I recently finished reading David Paulides’s 2014 book,
“Missing 411: The Devil’s in the Detail,” and I found it to be just as
fascinating as the other books in his “Missing 411” series. Regular readers of
this column will know that his “Missing 411” books detail highly unusual
disappearances around the world, especially in North America. This volume in
the series is 446 pages long and is chock full of thoroughly investigated
missing persons cases that will leave you scratching your head.
The first case discussed in “The Devil’s in the Detail” is
actually a case from Alabama that took place in 1951. That case involves
76-year-old Ann Bragg, who was last seen around 10 a.m. on Dec. 2, 1951 near
Double Oak Mountain, which is in Shelby County near Birmingham. At the time of
her disappearance, this area was rugged with cliffs, boulders and lots of
wildlife, Paulides said.
Ann and her immediate family lived in three homes that were
about a quarter of a mile apart on the mountain. Ann was close to her family
and on the day she disappeared she’d left her home to walk to her daughter’s
home about a quarter of a mile away. After visiting with her daughter, she left
on foot to return home around 10 a.m. and has never been seen again.
When they discovered her missing, Ann’s children searched
the mountain and countryside to no avail before seeking additional help. Shelby
County Sheriff A.E. Norwood took over the search, and more than 500 area
residents searched for over a week for the missing woman. Planes and tracking
dogs were also used in the search but discovered no trace of Ann. Fortune
tellers and preachers were also contacted as part of the search, Paulides said.
Paulides noted that heavy, freezing rains moved into the
area and interfered with the search efforts. Paulides also noted that Norwood
said that it was possible that Ann had fallen victim to foul play, but it was
hard to understand since “she was on a remote trail between two family homes, a
trail she hiked regularly.”
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| David Paulides |
The mysterious case of Ann Bragg is one of hundreds of
unusual missing persons cases detailed in “The Devil’s in the Detail.” In
addition to missing person cases in the United States and Canada, the book also
describes unusual disappearances in Australia, Borneo, Ecuador, the United
Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland and Austria. The book also contains chapters
on other weird disappearances such as people who go missing in the woods while
traveling last in a line of people.
“The Devil’s in the Detail” is the fourth book in a series
of eight such books that Paulides has published since 2013. I highly recommend that you
check out the other seven books in the “Missing 411” series, which include
“Missing 411: Western United States,” “Missing 411: A Sobering Coincidence,”
“Missing 411: Hunters,” “Missing 411: North America and Beyond,” “Missing 411:
Eastern United States,” “Missing 411: Off the Grid” and “Missing 411: LAWS.”
In the end, the best
way to purchase his books is online at his website, www.canammissing.com.
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