Stacy Arras, Yosemite
A 14-year-old girl on a horse-packing trip walked off to photograph a lake near Sunrise High Sierra Camp in July 1981 and was never found.
1981 CE · 37.80, -119.43 · status: unexplained
The account
Stacy Arras of Saratoga, California, was on a guided pack trip with her father in the high country of Yosemite, about five miles south of Tenaya Lake. She set off to take photographs of a nearby lake, partly accompanied by an elderly member of the party, and was not seen again. A large search with dogs and aircraft found only a camera lens cap. Sources differ on the date (17 or 25 July 1981). The Park Service has released part of its file under FOIA; the case remains open.
The sceptical view
The High Sierra around the camp is granite slabs, lakes and forest with many places where a fallen person would not be seen from the air; a fall, drowning or exposure are the usual explanations. Some have suggested an animal or a person, but no evidence supports either.
The researched reading
A probable accident in rough high country, with no evidence for anything else, but too little was found to close it.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Undetermined | 44% | Only a lens cap was found; foul play cannot be excluded and the file is only partly released. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 40% | Granite slabs, lakes and drop-offs near Sunrise High Sierra Camp allow a fall or drowning out of sight of air search; nothing was found, which is common in such terrain. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 12% | A teenager walking alone to photograph a lake may have gone off route and become lost. |
| An unknown or out-of-place animal | 3% | A bear or lion attack has been suggested, but no blood or signs of a struggle were found. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 1% | Nothing in the released file points beyond ordinary causes. |
Official position: Open missing-person case; listed by the California Department of Justice. Search with dogs and aircraft found only a lens cap.