not She's not trying to deter people from going, 400 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.720 because if they want to go, they're going to go. 401 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.519