Morbid - Episode 571: Lost Children of the Alleghenies

Episode Date: June 6, 2024

A community frantically searches for two missing boys who disappeared in a dense forest. Days pass with no leads, but a man's prophetic dream leads to their discovery.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Download Coho on Google or App Store today or at www.coho.ca for more details. Get a $75 e-gift card for NBAstore.ca when you sign up with the promo code morbid75. That's code morbid75. Hey weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Alaina. And this is morbid and today it's going to be like a strange story. Oh, like a more strange than anything tragic, but strange. I'm down for strange. I'm not super excited for tragic, but yeah, we are on morbid. Yeah, you know, I mean, after Fred and Rose West, I need you need a beat. Some we had listener tales. We had my case, which was pretty rough.

Also pretty rough. So now, now strange. I'll take strange. This one's strange. There's definitely tragedy in this one. Again, it's more, it's a fascinating case for sure. And it's not, you know, this isn't going to be a super long one, but it's got a, it's got some stuff.

I love that. Do you have anything else that we should chat about before we get into it? Yeah, why don't let's chat for a second, everybody. I love when we have like a little down low with you guys. Yeah. It just feels wrong sometimes to go right into the case. Like, I love to just I know it's not for everybody, but it's for me. It's for me. It's for me. And I like it. And what did, but it's for me. It's for me. It's for me. And I like it.

And what did Trixie and Katya say? Really going for it. They say, cause it's our show and not yours. And pose, and pose, and pose, and pose. I just think it's funny that Trixie and Katya say that. It's funny. I like when they say, and pose, and pose, and pose, and pose. I like that.

But yeah, I think we can just kind of chat for a second. Don't worry, we'll get into it. Gadia just went back, she like just came back on the show with Trixie, and she was like, I discovered again how good I am at singing. And she wrote like this screamo song about diarrhea running down your leg. And it's hilarious. And Trixie's face throughout the whole thing is literally just like, what? Like what? I love them a lot. I love them with most of my heart.

Oh, that's amazing. Yeah. Love that. No, I just hear that echoing in my head. Yeah. We got to go on another ghost hunt. Yeah. Recently. in my head. Yeah, we got to go on another ghost hunt recently with our besties, our ghost girls, brothers, Colton Coven. Thank you. Our ghost girls, brothers, Colton Coven besties, Corinne and Sabrina from two girls, one ghost. Yep. It was so fun. You got to go listen to them if you're not already like what's going on. But yeah, it was a blast. I love, I love investigating haunted shit with Corinne and Sabrina.

I love it so fucking much. And Sabrina brought pain Lindsay who is a sweetheart as well. And it was so fun to finally meet him in person. I feel like he's been like part of our morbid journey like he's always been supporting in the bleachers. He's always been supportive. And so and Mikey got to come. Like he's always been supporting in the bleachers. Yeah, he's always been supportive. He's like, yeah. And Mikey got to come. And Mikey was there.

It was a whole gaggle of ghoulies there. Yeah, we can't say exactly where we went because I think we're going to like do something. Because don't worry, you'll find out. Like there's more coming. But we got to do a lot of cool shit. I did the S-Days method and that was one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life. Ash is really good at it because she hears things that none of us hear

and also doesn't get as overstimulated by noise, apparently, as I do. It got overstimulating at the end. And then also in one session, because I did it twice, and I like almost gave up because I kept feeling like I was hearing somebody say my name. Yeah. And I like really panicked.

Going off the deep end at that point. Yeah. But oh, and if you don't know what the SD's method is. If you're not in the know. If you're not, we didn't know what it was either until Sabrina and Corinne showed us. But you wear like noise canceling headphones, you get blindfolded and they connect the headphones to a spirit box, which scans through like AM radio stations. And you say out loud what you hear.

And so like the people around you can ask questions of the spirits in the room. And then some and a lot of times the things that are said answer your questions. And it's very spooky. Yeah, very scary. But it was a lot of fun. It was so much fun. I'm telling you, if you guys can go to a haunted location and hunt some ghosties. Yeah, do it. Do it, man. Go for it. We're already trying to figure out where we're going to go next. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. And it gets you ready. Like spooky season is so close. I know. And I know it's not so close, but it's so close. Now it is. In my heart, it's close. I can't wait. And it just makes me feel that way. Like when I do something like that, I'm like, Oh, it's, it's a pot. I know it's not so close, but it's so close. In my heart, it's close. I can't wait. And it just makes me feel that way. Like when I do something like that, I'm like, oh, it's a pot. I know.

I feel like, don't you feel like my socks are kind of Halloweeny today? They are a little bit. Or tie-dye Halloweeny because they're like tie-dye orange and block. Orange and block. But yeah, so that was fun. And, you know, pre-order The Butcher Game coming out September 17th. There's no tiny URL, so I can't say it. There is, you can go to thebutchergame.com though,

and it's all there. So that's exciting. And that would be really sick of you to do. And many of you have done it. And I appreciate every single one of you. You make me smile. And if you haven't, I'll appreciate you when you do. Exactly.

And you know what? I still appreciate you, but I will appreciate you even more. Buy it. It's really good. I liked it. I mean, I'm like totally biased, but I really liked it. You like genuinely loved it even. So go do that.

And a lot of you have been buying the butcher game for the first time and reading it, which has been really fun to see. The butcher in the run. The butcher in the run. Look The Butcher and the Run. Look at you getting your novels confused. You were like, no. No. The other novel you read.

Yeah. A lot of you have been buying The Butcher and the Run first and you're buying it now and seeing it now and reading it now and telling me about it. And it's been a lot of fun to see. A lot of fun. So thank you for doing that. Thanks for the support. I appreciate you.

You fucking rock. Oh my God. Don't ever change. The appreciation in this room. You know, it's, it's everywhere. I'm adjusting my mic. So sorry if you hear like thumping noises. It is bumping and thumping. The sun is in my hollow. The sun is in my fucking eyeballs. You always end up in the sun in this room. No matter where we put your ass, you just end up in a ray of sunshine because I'm just so lively and colorful. I am never in the sun and I love it.

That checks. I know. But why don't we get to the nitty gritty? So today we're going to be covering the story of the lost children of the Alleghenies. I don't know this. I've heard a lot of, I've heard like bits and pieces of this so much. And finally I was like, this isn't a long tale. And like, you know, like we, we have as many details as we have cause it's from 1856, but

it's just fascinating and really sad, tragic tale, which has like somewhat of a, no, it really doesn't have a good ending, but there's some good along the way. So like I said, it's weird, it's tragic, and it's definitely solved. Like it's not technically, this is like not technically a crime, but it has like a very strange element to it where people thought a crime had occurred at one point. Now it takes us way back to April 24th, 1856, which you know is my favorite times.

I know it's so funny because you were telling me just that you were doing this and like a couple key details. And I, for some reason, it didn't hit me until now that it was the 1800s. Yeah. And I should have known because I do know you. Yeah. It's my favorite of times. And it's not my favorite of times because it was like great back then, but because it wasn't great back then. And it's really fascinating to see how everyone

existed in old timing times. It's even fascinating to see how they were able to solve crimes with little to no knowledge of forensics or science as a whole. But then they were working with nothing. Just good old detective work. Now today is not one of those times where we're going to solve something with some like fancy forensic thing or anything like that. Darn. But you'll see why. So back in April, 1856 in Spruce Hollow in the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania, I want to go to the. It reminds me of stars hollow. Agreed. And I really, my favorite, quick little side track, so it might be one of those episodes. Speaking of stars hollow, it kind of made me think of like when they, they have an episode

about like the founding of stars hollow and why it was named stars hollow. And it's like these two lovers like end up like taking shelter in a hollow. And they looked up and saw all the stars and they were like stars hollow. And it's just the cutest little thing. That's gorgeous. And whenever I see a hollow,

I always think like stars hollow, you know, spruce hollow. It's cute. But it's in the Allegheny mountains in Pennsylvania. And shit was wild back then. Can I say something wild? Sure. I feel like I didn't realize that Pennsylvania had mountains. I mean.

Where is Pennsylvania? It's like, yeah. I guess that makes sense. I was like, can I point to it? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know why I thought that. Yeah.

It's pretty close. Yeah. It's not far at all. I don't know why in my head I was like mountains. Mountains. You're like, you're a liar. It's crazy. It's not mountains.

I love that. Yeah. That is pretty wild, but I love you for it. Thank you. But honestly, shit was wild back then. Everything was wild. Literally wild. The Alleghenies were really dangerous to pass through

and were considered the most treacherous in all of Pennsylvania. Damn. There was a lot of places in the forest where rocks changed and had formed into really large and like really steep gorges and ravines and inclines. Oh, that's freaky. And there was a lot of erosion from running water.

So like these things would take like sharp dips and stuff. Like it was just naturally forming that way. So traversing this place was no easy task for even the most skilled and equipped of people. And in fact, a little sidetrack here, according to explorepahistory.com. Charles Dickens came on through in the early 1840s, so a decade and a half before this happened. And he was really unimpressed by the whole thing. He didn't think it was that cray cray?

Real unimpressed. Well, I mean, I guess a decade before it got worse as it went. Well, it wasn't that he thought it wasn't like crazy. He was just like, he didn't like it. Oh, he said. He was like, I don't really like it. He traveled on the Portage Railroad, which was used to traverse through these steep inclines and all that stuff to get to the other side of the mountain. And this is what he wrote about it.

He said, occasionally the rails are laid upon the extreme verge of the giddy precipice. He's a writer. Yeah, of course. And looking down from the carriage window, the traveler gazes sheer down without a stone or scrap of fence between into the mountain depths below. And then he called it all sufficiently disconcerting. Sufficiently disconcerting is a new insult of mine. Thank you, Charles Dickens. You are sufficiently disconcerting. I love that. So he was not, he wasn't into it. He was like, a little scary for me, not into it.

Don't want to do this again. I love that. I also like that you called it a side trek while everybody's trekking through. That wasn't lost on me. No, I love that that wasn't lost on you. I knew you would pick that up. I got you. I don't know about you, but I've got some bad habits that I want to shrug off. Heck, we've all got bad habits that we're trying to shake off.

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to all they want with more added all the time. Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as part of your daily routine without needing to set aside extra time. I have been listening to this beautiful, gorgeous title. It's called The Name of the Wind. I have chills just thinking about how amazing this story is. It was written by Patrick Rothfuss and Nick Podell does the narration and oh my god he has just the most like soothing voice. It's like butter.

I love it. You guys got to check it out. And listen, as an audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog, including the latest bestsellers and new releases. There's more to imagine when you listen. New members can try Audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash morbid or text morbid to 500-500. That's audible.com slash morbid or text morbid to 500-500. But in 1856 in these very mountains, there lived a family.

A family. A small family. They inhabited a small cabin surrounded by forest and their names were Susanna and Samuel Cox. They had, from what I could gather, three children. But we only hear about the two sons that went missing. Oh no. They had two sons and one named George,

who was seven years old. Seven? Yeah, and Joseph, who is five years. Five? Yeah, I told you it's gonna be tragic. So they, you know, cute little family living in this little like surrounded by mountains and forest and living that kind of life together. Dad was out there hunting dinner.

Mom was in there cooking dinner. It was one of those situations. Right. Now, one day in April, Samuel, Joseph and George, so the father and the two sons, were all eating together. From what I gathered, I couldn't determine whether they were eating outside or they were eating inside, but it feels like they were eating a meal outside together because context clues and also it was the 1800s and I feel like eating outside was probably better because fresh air, less pollution was probably preferable back then.

Picnic vibes. Yeah, there was no air wick plugins to cleanse rooms back then. So I'm sure it was like, let's just eat out there. And it's mountain air. It's scenic as fuck. Yeah, like that's where you want to sit and eat. Now during their meal at some point, their dog started getting riled up like something was in the woods, started barking and snarling and ran into the woods.

That's scary. And you could still hear the dog snarling, barking as he ran. So Samuel was like, well, shit, there must be something good out there. Yeah. And he was like, I should follow. Like maybe I can get fucking dinner for the rest of the week for us. Let's go. Yeah.

So he grabbed his rifle and he said, kids, I'm running into the woods after the pup. And he ran into the woods. Hopefully I come back with dinner. And mom was in the house. So he was like, I'll be right back. I don't know what he found when he found the dog, but after he found whatever was there, like whatever the dog had gone after he came back home. Okay. And when he came back home, George and Joseph were not out there. Not where he had left them. So sources say he was gone for less than two hours. That's still a long time.

Yeah, it definitely is. But mom was inside, like you said. So Susanna came outside and Samuel asked where the boys are, where's George and Joseph? And Susanna immediately said, I didn't see them leave. And then she was like, wait, I thought they went with you. Like what do you mean? She was like, I looked out and saw none of you.

I thought you all went together. So they must have followed him like pretty soon after he left. So each parent thought they were with the other parent. This wasn't even like, this wasn even like neglect, like 1800s neglect. It was like one of them thought it was just like, oh, they're with their dad. And then the dad was like, oh, they're with the mom. And he went inside and said, like, I'm going too.

So it sounds like she went right out there and then was like, oh, they must have gone with their dad. She was like, oh, okay, I'll just finish what I'm doing in here. And when she realized they weren't out there, when she looked out, she was like, oh, they followed their dad. Samuel said, no, they absolutely did not follow me.

And then they both started panicking. Oh no. Now they went searching themselves immediately. They were screaming for George and Joseph, hoping they would hear them and come running, but nothing. They saw no sign of them. They didn't even see footprints from them.

They could not figure out where they had gone. No sign the boys were anywhere. So they ran around for a long time together, searching thoroughly. And finally, Samuel was like, we gotta go to the neighbors. We gotta get more people. So they went to the neighbors, told them what happened.

The neighbors were fucking amazing. They all banded together. When I was reading about this, it said like laborers left their work to come help. Like everyone banded together. When I was reading about this, it said like laborers left their work to come help. Everyone banded together and within a day there were more than 200 neighbors searching like the surround, all from the surrounding community and all the neighbors searching to help. That's on community.

And I mean like the forest was full of people just spending hours and hours searching for these boys, screaming their name, going in all different directions. They went all through the night searching with torches. They lit fires, hoping that the boys would come towards the fires and they would light them on like peaks, like higher points so that the boys would hopefully see them and come towards it. And it was like, these are like experienced hunters, experienced gatherers, they're people who live and have grown up in these parts.

So they're going for it. It's not like they're just people like, like ee, trekking through the woods. It's like, these are people that will go in the woods. You know? And they know what to do. Yeah. They were never giving up on these boys.

They just kept going. It was a such a community effort and it snowed during all of this too. Oh God. It was really cold at night, which did not help the search and it also didn't help the chances of finding them alive. No.

Now this search went for days and days, evenings back to back and people didn't stop and they didn't give up. And there seemed to be a perimeter that they could follow near Samuel and Susanna's home because there was a stream that was flooded, like way over flooded, I think from most of the snow melting and stuff.

And it made a very treacherous, this stream. And they all decided there was no way the boys could have been able to cross this river. And their family was like, they wouldn't have tried to cross it. Like they know that that's dangerous. And they were like, if they had, they would have drowned. So then they all started looking in the stream, hoping not to find them in the stream.

And they searched every bit that they could have that stream, they couldn't find them anywhere. They weren't in there. Okay. So no one wanted to believe that that would have been the outcome here. So they used it, they ended up using this stream as kind of like a natural boundary line where they would search within because they were like, they didn't go over this.

Now after a few days, it was starting to dawn on everyone that these boys were not likely to be found alive because nights were getting freezing. Despite the great efforts and despite the fact that they believed they couldn't have traveled that far, the morale started to wane, the exhaustion setting in, and things took a little bit of a turn. Uh-oh. See, now people started looking at Susanna and Sam and they said, how exactly did these two boys wander off with both of you covering the two areas on either side of where they

would have gone? Okay. covering the two areas on either side of where they would have gone. Which is a natural thing for people to do when you can't find any conclusion. Obviously you don't want this to be something that happens where everybody turns on the parents. Like this is not. But it's a fair enough question to ask. Like I don't want everyone to like come out

with their pitchforks, but to question like, it's a little weird. Can you tell me the story again? Yeah. Kind of thing. Fair enough. And after all, they said, you know, Samuel's a little weird. Can you tell me the story again? Yeah. Fair enough. And after all, they said, you know, Samuel was in the forest, like wouldn't he have heard or seen them follow at some point? Susanna was at home.

She didn't see them leave or notice their absence for such a long time. And with both of them on either side of where these children likely wandered to, like literally covering the two ends of where they would have gone. How could they just disappear in the middle somewhere and never be found? So suddenly fingers were pointing at them and neighbors who were so eager to help them before and offer support were now accusing them of hurting their children

and covering it up with a sob story. And we're also accusing them of trying to get money out of their neighbors for this, which I was like, fuck. Oh man. Now they turned on them. They surrounded the cabin. They searched it high and low. They were turning everything inside out,

searching for any evidence of the boys' deaths. They searched the surrounding property. They were digging up the gardens, looking for buried bodies. So now they're just like ruining their fucking homestead. One neighbor went as far as to pull up the floorboards in their home to look for children's bodies underneath. They found nothing. Pulled up the floorboards. Nothing. There was not a shred of evidence to suggest that these people did anything to hurt their children.

And now they've lost their two children and their fucking home is like destroyed. Yeah. Because that's not just like ransacked, that's destroyed. Like pulling up floorboards and dinging up gardens and shit. Oh, that's awful. Like, and it's like, while they're going through this. And it doesn't sound like they're a family that like has a lot anyways. No, it's like they're living in the 1800s

in the forest in a cabin. Like Jesus. So that happened and things stalled for a minute and the community, you know, and the community as well as the Cox's really had no idea where to go next, what to do. So a local farmer named Jacob Dibert was, he lived nearby the Cox's cabin. And he was distraught at this whole situation. I mean, the whole community was, he had children of his own.

He just couldn't imagine this, like thinking how terrible it would be to lose children and have them vanish without a fucking trace like the Cox had dealt with. So he was like, it was like really weighing on him. And the whole community had been talking about this involved in the searches. It was like overtaking everybody's lives because they just wanted to find these kids. So on May 2nd, he said to his wife that he wished he could find them. He was like, I just wish I could come across them. And then he said, I wish I could just dream of where Joseph and George are. Wow.

And that same night, he had a dream. And that dream involved him in the woods. And he was walking through this area that he didn't really recognize. And he said, he came across a dead deer. And he said, when he saw the dead deer, he saw that there was a fallen log over a stream. And so he crossed that fallen log to cross the stream. And after that log, after he got to the other side, he came across a child's shoe. And he said, and then he looked up and he saw Joseph and George at the bottom,

the base of a birch tree snuggled into the roots of the birch tree together. And he said it was a very specific birch tree that apparently the top had been like cut off in some odd strange way. So it was just a very like, he remembered it. So he woke up shook, but attributed it to the fact that, okay, I've been heavily involved in worrying about the children, like most of the community.

I was just talking about it. Searching, talking about it. But how weird to say you wish you could dream something and then you literally manifested that dream. So he discussed it with his wife, Sarah, but they didn't alert the authorities or the Cox family because they didn't want to send them on a wild goose chase or upset them. They also don't want to sound crazy. That's the thing.

And he's like, I also don't know where this is. I don't know where this area is. So I'd be like, I don't know a stream. There's tons of streams. All I have is the tree. Nancy's love story could have been ripped right out of the pages of one of her own novels. She was a romance mystery writer who happens to be married to a chef. But this story didn't end with a happily ever after. When I stepped into the kitchen,

I could see that Chef Brophy was on the ground, and I heard somebody say, call 911. As writers, we'd written our share of murder mysteries. So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised. The first person they'd look at would be the spouse. We understand that's usually the way they do it.

But we began to wonder, had Nancy gotten so wrapped up in her own novels There are murders in all of the books that she was playing them out in real life? Follow Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy early and ad free right

now by joining Wondery Plus. So his wife agreed that it was likely from all the stress of the searching, talking about it, saying he wanted to find them to her. She was like, you know what? It sounds like you just kind of manifested that idea because you really want to. But that next night, same dream, same exact dream. And he even attributed that one

because he was not a superstitious guy. This is not a woo guy who's sitting there being like, this is a message from beyond. Like, you know what I mean? But still same dream two nights in a row. That's never happened to me. So he's sitting there and he talks to his wife and his wife is like, oh, like I mean? Like still same dream two nights in a row. Two nights never happened. So he's sitting there and he talks to his wife and his wife is like, I don't like that's kind of strange.

And he's like, yeah, you know, but I talked to you about it today. Same exact dream. And then maybe my mind is just really thinking about how strange it is. So it's kind of just giving me the same things puzzle together. So he was like, you know what? So he goes to sleep on the third night, same fucking dream, third night in a row. And that's when he said, nah, this is something. He was like, something is different here.

So he ended up calling his brother-in-law Harrison and he told him, and I think his last name was Ysong. Okay. And he told him the situation and suddenly he, Harrison and Jacob's wife, Sarah, who are brother and sister, they suddenly realized together this place that Jacob was describing, wait, that's actually really familiar to us. Because all of a sudden they were like, wait a second, I know that birch tree.

And they said it was a place near our childhood home, about five to seven miles away from here. It's a very specific birch tree near a stream. Stop it. And they were like, the top is cut off. Right. So Jacob and Harrison were like, we gotta go. We gotta go to this place just to get it out of my mind. At least like we gotta go. So Harrison was like, I think I know where it is. I can bring you there. So they go, they see a dead deer. No, they see a fallen log across the stream and Jacob is like, fuck off.

Are you kidding me? And I bet that's what he said. They go across the stream, they cross it, they see a child's shoe. Everything. And when they see the child's shoe, they look up and see that same birch tree with the top cut off and at the base of it huddled together in the roots were George and Joseph. No.

And unfortunately they had passed away. Yeah. It had been more than, I think it had been like 13 days since they had gone missing. And you said it was like so cold at night. They're five and seven. They don't know how to survive in the woods. Yeah. It was definitely so-

Oh my God. Yeah. Now, according to a website I found called catbirdlife.com. It looked like the younger boy had died first because it appeared his brother had placed his own hat down for his brother to lay on as a makeshift pillow. And they were like huddled together. Oh, that's gut wrenching. Oh my God.

Now, word was sent back to the Cox family immediately. They sent Harrison. Harrison went to get Samuel and Jacob stood and protected the boys' bodies himself until the family arrived. Oh my God. Absolutely devastated. And they said when Samuel came,

he just fell onto his boys weeping. Of course. I can't imagine. No. And you just, you know, he's sitting there thinking like, how did this happen? How did this happen? And nobody, how did they, how did this happen? Like what?

Yeah. And when they were examined, it appeared very much so that George and Joseph Cox had passed away due to exposure to the elements like hypothermia, which is horrifying in its own right. Yeah. They were literally found huddled together under, in the roots of the tree. And do you know how far were they from their own home? They were, they were like not that far, but I think they were in like a, they were far for little boys.

Like that's for sure. And I think they just got turned around. They just didn't know where they were. They had crossed over that stream when they didn't think they would. Oh, they did. But it was that fallen log. And I was like, no it was that fallen log. And I was like, no one saw the fallen log? Yeah. Like what the fuck?

I don't know if it was at a different end of the stream where they just didn't cover as much or what. And you're just like, like no one heard them in the woods. That's what I, so, so they must've wandered outside of where the searchers had obviously set up the boundaries. Yeah. They all believe that the boys could not have gone across the stream so they didn't search there. Which again, like you said, not one person went across the stream or even had thoughts to go across the stream. I know he

set up that boundary. The boys didn't see the fires or anything like that. That's the thing. Where were they? While everyone was searching. There were thousands of people at one point searching. Even just the fact that like they went into the woods alone. Like it sounds like maybe they were just felt like they were like, well, maybe we should go see what dad found. Yeah. I think that's what people say that like maybe they saw how excited their dad was, like running into the woods to go after the dog. But I'm like, but then that would lead me to believe

they followed directly after him. Right. And at that point they would not, that wouldn't have happened. They would at least come across, but maybe they did just get turned around really quickly and just started traveling in the complete opposite direction of where their dad was. Or did they just wander out after, like, you know, like they saw him go in and they were like, oh, and then they talked it through and decided to go in after, you know, I think

it must've been later. Then I also think of the ages and I'm like seven and five, like I have eight year olds and a four year old. Yeah. So pretty similar. But I'm also like, we don't live in the 1800s in the woods on a mountain in a cabin. Well, do you know how often they went in the woods even? Well, that's what these kids were very, they grew up in the woods.

They were outdoorsy. Because when I first read this, I looked at it through my like 2024 bias of sitting there being like, my girls would never wander into the woods at that age. Like they'd be like, fuck no. Like they just like, I'm not going in there. Right. But these are boys too. Like little boys in the 1800s who are taught everything about the woods. And then I'm sitting there thinking, well, and you know what, maybe, hundreds who are taught everything about the woods. And then I'm sitting there thinking, well, and you know what, maybe kids in other parts

of the United States would do the same thing. Who are raised in the woods and hunting and gathering and fishing and doing all that stuff. Maybe they would wander into the woods. I guess can't base it on my own. I initially went to base it on mine. I was like, that's silly to base it on your own. But I see what you were. Cause I was just trying to figure out like,

why did they wander? And then I'm like, it kind of, it makes sense. It makes sense that they would. And I think they just got turned around. That's what it does sound like. They saw something cool. They both ran after it to go look. And then they realized, I don't know where we are.

Like we went off the path. It was just a simple. And they realize, I don't know where we are. Like we went off the path kind of thing. So it's still strange that no one, I'm like, did they hear people calling to them? Cause people went out immediately. Their own parents did, all the neighbors, the whole community screaming their names. Nobody heard them, they didn't hear anybody.

Like where, but again- That's the weird part. But I mean, I guess are the woods dense? That's exactly what I was saying. I was like, okay, maybe they are dense. So it's like, maybe it's one of those things where it just, we don't realize how the sound gets like muffled in that place. Like you think they're going to hear it, but it's like, if it's a canopy of, of trees,

it's going to keep that sound. It's like a Kigahara forest. It's like, it stifles all that sound. It's like a kigahara forest. It stifles all the sounds. Forests are fucking scary. They are. They're fucking terrifying. And also you're like, and then like the fires being lit and stuff.

I'm like, then I wonder, I'm like, did they try to get to those fires and they couldn't get to them? Maybe. It breaks your heart. But then the fact that they weren't very far from, I don't know. I don't know exactly how far they were, but I don't think they were as far as they thought they were. But obviously, the initial thought

is how the fuck did this guy know where these boys are? Oh, did people? Yeah, because they're not like, you manifested a dream, bro. That's crazy. I will say, at first, everybody was kind of like, what? I don't know. Which I feel like I want that. I might have the same reaction though. You're at least going to be like, wait a second.

And once it became clear though that they had died of exposure, that it was kind of one of those things where it's like, you can't argue that he did something. I mean, he died of exposure. It's not like there's any foul play here. He wouldn't just, this random farmer who's a father himself, wasn't going to lead these boys into the middle of the woods just to be like, bye. That doesn't seem like normal. So now it's kind of hard to argue anything but a prophetic dream.

But it's just, he saw it. He wanted to see it and he saw it. Three nights in a row. Three nights in a row and to see the dead deer, the fallen log, the child's just, he saw it. He wanted to see it and he saw it. Three nights in a row. Three nights in a row and see the dead deer, the fallen log, the child shoe, and then the birch tree. Every time. Every time. And that is the exact state.

And there's a plaque up. I mean, this is like real. This isn't like folklore. It's like this happened. And in fact, the reward money was given to Jacob and Harrison, the brother-in-law and the farmer, because they found the boys. I mean, yeah. And they immediately gave it back to Samuel and Susanna.

Are you kidding me? They said they wanted to help pay for the gravestone for the boys. Oh. So they didn't take a cent. So they're like good ass people. They're like good ass people. Like that's the thing. Like he literally.

Because I'm sure, like you were saying, this is like a pretty normal community. They could have used that money. That's the thing, that they are good dudes who just wanted this family to be able to pay for, to bury their children, which the boys were buried in a casket together. Oh. So they have one gravestone. Fucking ruined me, dude. Now, in 19 gravestone. Fucking ruined dude.

Now in 1906, the community came together again. Oh wow. They raised money, enough money for a few years later to have a completely like a rectum monument in for the boys on there. Wow. And it's placed right now in the exact site where Joseph and George were found.

Oh wow. Like the exact spot where the tree George were found. Oh, wow. Like the exact spot where the tree was. Oh, that's so haunting. I know. But like, it's really awesome that they did that. Yeah. And they all raised money to do it.

Wow. The community came together. Oh, that poor family. And on the monument is the story of the boys' tragic disappearance and deaths. And there's also a photo of Jacob Dibert. Oh, wow. story of the boys' tragic disappearance and deaths. And there's also a photo of Jacob Dibert. Oh, wow. Like this like a little sassy photo of him and his Sunday best, you know.

But imagine you're just like hiking and you see that and read that story. And you're like, this is where they found two little babies. Like the heaviness of that site. If any of you have been there, like tell me about it because I'm like, I can't imagine how heavy that would be. No. And people can travel there today. It's a place to see.

And there's always toys and flowers and such that people leave for the boys. We've all been there, turning to the internet to self-diagnose our inexplicable pains, debilitating body aches, sudden fevers, and strange rashes. Though our minds tend to spiral to worst-case scenarios, it's usually nothing, but for an unlucky few, these unsuspecting symptoms can start the clock ticking on a terrifying medical mystery. Like the unexplainable death of a retired firefighter, whose body was found at home by his son, except it looked

like he had been cremated. Or the time when an entire town started jumping from buildings and seeing tigers on their ceilings. Hey listeners, it's Mr. Bollin here, and I'm here to tell you about my podcast. It's called Mr. Bollin's Medical Mysteries. Each terrifying true story will be sure to keep you up at night. Follow Mr. Bolland's Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. Prime members can listen early and ad free on Amazon Music. But now there's also a structure built around the monument, like a roof and it has like a chain link fence around it.

Because humans are literally garbage and they have vandalized it before. Literally, what is wrong with people? And in fact- You've got to be real fucked up to vandalize a monument where a seven and a five year old were found dead. Like do some inner work. It does make you sit there and be like, well, it's, you see the two separate sides of humanity in this story. You see Jacob Dibert and the whole community coming together. Being like, let's give them the reward money.

And then you see piece of shit humans from 2000 and you know, whatever vandalizing the memorial that those people worked so hard to erect. Yeah, we love humans. Like we haven't done a whole lot of growing here. It seems like we're going backwards. It sure does. In fact, the sign leading to the monument says lost children memorial. It's a sign that says it.

It is literally riddled with bullet holes. That sign. What? Yeah. Assholes just shooting at the sign. Like do better people. What is wrong with you? Do fucking better. It's like, you're just like wasting your own shit and it's like ruin something. Did that do something for you? Did it do something for you to shoot at a sign that says lost children's memorial? You should go to therapy. Did you go home after that and talk to another human being

who didn't know that you had just done that? Like what the fuck is wrong with you? That's wild, that's truly wild. It's just like, that's really like just barbaric behavior. I'm like, you got to get it together. Or like chain yourself up away from society. That's a good plan. Nobody really wants you there.

It's just like, that's so gross to me. I don't understand people who do that shit. Now, in the area where the boys were found and where the memorial sits, people report a lot of strange feelings. They say very heavy there. People say they hear kids like giggling and they'll hear the kids talking. They'll hear kids like running around. At least you hear them like happy. Yeah. I hope they're just playing together in the woods.

Yeah. Like, you know, and people will like see if it snows, they'll see like footprints of little kids around the memorial. Yeah. So it's a some Blair Witch type shit. Oh yeah, sure. Now, also interestingly enough, a bluegrass song was written about this story called Jacob's Dream. Oh, cool. And it was written by John Pennell, Pennell, I think it is, and Julie Lee.

And it was performed by Alison Krauss about this tragedy. Wow. It's a gut wrenching song, to be honest. Sure. The chorus is written from the boys perspectives and I can't. Please don't. Yeah. I'm not even going to read them because I'll cry.

Yeah, I can't. You can look it up though. But Julie Lee, one of the writers said of the song, I am distantly related to Jacob Dibert on my mother's side by marriage. Oh shit. So all my relatives up in this small area of Bedford County, Pennsylvania in the Allegheny Mountains know this true story. Everyone in that area knows the story of the Lost Cox children or the Lost Children of

the Alleghenies. The Lost Children of the Alleghenies is such a haunting statement. Isn't it a haunting, haunting title? It really is. I can see why you were like, I need to know everything about this. Yeah. It just like, I was like, I need to know about this. And I'll give you like, because I know I was like, oh, the song and it's really sad.

And I'm not going to tell you anything about it. I'll give you a little bit. So, so the story, the song basically like tells the story. Yeah. And then the chorus is where they get to like the children's perspective. You're saying that to me. And the chorus says, I'm going to give you the last chorus because it's when they were found.

Okay. Because the other ones are like when they're saying like, why can't you hear our cries? I'm going to do a self soothing exercise while you do this. It says, Oh, mommy and daddy look past the tears you cry. We're both up in heaven now. God is by our side. As you lay us down to rest in the presence of the Lord, know that we will meet you here at heaven's door."

Oh my God. Isn't that just like gut wrenching? My body just went, Womp. That's just like, it's because they're babies. Like those are babies. I have chills everywhere.

Scared little babies. It's just like, oh. But the song is like a really, I have chills everywhere. Those scared little babies. I know. But the song is like a really, it's just like a retelling of what happens kind of thing. It's not like a really upsetting song in any other way. I think they did a proper tribute to it. Yeah. And that's a perfect way to say a tribute. Now the last little strange thing that I was like, huh.

Yeah. Now I'm like, Jacob DiBert, are you like a wizard? Like what is going on? So there is a story from 1887 that talks about a woman named Sydney Griffith, who left Portage, which is in the same area, and was walking home waiting to be picked up by her horse and buggy. And I think it was like her brother was coming to pick her up in the horse and buggy. She was wandering a bit.

She kind of like lost where she was on the trail and she got lost in the cedar swamps. She was gone, vanished without a trace. They could not find her. For two full days they searched, no one could find her. Same kind of trace. They could not find her. For two full days, they searched, no one could find her, same kind of thing, no sign of her whatsoever. And they were like, how the fuck did she wander off like that?

What happened? So they were thinking foul play. Someone kidnapped her. And on the second night, she was missing a man. Had a fucking dream. Dreamed about where to find her. And dreamed about where to find her, and dreamed about where to find her alive. What?

This man was Isaac Dibert, Jacob Dibert's son. What? Yes. I was like, Jake, Isaac. You're like, what the fuck? What the fuck? He led a rescue team to the area, and she was found alive and rescued.

Can you imagine, like, obviously he grew up his whole life hearing his story, his father's story. And then to have the exact same motherfucking powers. Yep. Do you believe in magic? What the fuck? Yeah. Oh my God.

Yep. Dude, that's nuts. Isn't that? I've read that last part and I was like, shut the front door. That's on some familial warlock shit. That's the thing. That's really cool. And people burned witches. Look what witches and warlocks are capable of, you stupid fucks.

Look at them doing it. I mean, they burned people that weren't even witches. Yeah, exactly. But it's like people like this who would, like him saying, I found them because I dreamed three nights in a row of where they were, was pretty ballsy to the waltzy of him to be quite honest. I mean, he had no other thing to say. He was like, I don't know how else I would have stumbled upon them.

I'm going to be on. And look at that guy just being honest. He's like, I dreamed't know how else I would have stumbled upon them. I'm going to be on. And look at that guy, just being honest. He's like, I dreamed about it and here they are. And he was also like, Jacob was like devastated to find them. He was like, I didn't. And then like for a little while he was like, when I said I wanted to find them, like I wanted to find them alive for their parents. Like he didn't want to manifest them being dead and finding them somewhere, you know,

like, so he was like devastated to find them. And everybody that was there said he protected those boys' bodies until the parents came. That's incredible. Like stood over them, guarding them. That's a straight up hero. Yeah. And it's like, that's fucking crazy though. Imagine that's your dad.

That's your dad. Imagine your dad did that. And then you do that. And then you do that. And it's kind of like beautiful too that like, first of all, he was ever able to do it, but then that that woman was found alive. Yeah. And his dad like always felt sad that he hadn't found those kids alive. He wanted to find them alive. And it's like, oh, it just, it got me. That's bonkers, bro. It just got me. Like this story, first of all, it's tragic. It's just so sad to think of these two little boys.

And it also like kind of taught me not to look at a situation in this timeframe kind of thing and through my own lens. Because my initial first reaction was trying to figure out how these boys got lost. And I was like, no, why does seven year old and a five year old run into the woods? That's wild behavior. But I'm like, no, that was normal behavior for these boys. Like I'm sure this was not a thing that they were worried about. And you just have to think like you were saying earlier, like region to region is so different.

Absolutely. Back then in the region, in the place that they were living, they're living on like a mountain. You know what I mean? Like in the forest, that's all they know. It's not like they're just walking down the road. It's like they're in the middle that they were living, they're living on like a mountain. You know what I mean? Like in the forest, that's all they know. It's not like they're just walking down the road. It's like they're in the middle of a forest. They want to go anywhere. They're going through a forest.

So these boys were probably very confident and the parents were probably pretty confident. I'm also like, what did the dad find in the forest? I know. I'm like, did you find... He had thought that maybe the dog had like found like a, it could have been like, you know, some kind of box or a squirrel or something that they could eat. I suppose. But what's going on in that forest? I don't know.

He didn't seem upset about what he found in the forest. Like he didn't come out and be like, Oh my God, I found a mythical beast. What if he didn't find anything though? Yeah, we don't know. Maybe I know. I'm like, what was the dog freaking out about? That's what I mean. Yeah.

Because it's just like, they freak out at animals. There was no foul play here. So it's like, or no foul play that they found here. Yeah. So it's like, we also have to look at it as it's the middle of the forest in Pennsylvania in 1856. I'm like, did they not know that there was foul play? Did they miss something?

Oh God. I hope not. I hope not. And that's not me being like, somebody killed those kids. No. Like I think they genuinely, I think, unfortunately- Got turned around. And very tragically died of exposure.

I really do. I think it was hypothermia. What a strange story though. But the story just, I know it's like a shorter one and just kind of strange, but it felt like one that I was like, I just got to talk to you guys about this. Well, and every now and then people like a shorter episode to like, you know, just ponder a strange story. This is for your drive home. You're welcome. You know, hopefully you pulled in your driveway, go hug somebody that you love. Eat a good dinner inside. Yeah. Or outside

if you prefer. Just don't go running into the forest. And then be a good neighbor. Yeah, we're outside if you prefer. Just don't go running into the forest and then be a good neighbor. Yeah. And don't pull up people's floorboards because that's absolutely insane. Yeah. Insane. That's insane. Madison, Madison, Madison. And I guess there's like a lot of reports where like the neighbor who pulled up the floorboards is named as like, I think Charlie Ross. But from what I've read, don't go after Charlie Ross hundreds of years later, because I don't think, I think he was mistakenly identified as being the guy who did it. Oh, how shitty is that? But I just wanted to throw that out there in case you come across that. I think it's a case of mistaken identity.

So send your bad vibes his way. Don't besmirch Charlie Ross just yet, you know? We don't know. We don't know about him. Things got lost through the great vines of centuries. It's been a little while. It does happen. But just in case you come across that, just like take it with a grain of salt.

For old Charlie Ross. Damn. Yeah, it's a crazy story. It's a sad story. Poor Samuel and Susanna. Poor everyone in this. Just breaks my damn heart. I know.

It really does. But yeah, that's the story of the lost children of the Alleghenies, Joseph and George Cox. There's a spooky, strange story for you. We hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. And do keep it so weird that you have prophetic dreams because that's fucking baller. That is baller. Go Jacob. Generational prophetic dreams! I'm sorry. Excuse me.

Whoa. Excuse me. Whoa. I'm going to put that at the end. Elena's being weird. If you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. She was a romance mystery writer. They glommed on the fact that she writes stories like this. There are murders in all of the books. From Wondery, the makers of Ghost Story, and Feta, this is a story about a murder that rocked my little community.

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