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An 18-year-old named Joshua Maddux vanished on May 8, 2008 after telling his sister he was going for a walk—and he never returned. His family and authorities searched for years with no clue to his whereabouts.
Seven years later, in August 2015, construction workers tearing down an old cabin just blocks from Joshua’s home made a chilling discovery: a mummified body wedged inside the chimney, curled into a fetal position. Dental records confirmed it was Joshua. He was found wearing only a thin thermal shirt, while his pants, socks, and shoes lay neatly folded inside the cabin. To make matters worse, someone had dragged a heavy wooden breakfast bar across the fireplace, blocking the chimney.
The coroner initially ruled his death accidental, theorizing he had entered the chimney and become trapped in the cold. But doubts arose. The position was physically improbable, and the cabin’s owner insisted it was impossible for someone to descend from the top because a steel mesh barred access. The case was reopened, and the cause of death was changed to “accident, homicide, or undetermined.” The mystery remains.
