He Promised To Be Back For Christmas Dinner... Found His Gear Neatly Arranged, NOT Him | Missing 411

James Thomas Griffin, 60 years old, told friends he'd be back for Christmas Eve dinner. December 22, 2014, he went for a day hike to Olympic Hot Springs in Washington - a trail he knew well after decades living in Port Angeles. He was cautious, experienced, sensible. He understood winter hiking risks. He never came back for Christmas.

Three days later, searchers found his daypack leaning against a fallen log half a mile from the trailhead. Around it, his belongings were carefully arranged - camera, camp stove, food containers, half-eaten freeze-dried meal, towel folded and placed beside the pack. Everything neat and organized, as if he stopped for a break and laid out his things with deliberate care. But James was not there. A hiker stopping to eat doesn't unpack his entire bag and spread it across the forest floor. A hiker in trouble doesn't take time to fold his towel. The arrangement made no sense.

One month later, his body was found 300 meters above the trail in terrain so steep and overgrown that investigators couldn't understand how he got there or why he would try. Every year during the weeks around Christmas, people vanish in America's national forests and parks. Some are found. Some are not. Some are found in circumstances that raise more questions than they answer. Families spend Christmas wondering what happened. Two cases. Two December disappearances. Two investigations producing results no one could fully explain.

Drop your theories in comments if you've experienced something unexplained during winter hiking.

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