Local news
Sixteen missing: families demand answers as woodland disappearances go unsolved
jonas_stanley.jpg
Sixteen people have now been reported missing in the woodland north of ████████ since 2 March 2000, and police are no closer to explaining what happened to any of them.
The missing include hikers, campers, amateur explorers and at least one visiting journalist. In several cases, cars were found abandoned near the treeline along the old logging road. No bodies have been recovered.
The most recent case is that of local man Jonas Stanley, who was last seen on Saturday 10 November. His car was found parked at the edge of the woods three weeks later. Police called off the search on 17 January.
Mr Stanley, who ran a small website about local mysteries, had told friends he was investigating the disappearances himself. "He knew those woods. He didn't just get lost," said a family member, who asked not to be named.
Police said they were "keeping an open mind" but had found no evidence linking the cases, describing the area as "large, remote and very difficult to search".
Residents say the trouble is nothing new. Hikers have reported compasses behaving erratically in the area, and several people describe hearing a low humming from deep in the woods. Many date it to the unexplained tremor that shook the town in March 2000.
Lumifox Industries, which owns much of the land north of the town, denied any involvement in the disappearances. Asked whether any of its staff had been questioned, a Lumifox spokesperson said the company "has nothing further to add" and refused to comment further.
The missing
- ████ ███████, last seen ██ March 2000
- ██████ ████████, last seen ██ March 2000
- ███████ ██████, last seen ██ April 2000
- █████ ████, last seen ██ June 2000
- ████████ ███████, last seen ██ July 2000
- ███ ██████████, last seen ██ August 2000
- ██████ █████, last seen ██ September 2000
- █████████ ████, last seen ██ December 2000
- ████ ████████, last seen ██ February 2001
- ███████ █████, last seen ██ April 2001
- ██████ ███████, last seen ██ May 2001
- █████ ██████████, last seen ██ July 2001
- ████████ ████, last seen ██ August 2001
- ██████ ████████, last seen ██ September 2001
- ███████ ██████, last seen ██ October 2001
- Jonas Stanley, last seen 10 November 2001
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on ███ ████.