16/06/2026
He vanished into the swamp. Then his shoes came back.
On Earth Day 1990, 17-year-old Chris Temple spent the day drinking beers, smoking w**d, and listening to music with friends in Michigan. By nightfall, the group had gathered around a campfire at the isolated Rose Lake Wildlife Area — a place of dark woods, hidden bogs, and deceptive “floating sod” that can swallow a person whole.
At around 9 p.m., Chris stood up, mumbled something, and walked into the darkness.
He was never seen again.
His friends searched. Police searched. Dogs, helicopters, boats, and volunteers combed the area for days. Nothing. Not a footprint, not a jacket, not a body. Investigators eventually shrugged and suggested he’d simply run away.
Then, 18 months later, hunters found Chris’s New Balance shoes lying in the swamp just yards from the campfire site — untied, weathered, and 100 feet apart in an area that had already been searched repeatedly. Nearby, police found clumps of strawberry-blonde hair that didn’t belong to Chris, fuelling rumours of murder and cover-up.
Did a drunken teenager stumble into the bog and vanish beneath floating peat? Were the shoes planted later to mislead investigators? Or did Chris encounter someone in the darkness that night — someone who made sure he never left Rose Lake alive?
Thirty-six years later, Chris Temple is still missing. And the swamp is still keeping its secrets.
DATE OF LAST CONTACT: 22nd April 1990
MISSING FROM: Rose Lake State Wildlife Area, Bath Township, Clinton County, Michigan
DATE OF BIRTH: 18th May 1972
AGE AT DISAPPEARANCE: 17
HEIGHT: 5'7
WEIGHT: 130 lbs
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: White male. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. Has a small scar on his nose. Wears contact lenses. His nickname is Chris.
Last seen wearing: A black T-shirt with the Pink Floyd logo on the front, a faded denim jacket, jeans and New Balance running shoes.
INVESTIGATING AGENCY: Bath Township Police Department
AGENCY CASE NUMBER: 895-90
NAMUS: MP6715
He vanished into the swamp. Then his shoes came back. On Earth Day 1990, 17-year-old Chris Temple spent the day drinking beers, smoking w**d, and listening to music with friends in Michigan. By nig…