There's Something Strange About Mesa Verde NP

That trail looks really rough and rocky in spots, and very close the edge of a steep slope. Seeing the terrain, it seems rather obvious that Dale fell down the cliffside. As for why he walked 4+ miles into the wilderness, perhaps he sustained a head injury in the fall. He could have been knocked unconscious for a while which may account for why he wouldn't have immediately yelled for help while the judge's family was still relatively nearby. Combine a head injury/concussion with dehydration and he may have been confused and disoriented. I also note in the photo that he wore glasses, so if he lost those in the fall and couldn't see properly, then that might be a factor as well. Rest in Peace Dale. My heart goes out to his family. It adds an entirely new dimension to these videos when you travel to the location and show the terrain. You literally go the extra mile. Combine that with your excellent story telling, your impeccable research and your respectful approach and you are one of the best content creators in this field. Thank you for your hard work!

Side Hustle Prophet

I'm glad you did a story from Mesa Verde. It's an amazing place, and trying to imagine what it was like living and farming there 1,000 years ago while looking around there can be humbling. The museum is one of my favorite parts. It's small but very well done and full of fascinating relics. On our recent visit, we took in the video presentation, which I think is fairly recent. It takes a much different approach to the park's history than what was available 30 years ago. Back then, the "mystery disappearance" was getting a lot of airplay, and much of the history of the park was about the relatively recent "discovery" of the ruins by local ranchers. Now it's all about how the ancestral people lived, and the traditions that live on in pueblo life to this day. The modern take is more appropriate, I think, but it was fun to watch the old home movies of the people who developed the modern park we know. On close inspection of Google maps (the 3D feature can be helpful), it appears there are plenty of trails in the park, just not many that are open to the public. One interesting one goes up Wikiup Canyon. It looks to be well established and even maybe heavily traveled. Hmmm. I haven't been able to figure out how it is accessed, or where it goes before petering out several miles up the canyon. Hard to say what it looked like ten years ago, but it's easy to imagine Dale coming upon that and assuming it led back to civilization.

Zack Reuter

OMG NO, lol. You'll never be able to recycle that drawing lmao. I love Dales little ponytail. He seems so happy looking at the little adobe houses.

Mike keith

Yeah, he was interviewed once. He said he last saw Dale at the petroglyphs, and that he seemed calm and relaxed. He was sitting on a rock and then got up and left. The funny thing is, if Dale fell into Spruce Canyon, he must have fallen within the next 100 yards or so. Unless he walked down that spur trail. I guess what's strange to me is that the judge didn't hear or see anything. You'd think he would have. After the Petroglyphs, the canyon part of the trail is pretty much done. The trail goes a bit further south, then you climb up to the plateau where you're safe.

The Missing Enigma

DUDE, they even look alike. We have a pusher type serial killer!! IT'S THE JUDGE!! Probably they look like the JUDGES father. He comes back every 10 years or so and finds someone that looks like his father, and pushes them off. His father used to abuse him and his mother! It was probably the judge who knew where the body was. Probably not the 4.25 miles away. He paid someone off, which is why you can't get any reports from them!! DUN DUN DUUUUNN!!!!!

Mike keith

Mike keith

It makes the most sense that he would be found between Wetherill and Chapin. It just doesn't seem that remote with the roads that run up and down the eastern half.

The Missing Enigma

Well, again the strange part is not walking back up Spruce Canyon. It's less than a mile to a trail leading back to the top. Instead, he just wandered off somewhere.

The Missing Enigma

While I understand they want to protect specific locations, to me, that has nothing to do with choosing to not name what canyon Dale was found in. There are ruins in pretty much every single canyon in the park. Naming the canyon isn't the same as giving out coordinates or saying he was found in some off-limits ruins.

The Missing Enigma

Maybe it was NE of the Wetherill Mesa. Like they weren't basing it off of where he last was, but like the middle of the park or something?? My guess is the parks directions are not accurate, maybe even on purpose(esp if they're truly trying to keep people from walking out there) He may have hiked that following night, after she heard him. Wonder if there was a full moon that day. Wouldn't be the first time someone walked a crazy amount of miles in extreme conditions, only to die. usually it's the cold. You should find the judge, maybe you can interview him? Maybe the judge is from that state, he might have some pull to get those records?

Mike keith

IDK if this is possible or how it could be done, but I thought of a great idea for your videos/channel. Since you're going to known public locations(like not walking around your house), if you could like somehow have the gps recorded into the video, or like record your gps while you walk(timestamped), you could like have a little animation on the screen that showed where you were(I guess you could just write it down everytime you talk into the camera) when the video is playing for us. It's hard for us watching to like know exactly where on that trail you are. Esp since this is for a true crime esq type situation, I'm assuming most people are watching because of the missing person, and not just because someone likes to watch video of a national park. I myself am watching to try and see where he might have fallen down. IDK, just seems like it would be a cool gimmick that others might also find helpful

Mike keith

Mike keith

I'm not surprised the Park Service is being protective of a location in that park. There are ruins and artifacts all over the place. These have great value to many people other than the officials and the scientists. I very seriously doubt the person who found Dale's remains was just wandering around. Such a hike would be a serious undertaking, if one wanted to survive and remain below the radar. Fairly recent wildfires have exposed some previously unknown sites and the Park Service doesn't want anyone poking around in undisturbed archaeological treasures. This past April, my wife and I visited the park. We stayed for three nights at Far View Lodge, a wonderful spot. The restaurant there has excellent food. I stayed there a few times 30 years ago when I was driving bus tours, and Far View was great then too. Highly recommended. Anyway, we hiked the Petroglyph Trail, but we did it in the opposite direction than most people take. We ended up walking right past the top of the "stairway" down to the petroglyphs, bushwhacked a bit and found what we thought was the trail, but it soon took us to a road. That part of the trail is very poorly marked, in either direction. If Dale fell, or took that little spur you found on the map, and ended up in the canyon, he might not have been able keep to the trail if he tried to backtrack. Disorientation would make it nearly impossible. He may have been able to figure out from the sun angle which way was north, and ended up in some place no one looked. Still though, I think I read there was a helicopter with IR equipment in use in the search. A pretty odd situation, for sure. Mesa Verde is a beautiful place, but it's essentially desert. The desert will kill you if you give it half a chance.

Zack Reuter

Beautiful place. Thanks for doing this.

Ben Carter