Photos of Missing Individuals Found After Disappearance

VanishedVoyage

Photos of Missing Individuals Found After Disappearance      #MissingPersonsMystery  #UncoveredPhotos  #FacesOfTheVanished  #HauntingImages  #GhostsInFrames  #FoundButNotReturned  #DisappearanceDiaries

Transcript

00:00This is the last known photo of 12-year-old Jared Negretti, a self-portrait he snapped on July 19, 1991, after he was officially declared missing earlier that day.

00:11Jared was a member of the Boy Scouts, and July 19 was meant to be a milestone.

00:16It was his first overnight backpacking trip to the summit of Mount San Gorgonio, the highest peak in Southern California.

00:23Jared, alongside five fellow Boy Scouts and an adult troop leader, started the hike early in the morning.

00:29While the hike started off just as planned, the 11,000-foot ascent eventually took its toll on Jared specifically.

00:36He started to fall behind at around 6pm, unable to keep pace with the rest of the group.

00:41Determined to stick to the schedule, the group leader decided to go ahead with the other five kids and leave Jared behind, a choice he would come to regret for the rest of his life.

00:50Not long after, a different group of hikers saw Jared descending the mountain alone, and doing so in a dangerously unsafe way by short-cutting the switchbacks.

00:59Which, for those who don't know, means he was ignoring the zigzagging trail designed to safely navigate steep terrain, and was instead heading straight down the slope.

01:07The hikers had warned Jared about the dangers of straying from the designated path, and also made sure to inform the scout leader when they had caught up with the troop further up the mountain.

01:16The leader, however, shrugged off their concern, stating that they'd catch up with Jared on their way back.

01:21Unfortunately, by the time they came back, Jared was nowhere to be seen.

01:26It didn't take long for the troop to realize the gravity of the situation.

01:30They quickly descended to the base camp and managed to call for help around midnight, sparking one of the largest search and rescue missions in the region's history.

01:38Over the following days, rescue teams scoured a massive 130 square mile stretch of the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

01:45By it, there was no sign of Jared anywhere.

01:47It wasn't until day 3 when they found their first clue, a footprint matching the high-top sneakers he was wearing at the time of his disappearance.

01:56Further search of that area also uncovered more items that belonged to Jared, including the wrappers for beef jerky and candy, and most importantly, the disposable camera he had with him.

02:06Inside, the film held 12 photos, most of which were landscapes he captured throughout the trip.

02:11But the final image, taken after he had gone missing, was a chilling close-up of Jared's own eyes and nose, illuminated by the camera's flash.

02:20And while this photo proved that Jared was still alive hours after he went missing, it offered little to no clue about his whereabouts.

02:27The pitch-black background and low-resolution obscured any background details that might have helped rescuers pinpoint where the photo was taken.

02:35Over the next two weeks, nearly 3,000 volunteers and professionals poured more than 45,000 combined hours into searching the vast San Bernardino National Forest.

02:45But with no solid leads to follow, the search dragged on without making any significant progress.

02:51On August 4, after 16 days, the search for Jared was officially called off by the authorities, leaving the mystery of his disappearance unsolved to this day.

02:59So, what really happened to Jared?

03:02Well, there are several possibilities.

03:05The first of which is that he accidentally took the wrong trail and got lost while trying to catch up with the rest of the Boy Scouts.

03:11However, while getting lost is a common cause of disappearance in the wilderness, it doesn't quite add up in Jared's case.

03:17You see, this all took place in the middle of summer, so there was no risk of him succumbing to harsh elements like extreme cold.

03:23He also had plenty of drinkable water in the two-quart canteen he had on him.

03:27Not to mention the countless freshwater creeks and ponds dotted throughout the mountain.

03:32Put simply, he would have survived for at least a few days, and with thousands of rescuers scouring the area, it's likely someone would have found him.

03:39So, a more plausible theory is that he potentially slipped and fell off a sheer cliff.

03:44After all, he was shortcutting the switchbacks when the second group of hikers spotted him.

03:49It's possible he kept taking those dangerous shortcuts after they left, and one misstep on the steep terrain in the darkness led to a fatal fall.

03:56But, this still begs the question, why didn't any of the rescuers come across his body despite the extensive search?

04:03Which brings us to the third possibility, he was dragged away by a wild animal.

04:07Mount San Gorgonio is home to both black bears and cougars.

04:11Some people also believe the glowing dot in the background of Jared's last photo is one of the eyes of a predator that was stalking him at the time.

04:19However, the search teams didn't find any clue of this being the case either.

04:22There was no blood, torn clothes, or drag marks anywhere in the area.

04:27Which points to the most disturbing possibility, that instead Jared was abducted by someone.

04:32If we accept this as true, it explains why there was no sign of Jared or his body anywhere on the mountain.

04:38Unfortunately, it's been over 33 years since Jared vanished, and investigators still haven't found anything that could guide them toward a proper conclusion.

04:45His disappearance remains just as much a mystery today as it was the day he went missing.

04:50On June 15th, 1989, a woman in Port St. Joe, Florida, spotted a Polaroid photo lying in the parking lot of a convenience store on her way out.

05:03Without thinking much of it, she picked it up and flipped it over her, only to be met with a disturbing image she'd never forget.

05:09The photo showed a young girl and a much younger boy lying in the back of a white, windowless van with duct tape over their mouths and their hands seemingly tied behind their backs.

05:18The woman alerted the police almost immediately, especially since the white van in the image looked eerily similar to the one she saw in the same parking lot minutes earlier.

05:27She also provided a description of the driver, allowing investigators to create a sketch of the suspect.

05:31However, even after setting up a perimeter around the area, the police weren't able to find the van or its driver.

05:38What they didn't know at the time was that this photo would eventually connect to a crime that took place more than 1,500 miles away.

05:45The victim of this crime was a 19-year-old college student named Tara Lee Calico.

05:49On September 20, 1988, nearly 9 months before the Polaroid was discovered, Tara left her home at around 9.30am for her daily bike ride.

05:58Every day, she'd ride down New Mexico's Highway 47 until reaching the railroad tracks intersecting the road, turning around, and taking the same route back home.

06:07But on this particular day, Tara had plans with her boyfriend at 12.30pm and didn't want to be late.

06:13So, she told her mother, Patty, to come pick her up if she wasn't back by noon.

06:17And that's exactly what happened.

06:19When noon came and went with no sign of Tara, Patty got in her car and began driving along Tara's usual route, hoping to find her somewhere along the way.

06:27However, despite going up and down the highway a couple of times, she couldn't find Tara anywhere.

06:32Patty rushed back home and called the police to report Tara missing.

06:35The authorities immediately put together a search party and began looking for her in the surrounding area.

06:40And it wasn't long before they found their first clue, a cassette tape that Tara was likely listening to on the side of the highway.

06:46They also found tire tracks matching her bike near this cassette.

06:50Unfortunately, Tara and her neon pink bike were nowhere to be seen.

06:54As the search radius became larger, the only other clue they found was a broken piece of her yellow cassette player, miles from where she was supposed to be.

07:02Patty believed her daughter had been abducted and this piece was her way of leaving a trail.

07:06This theory was further supported by multiple witness accounts from people who reported seeing an old, worn-out pickup truck closely tailing Tara as she headed back home around 11.30am.

07:16Witnesses also noted that Tara was wearing her headphones at the time and seemed unaware of the truck.

07:21This suspicion only became stronger when, nine months after her disappearance, this Polaroid was discovered in Florida.

07:27The woman who found this didn't know about Tara's case at the time.

07:30But as the photo gained more attention, it eventually reached Patty, who became convinced that the girl in the picture was her missing daughter.

07:37Not only did this girl look like Tara, but Patty also noted that the book in the photo was from one of Tara's favorite authors.

07:42The connection between Tara and this photo deepened further when another New Mexico family came forward claiming they recognized the boy in the photo.

07:50They believed it was their son, nine-year-old Michael Henley, who'd gone missing in April of 1988 during a hunting trip with his father.

07:57However, that's when Tara's case took a turn.

08:00Because, as it turns out, there's a real possibility that the girl in the photo isn't Tara at all.

08:05For starters, in June of 1990, investigators found the remains of Michael about seven miles from the campsite he was staying at.

08:11He wasn't abducted by anyone.

08:14Instead, he likely just wandered off, lost his way, and subsequently died of exposure to the elements.

08:19This led many to question whether the Polaroid had any real connection to Tara's specific disappearance at all.

08:25And investigations from different departments enhanced the confusion further.

08:29Some concluded that the girl in the photo was undoubtedly Tara, while others pointed out the many structural differences between their faces.

08:36But, if she wasn't abducted by the owner of this white van, then what exactly happened to Tara?

08:41Surprisingly, we might actually get a conclusive answer to this question more than 37 years after her disappearance.

08:47On the 13th of June, 2023, the Valencia County Sheriff's Office announced a massive update on the case, stating,

08:54At this time, law enforcement believes there is sufficient evidence to submit this investigation to the district attorney's office for review of potential charges.

09:02Currently, the identities and specifics of the persons of interest are sealed by the court and will remain so until a court order otherwise.

09:09Put simply, after decades of investigating, the police have finally cracked the case and are just waiting for the DA's approval to release the information to the public.

09:17As for why it took so long, a widely believed theory is that Tara was accidentally hit by a group of teenagers while biking home.

09:24Fearing the consequences, they panicked, abducted her, and eventually killed her to cover up the accident.

09:30And, according to some, one of those teenagers was the son of the local sheriff, leading to a deliberate and coordinated cover-up that kept the truth buried for decades.

09:39Now, whether this theory holds any weight is unknown.

09:42But, if this does turn out to be the case, who the girl in the Polaroid picture actually is remains a mystery.

09:52On June 8, 1988, an ATM in LA captured what were possibly the final moments of 22-year-old LA resident Matthew Chase.

10:01The day had started like any other.

10:03Matt spent most of it at work, then went out for dinner with his roommate and close friend Teresa.

10:07When the two returned home at around 11.45pm, Matt noticed the paycheck he received earlier that day sitting on the coffee table.

10:15He was running low on funds, and the bank would have taken about 24 hours to clear the paycheck.

10:20So, instead of waiting till morning, Matt decided to go deposit it right away.

10:24The nearest ATM was just two blocks away from their apartment.

10:27But, since it was getting quite late, Teresa told him to take her car, just to be on the safe side.

10:32She also asked him to bring a bag of cat food from the store across the street.

10:35The whole trip should have taken no more than 15 minutes.

10:39But, an hour went by, and Matt still hadn't returned.

10:42Teresa figured he was just driving around town to get some fresh air, so she went to sleep.

10:47However, when she woke up in the morning, Matt was still not home.

10:51She quickly got up and contacted her brother Steve, who was also good friends with Matt.

10:55Together, they called the police and tried to file a missing person report.

10:58Unfortunately, since Matt had only been missing for less than 12 hours,

11:02the police decided to hold off on launching an investigation just yet.

11:05Unsatisfied with this response, Teresa and Steve decided to find clues themselves,

11:09and so Steve called the bank, pretending to be Matt.

11:12According to the bank, Matt had unsuccessfully tried to withdraw money several times since,

11:17including one transaction of $280.

11:19This was quite odd for two main reasons.

11:22One, $280 was far above the maximum withdrawal limit for Matt's ATM card.

11:27More importantly, Matt's account didn't even have $100, let alone $280,

11:31which is why he went out to deposit a paycheck in the first place.

11:35He should have known both of these things quite well.

11:37So, the fact he tried to make these transactions anyway indicated that he was being forced to do so by someone else.

11:43Teresa and Steve called the police again with this newfound information,

11:46and this time authorities took the case more seriously.

11:49Though, unlike today, most ATMs at the time didn't have cameras.

11:53Luckily, one of the machines he tried to withdraw from did have a functioning camera,

11:57giving investigators a crucial lead,

11:59a grainy but discernible image of Matt at the ATM,

12:02with a mysterious man looming just behind him.

12:04As the investigation was going on, Matt's card was used again,

12:08a day and a half after his disappearance.

12:10By then, his paycheck had cleared,

12:11allowing whoever made this transaction to withdraw $400.

12:15The authorities took notice of this withdrawal and froze Matt's card.

12:18So, the next time someone tried to use that card,

12:21it was confiscated by the ATM.

12:23Unfortunately, none of this helped investigators track down Matt or his kidnapper.

12:27There were two composite sketches made of the suspect from the low-res photo,

12:31but no one recognized the man based on these.

12:33They also tried dusting the confiscated card for fingerprints,

12:36but it was completely clean.

12:38On June 27th, nearly three weeks after Matt's disappearance,

12:42the car he'd been driving was finally found,

12:44and it was surprisingly close to the ATM that captured this photo.

12:48The fact that no one had spotted it sooner suggested that it was likely

12:50dumped there later by his abductor.

12:52And while it was wiped clean of any fingerprints, just like the card,

12:56police did find a blue bandana in the back with the letters ESPBSCLS written on it.

13:03From what I was able to find, ESPBS stood for Eastside Playboys,

13:07a notorious gang in the area.

13:10Despite this connection, however,

13:11investigators weren't able to find any solid evidence that could help them track down the suspect.

13:16By this point, the chances of Matt making it out alive were looking increasingly slim.

13:20Tragically, his friends and family's worst fear came to light on September 17, 1988,

13:26when a group of people found his body floating in a ravine in Pasadena.

13:30He had a gunshot wound in his head.

13:32And, according to the autopsy report, was killed and dumped in the ravine three months ago,

13:37likely a couple days after his abduction.

13:39But with no other leads, Matt's case went cold for the next 30 years.

13:43Then, in 2018, LAPD announced that they had the answer to Matt's disappearance.

13:48According to their report, Matt was killed by a 20-year-old gangster named David Mesa,

13:52who went by the name Bear.

13:54Apparently, David's girlfriend confirmed that the man in the ATM photo was indeed her boyfriend.

13:59As for David himself, police found out that he was killed in a gang-related shootout

14:03just two days after he supposedly killed Matt.

14:06Now, this raises more questions than it answers.

14:09Like, why would anyone kidnap and kill someone just for $400?

14:13Was David alone in all of this, or did he have any accomplices?

14:16And, if David died days after committing the crime, who dumped Teresa's car near the original

14:21crime scene three weeks later?

14:23That said, this revelation was still enough to give Matt's friends and family the closure

14:27they needed after three decades.

14:33In March of 1998, 23-year-old Amy Lynn Bradley went on a cruise with her brother and two parents.

14:40However, what began as a joyful family vacation descended into a disturbing nightmare just three

14:45days later, one the Bradley family hasn't recovered from to this day.

14:49On the night of March 23rd, Amy and her family dined out in one of the ship's restaurants.

14:54And, according to her family, Amy was getting a lot of attention from other passengers, as

14:59well as the staff, including the band playing in the restaurant.

15:02Some of the waiters even proposed taking Amy to a bar on the mainland before the ship sailed,

15:07but she declined.

15:08After the dinner, Amy and her brother Brad went to the ship's nightclub for a few hours

15:12and returned to their room at around 3.30am.

15:15They sat around and chatted on the balcony for a few hours before Brad went to bed, leaving

15:19Amy on the cabin's private balcony.

15:21Around 5.30 in the morning, their father Ron checked on the kids and saw Amy peacefully

15:25sleeping on a lounge chair outside on the balcony.

15:28But, when he returned 30 minutes later, Amy was gone.

15:32Thinking that she likely went to the main deck, Ron went looking for her.

15:35However, even after hours of searching, he couldn't find Amy anywhere.

15:39All of her belongings were still in the room, including her shoes.

15:43So, when Ron informed the ship's crew, they floated the idea that Amy could have fallen

15:47overboard.

15:48The crews had also docked at Curacao that morning, resulting in over 3,000 passengers disembarking

15:53the ship.

15:54If she was among the departing passengers, her parents had no way of spotting her in the

15:58crowd.

15:59So, they focused their efforts on the ship itself and started scouring every inch of it

16:03to find Amy, to no avail.

16:06But, then something incredibly strange happened.

16:09As Brad was looking for his sister, he was approached by the nightclub's bassist, Alistair

16:13Douglas, offering his condolences for Amy's disappearance.

16:17He was dancing with Amy the night before, but he shouldn't have had any way of knowing

16:21about her going missing.

16:22This made Alistair the lead suspect, but after further investigation and a successful polygraph

16:27test, he was cleared of any suspicion.

16:30The Bradley family, along with the FBI, then began searching for Amy on the island of

16:34Curacao, where they received their first promising lead.

16:37A local cab driver claimed to have spoken with a woman who matched Amy's description

16:41to a tee.

16:42Unfortunately, the tip didn't lead to any major breakthroughs.

16:46So, with no other option, the Bradley family was forced to return home to the U.S.

16:50Then, in August 1998, a Canadian tourist named David Carmichael saw someone he believed was

16:56Amy on Curacao Island.

16:58We were over in a small area where we wash off the equipment in fresh water, and I looked

17:04down the beach, and I saw a girl walking down the beach with being flanked by two people.

17:10The minute she heard I spoke English, she picked up her pace and was putting distance between

17:16her and the two people that were flanking her.

17:18David also claimed that one of the men following her fit the description of Alistair.

17:36Later investigation also revealed that an American naval officer was visiting an adult establishment

17:41on the island in 1999.

17:42There, he met someone who claimed her name was Amy Bradley.

17:46Unfortunately, the officer never reported the incident, likely to avoid repercussions for

17:50visiting such an establishment while on duty.

17:53By the time this information surfaced, the place had already burned to the ground, and

17:57with it, any records of the people who might have worked there.

17:59However, the most important clue about Amy came in 2005, when someone found pictures of

18:05an older Amy on the internet.

18:07These pictures, along with her earlier sightings, led many to believe that Amy was kidnapped and

18:11trafficked, possibly by Alistair, with some even suspecting a coordinated effort involving

18:17multiple crew members.

18:18That said, nothing ever came of this theory, and Amy was declared legally dead on March 24,

18:242010, 12 years after her disappearance.

18:27Now, it's still possible that Amy simply fell overboard and drowned, and that the woman

18:31seen on Curacao and the one in the photos are nothing more than unfortunate lookalikes.

18:36But, with so many scattered clues pointing toward a far darker possibility, it's hard to write

18:41them off as a simple case of mistaken identity.

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