Elusive mountain man stirs fear

Looks like Utah's got itself a real life "Rambo"......lol

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — He's eluded authorities for more than five years, a mountain man who roams the wilderness of southern Utah, breaking into remote cabins in winter, living in luxury off hot food, alcohol and coffee before stealing provisions and vanishing into the woods. Investigators have clawed for clues, scouring cabins for fingerprints that match no one and chasing reports of brief encounters only to come up short, always a step behind the mysterious recluse. They've found abandoned camps, dozens of guns, high-end outdoor gear stolen from the homes and trash strewn around the forest floor.

news.yahoo.com...


A mysterious mountain man, considered by police to be armed and dangerous, has managed to elude arrest for five years, trekking across 1,000 square miles of rugged Utah wilderness where the snow sometimes reaches ten feet deep.

The man is responsible for breaking into dozens of unoccupied cabins, partaking in the owners' food and drink, and then taking with him stolen guns and survival gear. Authorities have not been able to identify the man through fingerprints and the only image they have of the man was captured briefly on a cabin owner's surveillance camera. Some have speculated that the man could be one of two people wanted for murder on the FBI's most-wanted list, both of whom committed their crimes in Arizona, while others suggest he could be a deserter from nearby compounds of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

On some occasions, the elusive mountain man has left the cabins clean, while other times he riddles the cabins with bullets and destroys religious icons. Investigators have happened upon abandoned camps where dozens of guns and gear stolen from the victims' cabins have been left behind. Recently, he left behind a note in one of the cabins that read, "Get off my mountain."

A very bizarre situation. I don't blame some of these Utah cabin owners for being to scared to return to their property....

A true man.


Nothing more to say. We see it as wrong as we have never ever had to live off the land. Well, the land we have ravaged doesn't provide enough for personal survival anymore. The only way he could have survived is pillaging things that others are not using. Theft is theft but hell, he doesn't seem to be burning the cabins or stealing valuables. Just food and supplies.

As much as the media will blast him when he eventually gets caught (the search is now on so too speak) and will get branded a nut or a prepper, I support him and his actions.

I am prepared for moral crusaders to blast me.

This is what happens when you don't give jobs

Yes, so please fear and report all survivalist...

This one man is breaking the law, but I like how they kind of paint him as a survivalist nut when most likely hes from the Mormon fundamentalist compound near by.

Maybe Bigfoot has started to take on American culture.

reply to post by NightGypsy


good post!! IMO he is taking goods that dont belong to him, but he is not causing any one direct harm he is not out to harm, he is out to elude and survive. might be some crazy killer. might be a rogue american running from the big gov. all in all great post thanks for the read.

reply to post by AaronWilson


I'm no moral crusader, but are you saying that this guy is right to infringe on other people's property? I mean, that IS what you are saying. If he was so self reliant, why would he need to steal other people's things? Like my high school history teacher said, and I think it is applicable to an extent here, your freedom of speech stops at the bridge of my nose. In other words, his freedom to live in the wild, ends at my property line.

reply to post by DarkKnight76


if i was stuck in 10 feet of snow and you wernt at your summer home all winter. bet your butt i would camp in your garage. thats just survival. i dont condone stealing of any kind.

reply to post by DarkKnight76


And you are completely free to believe that and pursue it. I believe what he is doing is morally wrong, however I still stand beside him. 5 years in nature is damn hard.

Nice find OP- In my opinion, they are lumping up multiple crimes on one individual. I am sure this is a few different people who are breaking into cabins and stealing food. Why would the same person clean a persons home, while on another occassion shoot bullets into the walls and deface religious figures- it just doesnt make sense.

A friend of mine has a cottage we regularly visit in the summers, a man was once caught red handed living in their cottage, to their surprise he had done some repairs around the house and kept it clean- when the police came, they chose not to press charges, rather, gave him some yard work to do and sent him on his way lol.

reply to post by el1jah


S for your friend and a random guy being good human beings.

reply to post by AaronWilson


I agree with you...to a point.

This man obviously knows how to survive in the wilderness. But every one of those people who owned and maintained a cabin he broke into, and owned a gun that he has stolen, and worked hard hours to earn the money that bought the supplies this man took without asking, has just as much right to be there as he does.

His actions are not morally justifiable...and while I give him credit for living off of the land, I also rebuke him for taking stuff that was not his.

There's living off the land, and then there's living off of other unwilling people. He doesn't own any of that land...whether he likes it or not. Who is he to tell those people where to go, or mess with their stuff?

reply to post by AaronWilson


Then don't be surprised when I hide in my house and greet you with my shotgun.

There is nothing admirable about this gentleman. He was a bum that broke into peoples homes and damaged their property and nothing more. The only thing thats unfortunate is none of the home owners caught him and kicked his ass.

Is it just me or between this and the killing cats thread does it seem like ats posters turned up the crazy today?

You want to see a true man? Then look at the guys who are in the daily grind to make an honest living to support themselves and loved ones. Doing what this slob did is taking the easy way out of life.

reply to post by Starchild23


werd: Its not about survival if you are choosing to live out there. In an actual situation of life and death, rules are out- steal what you want, eat what you want, do what it takes to survive. But if you make a choice to step outside society, you cant step back in at your own convenience.

Mind you, like my above post there is a human element, where one man wants to help another- I'd just like to make the choice freely rather than being stolen from.

reply to post by AaronWilson


If your in the woods, starving and its life or death, then by all means bust in to a cabin, have some food. Hell even "borrow" a gun to help you hunt some food. But To say everything that he is doing is right just doesn't sit well with me. Willful destruction of another persons property should not be condoned or encouraged or applauded. IMO.

Here's a quote from the OP.

On some occasions, the elusive mountain man has left the cabins clean, while other times he riddles the cabins with bullets and destroys religious icons.

Originally posted by AaronWilson
reply to post by DarkKnight76

 

And you are completely free to believe that and pursue it. I believe what he is doing is morally wrong, however I still stand beside him. 5 years in nature is damn hard.

except he hasnt been surviving he has been squatting and stealing.

There is nothing to admire about this guy he is a thief a vandal and a squatter. What of it was your property he stole or destroyed? There is absolutely no justification for what he is doing. Why do so many see this as getting back at the man so to speak? Hes not getting back at the man he is stealing and destroying his fellow human beings property.

And he is not living off the land he is living off the fruits of others labor. My guess is he is not even around in summer he goes back to what ever his life is and then spends the winter up there were he knows people will not be around because of the snows.

They will catch him for sure eventually he will stay too long or make some other mistake.

Its crazy what some of you people will try to justify. We're not living in a Mad Max situation. Grocery store shelves aren't empty... law hasn't eroded away to nothing... society still stands. He CHOSE to live out there. CHOOSING to be a "wilderness man" doesn't mean you now have the freedom to trespass, commit home invasion, burglarize and destroy private property because your stomach growled.

If he wants to be a "survivalist", he needs to "survive". Breaking in to steal from the society he wants nothing to do with makes him a joke of a wilderness man. More like a "live outside until I need something then go steal it instead of solving the problem naturally like a real survivalist"-ist.

I agree that he's probably more likely a fugitive of the law. Surviving off of nature has NOTHING to do with breaking into a cabin to make a grilled cheese sandwich and shoot up the living room like some kind of 80's rockstar.

Originally posted by hawkiye
There is nothing to admire about this guy he is a thief a vandal and a squatter. What of it was your property he stole or destroyed? .

Precisely.People's tune would change immediately if it was their belongings that were stolen and their house broken into. The other thread on this was full of even more buffoons saying the "sheeple" are gobbling up the medias spin tactic that this squatter is a bad guy yet at the same time they have bought into the class warfare propaganda . Apparently now if you own property you're part of the corrupt elite and deserve what ever misfortune befalls you and your ilk.