Dave Paulides has been researching mysterious missing persons cases for years with his acclaimed series of books entitled "Missing 411." Paulides returned with George Knapp for a 3-hour update on cases and his new book which focuses on unexplained disappearances on land, water, and in the air. Catching up listeners that have not heard his previous appearances, Paulides described his amazement over the number and strangeness of the missing persons cases he has investigated for many years. He remarked that as he read over 1000 of these reports "patterns started to emerge." He listed some of these curious factors such as proximity to water, the presence of granite or boulders, search dogs that can’t pick up any scent, and bad weather that seems to descend as soon as a search is called.
Paulides also commented on the fact that many of the missing are extremely intelligent, with the bizarre statistic that he "cannot find a physicist that has disappeared that isn’t German" in his files on vanishings in the United States. He suggested that families who are searching for loved ones after the authorities have given up should contact national news outlets (rather than local, since they have to maintain a close relationship with the local law enforcement) and to "become a thorn in the side" of their local Congress members and Senators. One of the more eerie facts that Paulides has uncovered are children who disappear and are found far from where they were last seen, with some as young as two or four years old apparently traversing vast distances (sometimes 15-20 miles away) in 24 to 36 hours or less.
Paulides detailed two missing persons cases with a multitude of strange features that defy explanation. Both involved star university students who were never found. A Park Service report on a 1971 case actually stated that some of the search and rescue personnel found the incident to be "very weird and scary." He also told of the disappearance in 1942 of a helium blimp which belonged to the U.S. Navy, which was found crashed and missing the two crew members as well as their survival equipment. George revealed that someone in the US government or connected to it recently told him his belief that the 411 cases share similarities to events documented at the famous Skinwalker Ranch. "Well, that’s certainly a wake-up call," said Paulides.
He continued with the story of Henry McCabe, who disappeared near Minneapolis in 2015 after leaving a message on his wife’s phone at 2:23 AM. A recording of a news report was played on the air featuring the message with apparent animal noises and frightened screaming which ended with a voice saying "stop it." McCabe’s body was found floating in a lake two months later. Paulides stated that many of these cases would never have occurred if everyone would carry a "personal locator beacon," which can pinpoint a location to within 8 feet and alert the authorities.
During Open Lines in the last hour, listeners called in with their accounts, theories and personal experiences of unexplained disappearances.