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

If I'm correct, the "skeleton story" came to light some months after Dennis disappeared and from someone who gave what I feel was a weak excuse for not reporting it at the time.

While the Smoky Mountains may not be considered a likely location for a predator to seek a victim, I don't think it can be counted out completely. Based on the history of such crimes, there are some who have no intention of seeking any ransom, but just want a young person for their uses. Thus no contact afterward.

The shoe print that was found does have some merit. Unfortunately, the heavy rains in the area very soon after Dennis went missing could have erased similar markings and also caused streams to rise which may not only have wiped out other clues, but could have carried him to his demise.
 
Unless someone has spent time in the Smokies it would likely be hard to imagine how easily a small boy could disappear, either on his own or by abduction. I remember when this happened and there was a lot of publicity and by extension a lot of investigation. An adult could be lost forever in the Smokies, let alone a small child.
 
Nothing against the family, but it might be easier (emotionally) to think he was abducted. If your son was out there, you would be constantly tormented with the thought the he was lost and you couldn't find him. It would be a heavy burden. You might also think that your son would be savvy enough to find his way back. However, if an abductor had him and took him, nearly the whole matter would be out of your hands: all the blame would be on the perp. Just speculating here.

I think he is still in the woods. For anyone who has spent some time around forested areas- there doesn't need to be a deep hole to get lost. Lots of little branches, big branches, shrubs, trees and decades of composting leaves make a lot of little hidey holes that are a few feet deep. Next time you are out in one of these places, throw a tennis ball into the woods, turn around, walk back and try to find it. If it has fallen into one of these leaf piles you won't be able to find it until you are on top of it. Even if animals were to have gotten to him eventually I think his remains might still be extremely well hidden (sorry to be crude but underbrush could be growing up through them).
Add to that, the sheer amount of terrain to cover- the rocks, outcroppings, downed trees, etc. that all make a good place for something to intentionally or unintentionally hide.
 
Nothing against the family, but it might be easier (emotionally) to think he was abducted. If your son was out there, you would be constantly tormented with the thought the he was lost and you couldn't find him. It would be a heavy burden. You might also think that your son would be savvy enough to find his way back. However, if an abductor had him and took him, nearly the whole matter would be out of your hands: all the blame would be on the perp. Just speculating here.

I think he is still in the woods. For anyone who has spent some time around forested areas- there doesn't need to be a deep hole to get lost. Lots of little branches, big branches, shrubs, trees and decades of composting leaves make a lot of little hidey holes that are a few feet deep. Next time you are out in one of these places, throw a tennis ball into the woods, turn around, walk back and try to find it. If it has fallen into one of these leaf piles you won't be able to find it until you are on top of it. Even if animals were to have gotten to him eventually I think his remains might still be extremely well hidden (sorry to be crude but underbrush could be growing up through them).
Add to that, the sheer amount of terrain to cover- the rocks, outcroppings, downed trees, etc. that all make a good place for something to intentionally or unintentionally hide.

I agree!

I get lost just looking at the pictures of the Smokey Mountains! Nothing against the family for what I am about to ask, but I always believed that having very young children, Dennis being just shy of seven years old and his brother Doug at age nine, do you think that they would have been awfully young to be roaming around unsupervised?

I am trying to picture in my mind the distance from where the adults were to wear the kids were playing and how many places the children could have dropped out of site. It seems that the Martin family and Dennis himself had hiking experience, so it would have been interesting to know how many times when the family visited The Smokies before, he had wandered off in the direction where he got lost.

I believe that as his name was being called, Dennis ventured farther and farther away, initially as part of the prank to scare the adults. I also have over the years tried to visualize how far he could have gone distance-wise in such a short time? You hear stories about kids that are seemingly left alone for a few moments and than they shockingly turn up a mile or more away. I am speaking theoretically, but little kids can and do take off like a shot in the blink of an eye with often more spirited energy than most adults. Dennis could have traveled much farther than imagined and without any way to get help in sight, he tragically died from exposure to the elements.

One of the stories about the Martin case, cited a plane that went down in the Smokies, and officials looked around for it, taking OVER a year to find the wreckage. If it takes that amount of time to find an airplane, sadly I could see where a lost child may never be found.

Satch
 
We were in the general area this past weekend and as always I think of Dennis when I am there. I have really always believed he accidentally got turned around somehow and ended up going deeper into the woods and ended up perishing there. If he panicked at being lost it's possible he started running, and if he were running in the wrong direction it could have put him out of earshot of his searching family and friends very quickly. Sad to think about, being lost and alone that way. I wish I believed otherwise, and certainly anything is possible, I would like to think he was okay and still with us but I don't see how unless someone took him as their own child and raised him. I think the most likely outcome was just that things went horribly wrong somehow and he was lost. I am not really a believer or follower of psychics or anything, but the lady who runs the psychic and tarot website for lost and missing people did a reading on Dennis and she said he was feeling foolish and tricked somehow, feeling like maybe he fell for some idea he shouldn't have or maybe other kids were making fun of him. I don't have the link but I think you can google "psychic tarot missing" and it will come up. Having said that, I am a Christian and honestly don't know what to think about tarot cards or anything of that nature, so use your own discretion in this matter.
 
You do wonder how a young child views things if he is lost - epecially in a remote area like Dennis was. Do they panic or for a time just take in the wonder of the place that they are in? I remember when I was in boy scouts and an adult leader was explaining the best way to deal with being lost. He told us a story that when he was with an adult group and when they realized they might be lost, one of them panicked, ran hurridly off, fell and broke his leg. The leader was trying to impress the importance of being calm in such a situation. You wonder how a young child, by himself, would react?
 
The thing about what the psychic said got me thinking. We all realize that probably Dennis would still be with us if he had been allowed to sneak up on the adults along with the other boys instead of being sent in another direction. I'm sure that has been a difficult thing for those other children to deal with. But what I am wondering is whether Dennis was being picked on or excluded somehow. What if it wasn't really about his shirt but some kind of trick or just wanting Dennis away from them? You know sometimes how a group of kids will be playing together and then maybe some of them will gang up a bit on one of the kids, then there will generally be hurt feelings and/or crying, then an hour or so later they are all happy friends again? What if something hurt Dennis' feelings and he was unhappy about being sent in another direction and so maybe decided to hide for a while to "pay them back"? Maybe he sneaked deeper into the woods to conceal himself for a while, maybe even crying and not wanting anybody to see him, and refusing to answer the voices calling for him. He could have even decided to sneak further into the woods to prolong teaching his buddies a lesson about being mean to him and then somehow he ended up too far away or was hurt somehow and couldn't get back. It's possible that if the other kids did hurt his feelings they weren't even aware of it. I was thinking about how the description of Dennis as being a bit behind for his age might have meant he had a learning disability and you know how sometimes kids will pick on the one who is a bit different. I don't know, I just always found something a bit odd about him being sent in another direction just because he had on a red shirt. A red shirt wouldn't show up as much at dusk as a light-colored shirt would. Were the rest of them all in black or what? I just always felt like he might have been deliberately excluded or was being teased somehow, but I could be totally off the mark here.
Also the psychic mentioned him feeling foolish and like he fell for something but realized it and realized he was somewhat to blame for his situation. Could it be that the other kids sent him in a direction they thought would take him back to the campsite but instead it went in an opposite direction? She also mentioned something about his foot or leg being caught or trapped or tied somehow. As I mentioned, I don't know how much emphasis we can place on the psychic sort of thing, but suppose he did go too far in the wrong direction and hurt or broke his leg or even got his foot trapped somehow and couldn't get loose? Were there ever any problems with folks setting animal traps in those woods? A thing like that could quickly hurt and disable a small child.
As to whether a child would panic when lost, three of us girls in my family tried to take a route through the woods once and had a pretty good idea of the layout, but we still became lost in the high foliage and weeds. Two of us were teens and one was a bit younger. We all three panicked and started screaming hysterically for help because it was getting dark. A neighbor heard us and led us out. We felt stupid when we realized how close we had been all along to the main road but at least we knew to stand still and not go deeper into the woods but a younger child might not think that way..
 
The thing about what the psychic said got me thinking. We all realize that probably Dennis would still be with us if he had been allowed to sneak up on the adults along with the other boys instead of being sent in another direction. I'm sure that has been a difficult thing for those other children to deal with. But what I am wondering is whether Dennis was being picked on or excluded somehow. What if it wasn't really about his shirt but some kind of trick or just wanting Dennis away from them? You know sometimes how a group of kids will be playing together and then maybe some of them will gang up a bit on one of the kids, then there will generally be hurt feelings and/or crying, then an hour or so later they are all happy friends again? What if something hurt Dennis' feelings and he was unhappy about being sent in another direction and so maybe decided to hide for a while to "pay them back"? Maybe he sneaked deeper into the woods to conceal himself for a while, maybe even crying and not wanting anybody to see him, and refusing to answer the voices calling for him. He could have even decided to sneak further into the woods to prolong teaching his buddies a lesson about being mean to him and then somehow he ended up too far away or was hurt somehow and couldn't get back.

Wow!!! This is really good insight! Yes, I agree with this possibility. And it doesn't quite seem right that the kids would tell Dennis to go in another direction because he had a bright red shirt on. Maybe that was the story that the kids told the adults and they printed that for the media. They would feel terrible that Dennis never came back, and I think would be unlikely to say, "We were picking on him, and told him to get lost." What a horrifying pun! That's just it, we don't know how well or not well Dennis was being treated by the other children. Dogperson, when I think about your explanation, the "go the other way because you have a bright shirt on" seems to have holes in its believability. And I have never thought of that before!

Satch
 
I could be off base, but it never sat right with me somehow that he was sent in a different direction alone. When I was growing up we sometimes sent the younger kids on errands or bribed them to leave us alone, we got tired of the little ones tagging along constantly. I feel bad about that now and see it differently as an adult, they just enjoyed our company and wanted to be included. We didn't even intend to be deliberately mean, we were just tired of looking out for the little ones and wanted them to go back to the house and be looked after by our parents instead of us. In Dennis' case a thing like that may have had unintended consequences and may have resulted in whatever happened to him. I want to make clear that I am in no way insinuating the older children wanted harm to come to Dennis, and I am not blaming them for his death. I am sure for all these years they have felt badly about sending him alone. It's possible they don't even remember very well the reason for sending him alone.

In looking back thru the news articles earlier in this thread, a Knoxville newspaper states that two weeks earlier a bear was set free from a wild boar trap in the general area of Spence Field, so evidently there were traps in the woods. So Dennis very well may have been caught in a trap and perished from exposure or blood loss. So very sad, what a darling little guy he was in his photos.
 
How some kids treat other kids for whatever reason is probably something that has gone on for centuries. You do wonder what these youngsters thought after Dennis went missing and in the years after this as they have grown older. None of them meant any harm and certainly not that Dennis should go off and not be seen again.

It does remind me of a story from when I was young. There was a young boy who was about four or five years older than me. He was friendly and a part of the group, but had what I would now call a learning disability. Little was done then to assist such youngsters. The other boys, while not really trying to be mean, called him "Dummy". I always called him by his first-name, but once used the nick-name used by the others and my father heard me. He carefully explained (as best an adult can to a six or seven year old) in private how I should not use such a term and this boy could not help how he was. It is a lesson that I have always remembered.
 
I'm sure it impacted Dennis' brother the most, but I wonder what the other two boys have thought about it over the years. Or if they even really remember it? I know the parents think somebody stole him but I find that the least likely explanation. Just in my own opinion, I think the evidence overwhelmingly points to some sort of misadventure/accidental injury/getting lost and perishing in the woods.
The scream somebody heard nine miles away could very well have been an owl as some have commented on the Knoxville news article linked on the first page of this thread. Especially if the person wasn't from the area and didn't recognize what an owl would have sounded like. The shady looking character could have been in the area for a number of reasons. It could have been some guy living off the land or doing some type of poaching, running a still, tending a hidden marijuana crop, or just some guy walking the trails and camping out and therefore looking kind of rough. If he seemed like he was trying not to be seen I would suspect illegal activity but probably not kidnapping. Somebody mentioned him having a sack or bundle on his back but that could have been his camping gear or a sack full of "weed" he'd grown on government land, moonshining equipment, who knows?
If the story of the ginseng hunter is true and he did see a child's skeleton then I don't see how it could have been anyone but Dennis. In fact, I'm surprised there was anything to find a few years later when he claims to have been there, animal activity and weed growth had time to obscure and scatter the remains.
I don't know whether the kids were teasing or excluding Dennis or not, but it was a theory as to why he might have hidden for a while on purpose, or the kids may have even dared him to do something which caused him to end up in the wrong direction. Either way, they were just kids and certainly never intended for anything to happen to him. I am sure they have felt terrible about it over the years, especially his brother, that they sent him in a different direction and he was never seen again. It would be interesting if all of them were re-interviewed now to see what they still remember.
 
These are all good thoughts and very possible theories. You do wonder with all of the people brought in to search for Dennis that something was not found - a shred of clothing, anything. I think when nothing is found is when thoughts of abduction come to mind. It might be considered that an abduction, if it did occur, did not have to take place with-in minutes of Dennis not being found. It could have happened later on that day or that night. His wondering could have taken him to such a person or persons rather than they coming for him. Just some thoughts on this disappearance.
 
Wow! I'd forgotten about Dennis until I came across this thread. I remember when he went missing. We lived in Knoxville at the time and I remember my parents talking about how they believed a bear had gotten him. I also remember going to thru Gatlinburg to the Smokies. There are pull offs to have picnics and signs telling people not to feed the bears. My dad who was an avid Hunter could always tell when a bear was around and we did encounter one at a picnic area. It's not unusual for them to come out looking for food.

I wish the family had some answers and closure.
 
I feel if a bear would have gotten Dennis (and this is not pretty to think of), there would be something left at or near the scene of the attack such as clothing or human remains. Something that searchers may have come upon later. Of course, like all theories given here, it has to be considered.
 
Old cases always considered open until answers found

Dennis Lloyd Martin, Trenny Lynn Gibson and Derek Joseph Lueking — the three names represent separate open cases that began when their loved ones called Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers to report them missing.

Rangers immediately began search-and-rescue missions — missions that would never turn up any sign.

Park spokeswoman Molly Schroer said any case is considered open until there is a determination of what happened.

[snip]

One of the most well known and expensive searches was for 6-year-old Dennis Lloyd Martin of Knoxville. He was just days away from his 7th birthday but never got to celebrate with his family because he disappeared on June 14, 1969, while playing in Spence Field.

More: www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/jun/23/old-cases-always-considered-open-until-answers/
 
I have read every book and such on the Martin case
I think the ginseng guy found the boy. He didn't notify anyone till 1985
What about the FBI guy ( I think Rike) who interview Key that heard the screams- 9mi sway. He commits suicide . Why. Did he know something. That's after the special ops were in there fully armed.
 
I have read every book and such on the Martin case
I think the ginseng guy found the boy. He didn't notify anyone till 1985
What about the FBI guy ( I think Rike) who interview Key that heard the screams- 9mi sway. He commits suicide . Why. Did he know something. That's after the special ops were in there fully armed.

This is new to me about the FBI guy who interviewed Mr Key committing suicide. I don't think the scream that Mr. Key alleged to have heard was connected to the case. For some reason I do think that:

If the bones found near Tremont Big Hollow, I believe it was called, were those of a small child according to the Ginseng guy than I think that those were Dennis' remains and he died of exposure. I still believe most likely he got lost in the park and or injured, and died there.

In my view, the marking's that resembled the child's shoe print were very likely Dennis' prints. This was a few days into the search. Dennis may have been alive for a few hours to a couple of days. Tragically, it is likely that he did not survive for for more than three days tops. I personally think that Dennis fell and got injured in an area where the rescue squads could not see him. Or he drowned in one of the rivers or lakes and got swept away.

I think Dennis when he heard the adults calling, if he was not injured right away, may have jokingly tried to run further and further away. He lost his sense of direction and likely panicked, which sadly hastened his demise. If he fell tragically, he may have been alive, but hurt for some time, but too injured to call for help.

I think the story that the other kids wanted Dennis to go another way because of his bright shirt raises doubts. I wonder if the other boys were picking on him and told him to "get lost."" In the horrifying pun that this generated, they may have decided to make up the story of telling Dennis to go another way so he could not be easily spotted, so that the adults in the group would not blame the kids for what happened as much. If the other boys actually said something like, "get lost" or "go away" to Dennis, I cannot imagine the horror and pain that they would have to live with for the rest of their lives. Feeling responsible for what happened. Poor Doug, the older brother. I can't imagine how painful this has been for the whole Martin family.

Have any of the Martins granted interviews over the years on Dennis' case? Most of the family at the time from what I read, believed he was abducted.

Satch
 
To add to this, perhaps if Dennis heard the calls of those looking for him, he may have thought they were angry at him for straying away so he kept moving away from them. He may have then panicked, suffered a fall, become injured, etc. Just a thought.
 
You do think about the heavy rain that fell in the hours after Dennis was lost. Not only did that hamper the search, but it may that have washed away some traces of where he had been and certainly caused the streams in that area to become more treacherous.
 

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