'Feral Cannibals' Feared To Be Living In National Park Where Five People Have Vanished

There's a chilling fear that "feral cannibals" might inhabit a national park in the US, a place from which five individuals have mysteriously disappeared.

There are Rumors that cannibals reside within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the border near North Carolina, though there's no concrete evidence to prove this.

Local legend says that these cannibals might be the descendants of men who abandoned their posts during the American Civil War, living completely isolated from modern society.

The disappearances of five people from the park remain unsolved, prompting the involvement of the US Army's elite special forces to assist in the investigations.

Dennis Martin vanished without a trace in 1969. National Park Service

Among these cases, the one that stands out is the mysterious vanishing of a six-year-old boy named Dennis Martin, who disappeared in 1969 while on a camping trip with his family.

Brian Jeffrey, from the Black Mass Paranormal podcast, shared that the special forces found absolutely no trace of the boy.

However, they reportedly encountered some of the "feral" individuals believed to inhabit the park.

On his podcast, Jeffrey reported: "This group of feral people have been known to have cannibalistic tendencies."

Donnie Laws, another podcaster drawn to this eerie legend, recounted: "The first reports of any wild man in the US was around 1877, in Western North Carolina. 

"Some gold miners ran into one as they were going to work in the mines. They followed it to a cave and found a whole bunch of bones of all different types of animals.

"They don't say if there's any human bones but that's what they found." 

There have been claims of cannibals living in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Getty Stock Image

Almost two decades later, another man was reportedly discovered in the same region.

He was allegedly taken to an asylum where he disclosed his identity and his origins.

Brian Jeffrey added: "Recently there has been an increase in reports of these people. 

"They are supposedly known to set traps to capture lone hikers in the mountains. They have targeted the elderly and children specifically."

In September 1981, Thelma Pauline 'Polly' Melton visited the National Park to hike with two friends.

She walked slightly ahead of her companions, crested a hill, and then was never seen again.

In 1976, 16-year-old Trenny Gibson also went missing from the Great Smoky Mountains during a school field trip.

Trenny Gibson. Canadiangurl77.com

Another disappearance occurred when Christopher Cessna, aged 45, vanished in the area in 2011.

The following year, 24-year-old Derek Lueking went hiking on the trail, and authorities later found a disturbing note on his car stating: "Don't look for me."

Reflecting the local caution, Donnie Laws commented on the dangers of letting children wander alone in the park: 

"You do not let your children run off into the dark woods by themselves. That is a complete no-no. 

"You don't have to meet a wild man or a big foot. He could just meet a bear or a bobcat or any animal."