Imagine setting out on what should have been a routine dive- clear skies, calm seas, everything going exactly to plan. But within hours, you’re stranded twenty miles from shore, drifting further into the vast Pacific Ocean with nothing but your wits, your dive buddy, and a growing list of dangers beneath the surface.

Episode Sources:
YouTube - I Shouldn't Be Alive, Neemyd, LinkedIn, IMDB, Getty Images, Britannica, Emperor Divers, Travel Zone, NOAA, Smithsonian, A-Z Animals, PBase, How Stuff Works, Snow Brains, Metro, NASA, EYOS, Google Maps

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

This week, we’re bringing you a special collaboration with Outside She Goes. Together, we’re diving into four haunting cases of women who vanished in the wild. From the rugged mountains of Colorado and California, to the unforgiving trails of Vermont and Alaska-Michelle Vanek, Rosemary Kunst, Paula Jean Welden, and Sharon Buis set out into nature and were never seen again. These stories remind us of the beauty, mystery, and danger that live side by side in the outdoors.

Episode Sources:
NamUs, Strange Outdoors_SB, The Doe Network, KTOO, YouTube - Bryan’s Mysteries & Adventures on Trail, AllTrails, Goldbelt Tram, Strange Outdoors_RK, Find a Grave, WebSleuths, Valhikes, State of California Dept. of Justice, 5280

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

Survival can come in a lot of forms. Sometimes it’s sheer willpower. Sometimes it’s faith. Sometimes it’s a stroke of luck. But in some survival stories, the reason people make it home safe isn’t any of those things—it’s their dog. In today’s stories these dogs were upgraded from man’s best friend to hero.

Episode Sources:
Huffpost, ABC7 NY, The Guardian, AKC, VNews, CBS News, People, USA Today, Today, Petful, The Barry Foundation, Must Share News, People_2, NBC Los Angeles, CNN

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

Glacier National Park. Known as the Crown of the Continent, it’s one of the most stunning—and rugged—landscapes in North America. With jagged peaks, alpine lakes, hidden glaciers, and winding trails that take you deep into the wilderness, it draws millions of visitors every year. But behind its beauty lies danger. The park’s cliffs, rivers, and weather can turn a day of adventure into a fight for survival in seconds.

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Episode Sources:
Utah News Dispatch, People, NPS_Astle, Utah Valley Funeral, NPS_Patil, AllTrail_Avalanche Lake, Nep York, Oregon Live, CBS News, NPS_Tones, GoFundMe_Tones, People, CBS News_Marcuccio, Columbia Mortuary, CBS News_Fuselier, NPS_Fuselier, Brothers Mortuary, AllTrails_Reynolds Mountain, NPS_Glacier, Under Canvas

**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

American Fork Canyon is beautiful with quiet trails, mountain views, and fresh air. But in 2018, it was also the location of a mystery that lasted more than a year after Jerika Binks went for a morning run and never returned.

Sources

Runners World 1 Runners World 2 Fox 13 News Runners World 3 Yahoo News Vocal Media Strange Outdoors


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In 2023, Chelsea Grimm vanished on a road trip through northern Arizona. Strange sightings, abandoned belongings, and cryptic messages hint at a story no one fully understands. Where was she heading—and what really happened along the way?

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Episode Sources:
Investigation Discovery, AZ Family, YouTube - Truth Be Found, YouTube - Missing Enigma, Dept. of Homeland Security, YouTube - Bodycam Footage

**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

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Yosemite National Park is famous for its granite cliffs, thundering waterfalls, and breathtaking valleys, but over the years, more than 30 people have vanished here without explanation. Today we’ll share the stories of a few who went into the park but never returned.

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Episode Sources:
Historic Mysteries, Strange Outdoors, NPS, The Travel, Medium, Charley Project_1, NPS Yosemite, Charley Project_2, Vanished 

**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

She had climbed every 14er in Colorado in just over two weeks, conquered some of the most grueling multi-day adventure races in the world, and pushed her body beyond what most would consider humanly possible. But in December of 2006, it wasn’t a race course or a competition that nearly killed Danelle Ballengee- it was a solo training run just outside her home in Moab, Utah. What followed was a brutal, 50+ hour fight for survival... and the story of a dog who became a hero.

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Episode Sources:
Snowshoe Magazine, YouTube - I Shouldn’t Be Alive, Babbitville, Runner's World

**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

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The Australian outback doesn’t often give second chances. Enduring weeks in the wilderness easily pushes the limits of what humans can survive. With incredible stories of survival sometimes come controversy, questions and suspicion.

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Episode Sources:
ABC - Robert Boguki Wikipedia - Robert Bogucki Wikipedia - Ricky Megee YouTube lad bible - Ricky Megee Bushcraftbuddy - Ricky Megee Watoday - Robert Bogucki

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

Land disputes, a tale as old as time, have far too often ended in tragic loss of lives for those staking their claims. Land is a valuable and finite commodity, and those who feel they are losing control over it may resort to extreme measures to protect their stake.

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Episode Sources:
Dallas Morning News, Messenger News, KBTX, CNN, The Daily Beast, Court Documents, Corsicana Daily Sun, Jacksonville Progress, Palestine Herald, DailyMail

**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.

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If you have your own outdoor misadventure (or adventure) story that you'd like us to include in a listener episode, send it to us at [email protected]  

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**We do our own research and try our best to cross-reference reliable sources to present the most accurate information we can. Please reach out to us if you believe we have mispresented any information during this episode, and we will be happy to correct ourselves in a future episode.