The Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful places on planet Earth - yet it holds many mysteries and curiosities. Grand Canyon expert Michael Ghiglieri joined George Knapp to discuss gripping accounts of disappearances, myths, lore, and fatalities at the most famous of the World's Seven Natural Wonders. The Canyon is a massive, awe-inspiring space, with a thousand cubic miles of missing rock, said Ghiglieri, who has spent a total of seven-years of his life there. Numerous visitors have fallen from the giant rim on the canyon, he detailed, such as when people get careless posing for photos.
It's been said that inside the Canyon is a perfect place for murder, he revealed, and there've been some dubious cases that were labeled as accidents because there was no concrete evidence of foul play. The Canyon is riddled with ruins and graves dating back to 800 to 1100 AD when the Pueblo Indians lived there-- during that era the climate was different, and it was easier to grow crops. In 1956, there was a catastrophic collision between a United and TWA plane, and passengers' jewelry and valuables were scattered across the Canyon floor, creating somewhat ghoulish looting that went on for years.
After the movie Thelma and Louise came out, suicidal incidents of people driving their cars over the edge increased, possibly in imitation of the story's ending, Ghiglieri reported. He also offered details on some of the baffling disappearances of tourists at the park. In a recent case, Floyd Roberts, III vanished in June of 2016, after taking a slightly different route than his hiking companions. Hauntingly, during the subsequent search, his voice could be distantly heard yelling "help," but the sound could never be pinpointed.
The Great Roy Orbison
First-hour guest, Roy Orbison Jr shared the story of his father, a rock 'n' roll icon almost without peer. He detailed his monumental career successes, such as selling 7 million copies of the single "Oh, Pretty Woman" in its first year (1964). Orbison got his start at Sun Records, along with Elvis Presley in the 1950s. He toured with the Beatles in 1963, and years later joined with George Harrison and other musical superstars to form the group, the Traveling Wilburys. Orbison Jr noted how his father's life was also marred by significant tragedies such as the loss of his first wife in a motorcycle accident, and his two oldest sons in a fire.
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