CA CA - Stacy Arras, 14, Yosemite National Park, 17 Jul 1981

[JSolt1210]

I haven’t been in this area per se but my brother and sister have. They both have said they could see how someone could get lost and not be found. Hiking the back country has become super popular in the last 10-15 years so there are many more people up there in the summers than when she went missing in 1981. My brother used to go up there with friends for 1-2 weeks in the early 80s and wouldn’t come across another person the whole time.

There’s a good article about a ranger who went missing in a national park just south of where she went missing. They didn’t find his remains for almost five years.

https://www.backpacker.com/survival...y-ranger-with-28-years-experience-disappeared

Thanks for sharing that article, as well as your siblings' thoughts on the case. They definitely support the reality that these areas are dangerous even for experienced hikers!

I feel like she dropped her camera lens and while looking for it, she fell through a hidden hole or crevice in the ground, or behind some thick bushes. She was knocked out or even killed on impact, and the area obscured her body. That's why she didn't call for help or respond to anyone looking for her, and why no one saw her. I think she's relatively close by to where she was last seen, but sadly was just overlooked.

 

[SAMS]

Thanks for sharing that article, as well as your siblings' thoughts on the case. They definitely support the reality that these areas are dangerous even for experienced hikers!

I feel like she dropped her camera lens and while looking for it, she fell through a hidden hole or crevice in the ground, or behind some thick bushes. She was knocked out or even killed on impact, and the area obscured her body. That's why she didn't call for help or respond to anyone looking for her, and why no one saw her. I think she's relatively close by to where she was last seen, but sadly was just overlooked.

This makes so much sense to me.

 

[SAMS]

I haven’t been in this area per se but my brother and sister have. They both have said they could see how someone could get lost and not be found. Hiking the back country has become super popular in the last 10-15 years so there are many more people up there in the summers than when she went missing in 1981. My brother used to go up there with friends for 1-2 weeks in the early 80s and wouldn’t come across another person the whole time.

There’s a good article about a ranger who went missing in a national park just south of where she went missing. They didn’t find his remains for almost five years.

https://www.backpacker.com/survival...y-ranger-with-28-years-experience-disappeared

Ty for sharing...

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Stacy, today is her birthday.

 

[ekardh]

Thanks for sharing that article, as well as your siblings' thoughts on the case. They definitely support the reality that these areas are dangerous even for experienced hikers!

I feel like she dropped her camera lens and while looking for it, she fell through a hidden hole or crevice in the ground, or behind some thick bushes. She was knocked out or even killed on impact, and the area obscured her body. That's why she didn't call for help or respond to anyone looking for her, and why no one saw her. I think she's relatively close by to where she was last seen, but sadly was just overlooked.

Sounds plausible and more than likely.

Crazy to think her remains are still there, somewhere, waiting to be found. Although I don't know what sort of condition they would be in after all this time.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Name: Stacey Anne Arras

Missing from: Yosemite National Park

Date Missing: July 17, 1981

Description: Arras was 14 years old when she went missing. White female, 5'05" tall, 120 pounds, blond shoulder-length hair (naturally straight). Last seen wearing a white pullover windbreaker, white jersey blouse with a square neckline and lace trim, shorts with vertical half-inch maroon and white stripes and intermittent sky-blue pinstripes, gray hiking boots (rough outer leather and Vibram soles), gold-tone anklet, and a retainer on her upper teeth.

Case Info: Arras began a four-day trip with her father on the High Sierra Loop at Tuolumne Meadows. They were part of a group of 10 people riding mules to the Sunrise High Sierra Camp. The group arrived at Sunrise at about 3:00 pm on July 17, 1981. After settling in to her cabin and taking a shower, Arras began a 1.5-mile hike along the trail to Sunrise Lakes. She intended to hike with a 77-year-old man who was part of the group that rode to Sunrise that day. Before getting far along the trail, the man became tired and sat down to rest. The guide who led the ride to Sunrise was working at the corral and noticed Arras standing on a rock about 50 yards south of the trail. The guide was reportedly the last person to see Arras.

Cold Cases - Investigative Services (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping.

 

[theshadow45]

Stacy has been missing for 39 years today.

 

[Wild Rose]

Reading this case makes me wonder, how could there be no tracks, if they knew her camera lens was found? Wouldn't there be tracks to the camera lens? Also, the idea that the group was going on horseback and no one disappeared until they got to cabins, really makes me wonder, was there a squatter in the cabins that was surprised during by their arrival? Did they fingerprint the cabins at all? When you are in the woods, and you see a cabin, that is where a human would be.

 

[Cryptic]

Also, the idea that the group was going on horseback and no one disappeared until they got to cabins, really makes me wonder, was there a squatter in the cabins that was surprised during by their arrival?

The subject of squatters came up regarding a then missing person in the Grand Canyon National Park.

A very experienced hiker and National Parks enthusiast stated that rangers regularly patrol for and quickly evict squatters from even the back country portions of National Parks. He also implied that Rangers do not tolerate creativity regarding bending of say, camping regulations that would lead to "de facto" squatting either.

I think this policy regarding National Parks has been in effect for a long time and the presence of a very, very small number of exceptions are well known to rangers. For example, it took a Court decision to grandfather the presence of about four people on isolated homesteads in a Minnesota National Park.

Even then, the Court decision was very restrictive. The people had to prove continuous presence for decades, the grandfathering applied to only them as individuals, they could not make any improvements etc. When these individuals passed away or left, their cabins were to be torn down immediately. Likewise, a documentary that I saw on a very isolated Alaskan National Park stated that even there, Rangers patrolled for squatters and the five or so people with residency permits had similar conditions to the ones in Minnesota.

As a side note, State and National forests as well as BLM land can be a very different story regarding the presence of squatters- a certain number of whom are permanently fogged on alcohol or drugs

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Stacy, today is her birthday.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

For those with a NamUs account, does she have any rules-outs from Jane Does found anywhere near the park? (Do they list those or do they only list the names on the JD pages? I'm thinking of the one mentioned earlier in the thread.)

 

[Suglo]

For those with a NamUs account, does she have any rules-outs from Jane Does found anywhere near the park? (Do they list those or do they only list the names on the JD pages? I'm thinking of the one mentioned earlier in the thread.)

She has seven rule outs on NAMUS:

UP15630
07/03/1984
Cuyahoga
OH

UP7690
09/11/2005
Orange
CA

UP12683
06/06/2014
Newport News
VA

UP6796
11/18/1985
Alleghany
VA

UP6661
02/03/1991
Stafford
VA

UP6629
02/03/1991
Frederick
VA

UP6642
08/07/1986
Chesterfield
VA

ETA: It doesn’t look like there are any rule outs from anyone found remotely close to Yosemite.
Also her first name is spelled Stacey in Namus.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping.

 

[Ozoner]

Reading this case makes me wonder, how could there be no tracks, if they knew her camera lens was found? Wouldn't there be tracks to the camera lens? Also, the idea that the group was going on horseback and no one disappeared until they got to cabins, really makes me wonder, was there a squatter in the cabins that was surprised during by their arrival? Did they fingerprint the cabins at all? When you are in the woods, and you see a cabin, that is where a human would be.

In a lower, wetter area, you might expect to see visible footprints, but there might not be any up where she was.

While it's possible that she fell into a hole or crevice, as @JSolt1210 mentioned, it's more likely that she simply got lost. She may have tried to follow a bird or animal in order to take a picture of it.

It's easy to get lost very quickly in deep woods. I've gotten lost in the woods more than once, so I can tell you how it goes.

The moment you first realize that you're lost, you're struck with a feeling of panic. You make your best guess on which way you think you came from, and start to head in that direction at a hurried pace. If you picked the wrong way, you end up more lost than you were before. It doesn't take long to be quite far from where you're supposed to be. At no time did I ever think about calling for help. My only thought was, "I have to find my way back."

I've been fortunate. In one case, I was lost in woods that weren't that big—maybe about 200 acres—and I eventually got to a road (nowhere close to where I had intended go). Another time I found a stream and followed it until it hit a trail.

In the woods, you can't walk in a straight path; people tend to veer to the right over and over again, and they end up walking in circles. In some cases I've avoided getting too lost by making a conscious decision to go back and forth between veering left and veering right (which wouldn't help me much in an area as remote as the area that Stacy was in).

Stacy could have been half a mile from the cabins and out of earshot before she even realized that she was lost. Within half an hour, she could have been two miles away. People who lean towards foul play in this case just don't realize how easy it is to get lost out in the woods.

 

[Alleykins]

I agree, Ozoner. It is easy to get lost in the woods/wilderness. And folks don't realize how far off the beaten path they can get in a short amount of time, in addition to walking in circles. If you haven't watched the Missing 411 movies by Dave Paulides, they're a real eye opener. The first one is free on YouTube and well worth the watch. One thing I've learned from them is folks, including children, can cover a large distance in a short amount of time, and have been found miles and miles away from their point of origin or separation.

 

[Alleykins]

Today, Dave Paulides posted a video on Youtube about Stacy's case, but it's more about his difficulties obtaining her case file from the National Park Service and filming permits for Yosemite, not a lot of info about her actual case. I didn't know it, but it's illegal to film videos in our national parks without permission, which he was denied.
I learned her case is considered a missing persons case, not a criminal case, and that it's over 2000 pages. Her father also insisted she change out of sandals and into hiking boots before she headed out, which she did.

 

[ekardh]

Today, Dave Paulides posted a video on Youtube about Stacy's case, but it's more about his difficulties obtaining her case file from the National Park Service and filming permits for Yosemite, not a lot of info about her actual case. I didn't know it, but it's illegal to film videos in our national parks without permission, which he was denied.
I learned her case is considered a missing persons case, not a criminal case, and that it's over 2000 pages. Her father also insisted she change out of sandals and into hiking boots before she headed out, which she did.

Is he still implying she was taken by Bigfoot?

 

[Alleykins]

Is he still implying she was taken by Bigfoot?

No, LOL

 

[beubeubeu]

Is he still implying she was taken by Bigfoot?

And when exactly he did implied that to cause you wonder if it changed?