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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It was the summer of 1933, and Rocky Mountain National Park was still young — wild, untamed, and only partly mapped. On August 15th, a 22-year-old University of Chicago student set out on a solo hike. He told his friend he was heading toward Taylor Peak — just another day in the mountains before he had to return home to Chicago. But he never came back and his disappearance remains unsolved to this day. This is one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s oldest active missing persons cases.

Tips: You can call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation 303-239-5764 or the Glendale Police Department 303-759-1511. 

Sources:

https://charleyproject.org/case/joseph-laurence-halpern

https://www.dailycamera.com/2010/01/24/joseph-halperns-family-continues-search-for-lost-hiker/

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/4185dmco.html

https://defrostingcoldcases.com/guest-post-joseph-halpern-part-1-by-silvia-pettem/

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/08/10/inside-rocky-mountain-national-parks-1933-missing-hiker-mystery-joe-halpern/940601002/

https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/national-park-service-finds-rudi-moder-hiker-missing-38-years/

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Mount Everest: the world’s highest peak above sea level. It's iconic and stands against the sky like a giant. Everest is covered in snow and ice…and dead bodies. It is famous for its “Death Zone” which has extremely thin air, making breathing difficult, requiring supplemental oxygen for climbers. This beautiful mountain is dotted with many climbers who never made their way down. 

Sources:

https://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/mount-everest-bodies-left-dead-frozen-at-the-top/

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8svfgApUsy/?hl=en

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

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/climbing-mount-everest-1

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Utah has many missing persons cases and mysteries within its national forests and national parks. One of those happen to be the disappearance of a Finnish man who went missing in the Ashley National Forest in March 2025. He went to look for gold in the Uinta mountains and hasn’t been seen since. He is just a young man far from home, drawn to a wilderness he may not have fully understood. In places like this, it doesn’t take a dramatic moment for things to go wrong — just cold, isolation, and one missed turn.

Tips: If you have any information about Onni’s whereabouts or have been in contact with him, please reach out to Cpt. John Crowley at Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office by calling 435-738-1126 or emailing [email protected].

Sources:

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

https://www.deseret.com/1989/6/15/18811507/moon-lake-unique-yet-little-known/

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

https://kamasvalleyhistory.org/2020/05/11/the-lost-rhoads-mine-the-back-rhodes-of-our-genealogy/

https://www.foxnews.com/us/tourist-vanishes-after-leaving-utah-airport-backpack-mountains

https://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000011139740.html

https://www.abc4.com/news/missing-in-utah/duchesne-county-man/

https://www.kpcw.org/state-regional/2025-04-02/finnish-man-missing-in-uintas-duchesne-county-sheriff-says

https://websleuths.com/threads/ut-onni-llmari-raassina-29-came-to-visit-utah-from-finland-missing-since-5-march-2025.740278/

https://disappearedblog.com/justin-coursey/

https://www.westkentuckystar.com/Obituaries/Funeral-Homes/Lindsey-Funeral-Home-(1)/Justin-Wayne-Coursey

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