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

[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?

 

[Satch]

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

I know about the witness hearing a scream. But what is this about a car speeding away? The witness said it sounded like a Bobcat scream. I think Dennis got lost and died of exposure. A child's skull was found years later in Tremont Big Hollow by a Guinsing Hunter, who did not originally report it because he had been in the park illegally, He told the head ranger who went to investigate and found nothing. The investigation check was in the mid 80's.

Because no other children at that time had gone missing in the Smokies. I believe the skull was Dennis' The terrain and landscaping would be too difficult and inconvenient for a kidnapping.

Satch

 

[neesaki]

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

Yes

 

[rotter_02]

I know about the witness hearing a scream. But what is this about a car speeding away? The witness said it sounded like a Bobcat scream. I think Dennis got lost and died of exposure. A child's skull was found years later in Tremont Big Hollow by a Guinsing Hunter, who did not originally report it because he had been in the park illegally, He told the head ranger who went to investigate and found nothing. The investigation check was in the mid 80's.

Because no other children at that time had gone missing in the Smokies. I believe the skull was Dennis' The terrain and landscaping would be too difficult and inconvenient for a kidnapping.

Satch

I'll need to sift through my sources to find it again, but one account of Key's story was that he heard the scream with his boys, then saw a man avoiding them. He was hiding in the bushes then, when Harold looked away, he ran off and a car sped away.

Also, from what I could tell, the Ginseng hunter's story was never actually confirmed. Like you said, retired parks ranger Dwight McCarter checked out the lead and found no traces of a skeleton. I guess the skull could've been moved, but to find no traces of anything at all is just strange to me.

I don't know what happened to Dennis, I'm not a probability guy. Animal predation could have easily been the case, especially since, according to Dwight McCarter, that year they released an abnormally skinny bear from a live trap meant to bait small animals.

The terrain was also rough, as you mentioned, and it would be difficult to snatch a kid. I don't know how likely kidnapping would've been, but the fact that the idea of it was never looked into, even after no trace was found in the mountains. I don't know, sometimes I just can't help but think that maybe the case would've turned out differently if the FBI had taken the Martins seriously.

 

[Satch]

I'll need to sift through my sources to find it again, but one account of Key's story was that he heard the scream with his boys, then saw a man avoiding them. He was hiding in the bushes then, when Harold looked away, he ran off and a car sped away.

Also, from what I could tell, the Ginseng hunter's story was never actually confirmed. Like you said, retired parks ranger Dwight McCarter checked out the lead and found no traces of a skeleton. I guess the skull could've been moved, but to find no traces of anything at all is just strange to me.

I don't know what happened to Dennis, I'm not a probability guy. Animal predation could have easily been the case, especially since, according to Dwight McCarter, that year they released an abnormally skinny bear from a live trap meant to bait small animals.

The terrain was also rough, as you mentioned, and it would be difficult to snatch a kid. I don't know how likely kidnapping would've been, but the fact that the idea of it was never looked into, even after no trace was found in the mountains. I don't know, sometimes I just can't help but think that maybe the case would've turned out differently if the FBI had taken the Martins seriously.

My Thoughts on the Search,

Given the thousands of people who searched and the FBI's involvement, I think they took the case very seriously, The problems, according to all the reports, was that they never had a proper protocol or plan to deal with the amount of manpower, volunteers, and people who did not have experience in search and rescue training. Thousands of people were involved in the search. Injuries were common. While people's hearts were certainly in the right place, they didn't have the training or knowledge how to do S & R missions.

National Park Services and other federal agencies learned a great deal from the failures in the Dennis Martin case. Given the better training, resources, and technology ,of today, had Dennis gone missing in modern times. he very likely would have been found, either dead or alive had he not been kidnapped. And even if he had been kidnapped, we would have the much better resources today than in 1969 to make that determination through computers, AI, motion detectors, security cameras. Maybe we would not know for sure had Dennis gone missing today, but most certainly there would be better S and R plans to aid in the search.

Satch

 

[rotter_02]

My Thoughts on the Search,

Given the thousands of people who searched and the FBI's involvement, I think they took the case very seriously, The problems, according to all the reports, was that they never had a proper protocol or plan to deal with the amount of manpower, volunteers, and people who did not have experience in search and rescue training. Thousands of people were involved in the search. Injuries were common. While people's hearts were certainly in the right place, they didn't have the training or knowledge how to do S & R missions.

National Park Services and other federal agencies learned a great deal from the failures in the Dennis Martin case. Given the better training, resources, and technology ,of today, had Dennis gone missing in modern times. he very likely would have been found, either dead or alive had he not been kidnapped. And even if he had been kidnapped, we would have the much better resources today than in 1969 to make that determination through computers, AI, motion detectors, security cameras. Maybe we would not know for sure had Dennis gone missing today, but most certainly there would be better S and R plans to aid in the search.

Satch

I definitely agree that a lot of people did everything they could, and the National Park Service wasn't equipped to handle a search of this magnitude at the time. However, after reading through the FBI vault document, it seemed to me that the FBI blocked the investigation at every turn and refused to get involved over and over.

Many sources painted the FBI as being completely cooperative. However, the FBI wrote internally often about how much William Martin reached out to their office and maintained that they couldn't get involved due to jurisdictional restrictions. They also disparaged the Martins for being interested in investigating predictions made by psychics, during a time period when the U.S. government was actively engaged in experimentation with ESP. It also seems that the Martins were told one thing in person when meeting with the Special Agents assigned to the case and when that information was made public the FBI had Special Agents write out letters saying that the Martins simply misunderstood what they were saying, and again maintained that they couldn't get involved and that there was no FBI investigation taking place.

The case file is honestly a very bizarre read, especially when all other sources claim the FBI were totally cooperative. They cooperated with the National Park Service, but in my opinion, they did not treat the Martin family with respect or dignity while they were involved. It's a long file to get through, and especially frustrating to read with the redacted parts, but it was very illuminating.

 

[neesaki]

Yes

My apologies , I have confused this with another case. Kurt Newton, where the family was camping and he disappeared from Chain of Ponds, Maine.

ME - Kurt Ronald Newton (4) - Chain of Ponds ME, 1975

Missing Since: September 1, 1975 from Chain Of Ponds, Maine Classification: Non-Family Abduction Date Of Birth: June 28, 1971 Age: 4 years old Height and Weight: 3'8, 45 pounds Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Clothing/Jewelry Description: A navy blue...

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