Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - A Family Trip Turns to Terror A Father's Search for Truth After His Son Vanishes in Trona #79

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales #disappearancemystery #familydrama #desertnightmare #missingchild #searchandrescue  This harrowing story follows a father whose family vacation spirals into a nightmare when his son mysteriously disappears in the remote desert town of Trona. Driven by desperation and determination, the father embarks on a relentless search for answers, uncovering dark secrets and unexpected dangers lurking beneath the surface. A gripping tale of loss, hope, and the lengths a parent will go to protect their child.  horrorstories, reddithorrorstories, scarystories, horrorstory, creepypasta, horrortales, disappearancemystery, familydrama, desertnightmare, missingchild, searchandrescue, parentaldesperation, thrillerstory, truecrime, suspense, tragedy, hope, loss, mystery, investigation

Living on the East Coast, I've always felt there was a certain mystery to the West Coast in California that I have never had the opportunity to see before. We don't have the warmer Pacific Ocean or the Hollywood Hills or any deserts on the East Coast. Father Time keeps ticking away as my wife Leah and I are getting older as well as our 11-year-old son, Hunter. We have planned a two-week trip driving from Phoenix up to San Francisco and then down to Hollywood with at least 20 stops along the way. We arrived in Phoenix in the morning and started driving towards the Grand Canyon.

Seeing the cacti in Phoenix was the best part, as we ventured towards the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was about as grand as I thought it would be considering that I've been hyped up about it my whole life. Vegas was okay, where the heat and the constant smoke in the air made it a bit uncomfortable, but still it was fun. On our way to the Sequoia National Park, we decided to see Death Valley. I had heard of Death Valley from watching California football TV broadcasts that had made references to the desert over the years. So far everything we've seen has been a different landscape and that's what we were looking forward to seeing, where Death Valley is basically Mars, with its vast nothingness.

I hadn't put much planning into driving through Death Valley as we were more focused on the sexier places like Hollywood, Vegas, and San Francisco. After we saw all the major tourist sites at Death Valley, like the lowest spot below sea level in the United States, we headed towards Sequoia National Park to see the really big trees. We saw a gas station advertising gas at $6.36 a gallon. Leah and I thought our hybrid would be fine until the next gas station considering the dash was showing that we had 110 miles worth of gas left. We learned about an hour later that passing up on the expensive gas was a mistake.

because the desert never seemed to end. I've had some harrowing experiences in my life, but driving through the desert with only 40 miles left until an empty gas tank has to be at the top of the list now. I can't even look online to see the closest gas station because we have zero cell phone reception. I can't even take advantage of the hybrid car to save gas as we are constantly increasing in elevation and using more gas than battery. Geez Ben, we should have just got a gallon of gas before when we saw that expensive gas. I know. But I would have never expected this vast nothingness. We're in California for God's sake, where all I think about is millions and millions of people. Not this. What happens if we run out of gas? I have no idea.

I'm not sure if there's even a tow truck company with roadside assistance anywhere surround here. Oh God, what do we do? I'm just going to drive as efficiently as possible to help conserve gas. Our son Hunter seems to be oblivious to everything going on as he plays games on his iPad. With my dashboard only showing 10 miles worth of gas left, we finally stumbled upon a miracle. The industrial town of Trona that has a gas station. I just about got out of the car and kissed the concrete ground of the gas station. The gas station hadn't been modernized, so I had to pay for the gas with my credit card inside the gas station's convenience store.

The cashier was actually smoking a station. cigarette inside the store, which is something I probably haven't seen in a couple of decades. She looked like she was in her 60s, but I don't think she was a day older than 25. Sometimes you can just look at someone and see that nothing in life had went their way. I can't imagine what abuse she had experienced in life to look so sorely. Leah and I were so emotionally drained from the 400 miles of driving and nearly running out of gas that we decided to rent a hotel room in Trona. I went back into the store and asked the gas station clerk if the local hotel up the road was

okay and she just starred at me while she held a cigarette in her hand. I wasn't really sure what that stare meant because her face looked so beat up by life already. After paying for the gas and feeling a bit off from the encounter with the clerk, I took a quick look around Trona and realized this once thriving industrial town was essentially dead. A lot of the smaller trailer homes were abandoned. The big industrial factory that looked like it had something to do with maybe salt mining had zero cars in it at 2 p.m. on a weekday. The three of us decide to take a short stroll around the modern-day ghost town. There's an abandoned gas station not far away so we take a look at it and are just amazed how this business and every other one has been abandoned.

We are so amazed that we take a quick photo in front of the abandoned gas station. There's an outdoor newspaper rack that still has newspapers. I pick up one of the newspapers and see that it is dated three years ago. Because the newspapers were in the shade and from the lack of rain, I guess helped preserve the paper. I take a look at the front page headline which read, The plant is now officially closed for good. The corresponding articles were all doom and gloom on how the once sprawling town of 10,000

people was losing its last factory and essentially its last source of income for its town's people. As I look around the town, I haven't seen anyone. besides the beat up by life, gas station clerk. The abandoned trailers and businesses are definitely different to see, but everything looks too new to have that old vintage cool factor associated with it, like an old abandoned gold mining town. This town is actually more depressing than anything else.

The town continues to have this depressed feeling as we see trailer after abandoned trailer. The people must have left and went to Los Angeles or Vegas, both Leah and I discuss as Hunter just follows behind us wanting nothing more than to play with his iPad. As depressing as the town is, I wasn't in the mood to drive anymore so we decided just to stay at the local hotel. Hunter didn't care about anything into the town and quite frankly he was so bored with the driving and everything else that he just wanted to go back home. As we drove the car to the Trona Hotel, I saw a man on the shoulder of the main road in a manual wheelchair, where he was quickly maneuvering the wheelchair with his legs while sitting down, which kind of defied

logic as to why he needed the wheelchair, but he and his actions best described the overall aura of the town. I pulled into the hotel and it's not surprising that we were the only car parked at the whole hotel. The hotel did have 1960s character to it, which was probably when this town was booming, despite the fact of the awkwardness of us being the only patrons. The three of us went into the hotel lobby and we were greeted by an over-the-top personality that reminded me of that host on the 1990s hit game show Double Dare or one of those infomercial guys pitching a spiel about a product that probably never needed to be invented. He had a name tag of Jim Bob, and he was wearing an outdated sports coat from the 1990s that didn't look of high quality.

This town was single-handedly changing my whole perception of California or what I stereotyped it to be growing up. I really just want to have a normal interaction with this guy but his over-the-top personality made me not want to say anything for the fear that he will just keep on talking. He had to be almost the exact opposite of the gas station attendant, as she was too sullen to talk and this guy seemed to have the wit of someone with a fifth grade education and the energy of a cocaine addict who mastered the art of actually getting seven hours of sleep a night. After continually declining his advances to upgrade to a family suite, we thought the more economical, one room with two double beds was suffice. Before leaving the hotel lobby,

Leah, and I thought we should take advantage of getting a cup of the complimentary coffee that was offered to the guests. Leah fixed me a cup of the coffee that was quite horrible, but it was wet and we were both desperate to drink it as there were no Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks within a 200-mile radius of us. We headed to our room brass key in hand that looked like it was made in the 1950s. When we opened our hotel door, I quickly got the impression that we were stepping back into the 1960s.

Not a single thing had been updated in the room. Even the TV that sat on top of the oak dresser was one of those old fat, black and white tube TVs that took a minute for the screen to come on and be focused. The TV had no channels that came in, so we just shut it off as Hunter continued to play games on his iPad. That drive must have taken everything out of me. I have to lay down now. I said to Leah, I know me too, Ben. I can't keep my eyes open anymore. As soon as my eyes hit the pillow, I was out. I woke up in what felt like an eternity later, with Leah still asleep next to me. The room was close to being pitch black. Earlier the natural sunlight was all that what was needed to light the room. I look around for a light switch by the door and turn the lights on. Hunter. I say out loud because I don't see him. I double-checked the bathroom and I don't see any signs of him. On the bed is his iPad and I look at the door which still appears to be locked.

I quickly unlock the door and I don't see anyone. The parking lot is still completely empty besides our rental car. I quickly rush back into the room, Leah, wake up. Hunter's not here, what? He's not in the room and I looked outside the room and I don't see him. Where did he go? Leah says as she is fully awake now. I'm going to check the hotel lobby. I say, Slow jog to the lobby as I see Leah look around outside the hotel room. It's dark now, being able to see now is difficult. Do you guys need more towels or an extra pillow? The hotel clerk enthusiastically says,

No. Our son, Hunter, he's gone from our room. Have you seen him? No, sir, I haven't. Maybe he just went for a walk somewhere. No, it's not like him to do that. He would just sit in his bed. all day if my wife or I didn't tell him to do something. That's odd. He's just on the autism spectrum.

He was born that way. He sees little value in human interaction. Oh, okay. If I see him I'll let you know. No, I need the police over here right now. Do you want me to call Sheriff McGrere? Yes. Right now. Please, I slow jog around the hotel calling Hunter's name. I meet up with Leah and tell her that the local sheriff is coming in for her to take the car and search around town. The sheriff arrives within five minutes. He has a mix of golden brownish hair mixed with gray hair and he has a thick five o'clock shadow. He's a little shorter than me at about five feet eight inches in height. He's wearing jeans and a short sleeve thick khaki shirt with a sheriff star pinned to the shirt pocket. He's probably in his early 50s and seems like he's all wound up. What's the problem? He unenthusiastically asked

me. My 11-year-old son, Hunter is missing. Missing how? When my wife and I woke up from our naps, in the hotel room, he was just gone. Does he have a history of doing this? No, never. He's on the autism spectrum and tends to stay in one spot or follow us. Was your hotel door locked, when you woke up? Yes, so he left the room and locked the door. That seems odd. The hotel must have extra keys or someone broke into the room. The hotel lobby clerk over here me say that the hotel must have extra keys and quickly chimed in. No, that's false. Each guest is given two keys and that's all we have for each room. We purposely keep no extra keys so we can't get blamed for theft. That's why we charge a $250 fee for lost keys because we have to call a locksmith

to unlock the door and then change the lock each time a key goes missing. Why wouldn't someone just duplicate a key. Look at one of your keys, they all say don't duplicate. The sheriff then says, let's take a look at your hotel door and see if anyone tampered with it. The three of us take the walk to my hotel room. I don't get a good vibe from the sheriff and I especially don't get a good vibe from Jim Bob, the hotel clerk. How much training has a sheriff in a dive town like this have, I keep asking myself. Not to mention, these two guys are probably like brothers or cousins. It's too dark out to see an extended distance, but I keep looking for Hunter as we walk back to the room. Lea texts me to tell me that she hasn't spotted Hunter and asks about my progress.

I tell her that I'm with the hotel clerk and the sheriff looking to see if anyone tampered with the door. There's no signs that someone tried to jimmy the door and the lock doesn't look like it was tampered with. The hotel clerk says, which irks me more than anything else. The sheriff twists the door handle a few times and looks around the door frame. Shouldn't we be careful not to mess with any potential evidence? I ask the sheriff. It sounds like you think a crime happened here. The sheriff says to me, my son is gone, so someone broke into your hotel room, while you and your wife both slept through the whole thing. The sheriff says, Well, if you ask me, there was something in that coffee that we got from that hotel lobby.

I responded. What? The clerk says with confusion. Well, both me and my wife were passed out asleep within ten minutes of drinking that coffee. Are you insinuating that I spiked the coffee with something? The clerk says to me in an angry tone. I know you did and I know you have a key to my room. You boys better settle down and let me take a look in this hotel room.

Me and the clerk both shut up as the sheriff looks around. Your son's bed looks neat and orderly. The covers haven't even been moved. Would he just leave the room with anyone? No, but if this clerk here and perhaps with the help of one of his friends dragged him out, then that would be the only logical way for my son to leave this room. The clerk gets mad, you son of a bitch. Hey, settle down.

The sheriff says to the clerk, Sir, you do notice that there's no signs of struggle in this room. Yeah, because he's 11 years old. What's he going to do? Knock over that 100-pound tube TV. Or that solid oak dresser. I'm almost convinced now that the sheriff is working in cahoots with this sleazy hotel clerk. I don't know what to tell you, sir, but most kidnappings happen within the family.

Listen. This clerk over here reeks of sleaziness. So don't go implying that my son wasn't kidnapped. I've known Jim Bob my whole life and he's as honest as they come. Maybe he didn't go to one of those fancy pants New York or Philadelphia high schools like you did, but he's a real honest man. I want you to call the federal authorities. Listen here. You're in my jurisdiction, so don't be telling me what I should be doing. What are you going to do then? I'm going to give you 30 seconds for you to tell me where your son is or I'm going to arrest you. At this point, I feel as if I'm living out the movie, the deliverance, or some other type of horror movie. I know these two creeps did something to my son and now they want to get rid of me.

We purchased bare mace and I know it's in the front of my suitcase. I'm going to carefully get the mace then spray the sheriff first and then Jim Bob next. One second, there might be something in my suitcase that can help us. I remember putting a brochure in the bag about a gold mine that my son, Hunter, might have drifted away on his own towards. The clerk continues to tell the sheriff in a mocking way that no one came in. into this room. I quickly grabbed the bare mace from my suitcase and in all in one motion lifted it up towards the sheriff. The sheriff instinctively reached for his revolver from his holster and he barely got the revolver in his hand when I sprayed his face aiming for his eyes.

As the mace hits his eyes, he dropped his revolver on the bed and then I aimed the mace at Jim Bob's face. My eyes became irritated with the mace in the air but these two guys must be feeling 100 times the effects of the mace that I'm feeling. They are both yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs. You son of a bitch. You're going to jail for a long time. The sheriff angrily yells at me. The sheriff can't see but he's fumbling around the bed looking for his gun so I quickly grab it.

The sheriff then grabs me and tries to force me to the ground. Without thinking, I aim the revolver at the sheriff and shoot three times, then I aim the revolver at Jim Bob and I completely empty the revolver. The room gets completely silenced as I see the sheriff and Jim Bob's lifeless bodies on the floor and I smell the distinctive smell of gunpowder emulating throughout the room. I've never killed anyone before, but I know these two psychopaths have something to do with Hunter's disappearance. I try my hardest not to feel bad. Leah calls my phone, it's dark out and I can't see anything.

I see no signs of Hunter. How is everything going on your end? Well, I killed the hotel clerk and the sheriff. Ben, why and how did you do that? Have you gone crazy? What are we going to do now? Listen. That sheriff was corrupt and he was going to arrest me because he didn't think anyone broke into our room and kidnapped Hunter. He wouldn't call the federal authorities to get additional help. That clerk spiked our coffee and the two of them were working together. It's so obvious. What do we do now? Let's get our things together and find Hunter and get our out of this town, Leah gets back to the hotel room within five minutes. I go to the hotel clerk's

office and remove any records of staying here. Thankfully, Jim Bob hadn't charged anything on my credit card yet. Leah gets back and she insists on looking inside the hotel room as she breaks down in tears when she sees the two dead bodies. We collect all of our belongings out of the room to include Hunter's iPad and all of our bags that we hadn't even unpacked. Then I realized something odd was missing. Where's hunters, Lammy? I asked. Lammy is his stuffed lamb he's had since he's been two years old. I'm not sure Ben. I know that I didn't see that stuffed lamb at all before, so I open his suitcase and I look through it and I still don't see it. He must have brought it with him when he left the room,

but that seems really odd. Maybe the kidnappers told him that he could bring it. Leah says, those two dead hillbillies on the floor were taking into consideration. hunter's emotional state and allowed him to bring his stuffed lamb but not his iPad. I guess so. Something just wasn't adding up here. I'm a freaking manager at Walmart and not a detective but things are definitely starting to add up in the wrong pile, so I now play the role of the sheriff. You know the sheriff had raised some interesting points. Like how did someone break into our room without either of us hearing it? Ben, I was really knocked out cold. You probably could have jumped on me and I would have stayed asleep. That's fine, but I thought about something peculiar that didn't dawn on me

until now. What's that? Take a look at the picture of the three of us posed in front of the abandoned gas station. As I show a picture on my iPhone. Okay. So, look at your shorts in that photograph and look at your shorts now. I can explain that. Go ahead. Right before, I was going to pass out, I really wanted to change my shorts because I was sweating so much. Really? So you were so tired from being drugged up that you went into your bag and got out clean shorts then got changed and put your dirty shorts away and zipped up your bag and everything. Yes. Wow, that's pretty amazing because Elle remembered you saying that you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore, but you had the energy to do that and still not wake up when kidnappers came into our room. What are you

implying Ben? Give me your phone. No, because you're hiding something. I'm not giving you my phone Ben and I'm not hiding anything. The two kidnappers are dead on the floor. Listen. to me, Leah, you're not leaving this room until you give me your phone. Leah looks around the room and quickly grabs the revolver not knowing the revolver is empty of bullets. You're not going to shoot me, Leah. She aims the revolver at me and pulls the trigger and no shot comes out. So she repeats and pulls the trigger multiple times and still no shots come out. Sorry, honey, but I used all the bullets already on those two innocent people on the floor. If I was to look at your phone, I would guess that you researched this town pretty extensively before we even took this trip.

Not because you are looking for a cool place to stay but more so a perfect place to commit your evil deed on our son. Ben, let me explain. You know if I look on your Google Maps it will show your location when you were sleeping, because I bet you thought that I would never figure that out. Ben, I know you're smart. Let me guess. You spiked my coffee with your old prescription of Aitavans. Yes. excuse me yes i did why lea is he alive she doesn't answer me and just looks down on the ground what did you do to our son the end