The North Cascades National Park is located  in northern Washington State, and it's known  

as the deadliest national park in the country.  Three hours outside Seattle, the park boasts  

lush vegetation and alpine peaks. However,  danger lurks among the mountainous terrain,  

limited roads, and scattered outposts. There has been an unprecedented increase  

in the number of visitors to our national  parks in the last few years. Tragically,  

this will likely mean an increase in  the number of those who go missing.  

Previously, it was estimated that over  1,600 people have gone missing in our  

national park systems. However, there  is no central database for these cases,  

so there's no way of knowing the actual number  of those who have vanished. David Paulides,  

a former law enforcement officer and investigative  journalist, began to compile and profile these  

cases, which eventually became the Missing 411. For those interested in a complete history of  

Paulides, the Missing 411 profile, and potential  theories, a link to the first video in this series  

can be found in the description below. The following are three select cases of  

those who have disappeared in the North Cascades  National Park. Rachel Lakoduk, Tom Simonseth,  

and Ritchie Collins. This is Missing 411  

National Park Disappearances Volume 3. 1.  

Rachel Lakoduk Rachel Lakoduk was a 28  

year old from Moses Lake, Washington. She was  5'4, 130 pounds, recently separated from her  

husband and living with her father. Although times  had been tough, Lakoduk seemed in good spirits.  

On October 17th of 2019, she packed a  backpack with her clothes and a sleeping bag.  

She drove her white Jeep Cherokee to the Hidden  Lake Trail in the Cascades National Park.  

She registered her hike at a ranger station,  parked her vehicle at the trailhead, and struck  

out for the Hidden Lake Lookout Cabin.  Her plan was to spend the night in the  

cabin for her 28th birthday. The day after,  she planned to meet a friend in Bellingham,  

but she would never arrive. The trail was a little over 8 miles in length  

but climbed a steep 3300 feet in elevation.  Around 4 PM, two hikers encountered Lakoduk  

about 2.5 miles into her hike. They warned her  that the trail was obscured by snow further ahead,  

and they had turned back due to poor  conditions. They recalled that Lakoduk  

seemed to be poorly dressed for the hike, wearing  only thermal tights and a long-sleeved shirt.  

A storm hit that afternoon, and when Lakoduk  didn't show for her plans in Bellingham,  

her family reported her missing. Search teams  began quickly, but heavy precipitation and fog  

impacted their efforts. They struggled  even to reach the lookout cabin,  

and when they finally did, the Undersheriff  reported that Lakoduk had likely never made it.  

Search efforts continued for 10 days  with 137 volunteers spending roughly  

2000 man-hours. Canine teams, foot patrols, and  aerial units all participated in the search.  

Lakoduk's remains weren't discovered until  August 14th two years later, her sleeping  

pad and backpack were discovered under a  tree, three hard miles away from the road  

and well off the trail. The results of  the autopsy have yet to be released.  

2. Tom Simonseth Tom Simonseth was a  

66--year old man from Mount Vernon. He  was described by friends as very athletic  

and familiar with the outdoors. After retiring  from a career in education, he took up hiking with  

encouragement from two of his closest friends. Simonseth was familiar with the Hidden Lake Trail.  

He had previously tried the trail multiple times,  but he was always deterred by the snow. Less than  

a year after Lakoduk's disappearance, Simonseth  tried the trail again on May 22. He told his wife  

he would return by 7 PM that night. Two hikers on the mountain encountered  

Simonseth on the trail. Just as with  Lakoduk, these two hikers had turned back  

because conditions were worsening further ahead  on the trail. It has been speculated the Simonseth  

likely followed their footprints and made a  choice to turn back as the snow worsened.  

His wife reported him missing, and  two friends began to search the area.  

They had mountaineering and over twenty  years of search and rescue experience.  

They knew Simonseth didn't have the equipment to  survive the night, and they hurried to the site  

to find his car still parked at the trailhead. They searched the area until midnight, then slept  

nearby until the earliest sign of daybreak. Search  and rescue teams from Skagit and other nearby  

municipalities participated in the search the next  morning. Even units from the U.S. Border Patrol  

and Navy participated in the search. Helicopters  from Spokane County flew the area while ground  

teams combed the difficult terrain. Search and rescue efforts were interrupted  

by snow and impaired visibility. However, they  continued their search for days, looking for  

signs of an avalanche or particular tree wells  where Simonseth could have been swept away.  

On July 29th 2021, the Snohomish County  Sheriff's Helicopter Team recovered remains  

that are thought to be those of Simonseth;  however, identification is still pending.  

The case of Tom Simonseth fits several  of the Missing 411 profile points:  

He was described by friends as athletic  and familiar with the outdoors.  

His disappearance occurred shortly after  encountering the two hikers that afternoon.  

He disappeared from the same Hidden Lake  Trail in North Cascades, near the same area  

where Lakoduk disappeared. Snow and impaired visibility  

occurred around the time of his disappearance  and during search and rescue efforts.  

3. Ritchie Ambrose Collins On April 30th, 2019, detectives arrived  

at the Colonial Creek Campground in the North  Cascades National Park after receiving a report  

from national park service rangers that a vehicle  had been parked in the area for several weeks.  

The vehicle was a Honda Element that belonged to  Ritchie Collins. Collins was 6'1 and 275 pounds.  

He was a father and a 58 year old veteran with  23 years of military service and experience  

in border and customs patrol. He was not known  to be a camper or a hiker; he had high blood  

pressure and a bad knee. The vehicle showed clear  signs of not having left the area, and detectives  

discovered the key to the vehicle on the roof with  no other signs of Collins. On the passenger seat,  

a map of the Cascade Mountains was open. While press and news reports are limited,  

Britney Collins reported that Newhalem Rangers  searched a 7 mile radius around the vehicle,  

bringing cadaver canine units as well. The  Colonial Creek Campground has a reservoir  

over 300 feet deep, and it was reported to have  been dredged in the search for Collins' body.  

After speaking with Collins' daughter,  Britney, detectives discovered that  

his large collection of firearms was also missing.  

Over 35 weapons had been removed from  the home; the gun cases themselves had  

been left behind and strewn about as if the  place had been ransacked. Other odd details  

about his apartment: bleach was found out on the  counter, the dishwasher was stuffed including  

even a crockpot with the electrical cord. Collins' daughter believes his collection was  

stolen, and his car had been ditched in the  area by the perpetrator or perpetrators.  

Collins' brother, Randy, reported that the  apartment was in absolute disarray upon entering.  

This was uncharacteristic for  Ritchie, who was fastidious  

in nature. Randy discovered that  his brother's computer had been  

taken from the residence, too. Collins was described as a loner,  

often keeping to himself. It wasn't uncommon for  him to go days or weeks without being heard from.  

Reports of the last sighting of Richie place  him with a small bookbag leaving his home,  

but the timelines are mixed, placing the  sighting in early March or late April.  

It was later discovered that the gun safe had  been pried open, but detectives theorized these  

were made by Collins. A professional estate  manager and trustee took over Collins property,  

but in an unfortunate twist  of fate, they quickly sold  

all his belongings and home, arresting any  potential for future private investigation.  

On July 6th, several children discovered partial  remains near the Fourth of July Campground  

in North Cascades. It was 5 miles away from  the parking lot at Diablo Lake where Collin's  

car was found. Nearby were some of Collins'  belongings which were used to identify him;  

however, his head was missing. The  autopsy has yet to be completed.  

While unique, the case of Ritchie Collins shares  many similarities with the Missing 411 profile.  

He was an overweight and disabled  veteran, unlikely to pursue  

an extensive hike in the North  Cascades National Park.  

His neighbor's reported last  seeing him midday in April.  

Several other disappearances have occurred at  Diablo Lake. In October of 2020, Alexander Pisch  

disappeared after setting up an easel to paint a  landscape. His remains have never been recovered.  

Additionally, the Diablo Lake campground is  less than 30 miles away from Hidden Lake Trail,  

where Lakoduk and Simonseth had diseappeared. Collins disappeared near Diablo Lake.  

His cause of death has yet to be determined. Search and rescue teams could not find  

a trail of Collins when searching  the area around his vehicle.  

Similarly, the cadaver dogs uncovered no  scent of Collins during their search.  

The tragic disappearances of Rachel Lakoduk, Tom  Simonseth, and Ritchie Collins are shrouded in  

mystery. The Missing 411 profile does not solve  or explain their cases, it only connects them. If  

you're headed to the North Cascades,  stay safe and be prepared.  

For more national park disappearances, please  consider the other volumes in this series.