11 Days After Boy Vanishes, Clue Left On Desk Leads Cops To Hidden Prison

Park Chief Ranger Steve Kloster had seen cases like this before – but he knew in his gut that there was something he was missing. Pulling the map onto the table again, he began to comb through the 6,700-acre area. But time was not on his side.

Somewhere in these mountains was a boy. He had been missing for 11 days. What had his stepfather done? And why had he only reported it now?

Into The Wilderness

Eighteen-year-old Austin Bohannon found himself in a desperate situation when he took a trip to the unforgiving wilderness of the Smoky Mountains with his stepfather.

Although he was an accomplished hiker and outdoorsman, search parties could find no trace of him. Helicopters and dogs searched for days, to no avail. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

It Started Out As An Ordinary Day

It all began on a seemingly normal day – like any other. Austin was hiking with his stepfather, Hubert, on a familiar trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Although they had walked this trail before, they knew that familiarity wasn’t enough to let their guard down. With few landmarks beneath the otherworldly canopy of trees, it was easy to get lost.

Austin – and indeed, his stepfather — should have known better.

A Precious Commodity

As they walked down along a creek, they kept their eyes peeled for a specific plant that grew there. Even though removing the plant from the national park was illegal, the market for its root was booming.

With health foods and energy drinks becoming more popular than ever, the plant could be sold for the princely sum of $600 per pound! But it was along the creek that Austin’s stepfather made a fatal mistake.

Hubert’s Account

Hubert’s report states that he had slipped on a wet rock, and although he managed to steady himself, his glasses fell into the rushing water. He let out a cry of dismay.

Without his spectacles, he couldn’t see the trail or the treacherous mountain path. Austin knew that leaving the glasses behind wasn’t an option. So he did the only thing he could think of – he jumped into the creek.