The Tape, The Ranger, The Suicide: National Park Disappearance A veteran fire lookout witnessed an unidentified object descend into a national park, prompting three trained personnel to investigate. Days later, search teams found a melted cassette recorder with an intact tape, a handgun with human skin on the grip, and no bodies-but the radio operator who received the initial call was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the back of the head, officially ruled a suicide. What did the tape record in the final moments before their disappearance? In this episode, we delve into the unsettling events of August 2006, when a strange object landed in a U.S. national park, leading to the disappearance of three individuals and a mysterious death. We explore the details of the investigation, the evidence found, and the chilling final sounds captured on a cassette recorder. Event: National Park Disappearance Date: August 12, 2006 Location: U.S. National Park Status: Unexplained Disappearance, Unsolved Death Evidence: Audio Recording, Melted Recorder, Handgun with Skin - Lewis de Lacroy, a 42-year-old fire lookout in his 20th season, observed an object 20 feet in diameter descending at 20 mph. - Three people-Lewis, Ranger Matthew Golding (31), and Ranger Jillian Bridgemore (36)-entered the forest to investigate and never returned. - Nicholas Fio (53), the radio operator, was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the back of the head, officially ruled a suicide despite no weapon at the scene. - Search teams found a partially melted button, a fused cassette recorder with an intact tape, and Golding's 9mm handgun hanging 80 feet high with burned human skin on the grip. - The cassette recorder captured the sound of a sharp exhale and an ozone smell before the recording ended. To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com. OBOMEDIA presents real horror stories a scary story podcast for the late night hours. Every episode is horror narration done right: true scary stories and horror stories based on true events, told from the first chilling minute. Expect disturbing true stories, disturbing horror stories and dark true horror stories drawn from real testimonies. Some nights bring camping horror stories, forest horror stories and road horror stories; others bring home alone horror stories, haunted stories, eerie stories, strange stories and unsettling tales true creepy stories and creepy encounters that never made the news. Press play on our late night horror stories and late night scary stories, from storytime horror to a full horror stories compilation or scary stories compilation real scary stories, scary stories based on true events, and dark stories to keep the lights on. © 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquiries: business@obomedia
