TN TN - Dennis Martin, 6, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 14 June 1969

[Suglo]

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[Savemecastiel]

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[PommyMommy]

MAR 27, 2021
Vanishing of boy remains largest scale hunt for missing persons in Smokies | WKRN News 2
[...]

The hunt for Dennis Martin, 6, remains the largest scale search for a missing person in the Smokies.

[...]

According to former GSMNP deputy superintendent Clay Jordan, Dennis, his brother, and friends decided to hide, then sneak up on the adults.

They were back country camping at the Spence Field area, when Dennis hid behind a shelter. That was the last time he was seen.

“Just within minutes, literally, his father and other adults started searching for Dennis,” Jordan explained, “With no luck.”

[...]

Around 1,400 volunteers looked for Dennis, including hundreds from the National Guard and Federal Troops. The missing case even peaked the interest of the White House and FBI.

At one point, his family did offer a $5,000 reward. But, investigators said there was no credible indication of an abduction.

[...]

The massive search for Dennis helped develop a new science for search and rescue efforts. “We know looking through today’s lens that just throwing a lot of people out in the woods – in the end – is not the best way to try and find somebody,” said Jordan. “We had a lot of people out in the woods trampling clues.”

[...]

Despite no sign of the boy for 16 days, his family scoured the park for years following the mysterious vanishing. “Old man Clyde was out searching for that boy,” McCarter remembered. “We would meet him on the Appalachian Trail, and he’d search and search – one year, two years, four years later he was still searching.”

[...]

Dennis Martin has never been found.

 

[MajorHoople]

Vanishing Of Boy Remains Largest Scale Hunt For Missing Persons In Smokies

from WKRN - Mar 26, 2021

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[neesaki]

DM’s File from the FBI vault.

Dennis Martin Part 01 of 01

vault.fbi.gov

 

[Betty P]

DM’s File from the FBI vault.

Dennis Martin Part 01 of 01

vault.fbi.gov

Thanks!

I feel badly for Dennis' parents. From what I've read so far, the file reveals the FBI did a minimal investigation and wasn't much help to the family. On page 26, there's a letter from the parents to their Congressman stating that, when asked to explain the basic details about Dennis' disappearance, the FBI agent repeated incorrect information. The local FBI agents didn't even have their details right about where it happened, the time, the people who were there. The Martin's also pointed out the special agent in charge hadn't even shown up at the place where Dennis went missing, nor didn't interview any of the family or other witnesses.

Instead of trying to re-do the investigation or update themselves on the facts of the case, the agents in charge simply blamed the Martins (see pages prior to p. 26), saying they didn't listen to them because the Martins were only asking the FBI to follow up on leads from psychics. That's terrible. The local FBI didn't even try to become familiar with the details of the case, yet they were the ones who were supposed to be in charge. They claimed unless someone else came up with evidence there was a crime involved, they would not conduct an investigation.

JMO, it still seems unlikely Dennis met with foul play. The evening he went missing, there was a heavy rain of 2 and 1/2 inches that washed a lot of water through the area, causing mud slides and flooded streams. It was such a remote area, the closest park ranger station was 7 miles away and could only be accessed on foot from the spot where the family was camping. They were out in the back country of the park.

 

[jetsfanjohn]

A very sad case. My own thoughts are that there was probable a bit of 'low level' bullying going on between the kids when Dennis was told to hide in a different direction.

Sadly, I think he just got lost in the woods. It seems too remote for a human predator to be just loitering in the area. I think the shoe print they found near the river was almost certainly his.

I think the "hairy" man and shrieking noise are both red herrings. At seven miles away, it just seems to much of a distance given the time frame.

JMO.

 

[Ozoner]

A very sad case. My own thoughts are that there was probable a bit of 'low level' bullying going on between the kids when Dennis was told to hide in a different direction.

Sadly, I think he just got lost in the woods. It seems too remote for a human predator to be just loitering in the area. I think the shoe print they found near the river was almost certainly his.

I think the "hairy" man and shrieking noise are both red herrings. At seven miles away, it just seems to much of a distance given the time frame.

JMO.

I hear a shriek in the woods every time an owl kills a rabbit.

I am conviced that the child-size skeleton found by the ginseng poacher was Dennis.

I consider the case to be as close to solved as it will ever be.

I think that the conspiracy theories are coming from people who haven't spent much time in the woods and don't realize how easy it is to get lost.

Also, some podcasters like to keep the idle rumors going for the sake of attention/views/likes.

 

[jetsfanjohn]

I hear a shriek in the woods every time an owl kills a rabbit.

I am conviced that the child-size skeleton found by the ginseng poacher was Dennis.

I consider the case to be as close to solved as it will ever be.

I think that the conspiracy theories are coming from people who haven't spent much time in the woods and don't realize how easy it is to get lost.

Also, some podcasters like to keep the idle rumors going for the sake of attention/views/likes.

It's a shame that the skeleton could not be retrieved. Too much time had passed. I too think that it was Dennis and there is not really too much of a mystery to be seen here.

Realistically, who else could it have been. I believe it was found approx 3 miles from where Dennis went missing.

 

[Ciriii57]

Hi everyone! Some great research on this thread. I just wanted to chime in with some further information on a couple of points that people may not be aware of.

First, it has been mentioned that shortly before Dennis' disapperance a bear had been freed from a feral pig trap, telling us that there were pig traps in the area during this time. Now, a pig trap can consist of a simple cage (and nowadays usually is) and that would cause no problems. However, there is another kind which is used especially in illegal trapping, and may have been at this early date too. Basically you dig a big hole in the ground (depressingly similar to a grave) and cover it with foliage and maybe some food. The pig falls in and can't get out. Normally a person would be able to clamber out, but I honestly don't know with a small child. Add to this the fact that it rained so heavily and the sides could have been so slippery that he couldn't climb out. He may have gotten stuck and who knows what may have washed into the trap with the rain (mud, plants, branches and water) either covering him or drowning him. It's unlikely he would have survived very long in those conditions. With all the activity going on, if it was an illegal trap then the trappers just might never have returned to check them and eventaully it may have just looked like another depression in the ground which searchers would have missed.

The second point is about foortprints in mud. Basically when you step in mud and then step out there is a sort of vacuum effect and the sides of the print will sort of suck in, this will make the shoe print actually appear smaller than the shoe. This was discovered recently in a forensics case in the UK, I can't find the link but here is another link to an interetsing PDF about the affects of water on footprints:
https://jefsr.uwindsor.ca/index.php/jefsr/article/view/6739/5350

What this means basically is that it is possible that the foorprint was made by an adult, especially after the effectgs of degredations by the rain. This still doesn't explain though why there was only one shoeprint and another was a bare footprint and it still seems likely that Dennis made the prints after having lost his shoe. Although it is odd that the missing shoe was never recovered by searchers.

Well I just wated to add these facts. Reading everything about this case I must say I am of the opinion that Dennis tragically got lost and probably was injured or overpowered by nature.

 

[dotr]

May 30 2023

6 oldest missing persons cases in East Tennessee

The youngest individual went missing at 6 years old and the oldest was 46. In one case, if the person was found today, they would be 102 years old. Here is what is known about each case.

www.wate.com

''Dennis Lloyd Martin​

NamUs says Martin’s family was visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when he went missing at 6 years old. On Saturday, June 14, 1969, he was playing Hide and Seek between 2-4 p.m. in Spence Field, near the Appalachian Trail. The profile says he disappeared behind a bush in the area and was never seen again.

According to Google Maps, the field lies very close to the North Carolina border. NamUs says the case was contributed to by both the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Extensive searches of the area were done, but they were unable to find any evidence of his whereabouts.

Photos and an age progression of Dennis Lloyd Martin. (NamUs)

When he went missing, Martin was wearing a red T-shirt, green shorts, white socks, and oxford shoes. He had dark brown, wavy hair and brown eyes. NamUs also attached an age progression to his profile from 2014 showing what he might have looked like at age 51. If he were found today, he would be 60 years old.''

 

[tarabull]

The mystery of missing persons in America’s National Parks

Many of the missing are eventually found, though not always alive.

www.wdtn.com

 

[sasha17]

This case reminds me so much of Bobby Panknin, age 4, who vanished off a trail near his family's campsite in Washington state in 1963.

WA - WA - Bobby Panknin, 4, Stevens County, 3 August 1963

Bobby Panknin was last seen on a hiking trip with his mother, Edna, and two brothers, Jim (age 6) and Bill (age 10), near their campsite at the now-closed Deep Lake Resort in Stevens County. Bill left the logging road they were walking on to check out a creek and Edna followed him, telling Jim...

www.websleuths.com

 

[spartanx]

What a sad case... 6 year old baby alone and scared... I guess he ended up turning around on his way back to camp and got hopelessly lost... In a panic to find someone, he may have been able to walk away long before succumbing to the elements... This doesn't seem like much of an abduction to me. Just a very sad accident....
either way
rest in peace

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Dennis Lloyd Martin – The Charley Project

 

[rotter_02]

I've been collecting all the information available on this case; I was wondering if anybody has found a better copy or transcript of the letter from Mrs. Donald M. Martin to President Nixon? I'm having a lot of trouble reading the original copy.

For context:
The letter I'm referencing is in the FOIA National Park Service upload, starting on page 66 out of 86

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/1969_GRSM_DennisMartin_dissapearance_REDACTED.pdf

 

[rotter_02]

Was also wondering how many folks have read the FBI case file on Dennis Martin? It was released in 2022 due to author Michael Bouchard making repeated FOIA requests. He was also repeatedly denied.

There is a very interesting bit at the end dated in 1978 where the FBI is investigating a claim from an inmate saying he knew a man in prison who had told him that he kidnapped Dennis Martin and sold him.

A lot of it is redacted, so it is difficult to parse through that part. However, I find it interesting that almost 10 years after they routinely refused to investigate his case due to there not being evidence of kidnapping, they may have found the person who did it.

I don't know if it leads anywhere because it's hard to understand the information with so many bits missing, but I thought I would mention it in this thread since the last post before me was posted before the case file was released.

Here's the link to the FBI vault case file:

Dennis Martin Part 01 of 01

vault.fbi.gov

 

[neesaki]

Was also wondering how many folks have read the FBI case file on Dennis Martin? It was released in 2022 due to author Michael Bouchard making repeated FOIA requests. He was also repeatedly denied.

There is a very interesting bit at the end dated in 1978 where the FBI is investigating a claim from an inmate saying he knew a man in prison who had told him that he kidnapped Dennis Martin and sold him.

A lot of it is redacted, so it is difficult to parse through that part. However, I find it interesting that almost 10 years after they routinely refused to investigate his case due to there not being evidence of kidnapping, they may have found the person who did it.

I don't know if it leads anywhere because it's hard to understand the information with so many bits missing, but I thought I would mention it in this thread since the last post before me was posted before the case file was released.

Here's the link to the FBI vault case file:

Dennis Martin Part 01 of 01

vault.fbi.gov

I’ve always believed he was kidnapped. The car that sped away….

 

[rotter_02]

I’ve always believed he was kidnapped. The car that sped away….

Are you referring to the car that sped away after Harold Key heard a scream and witnessed a man hiding in the bushes?