Found Deceased GA - David Blake, 25, Kennesaw National Battlefield Park, 8 March 2018

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JerseyGirl said:
New information in the case of a missing Cobb County hiker is giving his family hope in the search that has stretched on for almost two months. March 8, 25-year-old David Blake disappeared while hiking on Kennesaw Mountain.

http://www.11alive.com/article/news...ent-missing-on-kennesaw-mountain/85-547463377
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Now, family is releasing two new pictures in hopes of jogging people's memories. One new clue, the backpack seen in the photo below.
Mitchell said after taking a full inventory of all of Blake's belongings, they couldn't find it. That either means he has it with him, or someone else has it.
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Interesting it was said his hiking pack was left behind in the car, but that news clip specifically says his backpack is missing. The photo shown in the clip is definitely a hiking pack meant for overnight camping/hiking. That pack could easily carry enough for a 5+ day trip and with a water purification setup of some sort and dry foods, even longer.

Which brings me to my next question-
If that pack wasn't left behind, was it only his keys that were left behind or was there another pack in the car? If it was only the keys, then I don't find that weird at all. I leave my keys behind when we do long hikes/camping trips, just because I don't want to lose them and they do me no good in my pack (and add extra weight when every ounce counts). I do hide mine, but it's not uncommon for me to leave my vehicle unlocked either . I'd rather not come out days later to find a bunch of busted windows.
 
New photo:
a1efcb275939562e1bad2e8526301514.jpg

https://www.facebook.com/11Alive/posts/10155512455230496
 
Hoosier952 said:
Interesting it was said his hiking pack was left behind in the car, but that news clip specifically says his backpack is missing. The photo shown in the clip is definitely a hiking pack meant for overnight camping/hiking. That pack could easily carry enough for a 5+ day trip and with a water purification setup of some sort and dry foods, even longer.

Which brings me to my next question-
If that pack wasn't left behind, was it only his keys that were left behind or was there another pack in the car? If it was only the keys, then I don't find that weird at all. I leave my keys behind when we do long hikes/camping trips, just because I don't want to lose them and they do me no good in my pack (and add extra weight when every ounce counts). I do hide mine, but it's not uncommon for me to leave my vehicle unlocked either . I'd rather not come out days later to find a bunch of busted windows.
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I at one point considered that he might of had keys on him and that was an extra set and he forgot to lock his car. You do make good points tho.
 
I was so focused on Jennifer Marshell White that I missed the very case that brought me here.

If that pack wasn't left behind, was it only his keys that were left behind or was there another pack in the car?
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Addressing the pack question, it seems to me that his day pack was left in the car-- the one that he was known to take on short hikes. And by carefully going through all his belongings, they discovered that his large hiking/camping backpack was missing.

Did David leave on his own-- on foot? Someone with a good knowledge of the area, and a lot of physical endurance could probably walk out the far northern suburbs of Atlanta. In fact, I think I could pick out a theoretical map to do it although never at any point in my life was I in the physical shape to pull that off. But once free of the tentacles of Atlanta, what then? There's actually a lot of state and federal wilderness starting in north Georgia, stretching up into North Carolina/Tennessee/South Carolina.

He was known to like to go off camping on his own.

One last edit: shades of Christopher McCandless?
 
Aescwynn said:
Addressing the pack question, it seems to me that his day pack was left in the car-- the one that he was known to take on short hikes. And by carefully going through all his belongings, they discovered that his large hiking/camping backpack was missing.

Did David leave on his own-- on foot? Someone with a good knowledge of the area, and a lot of physical endurance could probably walk out the far northern suburbs of Atlanta. In fact, I think I could pick out a theoretical map to do it although never at any point in my life was I in the physical shape to pull that off. But once free of the tentacles of Atlanta, what then? There's actually a lot of state and federal wilderness starting in north Georgia, stretching up into North Carolina/Tennessee/South Carolina.

He was known to like to go off camping on his own.

One last edit: shades of Christopher McCandless?
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I figured it was his day pack left behind, but reports didn't make it overly clear. While leaving it behind might invite a thief, I don't find leaving a daypack behind odd if he took his frame pack with him.

What I do find odd is taking a frame pack into a park that isn't open to overnight hikers/campers. Not that one can't break the rules and stay overnight, but the park isn't really THAT huge and I'd think one would have a hard time hiding their presence anywhere in the park, especially after days of searches. Any of the trails there could be tackled in a day, even if you took the entire loop. Not hardly a frame pack hiking experience.

I don't think that park was his destination at all.
 
Hoosier952 said:
I figured it was his day pack left behind, but reports didn't make it overly clear. While leaving it behind might invite a thief, I don't find leaving a daypack behind odd if he took his frame pack with him.

What I do find odd is taking a frame pack into a park that isn't open to overnight hikers/campers. Not that one can't break the rules and stay overnight, but the park isn't really THAT huge and I'd think one would have a hard time hiding their presence anywhere in the park, especially after days of searches. Any of the trails there could be tackled in a day, even if you took the entire loop. Not hardly a frame pack hiking experience.

I don't think that park was his destination at all.
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Me, either. The bloodhounds lost their scent at Stilesboro Road and Mossy Rock Roads. David could have easily and quickly hiked to that spot from the parking lot and from there, perhaps have hitchhiked out. There are plenty of semi-trucks on Stilesboro who might pick up a hitchhiker with a big backpack.
 
A couple of things from when I talked to my sister in law yesterday:

- she says Blake's mother agrees that he "definitely" left on purpose, and (optimistically, IMO-- which makes me sad) thinks that maybe he's off doing some extravagant original research for one of his writing projects.
- the family thinks that he hopped a train out of the area. There are tracks that run roughly parallel to Stilesboro Road and cross Mossy Rock Road, and the dogs lost the scent much closer to the tracks than to the actual intersection of Stilesboro and Mossy Rock. The trains often slow down through there because there are a lot of children in the area.
 
siliconrod said:
I agree that David planned his departure but not sure why and why would he cut-off communications with friends and family.
Is this some type of Call of the Wild moment for him. I would like to know what type of research he was doing before leaving.
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It's a (wishful thinking?) guess on their part that is what is going on.

He is a writer. In the past, he would often go off on camping trips on his own to write. However, as I understand it it, never has he left without telling them where he's going and how long he'll be gone, so if this is what is going on ("research"), it is highly uncharacteristic of him.
 
Checking on David. You are not forgotten. [emoji259]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
How widespread was media coverage when David first went missing? Did it ever expand outside of the Atlanta area?

I honestly think if he was on some long hike trying to research or clear his head, someone would have run into him by now. Whether restocking his food supply or on a trail somewhere. But if no one knows he's missing from outside of the area, no one would give it a second thought. He likely also looks nothing like his pictures anymore. He's not getting haircuts and shaving his face while he's out there.

My gut says he left with no intention of returning, but took his pack so he had a few days to clear his mind or change his mind. I don't think someone who had just missed two days of work from not feeling well physically would be planning a long multi-day hike. I think it points more to a mental health issue.

The only thing that gives me pause is his love of survival methods/skills. If he took supplies with intentions of using/testing these skills, he might be holed up somewhere off the beaten path. It would be nice to know if he took specific routes on his longer hikes or if he was attached to some place he'd found on one of those hikes.
 
I gave the detective and David's brother information about all the motion detection cameras on the Appalachian Trail and how to contact the person that runs this. They had no idea about these cameras. These cameras are there for animal tracking website they take pics and film anything in there path they go up and down the whole trial. Since this info was given nothing was done to even check very shady if they think David is on the AT for some reason. This guy had to leave but why. I think he joined a cult.
 
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