A Day in the Devil’s Head
On April 29, 1981, 84-year-old Reverend Maurice "Doc" Dametz, a retired pastor, avid rockhound, ventured into Pike National Forest, Colorado, with his friend David McSherry. They headed to Topaz Point near Devil’s Head, a rugged area known for its silicate gemstones. Doc, frail with arthritis, a heart condition, relied on McSherry’s help to reach a sandy pit for digging. Wearing a white baseball cap, maroon plaid flannel shirt, blue overalls, brown work boots, he settled in to hunt for topaz, his tools by his side. Those attuned to the unseen might sense an eerie stillness in these woods, where the line between nature, the unknown blurs.
McSherry, digging just 50 yards away, checked on Doc around 3 p.m., telling him they’d soon head home. Fifteen minutes later, when McSherry returned, Doc was gone, his tools vanished too. No footprints led away, no signs of a struggle, no blood. The forest was silent, as if it had swallowed him whole.
The Search That Found Nothing
Alarmed, McSherry honked his car horn, searched nearby, but Doc was nowhere. By 11 p.m., the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office launched a search, deploying teams, scent dogs across the rugged terrain of Pike National Forest. The area, with its granite cliffs, dense pines, offered countless hiding spots, yet no trace of Doc emerged, not his cap, tools, or glasses. Dogs failed to pick up a scent, a hallmark of Missing 411 cases. Searches continued for days, but the trail was as cold as the Colorado spring.
Doc’s wife, Myrtle, wrote to Governor Richard Lamm in July 1981, pleading for more investigation, suspecting foul play or that he’d been carried off. No credit card activity or sightings surfaced. The forest, nicknamed Devil’s Head, seemed to guard its secrets, whispering of something beyond human understanding.
A Man of Faith and Stones
Maurice Dametz, born June 24, 1896, in Kansas, was a scholar, pastor with degrees from Denver Bible College, a doctorate from Rockmont College. A former editor of religious magazines, author of books like Dead at the Top, he was a respected figure in Longmont, Colorado. His passion for gems led him to the Flatirons Gem and Mineral Club, but his arthritis, heart condition made rockhounding a challenge. That day, McSherry had helped him to his dig site, making his sudden vanishing all the more inexplicable. Those who sense the otherworldly wonder if his faith drew something darker to him in those woods.
Doc’s disappearance defied his physical limits. At 84, with poor mobility, he couldn’t have wandered far in 15 minutes, yet the forest yielded nothing. His tools’ absence suggested he didn’t leave willingly, or that something took them too. The mystery deepened: what force could erase a man so completely?
Signs of the Unexplained
Doc’s case bears chilling hallmarks of Missing 411:
- Sudden Vanishing: Gone within 15 minutes, despite being 50 yards from his friend, defying his limited mobility.
- Missing Tools: His digging tools vanished with him, with no trace left behind, ruling out a simple wander-off.
- No Scent: Search dogs couldn’t pick up his trail, a common trait in Missing 411 cases, as if he left no mark.
- Proximity to Water: Near Rampart Reservoir, water often ties to these eerie disappearances.
- Devil’s Head: The ominous name of the area hints at a darker force, tied to the forest’s unsettling history.
These clues weave a tapestry of the uncanny, pointing to a presence beyond our grasp, orchestrating Doc’s disappearance. The absence of his tools, as if they too were spirited away, mirrors other Missing 411 cases where objects vanish alongside people, defying logic. Why do these incidents cluster in national parks, often near water or places with foreboding names like Devil’s Head? Some speculate about rifts in reality, hidden in the granite folds of Pike National Forest, where time, space might twist. Others whisper of entities, ancient, tied to the land, or drawn to the devout like Doc, that pluck their targets with chilling precision. His faith, so strong in life, may have crossed paths with something unyielding, watching from the shadows. Have you ever felt a forest’s silence grow too heavy, as if it’s hiding eyes that see beyond our world? What could take a man, tools and all, in mere minutes, leaving only questions in the dust?
Theories and Speculation
Investigators found no evidence of foul play, animal attack, or suicide, despite Doc’s devout Christian beliefs making the latter unlikely. His arthritis, heart condition ruled out wandering far, yet no body or belongings surfaced. Some theorize McSherry’s involvement, but no motive, like a rare topaz find, emerged, and he cooperated fully. Missing 411 researchers point to paranormal explanations: portals, time slips, or entities stalking national parks. Social media discussions in 2024 call it a textbook 411 case, with users debating forest spirits or dimensional shifts. The truth remains as elusive as Doc himself.
Myrtle’s plea for answers went unanswered, and Doc was declared dead in 1990, nine years later. The forest’s silence mocks logic, leaving only whispers of something unnatural at play. What took Doc, why were his tools gone too?
A Haunting Legacy
Maurice Dametz’s vanishing remains a cornerstone of Missing 411 lore, a chilling reminder of the wild’s hidden dangers. Pike National Forest, with its Devil’s Head lookout, looms as a place where the ordinary unravels. Doc’s faith, love for gems couldn’t shield him from whatever claimed him that day. His story lingers, a shadow in the pines, urging caution. Have you ever walked a forest trail, feeling a chill no wind could bring? Would you dare to dig for topaz where Doc vanished, or heed the silence that swallowed him whole?