A place where strange unknown forces reside.

A place where the boundary between worlds is thinner than it should be.

A doorway, it is set,

between this world and another. On the afternoon of October the 14th, 2006, eight-year-old Samuel,

Savage, Becker, Burke, stood near the Cleetwood Cove turn out a long-rimmed drive. Samuel and his father had been staying at Diamond Lake Resort, and they'd come to Crater Lake

for the day, to do a hike. That Saturday, late afternoon, they stood surrounded by

woods that gave no warning of what was

about to unfold.

Samuel was a quiet child, known to react strongly to loud sounds and bright lights due

to his high-functioning Asperger's.

The world for him could become overwhelming in ways others couldn't see. Without clear cause,

without any warning, he suddenly ran off into the woods. He ran from the roadside and into the trees,

up the hill, his small feet carrying him through the trees at speed, into the uneven rise of forested slope.

It wasn't a long-head start, wasn't a great distance.

He couldn't have got that far.

His father followed Samuel's path immediately.

Later, Mr. Kenneth Burke would tell USA today that he and the FBI believe his son thought running into the woods was just a game.

He was pretty fearless, his father said.

His father also said Samuel enjoyed looking for yellow pumice stones at Crater Lake.

He called the stones gold.

Mr. Burke started shouting for his son to come back immediately.

He climbed up the hill after him.

...