It's September 2004 in the Bighorn Mountains and a Crow Nation man goes missing while on a hunting trip. He was experienced and knew the area well. Over a year later, a crow leads a hunter to human remains and there are more questions left than answers. When Indigenous people go missing or die in remote places, their stories too often disappear into silence, treated as footnotes instead of human lives. This is the mysterious disappearance and death of Bikkaashee Iisaaakshe (Robert "Bugsy" Springfield).

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bighorn_Mountains

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/robert-bugsy-springfield

https://indianz.com/News/2007/005696.asp

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22901309/robert-bikkaashee_iisaaakshe-springfield

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National parks are supposed to be peaceful—untouched slices of wilderness. But dig through the right reports, and you’ll find something else: the weird stuff. The unsettling stuff. The “what the hell actually happened out there?” stuff. Join us for part three of bizarre incident reports from various national parks.

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Many stories of missing people in the outdoors sound like this: they were hiking with a friend, went around a bend or over a hill and were never seen again. It's a tale we’ve heard numerous times. On a few occasions, they are sometimes found, but not always alive. This was the case on Owyhigh Lakes Trail in June 2014. 

Sources:

https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/owyhigh-lakes.htm

https://www.union-bulletin.com/opinion/letter---hiker-who-died-on-mount-rainier-was-a-poet/article_c4a76180-df93-5441-ae95-ac031b5ac25f.html

https://www.wta.org/news/signpost/remembering-hiker-writer-karen-sykes

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/21/karen-sykes-seattle-hiker-mount-rainier-missing

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/friends-mourn-outdoors-writer-who-vanished-on-hike/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/karen-sykes-mount-rainier-hiker-died-of-hypothermia-1.2685330

https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/hiking-safety.htm

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Imagine its September 2009 in the Santa Fe National Forest: aspen trees are beginning to turn gold and its hunting season. Three friends are planning to hunt near Elk Mountain. They separated and had plans to meet back up. One failed to return and has been missing ever since. Today I was able to sit down with his daughter, Kristen Nadel, who is still keeping her dad in the headlines to get answers about what happened that September day.

Special thanks to Kristen for this interview and insight into her dad's case.

Mel's Charley Project Page

If you know anything about the disappearance of Mel Nadel please contact the New Mexico State Police at 505-827-9300.

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Hey guys! This nature news. is sparse because not much happened in the natural world this month! Hope you have a great Saturday!

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Acadia National Park is said to be one of the most haunted places in Maine. Join us for this installment of Haunted Parks.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia_National_Park

https://www.americanghostwalks.com/articles/hauntings-mysteries-acadia-maine

https://moonmausoleum.com/the-founding-father-ghost-of-acadia-national-park/

https://www.nelights.com/blog/haunted-bass-harbor-light-in-acadia-national-park-in-maine/

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Deserts can be dangerous places if you aren’t prepared for their unforgiving terrain and weather. White Sands National Park has seen its share of tragedy within its boundaries, with victims succumbing to the white sands nearly every year. But one boy survived in 2015 and made it out alive.

Sources:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Park

https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm

https://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/safety.htm

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/david-ornella-steiner

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/mariah-reading-national-park-art/

https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/10/us/new-mexico-french-deaths

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If you’ve been on social media, you’ve probably seen videos or pictures of bison attacking tourists in our national parks. Online articles will tell you it's pretty rare but with the plethora of pictures and videos and stories online says otherwise. With many more people getting outside these attacks seem to be becoming more frequent, and not just for bison, but for all animals. Antelope Island State Park in Salt Lake City, Utah saw two gorings in 2019. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Island

This is Love Podcast 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/woman-gored-bison-utah-same-park-where-date-had-been-n1060741

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49898709

https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/8/29/21407152/bison-davis-county-man-critically-injured-at-antelope-island-state-park-likely-gored/

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In 2021, search crews at Grand Canyon National Park made an unexpected discovery while looking for another missing person: skeletal remains believed to be of another missing person. His backpack had been found years earlier with prescription bottles bearing his name, but no trace of him was located until the 2021 aerial search. His remains were there the whole time, blending into the canyon until chance and persistence finally brought him home.

Sources:

https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/8-facts-about-grand-canyon-you-never-knew

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

\https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/body-of-hungarian-man-missing-since-july-recovered-in-grand-canyon

https://npshistory.com/morningreport/incidents/grca.htm

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-canyon-search-human-remains-scott-walsh/

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Scott_Walsh

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/89603

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/cold-cases.htm

https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/gibbs-missing-person.htm?utm

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The first month of 2026 brought some interesting headlines in the natural world--from animal attacks to rescues, this month's headlines were wild.

Sources:

https://www.thv11.com/article/news/nation-world/colorado-woman-dies-suspected-mountain-lion-attack/507-c23ac026-e5e5-4897-871f-5811acbc3e95?fbclid=IwdGRleAPFAZZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeFaeFGJpYini2DrTiWQNHZmP10JwHlzPh-NtEgHrspvyHj3wzhnZLTUla9i4_aem_4H4diXeXFAGf4wDg1WW-Pg

https://people.com/teen-vanished-on-mountain-without-phone-days-later-he-walked-over-12-miles-to-safety-11879774

https://people.com/sos-signal-leads-to-rescue-hypothermic-teen-hiker-after-7-hour-search-11882589

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/washington-county/ten-hikers-rescued-from-yankee-doodle-canyon-in-washington-county

https://katu.com/news/local/two-missing-climbers-found-dead-at-9600-ft-elevation-in-mount-rainier-national-park-hiking-outdoors-recreation-snow-cold-forecast-storm-temperature-investigation-search-rescue-permit-team

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-22/hiker-dies-mt-whitney-third-fatality-of-season

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/23/two-confirmed-dead-and-more-presumed-buried-after-landslides-hit-house-and-campground-in-new-zealand

https://people.com/15-hikers-rescued-from-utah-canyon-in-same-day-11891061#:~:text=Fifteen%20hikers%20were%20rescued%20from,Yankee%20Doodle%20Canyon%2C%20Backpacker%20reported.

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