In this post, I am going to argue that this phenomenon is caused by fae, or fairies. Fae are generally said to kidnap or coax people into the Land of Faerie where, depending on the type, they may throw lavish festivals for the human, or enslave and/or feed off the person. Sometimes both.
I'm certain that it is not literal fairies. I think fairies is representative to beings that are multidimensional. Possibly connected to D.U.M.B.S and the aliens that inhabit underground.
Kidnapping these people doing experiments of some sort. This post just shows that these multidimensional beings have done this for a long time for an unknown purpose. From now on I will be attributing Missing 411 cases and Farie folklore.
I'll be pulling quotes from 'The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries', by W.Y. Evans-Wentz. This book was published in 1911, long before David Paulides started investigating this phenomenon.
Time of Disappearance:
In 'Missing 411 – The Hunted', Paulides claims that most disappearances happen in the mid-to-late evening.
This is similar to fairy folklore, in that fae are said to walk the earth during or after sunset, which obviously occurs in mid-late evening.
"Generally, the fairies are to be seen after or about sunset, and walk on the ground as we do, whereas the hosts travel in the air above places inhabited by people. The hosts used to go after the fall of night, and more particularly about midnight. You'd hear them going in fine weather against a wind like a covey of birds." (p.108)
A theory behind this is that the veil between our world and the land of Faerie is weaker during sunset, due to it being a time of change. If fae are kidnapping people, this would be the prime time.
Disappearances near Boulder Fields:
One of the biggest clues in this phenomenon is that people go missing around boulder and granite fields.
In fairy folklore, fae apparently like to build their houses near large piles of stones.
"A heap of stones in a field should not be disturbed, though needed for building–especially if they are part of an ancient tumulus. The fairies are said to live inside the pile, and to move the stones would be most unfortunate." (pg. 38)
Once again, if fae are kidnapping people, basically wandering into their homes would obviously result in a higher-then-usual chance of kidnapping.
Canines can't track:
Paulides claims that canines are unable to track the missing people, or get confused quickly. This point is a tad specific, but I still think I've found something to support this.
"In the neighbouring mountains there are long caverns which no man has dared to penetrate to the end, and even dogs, it is said, have been put in them never to emerge, or else to come out miles away."(pg. 45)
Upon entering these caves, the dogs end up miles away or simply disappear. This sounds like a similar to people in the missing 411 phenomenon, as most victims either disappear or end up somewhere completely unrelated.
This also may be a result of the dogs getting confused, or unsuccessfully trying to track something, similar to most canine crews when looking for a missing 411 case.
Disappearances near water, disappearances in foggy/misty weather, brightly colored objects:
Paulides states that people tend to go missing near water, and that bad weather may be present during or immediately after a disappearance.
In fairy folklore, some faeries are said to live beneath lakes, and come out during poor weather.
Some fairies and similar beings are said to even have control over the weather, which would explain the sudden storms immediately after disappearances.
"In the neighborhood of Snowdon the fairies were believed to live beneath the lakes, from which they sometimes came forth, especially on misty days, and children used to be warned not to stray away from their homes in that sort of weather, lest they should be kidnapped by them. These fairies were not Christians, and they were great thieves. They were fond of bright colours. They were sharp of hearing, and no word that reached the wind would escape them." (pg. 136-137)
Fae living in bodies of water and coming out to kidnap people during poor weather would fit the bill of many of these encounters.
In addition, this passage states that the fae like bright colors. I seem to recall reading something about Missing 411, in which people wearing bright colors seem to disappear more often.
Another quote in the book claims that certain spirits in America seems to have control over the weather.
"In the New World, we find in the North American Red Men a race as much given as the Celts are to a belief in various spirits like fairies. They believe that there are spirits in lakes, in rivers and in waterfalls, in rocks and trees, in the earth and in the air ; and that these beings produce storms, droughts, good and bad harvests, abun dance and scarcity of game, disease, and the varying fortunes of men." (pg. 228)
The mastery over weather described here would account for the sudden storms during and after disappearances in many American cases.
Living people found in a dazed/confused state, people/remains missing from days to years:
In some Missing 411 cases, if a person is found, they are found dazed and confused.
In addition, people and remains may disappear from days to years. In fairy folklore, people are said to disappear for extended periods of time, and, if coming back alive, they are unable to remember what happened to them.
"Persons in a short trance-state of two or three days' duration are said to be away with the fairies enjoying a festival. The festival may be very material in its nature, or it may be purely spiritual. Sometimes one may thus go to Faerie for an hour or two ; or one may remain there for seven, fourteen, or twenty-one years. The mind of a person coming out of Fairyland is usually a blank as to what has been seen and done there." (pg. 39)
This would be an explanation to why some remains suddenly show up in previously searched area, long after the disappearance.
If people are dragged into the world of Faerie, it would also explain the missing remains, sudden disappearances, sudden appearances, and trance-like states upon finding a living person.
Below are more accounts of people missing for long periods of time in the world of Faerie:
"People would be twenty years in Fairyland and it wouldn't seem more than a night. A bridegroom who was taken on his wedding-day was in Fairyland for many generations, and, coming back, thought it was next morning. He asked where all the wedding-guests were, and found only one old woman who remembered the wedding." (p.95)
"The way a mortal might be taken by the Tylwyth Teg was by being attracted into their dance. If they thus took you away, it would be according to our time for twelve months, though to you the time would seem no more than a night." (p.145)
Berry Bushes:
Another claim of Paulides is that people go missing near berry bushes quite often.
This is also a big theme in fairy folklore as well, and is mentioned several times in the book. Below is an account of berry pickers being chased by fae.
"One day, just before sunset in midsummer, and I a boy then, my brother and cousin and myself were gathering bilberries (whortleberries) up by the rocks at the back of here, when all at once we heard music. We hurried round the rocks, and there we were within a few hundred feet of six or eight of the gentle folk, and they dancing. When they saw us, a little woman dressed all in red came running out from them towards us, and she struck my cousin across the face with what seemed to be a green rush. We ran for home as hard as we could, and when my cousin reached the house she fell dead. Father saddled a horse and went for Father Ryan. When Father Ryan arrived, he put a stole about his neck and began praying over my cousin and reading psalms and striking her with the stole; and in that way brought her back. He said if she had not caught hold of my brother, she would have been taken for ever." (pg. 72-73)
Although it doesn't directly say it in the book, other stories and encounters lead me to believe that fairies simply like gathering near fruit berring plants, berry bushes included. This would account for the number of increased people in the area.
Geographical clustering/Yosemite cluster:
Paulides mentions that there are clusters across the country in which people go missing more often.
In some of his books, he claims that one of the largest clusters is around Yosemite national park. One of the oddest parts about this book is that in mentions Yosemite quite a few times.
This is odd, being as this book is about Celtic cultures and folklore. Evans-Wentz claims that Yosemite seems to be an area filled with beings similar to fairies.
"I have been told by a friend in California, who is a student of psychical sciences, that there exist in certain parts of that state, notably in the Yosemite Valley, as the Red Men seem to have known, according to their traditions, invisible races exactly comparable to the gentry" (pg. 47)
Once again, I think that it is incredibly strange that this book, written in 1911 about Celtic folklore, brings up Yosemite in such a way. If beings similar to fae do inhabit Yosemite, it would explain why so many go missing in that area.
These are only a couple of similarities I've noticed, the book is full of them.
Another glaring similarity is that the book it states that most missing people are male children, and that adults that go missing are intelligent, athletic, male, and/or German. These also make up a large portion of people missing in the 411 cases, if I recall correctly.
Questions & Answers you may have
Question: What about shoes or clothes? 411 has a few stories where the victims are missing their shoes and/or clothes. After the bodies are found, the clothing is found neatly folded on a nearby rock.
Answer: I didn't find anything about specifically folding clothes, but many stories involve fairies undressing a child before dragging them into the world of Faerie.
"If the Tylwyth Teg fancied any particular child they would always keep that child, taking off its clothes and putting them on one of their own children, which was then left in its place." (pg. 148)
Question: What do the fae do with kidnapped people?
Answer: It depends. Not all fae are good, not all fae are bad.
Some just throw festivals and parties and then send them on their way.
Some are said to enslave or feed off humans.
It's like a 50/50 chance, really.
There is an entire system behind 'good' and 'bad' fae, regarding the Seelie and Unseelie courts, but it's a long-winded explanation.
Question: Did it ever occur to you that evening is when people would get confused about their location because it's getting dark, parents that let their kids go explore or play would be calling them back, etc? Why would you look for a ridiculous explanation when a simple and obvious one is right there, easily spotted?
Answer: Because that isn't the only factor. You are missing the entire point.
If the kid goes missing in the evening, and is found 200ft away, then he should be found soon. That's not mysterious.
If the kid goes missing in the evening, no one is able to find him, dogs aren't able to track him, and his skull is found two years later, seven miles away on a steep mountainside, that's mysterious.
If the kid goes missing in the evening, and is then found, nineteen hours later, more then twelve miles away, over two separate mountains, in a delirious state, that's mysterious.
The entire point is that this is a strange series of events that really don't make sense. The point is most of these cases happen in the evening, and thus is a vital part to understanding the phenomenon.
Just saying 'the kids go missing because it's getting dark' is not an explanation for these cases, as there is so much more weird shit in these.
In conclusion, many of the odder points of the Missing 411 phenomenon can, more or less, be explained when taking fairy folklore into account. I'm certain that it is not literal fairies I think it is representative to beings that are multidimensional.
Cases similar to Missing 411 still happen in present day Scandinavia, and Ireland to a lesser extent.
Obviously they are present in Europe and America, but even the Chinese, Fillipenos, Japanese, and Sub-Saharan West Africans talk about similar beings.
What this means I dont know, but one thing for certain is there is truth to everything you seek. You just need to know how to but in the pieces together.
I will post them as soon as I'm able to recover them.
