David Paulides - Missing 411: The Devil's in the Detail - Part 1 - December 15, 2014

In this first part of a two-part interview, host Soraya of 'Where Did The Road Go?' welcomes David Politis, author of the Missing 411 series, to discuss his extensive research into mysterious disappearances in national parks and public lands across North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Politis presents a compelling pattern of unexplained vanishings—often involving children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities—where victims are found in extreme locations like remote peaks, boulder fields, swamps, or cliff bottoms, frequently without shoes, clothing, or clear cause of death. He highlights recurring anomalies: sudden weather changes during searches, lack of scent or tracks, absence of struggle, and the inability of search teams to locate individuals despite exhaustive efforts. Politis emphasizes that these cases defy conventional explanations like animal attacks or accidents, and he critiques the lack of transparency from federal agencies, particularly the National Park Service, which refuses to maintain public records of missing persons, even when individuals are presumed dead. He also discusses the historical depth of these patterns, with some cases dating back to the 1700s, and shares chilling real-life examples such as a 20-month-old found five miles from her home, a man who vanished while hiking with his wife and was later heard calling for help by a reporter, and a doctor found dead at the base of a cliff despite no tracks in the snow. The episode concludes with a call to action: signing a petition demanding a publicly accessible national registry for missing persons in public lands, which Politis notes has been initiated by a reader of his books.