Alaskas Dark Secrets: UFOs & Vanishing People

Show Transcript

What is the infamous and notorious Alaska Triangle? Is it just a vacation spot, or a place that needs to be avoided at all costs? After this video, you can either book a ticket or bail. The Alaska Triangle is a region notable for UFO sightings, encounters with shape shifters of bigfoot and other cryptids, paranormal phenomena, missing ships and aircraft, and allege alien abductions, with several TV shows and many books written about the area. (00:29) The reputation of the zone is also directly related to disproportionate amount of disappearances that occur there. Since 1988, more than 16,000 individuals have vanished, which puts it at about 4 individuals disappearing per 1,000 people, and that is just over double the national average for missing people. (00:50) The disappearances are not restricted to local residents alone, but also include native tribal members, tourists, hikers, and even passengers aboard aircraft. You could be next. An infamous disappearance occurred that shook up residents and members of the military in the region when in 1950, a military C-54 skymaster, with an 8-man crew as well as 36 passengers disappeared over an area of Yukon on the afternoon of January 26, two hours after departing from Anchorage. (01:26) A search and rescue operation was initiated that involved both US and Canadian planes, with thousands of volunteers searching on foot, but the C-54 was never found. Noteriety of the Alaska Triangle really gained traction beyond the scope of tribal legends, hitting the public awareness as a big news media event. (01:48) On in 1972, a Cessna 310 aircraft carrying US House Majority Leader Hail Boggs and former Alaska Congressman Nick Begich vanished somewhere between Juno and Anchorage. The response that followed was one of the nation's largest ever search and rescue missions, which included 40 military aircraft, accompanied by 50 civilian aircraft for over a month. (02:16) Mr. Boggs was never found. Mr. Boggs was an aircraft to this very day. Even after many subsequent searches and investigations over the years, with much better search and rescue detection technologies, those are just two of the most well-known, inexplicable, and unsolvable disappearances that occurred there. (02:35) But Alaska also holds a dark reputation for fatal aircraft crashes, with over 2,000 incidents between 1982 and 2018. Some cases of which have been blamed on odd equipment malfunctions, while many others have been classified as having unknown causes. So what exactly is going on? For some clues, we have to take a look at some of the most bizarre mysteries that frequent the area, starting with the most captivating, UFO sightings. (03:05) In 2021, Alaska was rated as the third state with the highest incidents or reported sightings, and it's a fact that per person of the Alaska population, there have been more UFO sightings reported than any other state in the United States, and those reports have a long history. Mount Hayes, the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska mountain range, is a known UFO hotspot. (03:31) But sightings by hikers, fishermen, and even state police have gained public interest over the years. UFOs being seen in various shapes and sizes, and sometimes in large groups. But what most don't know is that just days after an alleged UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico, three teenage girls who were the daughters of active servicemen, observed a white disc-shaped object on January 9, 1947, which flew over El Mendoor Air Force Base, and then zoomed off into the distance at a tremendous speed. (04:06) The girls were familiar with all military aircraft that flew in and out of the base, and they said this object was unlike anything they had ever seen. But perhaps the most famous UFO sighting came from the pilot of Japan Airlines cargo flight 1628, which was en route from Paris to Tokyo. On November 17, 1986, J.A.L. (04:35) 1628 Captain Kenju Terauchi was flying northeast of Fort Yukon, and he and his co-pilot saw a UFO they described as being twice the size of their aircraft carrier, which followed their aircraft. After telling the story to the public, he was stripped of his wings and given an office job. The stigma and scrutiny could not have been more cruel to Captain Terauchi. But sometimes the UFO sightings are accompanied by encounters with strange creatures, such as the shape-shifting Kushhtaka. (05:02) It's believed to be a mystical creature capable of assuming human or order-like form. They share the same nature and appearance as a skinwalker, but depending on the tribe's legend. And then there's the Nathinak, a wrathful creature which some believe is an ancient bigfoot that is responsible for terrorizing whole fishing villages. (05:23) For instance, in the early 1900s, Port Locke witnessed unexplained disappearances in deaths, sparking fear among its residents. By 1931, the discovery of a local wood chopper, killed by an unnaturally powerful blow, heightened concerns over a deadly beast in the area. Subsequently, bodies began to surface, indicating violent attacks in the surrounding wilderness. (05:48) Speculation grew that it was the Nathinak believed to possess both physical and spiritual menace. Described a key into the North American Sasquatch, but attributed with supernatural occurrences, evidence of its existence included uprooted trees and reports of its formidable size and strengths, compelling the entire village to abandon their homes by 1949. (06:12) Why is this area so prone to so many examples of missing people, UFO sightings and strange creature sightings? What are the connections? Are there any connections? Only if you have this last piece of information. Alaska is 55 miles from Russia and was bought by the United States back in 1867, sold for $7.2 million, known as the Alaska Purchase. (06:39) So did Russia know about the oddities of the land or was it just a coincidence?