So from what I can gather or speculate, his backpack and bow was found on private property or right close to it. Reading some news articles, all three hunters were known for trespassing and poaching. Now I live and guide in Montana. I’ve hunted and guided close to this general area. Most of the elk stick to private land or right on the border. Obliviously these guys knew this. So could it be that he intentionally set out to head the direction towards the ranch? Say he went to this cache of gear, then decided to head down the trail instead of returning to camp. Easily could have grabbed another pair of boots at this cache. He radioed his partners of the plan and headed out. Would explain why they didn’t raise the alarm till a couple days later. Obliviously they wouldn’t wanna possibly incriminate themselves by telling the law of the speculated plan to look for elk on the private land. I think he spiked camped where they found his boots, hydration blatter, and fire ring. (Boots were probably soaked so he left them next the the fire to dry, and searchers didn’t find them because they were buried in snow the first time they were there.)Headed off to continue down the trail. So back to the pack, I think Aaron is fine at this point. Perhaps looking for elk, sets his pack and gear down to scout around and look for elk. Hence why the orange vest was there so he could find it again. Not sure why he would leave his bow at this point, maybe this is when everything went wrong. His body was recovered about half a mile from his pack. I think it was some accident or predation. Ranchers can be pretty damn hostile if you get caught trespassing while hunting. I’m doubtful a landowner would use violence on a trespasser though. Hold at gun point and wait for authorities is more realistic. Maybe he saw a landowner coming and stashed his bow so he could say he wasn’t a hunter? Maybe he was just looking for some elk and if caught didn’t wanna be armed so he could say he wasn’t a hunter. Maybe he bumped into a bear and was mauled. It’s unfortunately pretty common in Montana, lots of hunters surprise bears. His remains were scattered out so the evidence supports wildlife scavenging on the carcass. Now this is all just speculation after watching the 411 documentary and reading many news articles. My conclusion is he was looking for elk where he knew where they would be and something went wrong. I don’t believe he had hypothermia and was delusional when he dropped the pack that appeared to be stashed and the thermos/energy drink on the rock. He either had a bodily injury or was attacked by a wild animal. They say his legs were never found, so he easily could have slipped or fallen and broke a leg. Then crawled against the tree where his skull was found and died of exposure.
Here’s a story about it, lots of sources sighted at the bottom.
The Mysterious Stories Blog - Read about strange, disturbing and mysterious stories from the outdoors, from around the world
strangeoutdoors.squarespace.com
You just blew my mind with so much of what you said. Let me dissect:
"So could it be that he intentionally set out to head the direction towards the ranch?"
OK so we know he is an experienced hunter who has extensive knowledge of this area and that he is there to get an elk. The fork in the trail is clearly marked so it's safe to assume that he is not lost. It is also safe to assume that the reason that he headed in the opposite direction of sunlight lake is because he was seeking to find elk. So the answer to your question is Yes, he intentionally set out to head the direction towards the ranch, where you said that the elk would most likely be on private property.
"Easily could have grabbed another pair of boots at this cache."
This is correct. Can't imagine a scenario in which someone plans a cache for emergencies and doesn't include a pair of boots.
"He radioed his partners of the plan and headed out. Would explain why they didn’t raise the alarm till a couple days later. "
I agree. These guys were experienced and out to get an Elk. They knew of the dangers of both getting caught for poaching and wouldn't raise any red flags unless there were sure that a member of their party was indeed in major trouble.
"Would explain why they didn’t raise the alarm till a couple days later. Obviously they wouldn’t wanna possibly incriminate themselves by telling the law of the speculated plan to look for elk on the private land. I think he spiked camped where they found his boots, hydration bladder, and fire ring. (Boots were probably soaked so he left them next the the fire to dry, and searchers didn’t find them because they were buried in snow the first time they were there.)Headed off to continue down the trail. So back to the pack, I think Aaron is fine at this point. Perhaps looking for elk, sets his pack and gear down to scout around and look for elk. Hence why the orange vest was there so he could find it again. Not sure why he would leave his bow at this point, maybe this is when everything went wrong. His body was recovered about half a mile from his pack. I think it was some accident or predation. "
I agree with everything you say here. Nothing is out of the normal. He is chasing game and his partners know it. He sees he is on private property and doesn't do anything to seek help, indicating that he is not in danger and wants to remain low and NOT GET CAUGHT. Then he wanders off from his pack and something goes horribly wrong, which can easily happen in a situation similar to this.
"I’m doubtful a landowner would use violence on a trespasser though. Hold at gun point and wait for authorities is more realistic. Maybe he saw a landowner coming and stashed his bow so he could say he wasn’t a hunter? Maybe he was just looking for some elk and if caught didn’t wanna be armed so he could say he wasn’t a hunter. Maybe he bumped into a bear and was mauled. It’s unfortunately pretty common in Montana, lots of hunters surprise bears. His remains were scattered out so the evidence supports wildlife scavenging on the carcass. Now this is all just speculation after watching the 411 documentary and reading many news articles. My conclusion is he was looking for elk where he knew where they would be and something went wrong."
I agree. No landowner is going to kill a guy for hunting on private property. They would just scare him off and be done with the situation. I think something went wrong like you say. Either he ran into an animal or got hit by the weather. Given that he was experienced and this is 2014, I would assume he would know a big storm is coming in. So I think an unexplained accident happened, which is quite common for a person like him in this situation.
"I don’t believe he had hypothermia and was delusional when he dropped the pack that appeared to be stashed and the thermos/energy drink on the rock. He either had a bodily injury or was attacked by a wild animal. They say his legs were never found, so he easily could have slipped or fallen and broke a leg. Then crawled against the tree where his skull was found and died of exposure."
I think you are right about not having hypothermia. The thermos and energy drink establish that he had set up another camp, which is highly probably for someone chasing game. Some sort of accident happened and then his friends realized he wasn't coming back with an Elk and called the authorities. These guys were there to hunt game and knew the risks they were taking. They would not have called the authorities unless something went horribly wrong. This is the reason why his wife called the authorities and not them. They wanted to lay low for as long as possible.