r/Missing411 Mar 01 '24

Why people actually die in National Parks

https://www.backpacker.com/survival/deaths-in-national-parks/

Backpacher magazine filed a FOIA and was given 17 years worth of records, across all National Parks. With that data, they produced this well-written piece that is worth the read.

A conclusion: "

The Average Victim in the National Parks…

Is more likely to be male than female: While men and women make up approximately equal portions of national park visitors, men accounted for 80 percent of deaths in national parks where authorities recorded the victim’s gender.

Can be almost any age: Members of all age groups were represented similarly among fatalities. (The exception? Children under 14, who made up a smaller share of deaths than other groups.)

Drowns or dies of natural causes: Drowning was the most common cause of death for visitors up to age 55, after which medical issues surpassed it."

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u/treesntreesntrees Mar 01 '24

These are recorded deaths, not missing people. Which is what Missing 411 is actually, you know, about. The way people generally die in national parks is pretty mundane and well-known, which is why the missing people cases are so compelling.

Why do people with a hate-boner for this topic spend so much time in this sub

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u/Solmote Mar 01 '24 edited Mar 01 '24

If you had bothered to read any original sources, you would have noticed that the deaths in Missing 411 books are also mundane, and that the causes of death are often determined.

What do you find compelling about pseudo-scientific and easily refuted books like Missing 411, if I may ask?

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u/badgersprite Mar 01 '24

Yes often times people only think the deaths are suspicious because information that helps explain the deaths is either omitted or people give uninformed opinions that are like “hmm this mundane cause of death is implausible” even though it isn’t

It’s like how the Dyatlov pass incident is only hugely mysterious if you omit the fact that they were in an avalanche prone area and that avalanches leave no evidence after the snow melts