Rock Apes of Vietnam: Jungle Cryptid of the Vietnam War? In popular culture [ edit] However the locals had a name for it: the Portlock Sasquatch. Weed told us that he hopes to visit Portlock to do some exploring. $3,100,000 2023 Juneau Alaska Communications, LLC. The town began in the early 1900s as a cannery for salmon. Hey, I have a New yahoo e-mail address, brandonrp1114@gmail.com. Other bodies would reportedly be found as well, apparently washed down from the mountains into a nearby lagoon, with others still discovered washed up on the shores of Port Chatham, all of them ripped apart and maimed as if by some immensely powerful animal. We think we understand everything through science but we arent close. Once hearing crashing feet coming through the woods above her until it stopped in the pitch black night above on the cliff edge of the woods. In addition, various groups of gold miners and hunters used to head to the mountains for their work. It is strange & extremely rare, though, to hear of violent or murderous bigfoots. Bears, wolves and big cats roam the continent, and the people who settled at Portlock to make a life for themselves would have been tough indeed. vol. After a year alone, the post office closed in 1950 and the last resident of Portlock left town. I have a friend who would sneak out of her bedroom window at thirteen to smoke, the back of bedroom of her house three feet from a small cliff cut out of the mountain land next to the national forest lands of Rabun County Georgia. If we have a serial killer in the area at the time, they took out a lot of people in the course of say 20 years.". This Nantiinaq creature wasnt your usual Sasquatch, but more of a shapeshifter, keeping away from people. Both being remote ports for fishing and canning, being run by Eskimo and Russian descendants the local business was so good and attracted so many people that the area was even assigned a US Post Office. The town was abandoned quickly after a series of mysterious events and deaths in 1949. According to the stories, Petka survived to explain what happened, but died to his wounds soon after. He says that shows that take place in Alaska often do not show true Alaska and that they hope to change that with their honest depiction of exploring the state. The two communities of Portlock and Port Chatham managed to endure the years of World War II as if being within striking distance of the Imperial Japanese Fleet wouldnt have been daunting enough! The first was a local hunter . Whatever lived in the woods above Portlock, and whatever had killed all the people, it had won. There are plenty of areas that have unexplained happenings in them, including tales of ghost stories or people that disappear. A person driving down a west Kenai trail spotted clothing and what appeared to be human remains Saturday, police said in a statement. You can even take a road trip to discover the most, Step Inside The Creepy, Abandoned Town Of Port Chatham In Alaska, The Abandoned Kennecott Copper Mine In Alaska Is One Of The Eeriest Places In America, The Creepiest Hike In Alaska Takes You Through The Ruins Of A Ghost Town, This Abandoned Copper Mine In Alaska Is Like Nothing Youve Seen Before, Going To This Abandoned Alaska Ghost Town Is Eerie But Awesome, You Might Be Surprised To Learn That Bigfoot Has Been Spotted At These 13 Eerie Locations In Alaska, The Story Behind These 33 Trees In Alaska May Surprise You, Visit These 9 Creepy Ghost Towns In Alaska At Your Own Risk, uaa-hmc-1050-album2-257 | Lawrence Eastman photographs, 1949-1951. Are we going to hear more? Set up night vision cameras, drones and any other variety of modern technology that is now available to the average person and becomes more affordable each year. First large footprints, some as long as 18 inches in length began to appear inland not far from the two villages. On this occasion, a logger named Andrew Kamuck went off to the site as usual but was later found dead, his head bashed in by a piece of logging equipment. by with a free trial. The body was partially eaten by an unknown beast that left human foot tracks in its wake. I dont personally care about the entertainment value of the show, just hope that if things actually start happening there that theyll actually convey it to us. Which is not to say that North America does not have dangerous animals which exist beyond a doubt. They fit the facts, but require the existence of a sustainable population of huge apes, sharing a landmass with hundreds of millions of people without a single piece of concrete evidence as to their existence. Starring Frank "Guy" Berestoff, Ash Naderhoff, Herman Curtis Genres The disappearances and the bodies found were too horrible for anyone to continue living in this small town. Alaskan Killer Bigfoot Trailer The series premiers on December 7th, 2021 and according to the network: Seventy years ago, a murderous Bigfoot-like creature sent residents fleeing from Portlock, Alaska. These towns boomed. You can even take a road trip to discover the most haunted places in Alaska. The victim, John Mire (some reports say McQuire), or "The Dutchman" as he was called by the local Native Americans, was killed by an assailant thought to be "the bushman." In most cases the slow but inevitable decay of the population and the local businesses leaves a ghost town in its wake. Rushmore? ), that man admires and often tries to exaggerate whatever characters nature may have given him, is shewn in many ways."-- The Descent of Man (1871) by Charles Darwin The village of Nanwalek still maintains private ownership of Portlock today. Tell us about it in the comments below! From a distance through the fog it seems like perhaps a quaint, cozy town nestled along the seaside and surrounded by breathtaking vistas of scenic mountains and forests, but as you draw closer you will realize that it is actually nothing but some rotted out carcasses of buildings long uninhabited, and the twisted, rusted remains of an old empty cannery poking out of the shoreline like the fossil of some ancient deep sea leviathan. Over the last few weeks, Watseka Kiwanis Club has been collecting items for children for Harbor House. In the meantime, before reaching the camp, it sided away towards the inaccessible rocky mount. Portlock was established in the Kenai Peninsula in the early-twentieth century as a cannery,[1] particularly for salmon. To be honest, notably if bigfoot is real, what makes everyone think that this giant among men doesn't have predisposed instincts to evade humans? In the spring of 2021, Discovery+ filmed a reality television series in Portlock. If zoos can capture gorillas why cant a team tranquilize this creature for study and hunters have guns why didnt the kill or wound this creature that attacked them, Scattered across the North American continent are many ghost towns, places that were once vibrant and alive but are now long dead and abandoned. "A logger was out working and something or someone hit him over the head with a huge piece of logging equipment, something that one man couldn't have lifted. It is definitely highly dramatized, but I do think there is some reality mixed in. The post office shut down a year later. Responding officers found remains and items reported missing from the family's home. According to Steve on his You Tube Channel How to Hunt there are incidents still going on there even now. After the gold rush, many booming small towns were abandoned as miners left to follow gold claims in other areas. In 1990, there was apparently a Native man who suffered a heart attack, and when paramedics came to save him, he ranted, Did it bother you? You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Today, that future lies in ruins, as does the town itself. We're not talking about a dozen people. If youre what I can only refer to as smart, then you understand that isnt and never was anything to really worry too much about, but it is a pretty alarming rate (5 out of every 1000) for people to regularly be eaten by mythological monsters in the woods and it doesnt just happen once in one outbreak, it happens continuously every year. Yet, a common pattern in the Pacific Northwest seems to manifest itself in people being chased, murdered, or vanished in the presence of what we now call, Bigfoot. Stories of the giant, bipedal man-ape wandering the vast forested territories of the Americas have been around for centuries. Even before Portlock had even existed there had long been sinister stories told by the Natives of the area. However the town does still get occasional visitors. Those people did leave the town. Read on to learn more about the terrifying history of Portlock and the Portlock, Alaska murders. Maybe set up some sort of loud speaker mimicking a community of people, and sit on a boat waiting for evidence of bigfoot. 'Personal Narrative,' Eng. What Still Remains of Portlock, Alaska, Today? In two closely adjacent communities in rural Alaska, Portlock and Port Chatham there was no gradual pull out of the local residents because for some very disturbing reasons in 1949. By the 1920s, Portlock was booming, yet while the town thrived for some years, in the background it seems that there were dark and mysterious forces lurking in the periphery. The workers were eventually convinced to come back the following season, but this was not the end of the towns problems. Are there any other Alaskan ghost towns that youve visited? Decoding The Unknown History Residents of Portlock, Alaska all abandoned the town after a string of deaths in the 1940s. Hunters and gold miners who headed into the mountains started to disappear. One man, a prospector, who was surveying the land outside of town for resources that could be mined had climbed to the top of a tree to get his bearings and a better overall lay of the land. I thought she was honest, and loyal, and trustworthy. The man had been killed by a single ferocious blow, far more devastating than could have been inflicted by a single human being. https://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/mysteries-of-portlock-alaska-and-the-abandonment-of-the-small-town-in-the-1900s/, https://www.anchoragepress.com/news/framing-nantiinaq-alaska-s-best-known-cryptid-homicide-case-debunked/article_ed6facfe-a1f9-11eb-b7fc-0bba856ee2fe.htm, Forgotten Technology: Ten Secrets we have Lost. They described her dress as being so long that she would have to drag it. I enjoyed it. In the 1930s there was another alleged violent attack in the area. They described her dress as being so long that she would have to drag it. Then there is another account of Andrew Kamluck, a logger, who was also killed by being struck on the back of the head with an extremely large, heavy piece of machinery. What to Know Before Visiting Fairyland Caverns, Explore North Georgias Beautiful Wine Country, 8 Amazing Scenic Drives in Central Florida, 7 Best Antique Shops in Corpus Christi for Treasure Hunting, The Big Easy: The Truth Behind This Strange City Nickname, Soul Food You Have to Eat When Visiting New Orleans, Why Wisconsin May Not Be the Cheese Capital of the World, Get Hopped Up at the 7 Best Breweries in St. Louis. I think there might be a mix up. It was an unexplored, beautiful area, filled with fish and plenty of space. Available at: https://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/mysteries-of-portlock-alaska-and-the-abandonment-of-the-small-town-in-the-1900s/, Smith, D, 2021. Only the postmaster remained. Juneau, AK (KINY) - For Halloween, we decided to reach out to a local historian and adventurer to see if there were any unsolved mysteries in Alaska that would fit the spooky mood of the holiday. A group of hunters out stalking moose came across the giant footprints of some big animal. Thank you! The cannery plant posted armed guards to attempt to keep the cannery open, but it was no use. Get notified of the best destinations for your road trip. I would not go there! Many people use the term Port Chatham when referring to Portlock. @Rivals. In 1940 it was reported that a search party had been sent out to look for one such missing hunter, which would claim that they had come across his body in a creek, mutilated and torn apart in a way not consistent with a bear attack. Had high hopes, but was left seriously disappointed. Juneau, Alaska (Alaska Beacon) - Environmental groups and Democrats say states couldnt afford to protect public lands, which would lead them to sell to private companies. I recently sent you a New e-mail. In that year a local woodchopper, alone in the forest, was found murdered. Wars, natural disasters, political wrangling and the like can all be reasons one community might be abandoned in favor of another. This left plenty of villages that became whats known as ghost towns, and theyre located all around the state. Some of this area is also regarded as Alaska Native lands. No.". Have you been to Portlock, the whole town that disappeared in Alaska? A film crew was there not too long ago and a cameraman took off running out of no where and disappeared. Number of. From the start, the show seemed highly scripted, and once the group arrived at the site of Portlock, the first nights cornucopia of cliched Bigfoot phenomena just seemed way too convenient. A few scarier ones would be Ukivok near Nome, the Kennicott Mine in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Portage, near Whittier, the Slide Cemetery in Skagway, and the Treadwell Gold Mine near Juneau. Making it even more ominous is that there were some reports from frightened Natives that there was a ghostly entity in the area as well, which took the form of a woman wearing a long black dress and who would appear at the top of the cliffs near town to scream and moan before vanishing. This was once the little paradise away from it all that one would think, a bustling seaport that managed to grow and thrive at one point. By 1950, the town had been completely abandoned. It was very odd, because the body was found some distance away from the actual site, and the piece of machinery used to kill him was far too heavy for any man to have even picked it up, much less drag any significant distance. The reasons a town can die are many and varied. The people running the cannery basically begged their workers to come back and they set up armed guards for a short period of time, trying to get their workers back in town.". 18 Older Alaska Reports. Even this abandonment was not the end of the strange phenomena in the area, as there have been Bigfoot sightings in the years since. [14], Alaskas Best Known Cryptid Homicide Case Debunked, "Something's Afoot in Port Chatham Century-old Rumors Persist of a Terror in the Mountains", "Erling Nilson, 81, made smoked fish popular delicacy", "Mysteries of Portlock Alaska and the Abandonment of the Small Town in the 1900s", "Haunting memories 'Nantiinaq' sightings, spirits led to desertion of Native village", "This Abandoned Ghost Town In Alaska Is Downright Bone Chilling", "Alaska Magazine | Something's Afoot in Port Chatham - Century-old Rumors Persist of a Terror in the Mountains", "New Show Set in Portlock Explores Legend of Bigfoot", https://watch.travelchannel.com/show/alaskan-killer-bigfoot-travel-channel-atve-us, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Portlock (locale), "Skeptoid #772: The Monster of Port Chatham", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portlock,_Alaska&oldid=1117862997, This page was last edited on 23 October 2022, at 23:46. Required fields are marked *. "The local Natives started talking about a creature, a hairy Big Foot type Yeti monster and it was called the Nantiinaq or big hairy creature as it was called. Soon, many moved away from the small community, scared for their lives. Travelers Tip: Have you ever wondered if you can physically see Russia from Alaska? It seemed impossible that a sudden withdrawal of the townspeople could happen, but it did. Dec 28 Mystery Of Portlock, Alaska The local Natives started talking about a creature, a hairy Big Foot type Yeti monster and it was called the Nantiinaq or big hairy creature as it was called. He's written articles for MU and Daily Grail and has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and Binnal of America. Of course, that boat isnt very large, so I dont know how that would work out. Let me know if you got it. On Jan. 9, the group organized bags with those items inside. Whereas Hollywood often depicts pioneer life as violent and filled with hired gunmen and frequent gun play the Old West and pioneer life were not as violent as todays condensed big city populations with the shootings that occur in places like Chicago, Baltimore, or Detroit. The last residents fled in 1950, and the village lay abandoned. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Remnants of what once was can often still be found; old schools, churches or other buildings, usually in a ramshackle state of decay, stand, albeit perilously, serving as the only reminder that a community once thrived on the spot. His group plans frequent hikes in the area to places that have some sort of story to tell or just to see the natural beauty of the state. One man, a prospector, who was surveying the land outside of town for resources that could be mined had climbed to the top of a tree to get his bearings and a better overall lay of the land. Just watched the first episode. There has to be more living on that land still. It looked more like someone picked it up and bonked him over the head.". Publications. He was a good ten feet from the logging equipment, so it's not like he slipped, fell, and hit his head. The villagers would hear something and then she would disappear back into the cliff face, History writes Seventy years ago, a murderous Bigfoot-like creature sent residents fleeing from Portlock, Alaska. The people running the cannery basically begged their workers to come back and they set up armed guards for a short period of time, trying to get their workers back in town. Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is to support regional partnerships and federally recognized tribes. Its a hike to get to Portlock, Alaska, these days, but if you have the opportunity, dont pass it up. The villagers would hear something and then she would disappear back into the cliff face.". Required fields are marked *. One might recall that a number of very strange paranormal events occurred in Nome, Alaska, also a coastal town further north on the shores of the largest and most wild of the 50 states. Im looking forward to watching the next. The resident rushed to get his gun, and when he returned, he saw the beast staring at him. Hope to get a chance to see your follow ups, good luck on the Quest for BigFoot.id love to be a part of it all, but, id have tp say i too am a tad bit scared, jtw. If you travel to the southern side of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula today, you'll find little more than ruins and wildlife. Portlock is still mostly uninhabited to this day; the town was dissolved as a census designated place in the 1980s and has not been reported again since then. Many fled to the town of Nanwalek which still technically owns Portlock. Do you believe the rumors about Portlock, Alaska? However, they also suggest that many of the stories about their hometown exist to keep outsiders from discovering what a magical place it is. Regardless of his skepticism, there is something uncanny about several groups of people being fearful of this monster. Abandoned Lifeboat on Bouvet Island: Mystery Solved! This town experience over 50 years of hauntings, murders, and disappearances before the townspeople gave in and left. Residents of the nearby towns of Seldovia, Nanwalek, and Port Graham are descendants of the families who lived in Portlock. Juneau Radio Center - Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce - Congressional Candidate Forum 2022, The Mandy Massey Real Estate and Home Show brokered by EXP Realty, Extreme Expeditions Northwest LLC on YouTube. Accept Read More. She would moan and scream, then disappear into the cliff face. Copyright 2008-2019. I would NOT spend the night onshore, only overnighting in the boat, well offshore. FBI officials Sunday were traveling to Kenai. Orang Pendek: Is There An Unknown Great Ape In Remotest Sumatra? Thats the best and most realistic show on TV right now pertaining to Bigfoot. In her interview Malania said her godfather (whom she never named) was killed after being hit on the back of his head with a winch while on a boat. She had a very white face and would scream and moan. Stories of mutilated bodies, missing hunters and strange . It was reported that people began to go missing fairly regularly, going off hunting or to their jobs to never return. they appear as so,but are not. Although some people will forever dispute the events at Port Lock and Port Chatham as wives tales something threatening definitely happened and was never solved. Their bodies were allegedly found in a creek as if their limbs had been ripped apart. Find the most current and reliable 7 day weather forecasts, storm alerts, reports and information for [city] with The Weather Network. But such stories, although consistent with the accounts from Portlock, only allow speculation as to what happened in the Alaskan settlement. By then, locals spoke of a Yeti-like monster that walked the beaches of Portlock, destroying fish wheels and leaving giant 18-inch-long footprints. unexplained deaths, and ghosts. Local historian Brian Weed has said of this: When the 1930s incidents started to happen most of the Russian Aleuts actually moved out of town for a year. Be great to get some info on this expedition, saw a post about it here too..http://grandcherokee.proboards.com/thread/607/portlock-alaska-abandoned-due-sasquatchInterested in attending (made it as far as Burns Lake this past fall), 3/13/2018 i just now saw an add on craiglist to join in on the adventure in portlock. As for prints, She heard some days about her dad complaining about large footprints, that he'd say were bear, in the snow; but he seemed troubled about them, unduely agitated in a fearful manner, and would hurry her away from them. On the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, you'll find Portlock, Alaska, a whole town that disappeared within the state, with only a few rotting houses left of the once-vibrant village. And then, bodies started appearing around the village. In the 1920s, Albert Petka reported running off a peculiar animal with his dogs before receiving a fatal blow from the creature. Portlock's death sentence was signed when, along the opposite edge of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska Route 1 was completed during the 1940s, finally allowing efficient transportation between Anchorage and all of the many towns along the peninsula. Nobody lives in Portlock now. The nearest weather station for both precipitation and temperature measurements is TUTKA BAY LAG which is approximately 19 miles away and has an elevation of 20 feet (65 feet lower than Portlock). But with the isolation and the vast areas free from human habitation comes its fair share of spooky stories and unexplained happenings. Looking for Richard Boutte online? We're 100% free for everything!' FamilyTree Now.com FamilyTree Now. They had long told of a creature stalking the wildernesses of the region, which they referred to as a Nantiinaq, roughly translating to half man- half beast. The Natives were apparently terrified of these creatures, and would avoid any area in which they were known to lurk. The Maxim machinegun played an important role in the swift European colonization of Africa in the late 19th century. - YouTube 0:00 / 42:45 What Really Happened in Portlock, Alaska? I think it would be a fantastic film if done right. Bears are certainly large and strong enough to do the damage seen by the villagers, and would be attracted by the salmon canning plant, but the footprints and eyewitness accounts dispute this. Are there a lot of haunted areas in Alaska? i believe people are seeing and hearing and smelling exactly what they say they are. Bipin Dimri is a writer from India with an educational background in Management Studies. She has a violent temper at times, but did her job without fail.