Found Safe NC - Joshua Clauson, 20, Croatan National Forest, 29 May 2021

[Warwick1991]

Something seems off here. Just going for a walk? And they got separated? I’m not doubting that they did go in and got separated - but there’s a lot more to this story, IMO. That said, I don’t know this particular area, but there are crocodiles there. Isn’t this the time of year when male crocodiles are particularly aggressive? I wonder what his state of mind was.

American crocodiles are few in number, and found only in Florida. Alligators are found in this part of North Carolina, and it is their mating season now... American Alligator

I'd agree there is a lot more unsaid, especially the reason for the separation and why only one of them has appeared.

 

[Angleterre]

I feel dumb, I've been reading the place name as Croatia. I finally twigged that it wasn't today.

I hope he is ok, and is found soon.

You’re not alone lol

 

[mlhenn]

May 29th was 85 degrees in the Croatan National Forest. No way Joshua intended to hike far in jeans.

I’m curious if this was this pair’s intentions...to go for a walk.
I feel like if one was to just go for a walk into this forest then,
A) this isn’t there first time and know there way around or at least have a plan if they get turned around
B) are dressed appropriately and have water

And heck this may be something they’ve done many times and for some reason this has happened. It just seems strange. Idk, maybe I’m thinking too much into it.

I am not familiar with this area at all, but just looking at this forest on Google earth, it seems so dense and very massive to say the least. The mere density of the trees was amazing to me.

 

[Gobstopper]

I’m curious if this was this pair’s intentions...to go for a walk.
I feel like if one was to just go for a walk into this forest then,
A) this isn’t there first time and know there way around or at least have a plan if they get turned around
B) are dressed appropriately and have water

And heck this may be something they’ve done many times and for some reason this has happened. It just seems strange. Idk, maybe I’m thinking too much into it.

I am not familiar with this area at all, but just looking at this forest on Google earth, it seems so dense and very massive to say the least. The mere density of the trees was amazing to me.

I question the intentions too. If you truly just want to go for a "walk" why not walk along the road or on a path? Why walk where you have to maneuver around branches and mud, etc.? MOO

 

[Rosegold68]

they had no food or water....so not a hike or really a walk was it? nobody takes off without supplies, nobody

 

[Warwick1991]

May 29th was 85 degrees in the Croatan National Forest. No way Joshua intended to hike far in jeans.

In my experience - I used to hike in forested areas - long pants would be essential, even in the heat. Insects and dense brush can be brutal on exposed legs, with plenty of cuts and bites. Long pants are also protection from flesh wounds from a fall on rough surfaces. Jeans might be a little uncomfortable, but a dense forest might not be as hot as an open, unshaded area.

 

[Unsolved]

Check his other 2019 FB for "EM" comments:

Log into Facebook

 

[mlhenn]

Day four of search for man missing in Croatan National Forest

June 1
It’s day four of the search for Joshua Clauson, 20, who is missing in the Croatan National Forest.

Sheriff Asa Buck said there’s still very little releasable information at this point but search and rescue teams all over the state are trying to locate him.

Crews arrived early this morning, heading into the forest on Lake Road.


One team member said he knows it’s going to be a long day of searching and they’re prepared. They have tracking dogs and a lot of high-tech equipment helping them search.

“Even though we haven’t been able to locate him yet, those teams are able to determine number one where he is not and also where he hasn’t been,” Buck said, “They’re able to tell if someone has moved through the area or not so we’re eliminating places in addition to attempting to locate him.”

 

[mlhenn]

Day four of search for man missing in Croatan National Forest

Sheriff Asa Buck says he needs the publics help. If you live near Newport he’s asking that you go outside and check any sheds you may have, boats, anywhere Clauson could possibly be. Clauson is now on day 4 in these woods and it’s unknown if he’s had any food or water.

The Croatan spans from Highway 70 and surrounding the city of Newport . It’s roughly 250 square miles and Sheriff Buck says it can take searchers hours to clear a mile. The number of search crews has increased again today and as another day passes with no sight of Clauson, Buck says they grow increasingly worried about his condition because as far as they know he has had no food or water for four days.

...

Emergency crews are focused on searching 15 square miles of the Croatan National Forest from Lake Road up to Havelock. They’re focused on this small area because they feel Clauson couldn’t have made it that much farther.

....

What’s challenging for them is the terrain. The Croatan National Forest is thick and dense, which makes it difficult for teams to maneuver.

“The tracking teams have the technology to keep track of the area they’ve covered and the areas they’ve searched so we are not going back over the same areas twice. That helps to keep track of the areas that have been search and we can eliminate the areas as we continue.

 

[mlhenn]

Dozens continue search for man missing in Croatan National Forest

June 1

Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck says the search started again on Tuesday morning. He told us this afternoon that were some 60 people in the field, and another 12 or 15 working in the command post.

On Monday, the NC Wildlife airplane and a Highway Patrol helicopter searched the area by air, while multiple crews are on the ground looked for 20-year-old Joshua Clauson.

“They didn’t take anything with them. They didn’t have any food, they didn’t have any water,” said Buck.

 

[mlhenn]

To Note:

“There’s a stream back there, and they had been known to frequent that area in the past,” said Buck. “They must have gotten a lit bit too far beyond the beaten path and got turned around.”

Dozens continue search for man missing in Croatan National Forest

 

[trucksareforgirls]

I am a local... the Croatan Forest is a beautiful park (I used to ride horses out there all the time) but the woods are very dense and difficult to traverse unless you are on a trail. Lots of swampy land, plus alligators & bears. Not to mention the bugs which might as well eat you alive!

I can certainly understand getting lost out there but it seems very strange to me that he's not been found yet (if he's simply gotten lost). They've had a ton of helicopters up looking for him. The weather has been beautiful the last few days so he's not in any danger there. I feel there may be something else going on and that seems to be the general sentiment locally as well. Lots of drug-related crime in Newport and Havelock

 

[Gobstopper]

Did anyone other than the family member he was with see him go into the forest?

 

[annpats]

Joshua lived just a few streets away from this forest, so would know about the dangers of getting lost, dense trees, bugs, swamps, alligators etc. He was a local boy. Which makes this all the more strange.

He also doesn't look like much of a hiker, and taking no phone or drink confirms that.

I do think something nefarious happened, sadly.

The other man needs to take a polygraph test. I'm not really buying his "We just got separated thing".
<modsnip>

But then the other man found his way out several miles away.....which makes the weird, even weirder.

 

[Gobstopper]

<modsnip- quoted post removed>
But wouldn't the person who came out be able to give a general location of where they were? And he'd most likely be found by now? MOO

 

[Really?]

I’m wondering who’s idea was it to go into the woods in the first place ?

 

[Gobstopper]

I’m wondering who’s idea was it to go into the woods in the first place ?

Right, was he lured there to show him something? MOO

 

[Cagle]

Search teams continue to comb national forest for missing man; search enters day 4

Search and rescue teams started their routes early Wednesday in the Croatan National Forest in the search for Joshua Clauson.

This is the fourth day of the search for Clauson.

An issue that searchers are having is the density of the brush in the forest; once searchers go in they disappear within just a few yards in due to the thickness of underbrush.

 

[annpats]

An issue that searchers are having is the density of the brush in the forest; once searchers go in they disappear within just a few yards in due to the thickness of underbrush.

....and yet this relative was able to go through it from the Lake Road end and out through the bottom end near Rams Horn Road (a distance of a few miles inside the forest!) within a few hours?!?

Why (and how) was he able to do it so quickly when the professional search and rescue teams are having difficulty manoeuvring through it...??

 

[Unsolved]

....and yet this relative was able to go through it from the Lake Road end and out through the bottom end near Rams Horn Road (a distance of a few miles inside the forest!) within a few hours?!?

Why (and how) was he able to do it so quickly when the professional search and rescue teams are having difficulty manoeuvring through it...??

Did anyone else see them leave and can confirm the story? Silly question here, but does anyone know if LE can ask the person reporting that they were "taking a walk in the woods" to take a lie detector test to verify the situation? I have no idea of policies and am just wondering when/if they even can get to the point of doing something to confirm the original report itself.

I really just hate the thought of search and rescue crews working their hearts out on a possible wild goose chase.