15 Scary Park Ranger Horror Stories

[Music] welcome back to the swamp my friends today we're going to be once again looking into some strange and odd Park Ranger stories these ones are a bit weirder than normal so definitely be prepared for a wild ride before we get into the video I must say that I just moved and I am in my new studio there's not everything that needs to be here quite yet it's a little empty so if it's kind of echoey I apologize and if the mic isn't as great as usual I also apologize to I'm not using my preferred setup at the moment if you have a story you would like to share in a future video whether it be a park ranger tale or something different be sure to submit it a swamp dweller dotnet or the email you can find in the description down below I'd love to share your story with everyone in the swamp it's stories like yours that help keep this channel going now without further ado let's continue into these creepy strange and downright spine-chilling park ranger stories I'm going to get right into it and say when we found a body in the park it wasn't what we expected to find now every now and again you're prone to find a body dumped in a park not saying it's the most common thing in the world but when you're working around the state particularly in bigger parks these things do tend to happen the body wasn't the strangest part of any of this though it was the fact that there appeared to be no reason for it now allow me to elaborate when the body was found there were no marks on it whatsoever there appeared to be no puncture wounds that would denote a drug overdose no marks that indicated a fight no bites from animals nothing the most disturbing part of all of this the smile the woman's body we found wore a large smile it almost seemed unnatural that certainly isn't normal and after some time an autopsy was done and the cause of death was found to be unknown that's right they couldn't find a reason not even by natural causes it's as though the woman just laid down and passed away leaving a messed up smile on her face as she did that's impossible though right no one can simply will themselves to death right things get stranger from here though a few weeks after the first body a second body was found the circumstances were seemingly similar a body a smile and no seeming cause fast forward a bit and it comes out at the seemingly young healthy man had the organs of someone nearing their hundreds if you can't wrap your head around that no worries I'm still unable to make any sense of the strange happening myself how does one have a seemingly healthy body but their internal organs show that they are well beyond the age they appear curious we started looking deeper into the area everything seemed fine we'd had these parks open with no problem for decades when we had seen no other deaths for a few months we had become a bit more comfortable park goers were at ease and we were confident that we'd seen the worst of things it was sometime around mid-february when we would be proven wrong one of our very own complained to being sick they were having breathing problems feeling dizzy and were having some significant trouble hearing among other symptoms we took the employee to the hospital and they ran several tests which seemed to indicate their organs were perfectly fine they weren't sure why they were feeling how they were but they recommended they rest for the next few days a couple of days went by and the same workers were given a couple of days off now came in to work with their hair completely gray I'm not talking dyed gray I'm talking almost completely white as if they were ancient needless to say she was more than a little freaked out as were we I sat her down and asked her about it she explained she woke up one morning and it was like this that said nothing else seemed off and she was feeling better so she wanted to continue work we allowed it but we watched her for a time just to be safe it was about May when things got truly strange on a more personal level there had been no more reported deaths and no strange sickness of any kind around the park the whole thing was strange yes but we were grateful for some quiet I had to work late but I sent most everyone else home I wasn't going to be doing anything crazy just had some paperwork to take care of it's a long story short everyone went home while I stayed in the office and did some filing and finished some paperwork I'd been put as I hate paperwork I was the only person in the station at the time this happened I was working on my paperwork when suddenly the lights and the entire place began acting up at first it was a small flicker that was followed by a sudden large surge of power and the lights going off and on eventually they seemed to shed off completely it was probably about seven or eight so there was still light coming in from the window but it was waning quickly I went ahead and checked the fuse box everything had been tripped I checked to make sure nothing was wrong before flipping everything back on and just like that I had lights again sitting back down I continued my paperwork for a couple of hours before the lights went out again I was about to get up and check things when I heard a call for help I will admit it was a little strange but I figured I'd call out to see if I could determine where it was coming from as I thought it was rather a faint sound I caught out and then I heard screaming now to describe the screaming would be to say it was pained though whoever was screaming or doing so from a semi soundproof room or even the underwater we don't have a lake anywhere near us so that's really weird I know it was anyone in a lake still I was perplexed and slightly unnerved and as such I tried to find the source of the screaming I was eventually led to the front door of the station I walked slowly toward the door and put my ear to it it almost sounded as though the sound was coming from the other side of the door as I looked out the windows though I saw no one at the door still putting my ear back to the door itself I found that the screaming was indeed there I'll be it muffled I wasn't afraid at this point or at least downright terrified or anything but I did feel an unsettling feeling in my stomach the kind you get when you're on the verge of being slightly nauseous almost like you know something isn't right with your body but you haven't gotten completely sick or miserable enough as of yet to determine what the problem ultimately be figuring there was only one way to determine the source of the mysterious sound I decided to put my ear to the door again and listen it was definitely still there despite the fact that my eyes told me different just moments before I took a deep breath and open the door upon opening it I felt an unusually warm wind it was May yes but this was more like a mid summer heat and stepping outside everything seemed to almost slow down as I stared around the station I remember seeing what looked to be pollen floating through the air I could still hear the screams but they were becoming more drowned out by a strange almost underwater sound I clearly wasn't in the water but the sound was distorted in such a way that everything seemed to be coming through in the same sound as if you were underwater I walked forward and that's when I noticed my movements were slower it seemed as though time and also myself were barely moving it wasn't long after that I began to feel extremely hot I could hear faintly see the outlines and silhouettes of people but couldn't make out who they were things became very bright bright enough that I had to close my eyes but even then it was bright too bright I heard a voice calling my name and then suddenly I was awake feverish and laying in a hospital bed there were doctors and nurses standing around me who looked very concerned I was confused and asked what was going on they explained I had a 104 fever and had flatlined not too long prior they weren't sure what had happened but they had found me lying on the ground at the park by a jogger they got me an ambulance and long story short I had been in the hospital for two weeks I had been there for two weeks and had been unconscious until very recently I was in shock I could have sworn I had just been at the station and took me quite a while to even believe I'd been in the hospital at all much less for two weeks I thought I was dreaming and I kept waiting to wake up but I never did in the time I've been in the hospital I'd had every test known to man done of me ultimately they weren't sure what was wrong with me the thing is is I'd been sick but no tests showed any signs of actual sickness even when I was in a comatose the doctors had no real explanation for any of it and I even had fewer answers I spent another month fully recovering from my supposed sickness and I eventually went back to work since that day I've never had another problem and we've never had another problem at the park itself with deaths or sickness under such strange and mysterious circumstances I didn't appear to have any major aging signs but something strange did happen out there I'm not sure how to explain that strange thing or why it happened I'm even less inclined to understand why all the strange occurrences stopped 10 plus years ago I only know there are things out there from which we will never be able to explain I work with the Washington State Park Rangers I'm a male in about 40 now but I was 25 when these strange happenings occurred what happenings you might ask well it started pretty simply I had a few of my co-workers have been told there were sightings of strange things going on in the woods of our parks sometimes it was tales of people believing that they saw a Bigfoot or something other times people swore it was aliens or ghosts it was the usual tales and these tales have been passed on for generations there was always something strange going on out there according to the locals now I'm not wanted to meet people with such stories I don't intend to with my story I simply state the things I state with some sarcasm as at the time of the story and leading up to it I was a major skeptic if you told me about it I'd come up with all sorts of theories and natural explanations as to why this story was not true usually I could completely explain away just about any occurrence you could throw at me strange flickering lights well you clearly have an electrical issue seeing ghosts would you put in those brownies you reading there son aliens probably just the military doing some sort of experimental flight test zombies bath salts more likely anyway you get my point I wasn't exactly a believer in much of anything supernatural or out of the ordinary I've always found our world as fascinating and unexplained mysteries sure but they all have an explanation and even if they haven't been found yet with logic you can solve almost anything eventually so being the stubborn skeptic I was my colleagues got together one October and thought it would be a great idea to have a little wager of sorts we'd all get together and investigate the parks at night we looked for any and all manner of things unexplained or supernatural an attempt to prove or disprove it now in order to do the we had to note any of the strange happenings around from our lovely locals on top of that we had to make a point to collect any strange experiences that had occurred to them be a day or night when it happened we took down all manner of things that sounded absolutely insane but we kept professional and took it seriously we had all kinds of strange occurrences ghosts supposedly roamed our parks Bigfoot was definitely out there and he kept taunting our local herb man herb man or men when speaking of many was what we jokingly called those we knew were very Pro weed and did quite a bit of it the list went on for quite a bit and was every bit as amusing as it was creepy now all that aside what happened during the month is something even my skeptical but can't explain to this day our first night of investigation wasn't all that interesting or entertaining I think some of us yes more than just myself we're taking this as a fun activity that would lead to nothing the first night it was just that the second night though was a bit weirder on the second night while looking for proof of Bigfoot we caught strange crying on her recording now normally I'd have dismissed this as some kind of animal or audio interference in the woods but this was also something a few of the other Rangers reported hearing while out and about we searched the area as the crying was happening it sounded like what you would hear from a baby obviously we didn't want some baby out there abandoned or otherwise crying without knowing the cause or being able to help so we spent much of the night searching for the source we never found it this was compounded by the fact that as we search for it more than a few times it would get louder and after rushing to find the source it vanish and beginning farther away while everyone was perplexed I still wasn't entirely convinced there wasn't someone out there messing with me and my team I mean it definitely wasn't some crying superfast or teleporting baby so that made the most sense the third night we made a point of making sure the area was well equipped monitored and even blocked off to the best of our ability as we wanted no pranksters to mess with us during our investigation we went as far as to set up cameras and some of the trees were under certain rocks to monitor the area and catch anything we couldn't it was late in the night I'm sorry I don't remember exactly what time it was as it's been quite a while since these experiences when we heard that same crying again it was the sound of a baby and it was clear and distinct concern something may actually be wrong also herbed someone might still be trying to mess with us we decided to attack the sound from multiple directions it was during this time that we all came upon the source from multiple directions the problem was when we got there everything was quiet there was no crying no sounds outside of nature and no one could have been messing with us at this point we searched high and low for a device of some kind a mic or anything but we never turned up anything of significance the next day we checked out all the footage it was a Friday and we turned up the sound but nothing the thing is the sound would move it would appear to jump from place to place but no one could hear anything from the sound nothing was physically seen and nothing was caught on the cameras figuring the weekend was coming up and intrigued by this mystery we decided to spend the weekend camping in the park we kept the area we had been searching cordoned off but it was also an area people weren't really using for camping anyway most of those areas were further out and the noises we have been hearing seem to be coming from the general area we had been searching anyway Friday night nothing happened Saturday nights always quiet Sunday we all decided to go home get some rest but keep everything running overnight just in case Monday morning when we came in we found the crying to be happening again the sound on several occasions would appear in one area before going silent and seconds later the crying would pick up in a completely different area on the other side of the park from the first crying noise I will admit at this point I was intrigued and also at a loss for an explanation of any of this now Halloween was approaching and as such we would soon need to get the park ready for a celebration we were going to be having so we really only had another night or two to be able to set up properly and research what was happening deciding we couldn't do these things Monday because of schedules outside of work being fairly busy we all decided to meet up the next day for a final push at figuring out what was going on in the park Tuesday morning we come in to find the same noise again even stranger this noise was heard in our own station at one point no one has ever seen anything on camera but the noise was definitely there we kept our station monitored at all times and we do have sound to our security feed anyway we were all excited for the night to come I'll admit I was even more excited than I should have been and probably the most excited I've been in quite a while over anything strange or mysterious I still believe there would be some kind of logical explanation but I hoped we would discover it and be able to ease our curiosity and solve the mystery Tuesday night came and with it came the sound of a crying baby he spent most of the night searching the area but I had stayed behind in the station as we heard the strange phenomena there as well the sound kept disappearing until I heard it in a room with me it was very clear very distinct I felt something in the room I remember how cold things got and I remember turning around slowly as my hairs were standing on end the sound was so distinct it was as though I could hear right from behind me I felt a cold sort of breath and I heard a woman's voice help us she said I turned and to my shock there was a woman dressed in a black dress it didn't appear to be anything from this time period it looked like suddenly straight out of the 1920s she had a baby swaddled in her arms and she looked just like you or me she didn't seem to be translucent I remember stuttering and stammering I wanted to ask her how it could help but all I could get out was the stammering I couldn't get words out she asked if I knew of any way to quiet her baby she seemed desperate and began to cry herself she kept holding and rocking the baby but it wouldn't stop crying then just like that the woman and baby vanished before my eyes I didn't know how to react and I remember sitting down perplexed for what seemed like hours before I heard a knocking at the door that shot me off my seat it was then I heard one of my co-workers asking to be let in I had forgotten I had locked the door I let them in and tried to explain to all of them what I witnessed I remember their hesitation to believe me but at first they felt like I was messing with them then we reviewed the footage into my shock the voice of the woman and crying were there but they weren't visibly seen on camera the entire crew looked around perplexed at one another before deciding to call it a night since this incident we've done some research looking for this woman we found nothing I'm not sure how to explain this moment or the series of odd events that we experienced over that month for once in my life though I have no logical explanation and since these experiences I've become less of a skeptic I do believe in ghosts but I'm still skeptical of most of the stories as many can be explained my natural causes and occurrences that night however that night still can't be explained at all my story is rather short but still unsettling for me I worked for the park rangers for about five years before having to quit the reason I felt like quitting was because of the strange occurrences happening around my workplace there were our lights at night and strange bodies found I won't say where I was working as I'm scared if I do something may happen to me I know that sounds super conspiratorial and paranoid but that's how I feel after everything the first time anything weird or out of normal happened was in May of my first year on the job a strange light was reported from the sky at night around 11 ish what was stranger was the next day we found a body in the same exact spot as the lights the body was charred to a crisp but nothing else around the body was burned at all we're talking in the middle of the woods where a fire would have broken out easily strange as it was things settle down for like three more years after that before another incident happened this one was on the anniversary of the first and again strange lights had been seen then a burned corpse was left behind I was weirded out but still wasn't feeling threatened - per se it wasn't until my final year of working that I felt like I needed to leave the entire situation I was working late to help out some of my co-workers and for some overtime if you've ever worked government work you'd know for someone newer and in general overtime is rare and you should jump at that chance when you get it anyway I was meandering the parks and helping clean up when I saw something terrifying it wouldn't have been terrifying under normal circumstances but considering the strange happenings at the previous year's this freaked me out it was a light a very bright light and it seemed to beam down just over the hill ahead of me I could see nothing else in the sky just this beam I ran toward the top of the hill and when I crested over it I looked down and see someone screaming they were on fire and screaming but stranger still there was no sound I could clearly see them writhing in pain and screaming but I couldn't hear a single word from them I wanted to help this person and ran down the hill as fast as I could the light vanishing the person's body fully ignited in flames I'm talking huge flames the thing is though nothing around this person was even slightly burned it was now I could hear the screams clearly and I attempted to put the person out I radio to the station for backup and attempted to put this person out nothing stopped the flames no matter what we threw on it or sprayed on it the flame wouldn't recede eventually it died out on his own after what I would assume was probably a good half hour during that time period this person arrived and screamed but eventually they lay still the fire continuing to burn until a stopped the person was dead obviously but I remember being so shaken by what I had witnessed that I quit that night my department liked me and tried to keep me on but I refused I wasn't about to work in that area any longer much less that job soon after this happened there were reports of men in suits investigating the matter I got a knock on the door and was asked about what I saw and said of that nothing ever came of it I told them I had no desire to go back to my job and I was done talking about what I had seen the guys seemed like normal guys it showed FBI badges and I have no reason to believe they were an FBI sometimes hear about men in black and they're supposedly strange err but these guys seems completely normal well at least they did till the night my house was lit up by a bright light I was a home actually I was pulling into my driveway when it happened it was the same light I saw burned that person alive I immediately left the area and I've since moved far far away I don't plan on ever going back to where I live previously why would I since my house burn to the ground I feel that the guys who visited me were probably FBI but whatever burnt those things the beam of light I feel it was some sort of government weapon they were testing you can call me crazy you can call me paranoid you can call me whatever but I'm telling you I know what I saw and I'm damn sure I don't trust the government after that I'm a man and I'm in my 60s I work in Nevada with the State Park Rangers back in the 90s we had a rush of unexplainable disappearances around our parks these are things that were kept rather hush but for which I'd like to share my experiences with you now the first one was on the outskirts of our park there was a man driving through the area around 10-ish a camper reported seeing him and watching his truck stop near the entrance thinking nothing of it he went back about his business the next day the truck was still there with no sign of the driver at all there was no sign of struggle no sign of anything really the truck was there and remained abandoned until it was eventually towed away a few weeks later the driver was never seen or heard from again no one tried to claim the truck nothing a year later in 91 a woman came to report her son missing he had been camping in our Park and was supposed to be home a few days ago she knew where he liked a camp and when he did camp he took us straight to his site we found a tent some extra food some shoes the man's clothes and everything looked relatively mundane aside from not finding the man of course we searched for weeks and never found the man six months later we had another missing camper this one was supposedly seen jogging and screaming while naked before not being seen again the next missing camper didn't occur until 94 this was a group of campers though it was a church that had summer camping trips they had made them every year most everyone returned home but it was noticed and reported that two of the counselors never made it back to the church they had left with them but had been following the church bus back in their own vehicle somewhere along the way they lost them but just figured they'd stop for gas or something and catch up when they never came back they were reported to the police who strangely found their vehicles in our parks parked and with no sign of the drivers this was stranger because the churchgoers knew for a fact that they left with them it was speculated that went back for something they forgot but we never had anyone come in looking for anything missing during that timeframe and certainly no one matching the description of said counselors the last missing person attached at the parks around our area happened in 1998 this was a female college student that kept very close contact with her family who on the last day of her campout didn't report in with her family this naturally concerned the family and while they tried to remain calm and rational about things it didn't take them very long to contact the local authorities and our parks to report their daughter missing the young woman's car was found parked in the same spot it had been when she started her camping trip the area was searched and eventually her belongings in her tent were found abandoned there was no explanation as to what happened to the woman or any sign of struggle having been made much like the others who went missing during that decade there seemed to be no sign of anything having gone wrong it was as though they simply vanished into thin air now normally with these sorts of things you'd get some conspiracy going crazy about aliens or something but there were never any strange objects reported in the area or bright lights or any of that during this timeframe at least nowhere in the area where these people went missing I'm a matter-of-fact guy and I like to have hard facts before presenting any real theories no bodies have been found in regard to the missing and there's no evidence to suggest anything went wrong as such I can't even begin to speculate what happened to these people and my heart goes out to their families as they have no answers either I find these missing person cases rather strange and while I have no way of knowing if they are linked or what is going on for sure I hope the families can find closure one day no matter what happened no family should ever be without answers when something happens to a loved one I've seen firsthand how agonizing that is for a family and I pray for answers to come someday soon I know there really isn't a lot to go with these missings people's but I know there isn't a lot of information to go on with these missing persons but if you have any thoughts about what might have happened feel free to speculate but I ask you to do so respectfully with the thought in mind of how you would feel if you were one of the family members anyways thank you for listening to my story my name is Jonna and I've been with the Park Rangers for some time around six years my experience occurs in the Midwest I'm not comfortable saying exactly we're about three years ago in December the weather is very cold during the winter and if you're working out in the wilderness it can be very dangerous we have certain people who like to camp despite the cold and while we don't really recommend it we still have to search for scent people if they disappear there was a man in his 60s who went missing late November and was reported as such at the beginning of December we had a general idea of where he was going where he was camping and we even found his campsite rather quickly the problem was things weren't as easy after that we found wolf tracks and we found blood we did not however find a body or any other sign of the man at least initially anyway the search continued for quite some time until one day while patrolling we found a human arm the arm was being chewed on by a wolf which then ran off upon being approached this was rather strange the testing on the arm did eventually determine that it belonged unfortunately to our missing camper the man had been presumed dead at this point and the search was already caught off still feeling horrible for the family and being the type of person I am I went off and served to the man's body I drove back to his campsite and went off in the general direction we had seen the blood originally trailing I realized this wasn't the wisest move especially considering that there was quite a bit of snow following and worse weather expected later on that said I felt so bad for his family and I kept thinking if it were my family member I'd want closure and potentially the rest of the body to bury or at least answers so I continued my Trek until I heard something in the distance I can't describe the sound other than to say it was loud and like nothing I'd ever heard in my life it wasn't a wolf if it had been it would have had to have been the largest wolf ever known to man the sound was so deep and unnerving and the wind had gun to pick up the snow whipping my face I debated turning around but I couldn't bring myself to do it so I continued forward looking for any signed or a hint of what had happened to this man or more specifically where the rest of him was it was assumed the Wolves have eaten his body or something along those lines I wanted to find confirmation though I needed to find bones or something more for the family it killed me inside imagining how they felt I've always been a caring person and I've always gone well out of my way to help others it's part of why I love this job so much I keep stressing this so I can justify to you why I was doing what I did as I know there were going to be a lot of people who may hear this story we're going to just think I'm stupid for searching for this man especially knowing he is likely dead anyway I continued my search until I found a cave turning on a flashlight I had brought with me I searched the cave his remains or what was left of them were sitting in the open in the cave I knew where his remains were and how to find them so I was getting ready to head back to get a better crew and maybe remove the remains when I heard what sounded like a loud and horrendous screech I was started at first but I got my wits about me fairly quickly and began to head out of the cave it was then I saw something I can't properly describe it was massive I couldn't even see the entire thing in the snow but what I saw terrified me stiff I felt an uncontrollable fear take my body and I went limp crying and praying I couldn't get my legs to move out of the shock of what I was seeing then I heard that loud sound again it was then I realized it was coming from this monstrosity the thing from what I can tell has flesh hanging from its bones and some of it looked human I wanted to get up but there was nothing I could do initially my mind was saying go but my body wouldn't move I kept thinking if I don't move I'm dead then I heard several loud howls and the thing appeared to turn its attention away from me I snapped back to it and began running with all the might my legs could carry I ran all the way back toward the direction of my truck the snow was growing heavier and the wing kept getting stronger I continued pressing on anyway and as I did I thought I could hear the yelping of wolves it sounded like they were fighting whatever was out there after what felt like hours I made it back to my pickup and got in driving away and back to the station I explained everything to my supervisor who understandably chided me before organizing a search crew to head back out and grab the remains in the end what was found was several Wolf's some of which had been ripped in half strolling all over the snow there was a ton of blood and the entrails and many animals as well there was no sign of the monstrosity I had seen in the wilderness but I was grateful for that I felt horrible for the wolves however as they were clearly all dead and if it wasn't for them I probably would have been dead as well I've never seen anything so large or terrifying in my life I mean I didn't even see the whole fight but crap this thing had me shaking in my boots it was easily the most terrifying and insanely unexplainable thing I've ever witnessed in my life we were able to recover most of the campers remains and the family was able to bury him properly for that at least I am thankful I'll never get nor do I wish to the answers as to what that much prosody was but I can't even imagine the horror that camper must have felt I feel he more than likely ran into this thing and not the wolf's anyway thank you for using my story I've been a park ranger for many years for the most part things have been pretty relaxing I've never encountered anything supernatural and the story about the share isn't going to be one of those accounts no instead of going to share a story about one morning that started like any other shift I was patrolling the parks in one area one summer morning I live in the state of Washington by the way something caught my eye this morning though there was a dark shape in the distance and it was just far enough away that I couldn't make out what it was still it was close to a trail that is frequented heavily by the public and so I figured I'd take a look just to be on the safe side I parked my truck on the side of the trail locked up and headed toward the horizon the area was too dense for me to drive my truck through and I didn't really want to get stuck there either so as I got closer to the shape it began to take a familiar form as it turned out there was a black bear roaming the trail now I didn't think much of it other than I needed to perhaps lure the bear away a bit after all I didn't want anyone roaming the trails to come across or aggravate the bear anyway I walked forward thinking like most animals it noticed me and move along before I approached it but while it did notice me it seemed to stop and stand its ground getting closer I noticed it seemed to be getting defensive and so I called in some backup and waited making sure that no one came by or bothered the animal as I waited I observed the bear it was rather large even for bear and seemed intent on holding the position it had this wouldn't normally be a problem or a bother at all but unfortunately it was too close to the trail and to people we couldn't have someone wander by and disturb the Bears and get mauled back up didn't take long to arrive and we spent the next hour or so trying to get the bear to move unfortunately it wouldn't budge and anytime we got too close the bear would begin showing it's too fearing for my team safety in my own I told them to back off and we'd call in someone who could help I got an animal control specialist on the line and explained the situation very thoroughly to them I was informed they'd send someone shortly and they'd bring what was needed to handle the situation now at this point we also called the Sheriff's Office in case things got out of hand or there was no way to safely move the bear along we wanted to be sure first and foremost that the public would be safe in the future we did respect the fact that the bear was living its life and the lamb was the Bears home and we had no intention of shooting the bear we just wanted someone with a weapon around and the event things got out of hand I had a few of my team step back and give the Baird space and it wasn't long before both Animal Control and the sheriff's arrived we used the sheriff's to help keep people away and one waited on the standby in case we had to deal with the bear the animal control officer also brought a rifle it wasn't to kill though this one was loaded with tranquilizers so if need be we would hopefully be able to put the bear to sleep and move it to a safer area we watched the bear for a bit longer before we made the plan of action I decided I'd try to move the bear along once more and as I did that I'd have Animal Control come with me at the ready in case they had to utilize the tranquilizers we also had a sheriff ready and the event it came to something grimmer but we didn't think that'd be necessary we prefer something like that to be used only in an absolute emergency the bear would have to be mauling one of us for us to be ready to use deadly force and I want to stress again we aren't in the business of harming animals I slowly approach the Bearer once again and with each step I felt the tension and anticipation mounting I may have had all the cover in the world but I was still terrified something might go wrong I tried to outwardly keep myself composed and I kept my hands out trying to show it's okay I wasn't going to hurt the bear the closer we got to the bear the more entrenched to became it gave us what I imagined was a warning roar before baring its teeth and back and closer to a nearby tree I motioned to the animal control to wait and not to do anything quite yet I then slowly very slowly moved forward the bear took a step backward toward the tree and as it did I caught a glimpse of something dark I couldn't tell what it was and I began to feel curiosity mixed in with my initial fear I looked at the bear more closely and as I did I started to get a different feeling from it I don't know if that's possible but I definitely felt a different feeling in the air at least taking another step forward I noticed the bear held its ground and showed his teeth once again I kept my hands up and attempted to let it know that I wasn't there to harm it I even asked the animal control officer to lower the tranquilizer gun they were using as I did I saw the bear look over at the animal control officer and then at me before taking a step back again toward this tree this time I didn't take another step forward but rather I tried to see what the dark thing behind the bear was then it happened the theme came out and let out the cutest roar I had ever heard I immediately felt my panic and feared change to relief and I motioned to everyone to back away slowly as it turned out the bear was in the area because she was watching over her cub when we realized what was going on we backed off and sure enough the cub was done roaming the area it and the mama bear strode off into the woods and left as the sheriff and Animal Control left I regrouped with my team and we all had a good laugh to this day I'm grateful nothing bad happened in that incident it could have gone a lot worse and turned out really bad we all handled the situation correctly though I always use this as an example when training new Rangers of how to properly assess and manage the situation when you aren't fully sure what said situation is like we originally thought the bearer was taking up refuge or even had set up a home in the area we took the actions we believed necessary to remove the bear but also to keep the bear and the general populace at large safe we of course were wrong about our initial thoughts as the bear wasn't trying to start a home or anything like that because we didn't panic though we were able to figure out the real reason the bear was there and thus the bear was able to go back to its home safe and sound and we were able to go back to work like nothing had ever happened long story short always be prepared but never panic that can apply to this situation but I think it applies to life in general as well we live in a world so quick to panic over every little thing next time you think about doing such reassess your situation and see if it's really as dire as you initially believed it to be [Music] I'm a 26 year old male and I've been with the Park Rangers for eight years I grew up in Texas and that's where I still work today now for the longest time I wasn't sure how to categorize or even believe the things I witnessed that said having listened to this channel and having done research since this incident I feel much more comfortable about everything that happened in my first year as a park ranger much of what I did involve keeping the forest clean in the park safe a lot of it was grunt work I'd help out with various projects with my supervisors but at the time being a rookie I wasn't required to do anything really involved so to speak that much much of my work was just interacting with people doing surveys about how they liked the park if we kept a clean enough etc what we could do to improve said parks and sometimes just sparking conversation to see what's on people's minds this was a course in conjunction with keeping the area clean and doing the other grunt work involved it was May when I first encountered what I couldn't explain we had been having a lot of wolfs popping up in the area and while for the most part we were able to move them along there was one which didn't seem like the rest we began to call this wolf endearingly by the nickname trouble now trouble specialized in getting into just that she was always rooting through trash or chasing onlookers away but she never seemed to harm anyone she just caused a lot of headaches we'd been dealing with her for a while but this time things were a bit weirder I just gotten word that a wolf was in the area that matched her description and so I headed out to deal with her apparently she was chasing hikers off the trail and rooting through the trash as I arrived at the scene trouble stopped what she was doing and looked right at me the way she looked at me was strange though she gave the most innocent look and was almost a human expression I'd ever seen a wolfg if I was taken back just a bit but attempted to run her off as I got closer she'd back away when I gave chase he bolted in the other action I informed my supervisor everything was okay and also let everyone know if they saw that wolf again let us know immediately I explained it was generally more of a nuisance than anything but they shouldn't take any chances and should come get us if they see her we hadn't been able to catch her as of yet but I secretly hoped I'd be the one to do so some day we had wanted to do so to move trouble to a safer area where we were sure she wouldn't be harmed by anyone and no one would be harmed by her she was just so fast though and there was no way we could ever get anyone like an animal control there in time as she had always fled we had tried a few times she'd run off long before they'd ever arrived though I went about the rest of my day doing my normal duties and everything was fine it was when I was clocking out and getting ready to leave that things got strange again I was getting in my car and about to start it up when I noticed a familiar face staring at me from the woods and it was trouble my initial thought was to call someone and so I pulled out my phone but the moment I did and got ready to dial before I could finish doing so she was gone I just sighed and started my car up before driving home I remember snickering about how we'd catch her one of these days honestly the whole thing made me feel like I was in one of those old cartoons you know the ones where you're always trying to get that sneaky little animal anyway I went home and soon after my evening routine of showering eating and watching some TV I crashed in the middle of the night I was shocked awake by the sound of one of my trash cans falling over I pulled out my gun and grabbed a flashlight before slipping on my shoes and heading out to investigate I found my trash can and some trash which I cleaned up and also some wolf prints in the dirt I followed the prints for a bit but eventually they led to a road at which point I can no longer track them I went back home and locked up once I was inside I was glancing out the window when I saw that face again trouble now my first thought was maybe I was mistaken and I was pretty tired so I ignored it looking back though I'm fairly certain it was her on the next day of work I was rather tired I'm someone who needs uninterrupted sleep to function properly so it was a rough morning as I went about my morning duties that came upon trouble rummaging through one of the trash containers rather than alert her I stepped back a bit in radio my supervisors that she was rummaging through the trash again I was informed to keep a distance but watch her and they caught animal control and hopefully we'd be able to put a stop to things soon it didn't take any time for all of them to arrive from what I could tell trouble was mostly eating old food the plan was to tranquilize her and move her nothing too crazy and at first we thought the plan was going to go off fine a tranquilizer was fired and hit her she was only wobbled off for a second before shaking her head and darting off into the woods but gave chase but we couldn't find her anywhere so I was tasked with keeping an eye out for her and also continuing the search if I found her I was to radio my supervisors and let them know I'd found her I agreed and began searching the general area I was able to find some wolf tracks after a bit of searching I debated radioing my supervisors but I wanted to be sure it was her before calling it in following the tracks things started to get weird the Wolf's track seemed like they were either messed up or changing in some way they went from wolf tracks to strange dirt formations to human feet I wasn't sure what to think in that moment but I continued following the track quite aways it was when I finally found where they led deep in the woods there was a woman she was passed out and was naked still in her side to my shock was a tranquilizer dart I'm not sure if she heard me or what happened she somehow came to she looked at me freaked out and ran off I tried to give chase but she bolted over the hill by the time I reached the top of the hill there was once again an all-too-familiar face it was trouble looking a bit tired but ok overall she darted into the woods and we never saw her again I'm a female park ranger in Washington who has been working for a good 22 years before retiring back in 2001 winter to be more specific I was working clean up on the trails mostly though I was driving around and making sure things looked fine I was supposed to be observing the trails as they get rather muddy in the rain and in Washington we get plenty of rain I'm not talking in total but just in the fact it feels like it's raining all the time the rain is generally lighter rain but still it's there quite a bit the day was going to be an easy day from honest it was supposed to be an easy day anyway rainy days for me at the time mostly involved driving and not much outs I'm of course very happy with this fact so I'm cruising along listening to the radio when I think I hear loud screaming it's quick and I turned my radio off and listened intently then I hear it again it sounds fairly distant and I'm not 100% sure where it's coming from slowly I Drive the area speeding up only when I happened to be going uphill mostly as a precaution so that I can make sure that I make it through all the mud that's when I hear a clear scream for help I have somewhat narrowed down the source of the sound when I hear it once more this time I can tell it's coming from higher up and so I floor it as I'm driving it doesn't take long before I can see the problem hanging from the side of a large drop-off as a woman who looks to be about 19 or 20 she is screaming understandably and hanging off a branch dug into the side of a large hill the poor woman looks terrified and I contact my supervisors to let them know of the situation it's raining muddy and I'm scared that at any point this woman could lose her grip or the rain could make the route looking branch she's hanging from come out of the side of the hill and drop her to her death the drop is long and I am informed to monitor the situation and that they would be there shortly with backup and help I'm looking at this girl and scared for her and I'm not sure she enough to wait so I Drive up the trail and get closer to where this girl is hanging from I have some rope stashed in my truck and it's fairly lengthy and so I get to work wrapping it around the largest tree I can find I then drop it over the side and realize it's not quite long enough the young woman looks so scared and that's when I noticed the branch she is holding on to slips out and dropped somewhat before stopping and swaying so now this girl was screaming her lungs out for help crying and repeating she doesn't want to die I look over the edge and see how steep this drop-off is I'm terrified of heights I should have mentioned that much sooner still at that moment watching this woman scream and realizing what's left of what is coming out of the side of the hill isn't going to stay in the side of the hill much longer I make a choice to stop waiting it wasn't safe nor was it what my supervisors or myself for that matter would have wanted if it could be avoided but I couldn't wait any longer help wasn't going to arrive before this woman likely fell to her death she looked about my age and all I could think of was if this situation was reversed wouldn't I want someone to at least try to help me so I grabbed the rope and as quickly as possible I scaled down the side of the large drop-off I didn't have time to be safe about it or properly tie off so I was terrified that all said my adrenaline was flowing and all I could think was don't let go and you'll be fine I quickly made it to the end of the rope and hung off as far as I could I then reached down with one hand and told the girl to grab my hand it's important to note that I'm no slouch and I still to this day work out quite often so I was confident the woman who looked at much smaller and lighter wasn't going to take us both down once she had my hand I asked her to use the side of the hill to climb up until she could piggyback on me if that makes sense without hesitation she did and as we began climbing back up we heard something fall I ignored it and kept pushing forward with the limb ultimately we were able to get back up on the hill and both of us survived and intact at which point we both laid down and took a moment to calm ourselves once it set in we were alive we hugged one another tightly and just relished in the moment the young woman's name was Riley and I remember how grateful she was and that she was crying which me crying happiness my supervisors arrived and I explained the situation I understood the situation and after speaking with him I wasn't punished for my actions my supervisors felt my actions were justified and this was cemented when we were coming back down the trail and I noticed that the branch that had been hanging had fallen out from the side of the hill I thank God every day that he put me where I was that day and allowed me to overcome my fears and save Riley it should be mentioned that we did keep contact and eventually became best friends and we still are today I live in Mississippi and I'm an 82 year old long retired park ranger I won't waste time and I'm going to get straight to the point I believe in intelligent life outside of our own in the large universe that we live in I've held these beliefs for a long time the thing that cemented such beliefs though were way back when I was a much younger man when I saw something I can't explain it or normal circumstances I witnessed something that took a coyote if that makes sense anyway I don't care if you believe me or if you think I'm some kooky old fool I'm just going to tell you what I saw I was patrolling the parks when I got a call about a coyote in the area I had told my superiors that I had investigate and get rid of the thing while walking to the area in question it wasn't very far sure enough there was a coyote it appeared to have itself a snack though what animal I'm not sure I tried to scare the thing but it mostly ignored me in favor of its snack annoyed had prepared to handle the situation myself and proceeded to head to the Coyotes direction I was probably only a few feet away when suddenly I hear a strange whirring sound I look around and I don't see a damn thing still the sound is obvious and clearly actually happening the next thing I know the coyote is up and into the air I don't see a beam of light or anything it's just the coyote floating up then it vanishes I don't do drugs and I don't drink or any of that I was terrified at that moment I plenty of sleep and I did sure wasn't hallucinating this wasn't the only incident though this was merely the first time a few weeks later I'm walking to the parks and thinking about what I witnessed while keeping an eye out for a good spot to take lunch I never told anyone I worked for about the previous incident because come on they laugh I be in an instant for sure so I find a nice clearing and decide I'll sit down pull out my lunch and eat in peace it's at this moment I can see something in the distance it's tall thin and seems to have no real body hair I can't tell from where I'm at exactly what it is but it's enough to pique my curiosity so I get up and as I do the thing disappears it didn't go into the air though it was like the coyote it was like one second it was there and that it wasn't confused to keep looking around but I can't find what I saw suddenly I hear that same whirring sound and then it fades soon after I hear a sonic boom like a jet but much louder and I saw the trees swaying and felt the ground shake for a moment it was only for a moment though like something had suddenly launched at a high rate of speed but I never saw anything in the sky a couple of years later in winter I'm getting ready to finish my shift I haven't seen or experienced anything strange since the previous incidents and to be honest I've pretty much let it go as something I'll never truly understand by that point anyway I'm rounding up some trash and doing my final checkups before I clock out when I hear a familiar whirring I remember feeling weird and then suddenly looking up as I noticed the hair on my body raising and then I blacked out the next thing I know I'm waking up to my phone ringing I pick it up and say hello on the other end is my very angry boss he wants to know where I went and why I left my truck door open with the keys in the truck and running the previous night I explained to my boss I wasn't sure why and I couldn't quite remember my boss who normally was a very understanding man gave me a piece of his mind and several choice words before telling me if it ever happened again I was going to be fired I apologized and told him I totally understood I've never had anything else happen like that sense but I'm not sure how to explain any of this without sounding completely crazy but I assure you I experienced what I experienced to this day I'm at a complete loss as to what actually happened in how I lost the time I lost I'm also completely confused as to how I wound up sleeping in my bed or even got home I was able to keep my job ultimately and I enjoyed a wonderful career the remainder of my time as a park ranger before retiring outside of those odd incidents I can honestly say it's the best job I ever had and I'm grateful it was my career ultimately as to those incidents I am strongly at the belief that I may have been abducted I don't have a less same sounding theory or any memory of what happened to me that time I blacked out but it's the only explanation I could give at any rate there are certain things we can't explain going on in the world and I say these things qualify as some of them hi there my name is Jane I've been with the Park Rangers for 15 years I work at Montana and I want to share a short story about how lucky I am to still be here today now my story isn't long or grandly glorious but it involves an 80 year old man named Walt Walt is a regular goer of the parks I watch over and I and many of our regular park goers are quite familiar with him I've changed his name for the purposes of keeping his identity safe but he's a friendly guy many a shift he would tell me tales about local legends or even just of his wife Margie you never know what he'd talk about but you could be sure that it would be a great conversation and leaving you feeling happier no matter what kind of day you were having at the time so one day I found myself sitting at a bench during lunch the day was nice cool and quite relaxing up to this point I'd occasionally head off a little way out of the way for lunch this was such a beautiful day I thought why the hell not so I headed down the trail and eventually branched off down to the beaten path to a little-known area on a hill it was here I sat down pulled out a sandwich and chilled the Sun was beautiful and I couldn't have been happier suddenly I felt what I thought was gas I breathed through it at first the more I struggled to do so the harder it became to breathe it was only seconds before I found myself cured / desperately gasping for air it was only seconds before I found myself keeled over and desperately gasping for air it was only seconds but it felt like hours and my confusion I remember thinking well at least I'll die in a beautiful place that was it that was my last thought before I felt myself passing out the max moments were a bit of a blur I heard a voice and it was familiar it was from Walt I remember thinking I was dead and not really being sure what was happening was I really hearing Walt I couldn't be too sure then suddenly I feel myself breathing slightly better and things begin to come into focus it's hard to explain the event as I was super out of it and still certain I was dead I remember being dragged and some calling out over here a very familiar boy said I think he might make it but he's looking rough suddenly and what appeared to be a blink of an eye I imagine it was me passing out and waking up it was all very fever dreamish I am awakened in hospital I had my girlfriend some nurses my parents and well Walt standing over me I remember confusion but also a sudden calm coming over me I asked if I was dead but my girlfriend smacked me and quickly realized I wasn't my parents were crying as she had Walt on the other hand just wore a big ol smile you can't go dine on his son he hurt much too young the way Walt said that cracked me up and soon after I asked what happened well explained and as I came to find out I had a heart attack a pretty large one it wasn't common for someone my age but it happens sometimes thankfully by sheer luck Walt had been hiking and often stopped in that same spot I was eating lunch at the time to admire the view when he found me he called 9-1-1 and he also drugged me closer so they could reach me and get me to the ambulance faster Walt had saved my life the nurses and doctors even informed me that had he not found me there was a 90% chance I would not have survived so yeah I'm eternally indebted to Walt well my whole family is actually I eventually married my wife and we had a little boy I can't help but be grateful to be alive today and every time I see Walt I take all the time I possibly can just despair to listen to him and his many stories what happened to me can happen anyone regardless of your age I was blessed that as rare as this was I survived I've since gotten into working out within my bounds and just eating healthier I'm not saying this to tell you to do the same I'm sharing this story I'll let you know you should appreciate every moment you have on this earth life is short we never know when it could be our time it would have been mine if it had not been for Walt I could promise you I'm very grateful for every second I still live today you can call me Jimmy and I'm a park ranger who has been working in this profession for roughly 12 years now I want to share a story about some caves in the area I work in we've had people go missing in the area for quite some time now I know that's not exactly a strange happening in an area with caves but there's a bit more to it than that you see oftentimes people will say the entrances to some of the caves will near nightfall appear to have voices echoing from them this has likened those of us who work in the area to call these the dead caves now that is just something those in our department used to describe the strange caves in there phenomena that isn't really something you'll likely hear those in the area use at least not to my knowledge anyway it's a pretty spooky thing as I've obviously looked into this myself on a few occasions and yes it does indeed sound like voices come from these caves that would be strange enough but the thing that a stranger still is the fact that the voices sound quite real it's as though someone was standing at the entrance and calling you there it's eerie anyway this has caused some trouble from time to time but for the most part people generally leave the area alone and before you ask no we don't run tours of the caves so it isn't anything like that even if we did we wouldn't be doing this near nightfall at any rate I suppose I should get to the point this story is very personal to me I had my nephew go missing in these very caves a few years ago and this story is about the time I assisted a search-and-rescue team to try to help find him I suppose this story could fall under your search and rescue or Park Ranger stories as I am a park ranger but feel free to use it for either that out of the way my nephew had been missing for a little over 24 hours when we began our search proper the last place we knew him to be was the caves in the area right out of the gate something seemed off his gear had been found at the entrance this was definitely as gear to as he always kept a sack with his name stitched into it so if he lost his gear or as was the case he went missing whoever happened upon it would know who to look for or who to return the lost gear to it's important to note my nephew and I had gone spelunking together on many occasions and even a few times on her own he wasn't new to this and he was plenty capable of making his way through a cave new or old alone so the fact is his gear was at the entrance abandoned was strange our initial thought was maybe something happened and he didn't wind up in the actual cave as such we had everyone who was certified to do cave search and rescue continue canvassing the area throughout the rest of the park itself our team continued deeper into the caves caves are generally dark places and sometime this can meet people to seeing things what I'm about to tell you I assure you wasn't me seeing things while searching the caves we could hear screaming the screaming sounded a lot like my nephews voice but it's a cave and we couldn't be sure I shouted for my nephew but when I did everything fell silent it was while panning the area I saw something rush out of the corner of my eye it looked like human feet I quickly pointed out what I saw and we proceeded in the direction I saw the feet when we got to where I had seen things though there was no one there I began to grow worried the screaming we had heard earlier sounded horrific the kind of screams you would likely hear if someone was being tortured this spurred me in the search team to look so quickly we searched for hours and when we didn't turn up anything we were ready to head out for the day as night would be coming soon almost as though something or someone was listening we heard a very distinct voice it was my nephew's voice and he seemed to be crying and asking for help we called out in response to the voice but all we heard was a continued plea for help it was like a tape being played over and over repeating the same broken help before eventually stopping altogether this made us push board with what only few hours we had left to search somewhat safely I remember frantically scrambling and internally praying my nephew was okay as we continued our search though things were becoming less hopeful we found one of his shirts in the cave it was torn pretty badly and had blood heavily soaked into it it was at this point I remember reeling and worried and feeling the tears begin to well up one of the members of the team asked me to fall back and I tried to fight them on it but they were right I needed to take a moment to step back and part of me was afraid that I might find something that I don't want to see the search will continue for another few weeks and no matter how hard they searched they never found anything anything outside of you know identifying clothing nothing that would lead us to my nephew some things really bother me about this whole search outside of the obvious thing being I hurt for my missing nephew why was my nephew's gear at the entrance of the cave another thing that bothers me is is if his gear was there how the hell did he get so deep into the cave itself finally where did he go Caves are vast and massive things and there's a strong chance he's still in there somewhere or his Maine's our it has become obvious as time goes on that he is no longer with the living that as a reality I and the family have come to accept and have had to accept that he is gone it still hurts typing this out honestly I wish I had answers as to who or what brought him that deep into the cave I still work in the area and we still don't have any answers sometimes though I swear I hear his voice when I stand at the entrance to the cave whatever happened to you my nephew I pray you are in a better place now and resting peacefully [Music] my name is Elizabeth you can call me Liz for short and I've been working for the park ranger service for a little over a year and a half because I've been working there for such a short time and because I'd rather no one knows where I work or the area I live in I won't be sharing that information I wish to share an experience I had while working in job I still love today to get to the point we have a rather large park ranger department and so I'll admit there was a little overwhelming when I first started there that said I quickly became friends with one of my shift partners who will call Martin we talked laughed and I always found a way to pass the time even during more mundane shifts I felt comfortable talking to him and he'll admit I may have had a bit of a crush on him as well that said I'm a professional and I kept her a working relationship just that professional it was a Friday and we were all going home when another one of my co-workers pulled me aside and asked if they could talk to me for a second I'll call this girl Clary thinking everyone was pretty cool so far I figured I'd chill a moment and chat with Clary the entire time she talked to me she was nervous and fidgety I asked if she was okay but she just kept nodding I smiled and told Clary I had to get back but if there was anything she wanted to say I could stick around for another minute or two that was when she asked if I wanted to go to the bar and have a few drinks she went from super nervous to oddly calm quickly and began talking about how she was rather bored on weekends and didn't know too many people in the area I just wanted someone to chat with who felt like she might be able to relate to or who could give advice that sort of thing I think in actuality she felt more comfortable talking to another woman also I'm only 5'4 and so I'm probably not that threatening at least that is my thought process behind what she was thinking I told her I had no plans so sure we can meet up and hang out so later that night I was getting ready to head to the bar when I stepped outside for a moment to smoke yes I know terrible habit but I love it so save your judgments for someone who cares enough to quit anyway as I'm lighting up a cigarette I looked down and noticed the tires on my Explorer are flat looking more closely I notice all four tires are flat and that they look as though they've been slashed now I'm feeling a little unsettled and looking around but I seen here no one slowly I step back inside and locked my door before calmly calling the police I put out my cigarette and explained how I was going to hit to the bar but I found my tires have been slashed dispatch says someone is on the way and so I wait it takes them a bit to arrive is I'm pretty far out in the middle of nowhere and it generally isn't a quick trip to me especially from the sheriff's station upon their arrival it dawns on me how strange things are as a whole that doesn't appear to be vehicle tracks or anything leading up to my dirt driveway other than my own now someone could be on foot or very careful about covering their tracks but again I live away at the middle of nowhere so after the sheriff wraps up their report I call Cleary I had all my co-workers number is in case of a work emergency then they had mine and explained the situation she's bummed but she then asked where I live and explains she'll pick me up if I still want to go out I explained that I appreciate it but I really don't want to go anywhere after everything so we both agreed to go out another night it takes me a while to go to bed but when I finally do I'm sleeping hard the next morning I get up and have some coffee and a cigarette it is as I'm sitting there that Clary calls and asks if I want to go out next Friday and even offers to pick me up from work next time until I can get my tires fixed I thanked her and we agree on this saturday night rolls around and I'm about to head to bed when I hear a loud bang it isn't persistent but it's like someone hauling up and hitting my front door or something it's enough to take me by surprise and make me leap five feet in the air I grab my gun and head for the door I rip it open an aim outside it is completely silent no one appears to be around I noticed some minor damage to the door but nothing that would tell me who or what hit it I shut the door keep my gun nearby and lock up for the night before heading to bed it isn't long before I pass out the events after this point was strange but I'm not easily scared so it doesn't take me long to get to sleep whereas I'm sure a lot of people might be bothered a bit more by it all so I have my gun anyway the rest of the weekend goes by with no strange happenings or odd goings-on Monday morning I'm up early and ready to head out with Clary to work I asked if she can come with me when I get my car towed after we get paid she agrees and Wednesday evening we get my car fixed Larry and I are getting along really well by this point and I'm grateful for her we started to discuss our Friday plans and we are mentally ready for the weekend and we decide we'll hit the bar and see where the night takes us from there there stays here quicker than ever and I have come up a little early to help with the inspection of the National Park and during my morning routines and I have Clary and Martin with me we're all chatting and enjoying our time when we suddenly hear a loud pop and one of our tires blow causing me to lose control of the truck and make me crash into a tree I check to be sure everyone's okay and once I verify that we are we all get out to look around it appears the tire that blew had something lodged in it it was like a razor wire but looked more primitive in its creation it was a rope with some kind of blades embedded within this was strange and made us all feel uncomfortable we tried a radio to the station but were the only ones on shift at the moment our boss would likely be there within an hour or so so we couldn't do much but wait or head back without the truck knowing this Martin Clare and I just kind of chilled for a bit and kept an eye out we begin discussing what happened based on what we pieced together we were beginning to feel a little uneasy as whoever had placed the trap had done so intentionally that much was obvious this made us on edge and we decided at the moment trying to walk back to the station it was while walking there that things grew quiet too quiet there wasn't any real sound and even the wind wasn't moving we tried shaking it off and continued on a few minutes later we heard what sounded like our boss's voice but her first instinct was just shrug it off and head towards the voice but we got closer it sounded more distorted something didn't feel right we aren't exactly sure what it was our boss likely wouldn't have come out to find us so soon and also even if he had something in the voice was really off it was almost like something mimicking his voice weirded out we continued onwards and tried radioing the station again just in case our boss got there early there was no response I looked at my watch and realized our boss should have gotten in by now I figured we would give it a few more minutes and we would try again that's when we noticed the stench of rotting meat I felt nausea hit me quickly and that's when I saw something that turned me ghost white there was a tall emaciated figure with a skull for a head staring down at us at first I thought it might have been some kind of weird art but when I turned its head to look at us I knew we had to run and fast we did just that and as we ran we heard the thing drop off the hill and come after us the three of us felt terrified we pushed forward and Martin quickly stopped I stopped turned an Aston if he was stupid he gave this forgiving me look and ran in a different direction the thing that was chasing is quickly followed in his direction I remember screaming Martin's name and Claire frantically getting onto her radio and calling the station we got a response from one of our co-workers asking if we were okay they sounded just as frantic as we tried to rush back to the station when we arrived several Sheriff officers were coordinating off the area her boss have been attacks by what police said was likely a bear he was alive but he looked terrified I quickly explained to the sheriff that we had been attacked in the woods I think explained how Martin's split from us and lowered the thing we were attacked by a way I tried to plead with him that it wasn't a bear but they thought maybe we were delirious from shock I remember how angry I was but I mean I don't blame them for not believing what we saw with all that said they did immediately start a search as they did believe we had been attacked sadly Martin was never found he still hasn't been seen or heard from in days I honestly believe he's dead that sounds grim and it's really messed up but what other explanation do you really have working in a different area now but Claire and I are still friends today we miss Martin and if you take anything from this story please remember to be safe out there there are things out in the woods and in this world that we can't explain I don't wish anyone to ever go through what my boss Claire and I have and I sure as hell wish for no one to ever wind up like Martin [Music] my name is Erica and I'm a 32 year old park ranger who's been in the Park Rangers in Alaska for ten years now I really enjoy the front - your feel of Alaska and how much it isn't really touched by men or modern man at least there are a lot of woods and mountains and it's a great place to live if you're someone who likes to mind your own and be away from people there are plenty of places for you that make you seem like you're just in heaven and I would recommend living right here if that's who you are my story takes place in December while working on the job I was enjoying nature in the cold while killing time near the end of my shift I had finished everything I needed to do for the day and then some and didn't have a real excuse to cut out early so I figured I'd Drive around and kill some time while I waited to pass the final hour of my shift it was while doing this that it began to snow and I'm talking sudden snowing that wasn't forecasted it was hard enough and windy enough that I couldn't tell about the direction I was headed in what if I was still headed straight at all because of this I decided to slow down and stop the truck I couldn't really step out as it was too cold and windy at the time and I figured if this snowstorm was so sudden it was likely it'd be out just as quickly as it arrived this extremely optimistic position of mine was slowly ruined as the hour passed and I was supposed to be back at the station and clocking out I tried to radio back but the weather was too powerful and all I could get on the truck radio was static figuring there wasn't much to do I hunkered down and just thought about snuggling up next to a warm fire later that night and how nice it would feel once the storm finally passed about an hour went by and I still couldn't get anywhere I was beginning to get worried now as this was a strong and sudden storm and as such it was likely snow had begun to accumulate to the point to where I might not be able to get out before long I decided I'd stay in the truck however as going out would be suicide and this was the warmest place I could be another hour goes by and I try to radio again but I get nothing I'm beginning to feel the fear welling up on my stomach I'm not exactly prepared for the weather at hand I'm dressed warmly as it is Alaska during the winter but I'm not prepared to be out here for a long period of time nor was I expecting to be part of my mind calms itself down when it sets in that they have to be looking for me my boss wouldn't leave if I hadn't clocked out I wasn't outside an area they wouldn't be able to find me but again the snow is vicious in its fall at this point and maybe they're unable to search for me properly another hour goes by and I try the door I can't open it the snow is begun to bury my truck and now I'm really starting to become fearful for my life it is getting dark not that I can tell the difference in the storm itself and it dawns on me that I might have to spend at least the night out here I tried a radio one more time but it's all static the storm is interfering with everything and I find myself unprepared and without any sign of aid coming it isn't long before I hear a loud thud against the passenger side door I jump at first and call out shortly after I hear nothing in response I then hear a roar that sounds similar to a bear I begin to panic but I stop and remind myself the bear doesn't know I'm in here for sure and it isn't likely to get inside I can hear it jump onto the front of my truck and climb on the top I hear it sniffing around and then roar one more time before I feel it drop off the back of the truck and soon after it leaves the truck shakes is the way the bear is relieved from it and soon everything falls quiet once again it isn't long before it is 10:00 at night and I'm beginning to shiver from the cold I'm still unable to open my door and I'm quite sure the exhaust pipe and the truck is buried because of this I don't want to turn the truck on for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning i instead curl up and try to conserve whatever warmth I have while waiting for help to arrive and cold I'm prepared and hungry I'm afraid I may die out here as it is extremely cold and I'm not sure if I could stay warm enough to even survive the night eventually I drift off to a half sleep I still remember the dream because I was dreaming I was warm next to a nice fire and I couldn't have been further from my actual situation mentally I'm awoken at about 3 or 4 in the morning and it dawns on me that I feel like a popsicle at this point I can't feel my toes or anything else for that matter and there's the sound of something mechanical going on outside I can hear voices and when my brain finally catches up I feel myself filled with relief as one of the voices is my boss they found my truck the storm up subsided and they were digging me out I wound up being rushed to the hospital where I was treated for several things one of which included losing my pinkie and ring finger on my right hand due to frostbite I made a full recovery otherwise but I did spend a little while in the hospital and on paid leave while recovering I'm alive and grateful for that every day I'm gonna keep this brief a few years ago while I was working I was a park ranger around Louisiana 20 years retired now I saw something I don't know how to explain in the woods thing I saw was roughly 12 feet tall and it was extremely hairy and moved quickly to I know this because it chased me out of the woods one fall morning in October a few years back I was patrolling the area looking for anyone that might be causing trouble or anything that might need doing when I came across this creature I didn't quite believe my own sight at the time but it was very much real I'm not gonna claim it was Bigfoot or anything as I'm pretty skeptical person but it was big enough to be something like that it was super aggressive though I showed up saw it and as though it could sense me it turned and looked at me it immediately let out this strange call and that's when I see one of its buddies coming walking from further in the woods again my eyes are just seeing things I think but I'm just thinking I have to be hallucinating suddenly the both of them let out an angry call and the one I initially saw starts running right for me now I'm a country boy born and raised and I've seen some things so I don't spook easily but this well it had me turning and running in terror I didn't hesitate either as this thing let out a call I call it a call as I can't even truly describe the sound that came from this thing and it shook me where I ran I was convinced at this moment I was going to die from something no unlikely nose or even has proof that it exists I'm older now and I don't run the fastest and I was convinced I'd be dead soon but as I reached the tree line this thing stopped I took a break to breathe and looks back and it stared and you let out another call I was convinced by this point it might still come after me but then it turned and walked off slowly into the forest now you got to understand the thing likely could have caught up to me if it wanted probably killed me so while aggressive I'm not convinced it was out to kill me per se I think it was just likely saying hey this is my territory your home even just wanted me to get the heck out of Dodge I don't rightly have a better explanation honestly as again it could have easily killed me at any rate I thought I'd share this story with you all and hopefully it's used I hope you all know I never went back to those woods the rest of my career I stayed right at the station which is where I should have stayed to begin with I'm retired now though and I'm quite happy thank you for letting me share my story I've been working as a park ranger for roughly seventeen years and all that time I've had a few experiences I would deem strange and one I would even deem scary the one I'm going to share with you is a little bit of both mostly was terrifying for me you can call me Trent by the way I believe it was 2009 and my team and I were working to clean the area and get it ready for the summer camping season here in Colorado now it's a national park so there's not a ton we have to do we like to go around and do cleanup in our area as you do as obviously people don't really bother and quite honestly really care about cleaning up after themselves it's one of those things that gets on my nerves it isn't hard to clean up your trash but anyway yeah that's you know another topic it was getting later and I volunteered to stay later that evening to make sure as much cleanup was in order as possible the idea for me at least was to get as much done as I could while we still had light it being summer soon we have plenty of light in comparison to the fall and winter when it gets dark stupid early it wasn't long before everyone was clocking out and I told them all bye and I'd see them on Monday none of my crew I worked with on my shift worked weekends though we did have a few within the department itself who did an hour goes by and then - and before I know it I'm so wrapped up in my tasks I look up and realize I'm losing daylight thinking little of this I put myself in another gear and try to get more done in my mind I figure it'll just be better prepared and leave less to do on Monday also I take great pride in my work so I tend to do anything I can no matter how large or small the task it's a large part of what has led up to the promotions I've been given and it's something I still do to this very day it isn't long before I realized the Sun is about to set completely I stopped my work pull out my flashlight and prepare to haul my last garbage bag back to the station and drop it in the dumpster it is as I'm wrapping things up I hear a large growling sound I immediately grab my bear spray as I recognize the sound I'm hearing turning around slowly I see something that leaves me and shock and dread it looks to be a black bear but the problem is it is much much larger than any black bear I have ever seen were ever known to exist this thing was a large bear this thing had a large scar across the left I was staring at me baring its teeth now normally I do something to make the bear think I'm bigger than it is but no I was terrified and no amount of posturing is going to save me from something this size it didn't seem possible on all fours this thing looked to be 12 to 13 feet tall I didn't believe my eyes at first but there was no denying it nothing stood in the air and I about peed myself in fear I wanted to run I knew running would only encourage it to give chase I didn't exactly feel safe standing here though so I continued to keep my eyes on this thing as it slowly backed away the thing was I found my way far off the trails and was quite a ways from the station itself normally this isn't an issue but you know of course being me trying to be an overachiever I got screwed I'm sitting there thinking about what my next move might be while I'm very slowly backing away I know it isn't wise to stare this thing down but there was also no way I was going to turn my back to this bear either I have my hand on my mace and the other hand is holding the garbage after what feels like an eternity I'm finally out of sight of the bear it appears to have just stared at me but now I'm worried the reason it was attracted to me was it was looking for the food in the garbage I was carrying while what I'm carrying is nothing that I eat it did have some old food in it I'm sure it's nothing a bearer would think twice about if it was hungry enough and if I was the size of this thing I'd be hungry all the time after several minutes of watching the horizon and seeing nothing I turn and start hauling my butt as fast as I can toward the station it is still quite a ways off but I figure I can I could probably get there if I keep hauling but I'll get there in no time it is while running that I suddenly hear a large stomping sound behind me looking back the bear is coming in fast i freak out and throw the bag of trash I have off in a different direction my hope is that it would just want the food and I could come back another day and clean up what was left but unfortunately ignored it entirely kept coming for me I am now forced to turn and stand my ground as there is no way I'm going to outrun this thing there's just no way I stop and pull the bear mace off my belt and prep the spray thing it stops and eyes me and then the mace and then me again it's only a few feet from me now into my shock it seems very aware of what I'm ready to do the look of this bear made it seem like it was calculating its next move I've seen a lot of bears and usually they'll scare off without too much trouble or even just mind their own business entirely this one though the look on his face just said it was hunting and I was on the menu it seemed disturbingly intelligent and as it stepped forward I reacted in shock and sprayed it in the face of my mace the bear reel back I ran for my garbage bag though looking back I'm not sure I why I did that and I continued my sprint toward the direction of the station I heard the most terrifying roar I've ever heard in my entire life and this was followed by a large now all-too-familiar stomping sound I'm feeling my legs begin to give away from fear but I tell myself if you give out now you're dead no ifs ands or buts about it so I gained the mental fortitude to keep pushing through and keep steady as I run it is as I'm getting closer to the cabin I feel the thing running up on me from behind i freak out and spin to see where it's at tripping as I do and falling on my butt a thing had taken a swipe and left a deep claw mark in the tree where my head was only seconds before if thrash is about blindly and during the thrashing and my struggle to get up it hits my can of spray and dislodges it from my grip it does this with enough force for my hand to fly back and hit the tree I see blood and feel pain as my hands smack the tree unsure if I've broken my right hand I used my left hand to stand up again for reasons I'll never be sure of perhaps shock in some semblance of normalcy I grabbed the trash bag with my left hand and turn and continue sprinting the bears roaring behind me but it doesn't appear to be giving pursuit it isn't long before I reach one of the main trails and can see the cabin in the distance terrified I keep running soon enough there's a roar so loud I am not ashamed to admit and I'd peed myself a bit followed by the familiar stomping of this bear I freaked out and just keep telling myself don't look back don't look back do not look back I run with all the power and speed I can muster I make it to the station I open the door and slam it shut locking it behind me as I do I feel the doors foundation shake as the spare seems to be slamming against it I barricade the door with some tables and what I can find immediately I also use the phone to call 9-1-1 the dispatcher answers and I'm doing my best to explain where I am in my situation I know how crazy it sounds the dispatcher reassures me help is on the way it doesn't take the police more than five minutes to arrive to me at least it felt like five hours by the time they came knocking I feel myself leap up in shock and terror at the sound it is then I removed the tables and slowly open the door I am shaking as I try to explain the entire situation and I feel tears involuntarily begin to stream down my face as I try to explain the impossible situation to the cops eventually an officer sits with me so does the sheriff and they try to take time to calm me down to ask finding medical attention and I tell them no they insist anyway as I seem to be in shock I don't remember much of that part that's what they tell me when I went to the hospital as I was leaving the station I remember looking back at the door and seeing a large claw mark on our door now I haven't seen this bear since that day and has it turned up and as far as I know no one has been attacked by it all that said this is a situation that will stay with me for the rest of my lifetime thanks for listening to these creepy and downright unexplainable Park Ranger stories if you enjoyed these stories please be sure to hit that like button and if you're new to the swamp why not join us hit that subscribe button and turn on notifications to never miss a new video as I upload them almost every single day and all things natural and supernatural if you have a story that you would like to share in a future video whether - Park Ranger story a search-and-rescue story or something completely different be sure to submit it a swamp dweller dotnet or the email you can find in the description down below I would love to share your story with everyone here in the swamp it still weighs like yours to help keep this channel going much love and appreciation to my friend fit of 22 and my other friend night Doc's who helped me read these stories today if you enjoyed their voices please be sure to check out their channels and subscribe you can find the links to do so in the top of the description they upload very very very creepy videos almost every single day just like me now if you're not aware you can download your favorite scary stories from the swamp on iTunes Spotify pod bean stitcher radio and just about every other major podcast platform out there if you made it all the way to the end be sure to comment the codeword red circle to let me know that you made it to the end and to confuse anybody who didn't I always love seeing how creative you guys get with your responses down there I'll see you guys soon with another creepy video

Channel: Swamp Dweller

Views: 250,896

Rating: 4.7982302 out of 5

Keywords: Park Ranger Stories, Search & Rescue, State Park Stories, Missing 411, Swamp Dweller, Scary Stories, Narration

Id: lB95Zgvz-Vw

Length: 102min 49sec (6169 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 26 2020