John's Still Missing. Here's what I have. I don't know what to do.
Hi. This is dawny_darko, I finally remembered John's password. I'm sorry if you don't know me, I'm notbatman's wife and, if you don't already know, he's disappeared as of last Monday. I don't have email addresses for everyone anymore so I guess I have to do this on fucking Livejournal of all places. The Police still aren't being very helpful, though they promise the investigation is ongoing. I'm collecting what I can from the last few days. I don't know, maybe I hope someone can figure out what's going on if the police can't? I just don't know what to do!
His tweets are already out there, of course, but I want to get them all in the same place where they won't disappear. Also there is a half-written journal draft that I'm going to stick in here to keep everything in one place. I also found an email in his sent folder that... I don't really know for sure what to make of. There are a lot of photos on his camera, too. Not sure what I can do with those, they don't seem to have anything important. If someone wants to come and look at them, feel free. There's also the matter of the book, I found it in his office. If anyone reads French, I can only figure out enough to be really freaked out by it. It's really old and it's not in great shape. I should probably bring it to the UofM and see if someone there can tell me anything about it.
I don't have contact info for many of his exploring friends, I should have asked for more. I've called Babs repeatedly without any response, I've left multiple messages on Jim's voicemail. Should I bring more of them into the loop too? He was on a mailing list of local explorers, I could send something there but I'm not even sure what I would say or what good it would do.
I just don't know what to do anymore and I'm really freaking out. So here's what I've got. PLEASE let me know if you can help in any way.
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
This is the LJ Draft that I found:
Subject: Adventure Tuesday - Part 1: River Surprises!
Thursday, May 6th 2010
Adventure Tuesday was supposed to be nothing more than some quick recon work followed by a few (too many) Adventure BeersTM. I was just looking for something light to occupy a few hours and do some scouting for a particular tunnel that might be good for taking The Boy to, sometime. Back in the day, MPuzzle and I were in and out of all the drains up and down our piece of the river. There's one big one that's got a lot of stuff going on, but there are some fifteen or twenty smaller pipes that don't really do anything at all. Most of these were simple, linear tunnels, as I recall. Straight shots in, nothing fancy. There was one, though, somewhere on the St. Paul side of the river that had a couple branches. They all ended at dead ends and drop shafts, none of them going very far, but it was slightly more interesting than a featureless straight tunnel. This is the one I was looking for, seems like it would be a good one for Hunter to come and see, but I have to be sure it's safe first, of course.
I've never gone into a drain alone before, it's something I've always said I wouldn't do. This was a little different, I was looking for something we've seen before and I was sure that I've been to everything in the neighborhood already. To make sure someone knew where I was, I twitted each outfall as I entered. It actually seemed to work pretty well. As I said, MPuzzle and I have been in and out of all of these tunnels anyway, so there wouldn't be any surprises, right?
But oh, there were surprises, after all!
For my last stop of the day, I went into an outfall just a little north of the Ford Bridge. I don't actually remember this one from when we were kids, and I can't figure out why. There was a lot of graffitti surrounding the outfall, but nothing too interesting. The tunnel itself looked like it went in a hundred yards or so to a dead-end, but the bricks were nice and the last light of the day was shining in the outfall nicely, so I set up my tripod and took a few shots. I assumed that I would soon be on my way to get something to eat. What looked like a dead end, however, was actually a turn. The tunnel ran much farther than anything else in the area was doing, but it was still straight and featureless, so I went on as there didn't seem to be any appreciable risk.
But then things changed again! The corridor opened up in a strange, almost natural void. The bricks of the tunnel ended abruptly and I was standing under a large drop shaft carved into the sandstone itself, without a lot of concrete that you would normally see. There was too much water coming down to really get a look at how far up the shaft went or if there were any cross-tunnels above. The space I was in now had three tunnels leading out, one being the one I came down in the first place. One of the exits, leading straight in from where I'd come, was made of the same concrete and brick tunnel. I followed this down another few hundred yards until eventually it came to a dead end.
Returning back to the junction room, the third passage out lead roughly perpendicular to the tunnels I was in and more or less parallel to the river. This quickly turned to a simple concrete bottom with a rough, hand-carved sandstone walls and ceiling. It's amazing to see the marks from the pick-axes that carved the tunnels, so long ago. The walls were narrower in here and there were lots of places where I had to turn sideways to slip through certain sections. The system I got lost in includes whole networks made up of similarly constructed tunnels, so I was very interested in where they were going and what might happen. Thoughts of discovering a safe, remote access to that system pushed me onward, even though I was alone and a little on edge.
The main path of the new branch turned occasionally, here and there, but there were no proper branches built into it. The tunnel twisted about, there was another drop shaft letting air (and water) in, and then the tunnel narrowed even more until it came to a dead end that I had to squirm through a little to get to. I tried to get a few shots, but the humidity was really fucking with my lens.
Now check this shit out! I said there weren't any more branches built into the tunnel, but there was another intersection. The pictures didn't come out well at all, this is the best I've got for now. There's a crack here that twists and winds deeper into the sandstone. I'm not sure, of course, but it looks like a natural fissure in the rock!
It's pretty narrow and twisty and I was already having trouble with my tripod and camera in the regular tunnels. This new section is a weird convoluted crawler. I couldn't see the end with my light, but it seemed to contort it's way straight for some time, at least. I gotta say, I was actually kind of completely freaking out when I saw it the first time. It was scary in a weirdly unexpected way.
I skipped past it and went on to the rest of the tunnel, thinking I might go in on my way back. By then I was tired and getting really hungry, so I used that as an excuse to put it off for a return trip. I got a hold of Babs, and we planned an expedition. I just hope it stays interesting enough to make it worth the effort to go back. I'll feel bad if it goes in a hundred yards and just ends.
Subject: Adventure Tuesday - Part 2: The Return
[insert epic tales of Adventure! here]
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
I found the following in the "Sent" folder in his email.
Subject: [blank]
Sunday, May 9th, 2010 01:38:22 AM
From: NotBatman [notbatman@livejournal.com]
To: Babs [babushka99@monkeynutz.net]
Dude, I don't know what the fuck happened. I panicked. I'm sorry, I just ran. I can't explain it. I thought you were right behind me? Once I got out and stopped running, I came back and waited outside for a few hours. After a while I was going to go back in but I figured you must have found a manhole or something to get out of? Or maybe you made it out between when I was running and when I came back to the outfall. I don't know.
I've sent you at least half a dozen texts, but maybe you're having trouble with your phone? I never got any kind of a home phone number from you...
What the shit happened in that last chamber? Were there fucking DOGS in there or what the hell WAS that? I didn't realize you carried a gun, either. What the hell were you shooting at? I didn't get a good look at what was inside, after the last bit of crawling tunnel. I saw you pick up the book and then my light must have... done something funny, I just couldn't quite see what happened, the shadows were... unsettling. Suddenly you were screaming and you shoved the book at me and started climbing back out. I wasn't looking, just desperately trying to help pull you out and get moving. Then there was shooting and you yelling we had to run...
I'm scared, man. I'm worried about you.
Please call when you get this. Just incase there IS something wrong with your phone, here's my number again: 612.555.1515
I'm worried and I think we REALLY need to talk about what happened.
--John
Monday, May 10th, 2010
(edited to pop this out of the cut.)
This is my entry for LJ Idol - Week 26-A: Open Topic. I promise I'm still alive and not missing. LJ Idol - Week 26-B: Face to Face is meant to be read directly following this.
His tweets are already out there, of course, but I want to get them all in the same place where they won't disappear. Also there is a half-written journal draft that I'm going to stick in here to keep everything in one place. I also found an email in his sent folder that... I don't really know for sure what to make of. There are a lot of photos on his camera, too. Not sure what I can do with those, they don't seem to have anything important. If someone wants to come and look at them, feel free. There's also the matter of the book, I found it in his office. If anyone reads French, I can only figure out enough to be really freaked out by it. It's really old and it's not in great shape. I should probably bring it to the UofM and see if someone there can tell me anything about it.
I don't have contact info for many of his exploring friends, I should have asked for more. I've called Babs repeatedly without any response, I've left multiple messages on Jim's voicemail. Should I bring more of them into the loop too? He was on a mailing list of local explorers, I could send something there but I'm not even sure what I would say or what good it would do.
I just don't know what to do anymore and I'm really freaking out. So here's what I've got. PLEASE let me know if you can help in any way.
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
- 12:53 PM - @MPuzzle Sorry, no movie tonight. Adventure Tuesday plans for some light recon. Want to revisit tunnels along river. Old Skool! #
- 12:54 PM - @MPuzzle Going alone, will update here. #
- 5:03 PM - Ahoy! Going to be in and out of a few storm drains today. Simple nonsense. Weather good now, can someone text me if forecast changes? #
- 5:05 PM - Going alone so I'll post the ins and outs and the where's as I go, just in case. Wish me luck! #
- 5:17 PM - @Janezy First rule is "No Drains when ir rains" Shouldn't be an issue, but can't be too careful. #
- 5:21 PM - @Kevelyn63 Almost no chance at all if I'm underground at the time, but I'll be between spots a lot. None of these tunnels are big anyway. #
- 5:38 PM - First outfall. Few blocks N of Ford Bridge on the east side of the river. Going in, will update whem out. //ngdp.com/pics/2GF17 #
- 5:50 PM - Out. Straight pipe, interesting brickwork. Not worth trouble, didn't even break out camera. Or beer. Moving on. #
- 6:12 PM - @ConanDammit mostly just looking for pics. MPuzzle and I used to be in and out of these tunnels 20 yrs ago. Just fun to be back, I guess. #
- 6:21 PM - Second outfall. Closer to bridge. Going in. //ngdp.com/pics/55DG1 #
- 6:56 PM - Out. Kinda remember this one. Nice bricks, but it's a croucher. Got a few shots, will see if anything comes of it. #
- 7:38 PM - Next tunnel. Just N of Ford. Lots of graff around outfall. Getting hungry. Getting dark. Goinfg in. //ngdp/pics/7HI73 #
- 9:02 PM - Holy shit! Much more complex than anything I remember seeing. Spent a LONG time inside. #
- 9:03 PM - Some recent traffic, beer bottles, candles, some footprints. Interestingn architecture. #
- 9:05 PM - Best part was a weird junction that intersects what looks like a natural fissure. Really humid, foggy inside, not sue any shots came out. #
- 9:07 PM - Have to go back when there's more time. Too damned tired and hungry. Now to get back to the car. Adventure! #
- 9:33 PM - @DawnyDarko Wasn't expecting to find anything cool. Might get someone to go back with, not as big a deal as might sound. #
- 9:56 PM - Sitting in Merlin's Rest fantasizing of going through ALL their scotches. Most pics ok on cam, some not so good. Whatevs. Try again. #
- 11:30 PM - @MPuzzle I know, right? It was fucking WILD! Dont know how we missed it! #
- 11:33 PM - @Babs I was hoping that might work out. :) Let's schedule something soon. You're old enough to buy the beer now, aren't you? Hah! #
- 11:35 PM - @TartQueen You never remember when I have plans. What's up with that? :) #
- 11:47 PM - Beer Good. Unexpectedly awesome day. Going home. #
This is the LJ Draft that I found:
Subject: Adventure Tuesday - Part 1: River Surprises!
Thursday, May 6th 2010
Adventure Tuesday was supposed to be nothing more than some quick recon work followed by a few (too many) Adventure BeersTM. I was just looking for something light to occupy a few hours and do some scouting for a particular tunnel that might be good for taking The Boy to, sometime. Back in the day, MPuzzle and I were in and out of all the drains up and down our piece of the river. There's one big one that's got a lot of stuff going on, but there are some fifteen or twenty smaller pipes that don't really do anything at all. Most of these were simple, linear tunnels, as I recall. Straight shots in, nothing fancy. There was one, though, somewhere on the St. Paul side of the river that had a couple branches. They all ended at dead ends and drop shafts, none of them going very far, but it was slightly more interesting than a featureless straight tunnel. This is the one I was looking for, seems like it would be a good one for Hunter to come and see, but I have to be sure it's safe first, of course.
I've never gone into a drain alone before, it's something I've always said I wouldn't do. This was a little different, I was looking for something we've seen before and I was sure that I've been to everything in the neighborhood already. To make sure someone knew where I was, I twitted each outfall as I entered. It actually seemed to work pretty well. As I said, MPuzzle and I have been in and out of all of these tunnels anyway, so there wouldn't be any surprises, right?
But oh, there were surprises, after all!
For my last stop of the day, I went into an outfall just a little north of the Ford Bridge. I don't actually remember this one from when we were kids, and I can't figure out why. There was a lot of graffitti surrounding the outfall, but nothing too interesting. The tunnel itself looked like it went in a hundred yards or so to a dead-end, but the bricks were nice and the last light of the day was shining in the outfall nicely, so I set up my tripod and took a few shots. I assumed that I would soon be on my way to get something to eat. What looked like a dead end, however, was actually a turn. The tunnel ran much farther than anything else in the area was doing, but it was still straight and featureless, so I went on as there didn't seem to be any appreciable risk.
But then things changed again! The corridor opened up in a strange, almost natural void. The bricks of the tunnel ended abruptly and I was standing under a large drop shaft carved into the sandstone itself, without a lot of concrete that you would normally see. There was too much water coming down to really get a look at how far up the shaft went or if there were any cross-tunnels above. The space I was in now had three tunnels leading out, one being the one I came down in the first place. One of the exits, leading straight in from where I'd come, was made of the same concrete and brick tunnel. I followed this down another few hundred yards until eventually it came to a dead end.
Returning back to the junction room, the third passage out lead roughly perpendicular to the tunnels I was in and more or less parallel to the river. This quickly turned to a simple concrete bottom with a rough, hand-carved sandstone walls and ceiling. It's amazing to see the marks from the pick-axes that carved the tunnels, so long ago. The walls were narrower in here and there were lots of places where I had to turn sideways to slip through certain sections. The system I got lost in includes whole networks made up of similarly constructed tunnels, so I was very interested in where they were going and what might happen. Thoughts of discovering a safe, remote access to that system pushed me onward, even though I was alone and a little on edge.
The main path of the new branch turned occasionally, here and there, but there were no proper branches built into it. The tunnel twisted about, there was another drop shaft letting air (and water) in, and then the tunnel narrowed even more until it came to a dead end that I had to squirm through a little to get to. I tried to get a few shots, but the humidity was really fucking with my lens.
Now check this shit out! I said there weren't any more branches built into the tunnel, but there was another intersection. The pictures didn't come out well at all, this is the best I've got for now. There's a crack here that twists and winds deeper into the sandstone. I'm not sure, of course, but it looks like a natural fissure in the rock!
It's pretty narrow and twisty and I was already having trouble with my tripod and camera in the regular tunnels. This new section is a weird convoluted crawler. I couldn't see the end with my light, but it seemed to contort it's way straight for some time, at least. I gotta say, I was actually kind of completely freaking out when I saw it the first time. It was scary in a weirdly unexpected way.
I skipped past it and went on to the rest of the tunnel, thinking I might go in on my way back. By then I was tired and getting really hungry, so I used that as an excuse to put it off for a return trip. I got a hold of Babs, and we planned an expedition. I just hope it stays interesting enough to make it worth the effort to go back. I'll feel bad if it goes in a hundred yards and just ends.
Subject: Adventure Tuesday - Part 2: The Return
[insert epic tales of Adventure! here]
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
- 9:37 AM - Got here too early. Waiting for Babs. #
- 9:39 AM - Going back into same hole, going to check out the Fissure of Doom! #
- 9:41 AM - Not bothering with tripod and cam. Pics are nice, but crack will be WAY more difficult with all that. #
- 9:46 AM - @DawnyDarko The crack's been there nearly a hundred years, if it's man-made. #
- 9:48 AM - @DawnyDarko 100s of millions of years if it's natural. It prolly has a few more hours left in it. :) #
- 9:56 AM - Babs just piulled up, going in shortly. #
- 9:57 AM - Again, please text if the weather changes, just in case. #
- 10:27 AM - Heh. Is this thing on? Sitting in drop shaft outside of crack when phone chirped with a text. #
- 10:28 AM - I just about shat myself! :) #
- 10:30 AM - Babs id creawling around, I'll follow shortly. #
- 10:34 AM - My turn! #
- 12:57 PM - Fuck. Shitfuck. Shit. #
- 3:04 PM - @MNUndergrounders If anyone hears from him, please make sure Babs gets in touch with me RIGHTFUCKINGNOW #
- 3:07 PM - @SJ I'm not sure. #
- 3:10 PM - @DawnyDarko Srry, forgot to update when I gotout. #
I found the following in the "Sent" folder in his email.
Subject: [blank]
Sunday, May 9th, 2010 01:38:22 AM
From: NotBatman [notbatman@livejournal.com]
To: Babs [babushka99@monkeynutz.net]
Dude, I don't know what the fuck happened. I panicked. I'm sorry, I just ran. I can't explain it. I thought you were right behind me? Once I got out and stopped running, I came back and waited outside for a few hours. After a while I was going to go back in but I figured you must have found a manhole or something to get out of? Or maybe you made it out between when I was running and when I came back to the outfall. I don't know.
I've sent you at least half a dozen texts, but maybe you're having trouble with your phone? I never got any kind of a home phone number from you...
What the shit happened in that last chamber? Were there fucking DOGS in there or what the hell WAS that? I didn't realize you carried a gun, either. What the hell were you shooting at? I didn't get a good look at what was inside, after the last bit of crawling tunnel. I saw you pick up the book and then my light must have... done something funny, I just couldn't quite see what happened, the shadows were... unsettling. Suddenly you were screaming and you shoved the book at me and started climbing back out. I wasn't looking, just desperately trying to help pull you out and get moving. Then there was shooting and you yelling we had to run...
I'm scared, man. I'm worried about you.
Please call when you get this. Just incase there IS something wrong with your phone, here's my number again: 612.555.1515
I'm worried and I think we REALLY need to talk about what happened.
--John
Monday, May 10th, 2010
- 8:57 AM - I'm sorry. I didn't actually go to work today. #
- 8:59 AM - I haven't heard anything from or abotu Babs since Saturday. I'm worried. #
- 9:00 AM - I have to go back in there. I have to see if something's happened to him. #
- 9:01 AM - I was going to take someone else with me, but I can't do that. Not after satrday. #
- 9:03 AM - I never mentioned the book he grabbed before we left. Cultes des Goules. //ngdp.com/pics/FE07D #
- 9:06 AM - Been reading. My French isn't what it used to be, but there are some pretty graphic pics to help. //ngdp.com/pics/FE118 #
- 9:08 AM - Ghoul or fever dream? //ngdp.com/pics/FF55G #
- 9:11 AM - The book seems crazy, but it FEELS real. Maybe ther aARE monsters. Maybe Babs is in trouble. #
- 9:13 AM - Maybe it's a hoax and I'm butt of a joke. Or maybe there are ghouls underground St. Paul. I have to see if he got out. #
- 9:15 AM - On my way back inside now. Please don't follow, I should be out in an hour or so. #
- 9:18 AM - But IF I don't, please make sure Hunter knows how much I love him and tell him I'm sorry. #
- 9:21 AM - Babs is someone's son, too. He's so damned young. I can't NOT go in and see. #
- 9:27 AM - @Janezy The rain is the LEAST ofg my concerns. As long as I can get IN it should be fine enough. #
- 9:30 AM - @ConanDammit Don't bother. I'll be done before you even find it. #
- 3:15 PM - #
- 3:21 PM - Some #
- 3:28 PM - Something funny happened. Please come. Help. Fast. #
- 4:07 PM - @MNUndergrounders Something cool in tunnel. Pic. Entrance north of Ford Bridge. //ngdp/pics/7HI73 #
- 4:13 PM - @MNUndergrounders Please hurry. #
(edited to pop this out of the cut.)
This is my entry for LJ Idol - Week 26-A: Open Topic. I promise I'm still alive and not missing. LJ Idol - Week 26-B: Face to Face is meant to be read directly following this.