I live in Happy Valley (14 years). The Saturday afternoon Michael went missing, my 6 year old Grandson and I were out in the back yard. We heard some VERY LOUD shouting coming from the woods behind my property, 2 men shouting at the top of their lungs! Very indistinct, couldn't understand a word, but it was very loud and very angry sounding. My big dog, a Lab mix, took off running towards the shouting, and I was so frightened that I made my grandson go into the house. (It made such an impression on him that he STILL remembers it.) My property backs up to the area where the ATV was found. I contacted Michaels mom who in turn contacted the BCSO. They came out and interviewed me, and two officers did a "shouting test" to see if they could hear one another from my property to the area where the ATV was found. They said they could not. What has always stuck in my mind, is whether some one (or some thing) could have dragged Michael to the area where i heard the loud shouting. I firmly believe that what I heard that day has something to do with his disappearance. And what really disturbs me is the fact that my 80 lb dog went sprinting into the woods! She will chase deer and bears, but as far as I know, she has never gone after a human. In this Valley, sound travels very far. They don't call these places "hollers" for nothing. In the days before telephones, mountain people would "holler" to each other to get help, borrow a tool or horse, or just communicate.
My dog has also brought very large bones to the house which I turned over to the BCSO. I never heard back from them, so I assume they were animal bones.
Another very strange thing my Grandson and I found in the woods was a life-sized ceramic human skull! . Now what in the world would a ceramic skull be doing in the middle of no where?
This case has mystified me since the beginning. All the rest of that summer I watched for vulture activity. The only time I saw any vultures was when a BCSO officer and I walked behind my home and saw 8-10 turkey vultures sitting in a tree. We scared them off and looked around, but didn't find anything. My grandson and I go out in the woods behind my house often
just scouting around looking for any clues that might help find Michael. But so far we have not found anything.
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