In the shadow of Ron Mountain Ridge is a hideaway nestled deep in the foliage of the woods. There we find monsters nonhuman and human alike. Remote, difficult to reach and far from the usual hiking and camping grounds of the seasoned hiker, the area of this mountain in Appalachia rarely saw humans and only an occasional park ranger. Wildlife thrived and made the area a home, pristine, untouched and unsullied by the presence of humans.
However, one sunny afternoon in 1981, nine avid outdoorsmen in their early and mid-twenties, traversed the ridge in quest of exploring the deeper areas of Appalachia, going off-trail and finding themselves in the shadow of this ridge. Perhaps lured by the promise of a pristine landscape and a view hardly seen, the nine hikers ventured into the unknown reaches of the mountain. Far from detection, several miles from a road and away from GPS coordinates they went.
They were in their early and mid-twenties, just out of college and out to experience what the forests of the Appalachian Mountains had to offer.
Then, like lightning, they seemed to disappear.
That Sunday, their families and friends began to wonder why there was no contact from them. By Wednesday, they were missed at home, at work and at gatherings where they would have told their friends, coworkers and parents of their adventure.
What began as an eager pack of youth looking for adventure found more adventure than they bargained for.
If you had been following this blog, two weeks ago we began with the first part of the story of the missing nine who mysteriously vanished in this area of the Appalachian Trail in 1981. Forty two years later, families still wonder about the events that led to the disappearance of their loved ones. The case grew cold until 2023 when park rangers pushed against the brush and deep understory on a maintenance detail.
The group of rangers whose task was to clear dead trees, areas that may have become too dangerous by virtue of the terrain, etc. came upon an arresting sight: A series of mounds in a cluster.
In an area cleared of brush, rangers found nine regular mounds of soil, too regular to have been made by the hands of nature. They dug and found tents under the soil. The tents were old, decayed but still usable in parts. It was evident that decades had passed, but plastic, the primary fabric of tents made forty years ago, housed the remains of a campers’ gear. Tent after tent revealed the same.
Inside the tents were the detritus of camping gear: Clothing, water bottles, discarded wrappers, cooking equipment and a journal. A notebook. Then, near the campsite, a map with bizarre symbols.
Eager to determine and harvest evidence of the new find, the team continued to dig and found an underground area with more tents, hastily abandoned. Someone had been living in a cavern near the campsite. Someone who lived undetected by civilization due to the remoteness and vastness of the forest. Somehow, the group of nine stumbled upon an area where someone had lived undetected and didn’t want to be found. However, the nine young men stumbled upon his territory. He was almost underneath them, sheltered from prying eyes in a cavern. Hidden. Or did that someone lure the nine hikers to his territory as opposed to them entering it?
The notebook and the map together revealed to the young ranger that this predator had been stalking the group. So familiar and so adept was this predator that he was able to change the pattern of their hike. They hiked right into his lair where in the dead of night they were prey, caught and somehow disposed of when they chose to camp near his hidden refuge. But why stalk and lure?
Witnesses who were hiking and camping nearby and on the trail with the nine hikers noted a man in shadow following several feet behind. Rangers who researched the findings theorized that the predator, undetected, followed them and then advanced on the trail to set up signs that would steer the nine hikers towards his trap. Whoever it was knew the land on-trail and off-trail. Unlike a wild animal seeking prey, it was not to feed its brood or pack or out of hunger. It was not to steal as the belongings remained in the tent.
What was the motive?
He was pure evil. He stalked and killed because he could.
In 1981, old case files revealed there were unusual disappearances in remote stretches of Appalachia. One report discusses a woodsman, Harlan Briggs who dwelled in the forest for decades. Harlon had intimate knowledge of the forest. Photos of previous campers who had taken pictures of the remote area near the ridge revealed a man in the shadow of the treeline watching from afar. Was it Harlon Briggs?
One elderly hunter recalls seeing the group of nine hikers while he did a solo hike near Ron ridge. He had waved at them to acknowledge his presence. He observed a man who didn’t appear to be part of the group, but was following several feet behind. The hunter recalls that he had no idea who the man was, had not seen him before and unlike other hikers, seemed to drift further instead of acknowledging passers by with a wave. The man obviously did not want to be seen.
Who is the person or persons responsible for the disappearance of the nine young hikers?
In the next blog, we will look deeper to check for updates on this case and whether other cases have been resolved or remain open.
If you have a strange story that fits the bizarre elements you have read here or a scary one you’d like to tell, feel free to contribute.
I welcome your own experiences with the bizarre and sinister, here on The Sinister Archives.
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