“MOTHER AND SON VANISHED IN COLORADO — A YEAR LATER, THE HORRIFYING TRUTH WAS REVEALED…”

In the wild, unforgiving expanse of Colorado’s San Isabel National Park, the disappearance of a young mother and her son in 2014 would forever alter the lives of everyone involved. What initially seemed like a routine hiking accident evolved into a dark and twisted story of murder, deceit, and a cover-up that spanned the entire year. By the time the truth emerged, the horror that awaited in the remote mountains was beyond what anyone could have anticipated.

This is the story of Abigail Carter and her 20-year-old son, Owen, and how their disappearance led to the unmasking of a calculated crime that defied all expectations.

The Disappearance: A Simple Hike That Turned Deadly

Abigail Carter and her son Owen were no strangers to the outdoors. Abigail, an architect from Boulder, had always found solace in the mountains. It was more than just a place to escape; it was where she organized her thoughts, where the noise of the world could be left behind. Owen, a 20-year-old university student studying ecology, shared his mother’s passion. His research focused on Colorado’s mountain water systems, and he needed to collect water samples from the San Isabel National Park area.

The hike was meant to be a bonding experience before Owen left for an internship in Canada. It was to be their last adventure together. Little did anyone know that it would become their final trip—one that would leave only unanswered questions behind.

On June 12, 2014, Abigail and Owen left their home in Boulder early in the morning, with plans to spend three days in the rugged beauty of the San Isabel National Park. Their route was simple, covering the Revas Ranch Trail and a short stretch of the Clear Creek Falls. Abigail sent her husband, David, a quick message saying they were camped near Lake Creek, and that they’d be heading deeper into the canyon the next day. It was a brief note, filled with the joy of adventure and the promise of a peaceful escape. But that would be the last anyone heard from them.

When Abigail and Owen didn’t return by the scheduled time, David began to worry. Their car was still parked at the trailhead, but there was no sign of them. His concern deepened when their phones went silent. Despite the lack of communication, David’s instincts, honed by years of experience as a former ranger, told him something was wrong. By June 15, he drove out to the trailhead, hoping to find them safe. Instead, all he found were their personal belongings in the car, but no sign of the hikers themselves.

The Search Effort: Desperation in the Mountains

The search for Abigail and Owen quickly intensified. The first 24 hours of any search are critical, and the authorities wasted no time mobilizing. Helicopters flew over the rugged terrain, while search teams scoured the mountainside, looking for any clues that might explain the disappearance. The park was vast, and the canyon was remote, but the experienced rescue teams, including rangers and volunteers, went to work. Despite their efforts, the trail went cold quickly.

On day three, a campsite was found near the source of Lake Creek, complete with a campfire, candy wrappers, and a half-empty can of gas. There was no sign of a struggle or any indication that something had gone wrong. The footprints found near the camp indicated they had been walking confidently toward the canyon, but then… nothing. The trail abruptly disappeared, and the dogs, who had been tracking the scent, were suddenly confused.

As days passed, David and the search teams grew more desperate. Local rangers, dog handlers, and volunteers combed through miles of terrain, checking every possible ravine, stream bed, and potential hiding spot. But the mountains remained silent. The search stretched into two weeks, and still, there was no sign of Abigail or Owen. Their case was eventually classified as a “cold case” by the authorities, but David refused to let it go. He knew in his gut that there was more to the story. Someone, or something, was keeping them from finding the truth.

The Breakthrough: A Year Later, A Chilling Discovery

It wasn’t until the summer of 2015 that the case would take a dark turn. A group of geology students from the Colorado School of Mines, conducting fieldwork in the area, stumbled upon something that would forever change the course of the investigation.

While working on the southern slope of the valley, one of the students, Peter Lamb, noticed something unusual. Beneath a thin layer of loose rocks, he uncovered a bright yellow piece of fabric. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be part of a tent, one that had been carefully buried under rocks. What appeared to be an accident turned out to be something far more sinister. As the team excavated, they found sleeping bags, backpacks, and other personal items. The discovery of these items, and the way they had been concealed, pointed to the fact that Abigail and Owen had not wandered off or gotten lost. They had been taken.

The initial forensic examination revealed that the tent had been purposefully collapsed. The layers of rocks were arranged too neatly, suggesting that whoever had hidden it did so with intent. More disturbing was the discovery of bullet holes in the fabric. It seemed clear that the campers hadn’t just been lost; they had been ambushed.

The Mystery of the Symbol and the Connection to Caleb Reed

As the investigation continued, a new lead emerged. A small, crudely carved wooden cross was found near the tent, along with a strange symbol burned into its surface. This symbol resembled an ancient petroglyph, similar to those found in Native American rock art, but its meaning was unclear. The symbol seemed to be a sign—a ritualistic marker left by someone who believed they were purging the land of intruders.

The breakthrough came when a local ranger, after seeing the symbol, made a chilling connection to Caleb Reed, a former park ranger who had been known for his radical beliefs about the sanctity of the desert. Reed had been a part of a small, obscure cult in the 1990s known as the Disciples of the Sun, who believed that the desert had to be “purified” through extreme measures. They had disappeared after their leader died in a mysterious accident, but it seemed that Caleb Reed had never truly left the desert.

Reed’s name appeared in the investigation after a series of disturbing connections were made between his beliefs and the ritualistic elements of the case.

Uncovering the True Criminal: Caleb Reed and Jake Crawford

It wasn’t long before the investigation turned toward a different suspect: Jake Crawford, a former associate of Caleb Reed. Crawford, a man with a criminal background, had been working as an industrial climber in the area and had ties to illegal activities, including smuggling.

Crawford, who had been hiding in the shadows, turned out to be the key to the mystery. He had used Caleb Reed’s fanaticism as a cover for his own criminal operations, smuggling illegal goods through the remote mountain regions. Abigail and Owen had unknowingly stumbled upon his operation when they discovered a hidden trail leading into the quarry. Their curiosity, combined with the dangerous combination of Reed’s radical ideology and Crawford’s criminal pragmatism, led to their deaths.

The Capture and Aftermath

Jake Crawford was arrested after a detailed investigation traced his movements and activities in the area. He was charged with the kidnapping, forced labor, and murder of Abigail and Owen. Caleb Reed, although not the direct killer, was charged with aiding and abetting the crimes, as his radical beliefs had played a crucial role in the events leading up to the deaths.

During the trial, Crawford revealed that Margaret Gillan, one of the victims, had been killed because she had become a threat to their operation. She had started asking too many questions and had become an unwitting witness to the crime.

The shocking truth revealed that the disappearance of Abigail and Owen had not been a random tragedy. It was a calculated crime committed by two men who used ideology and criminal activity as a cover for their twisted motives. The death of these two young hikers was not just the result of a random act of violence, but the consequence of something far more insidious—an act of purification, disguised as fanaticism.

The Final Verdict

The investigation and subsequent trial exposed the deep, dark underbelly of the desert—a world where fanaticism and crime could coexist, hidden in plain sight. The case of Abigail Carter and Owen Goskins was a reminder of the dangers of blind curiosity and the price that can be paid when someone dares to ask the wrong questions in the wrong place.

The desert, once a symbol of peace and serenity, had shown its darker side—a side that concealed the deadliest of secrets.