Imagine being that lonely and sad that you prefer to be alone for 27 years . Worse yet his family never in 27 years even thought to report him missing , that's just brutally sad
Introvert speaking. I doubt he was lonely. Maybe he sad. Maybe not. People that like to be alone don’t mind being alone. In fact they don’t want to be around you are me or anyone else. I personally think I am my own best company and stay busy learning everything I can. It just what I like to do.
What makes you think he was "Alone?" I'll tell you what I think. Your idea of alone is the absence of another human being. We're never alone. We don't all need another human being. Some of us despise human interaction...not because humans are all bad. But, because they're emotionally, and mentally draining. There are several words for this and many definitions to suit everyone's perceptions. When one calls us, "Sensitive?" It's such an understatement and incorrect. We're not sensitive in the way our liberal party. Completely the opposite. We're not affected by our feelings...we're affected by yours. The only time I know it's my feelings is when no living human is in my presence and I love that person. Imagine being in a crowd of sad, discouraged people and absorbing all of the negativity. It's total Hell.
I have lived in Maine my whole life. Everyone in this area knows the story. I was lucky enough to attend an event where the guest speaker was one of the game wardens who was there when they found the hermits camp. He told us how you couldn't see the camp until you were standing in it. It was that well camouflaged. This game warden must have talked for an hour straight. You could hear a pin drop in that room despite the fact it was packed full of people. We just couldn't get enough of the North Pond Hermit stories. Mainers are pretty tough, but this guy made us all stop and gasp with wonder as to how he could have lasted that long.
@@eller3452This is the best idea ever. Creative & compassionate solution to a man committing crimes of necessity. Adopt a hermit!!So perfect! But I would add he needs to give something back & the community could have figured something out he could live with to make amends. Would have been a win win! Really wish they would have done that! Great comment. You have a wonderful heart and soul!!👍💗
@@eller3452Forgive me if this is a duplicate reply. My first response to you disappeared. This is the best solution I have read. A creative compassionate response to a crime of survival necessity. Adopt a hermit! If only they would have done that. But I would add that the community also could come up with a way, acceptable to his personality, that he could give something back to the community, to make amends. It would assuage the people wronged by his stealing and help his own guilty conscience. What a perfect and humane response that would have been! You are a kind heart and wise soul!👍
When I realized he was just taking essential supplies, I'd have started setting aside a cache for him. Considering I'd have had enough money to have a winter home, I'd certainly have enough money to support a mysterious hermit. And I'd probably allow him to make use of my place while I was gone, after it was clear he was polite and harmless. Just leave a note on the fridge, assuming he'd eventually break in and see it. Hey, if you can't stop 'em, why fight 'em? Hopefully he would be content with my support, so he wouldn't feel the need to take advantage of the other residents.
@@rebel1969X2Not all, but many of the most well off people, are also the cheapest, and stingiest people. Definitely not all though, I know there are ones who are very generous to charities and what not. I'm just going off what I have seen in both sales jobs, and some customer service jobs before that.
I remember a similar story way back from Northern Minnesota. Instead of dealing with the cost of repairs and replacements the people got together and strategically left supplies for the person regularly.
I'm glad the focus forward was not retribution, but recovery. Recovery for everybody. Frankly, I'm proud of the community who didn't try to torch the guy. People of Maine are solid. Thank you, Kyle. Well done, this.
I grew up in Rome, Maine in the 70s and 80s. He was camped less than a mile from my house and just a short distance (a few hundred yards) from my friend's house. I have been in that patch of woods. It is very thick in there, with lots of fir trees and glacial boulders. Im not surprised that no one found his camp.
I live in the town next to Rome. I hear a lot of criticism here about how Mainers handled this issue but lets be real here- half the people he was stealing from probably weren’t Mainers. Rich out of staters that had more than enough goddamn peanut butter. I almost wish it had been scary enough to get them to move tf out. Im sick of them
Kyle, because of the mobility disability I can no longer hike because I have to use a walker, or face plant! Lol. I just want to say you do a fantastic job, and the 63-year-old x hiker loves watching your channel because you tell the stories extremely well! 😊
I'm an Asperger autistic and understand him perfectly. I regularly stay in one of my tents even in winter to keep my mind in balance - without stealing though.
I'm too poor and disabled to do it whenever I want to, but I'm on the spectrum and I also like camping. There's something soothing about the sound of a gentle rain on the tent, and about sitting outside looking at the stars over the campfire smoke. I especially like reading during a rainy day. The light is gentle and the background sound of the rain is soothing. It's a good thing that Girl Scouts taught me how to make a water filter and how to cook over a fire.
Have you ever read Tom Brown's : Tom Brown Tracker, or Tom Brown Way of the Scout? You might like it ... and maybe some of his later books ... Real life guy trained for around 10 years by an Apache medicine man they called 'Grandfather' ... with parents permission ... and with the grandson of Grandfather ... beginning I think around age 7. The books are episode specific but appear somewhat sequential.
Ditto, Wanji. I'm an old man and didn't get it sorted out until I was in my sixties. I dumb-assed my way through most of my life. He clearly owes debts, but I hope he picks up a couple friends along the way. It can make all the difference moving forward. I know it did for me.
I've been broken into. It's frightening, especially as an older woman, to feel this sort of violation, to feel unsafe in your own home. Although he wasn't violent, his victims would still suffer both financially and psychologically.
I'm more surprised that the community didn't formulate a plan to catch this person a whole lot quicker. That's honestly not the behavior of terrorized people. Why not lift fingerprints? You finally SAW a man in your refrigerator!! You didn't set a trap? Like drive away, come back thru the area on foot and wait for him to show up. Honestly, I'd say more shame to the community. Seems just plain ... I mean I don't Really want to say dumb, but......ah, that's a very long time to sit and act helpless.
Oh no I am so sorry tis happened to you. I also have been broken into but luckily we weren't home at that time. It is horrible to know that they have been in your home and its personal and like you said its psychosocially upsetting .
Its almost more terrifying that he was so meticulous and careful, because you dont know if he will be back or when or why. One destructive break in, while traumitic in its own way, pretty much would guarantee the offender wouldn't come back. This method would make me feel like i was never safe.
I bought the book and read the book. It is gripping, enthralling and suspenseful. I never felt animosity towards him as I read the book. I mostly felt sorry for him. He went to extreme lengths to not leave foot prints and not be detected. In reading the book, I got an over riding sense of a lonely man and desperation in the winter. I'm an introvert and understand how crowds and chatter can wear a person down. As I read the book, I really felt sorry for him. I passed no harsh judgement on his thefts. His thefts were small, minor, trivial compared to what I read about constantly in "civilized" society. Embezzlement, tax cheats, schemes, cons, extortion, political shenanigans, over pricing so a few can get rich, insurance companies denying claims, sky high rents, sheesh, I totally get why he left our "civilized" society. Our civilized society is full of thefts of a far more serious nature than these burglurized cabins.
He also respected the people enough to replace hinges if he took them out. Never broke anything or vandalized. I understand the invasion of privacy residents felt. But he was respectful of their homes at the same time.
He never stole from you, did he? If you're a woman whose property has been compromised, whether anything was stolen or not, your sense of safety and security is gone.
A very sad story, he clearly ran away from the world, something many people do, but rarely to such great extremes and for so long. 27 winters in Maine is an extremely brutal experience, nothing romantic about that at all. There's no justification for stealing, but the judge made the right decision in prioritising treatment and help over punishment.
Does anyone know what happened to this man after his treatment and probation were finished ? Whatever the rights wrongs of his means of survival being forced back into "civilisation" must have been the toughest burden to cope with. I hope he found peace with the world and peace with himself in the end.
Yes, I also couldn't help but wonder just what he was running from. The rat race? How cruel people can be? Something specific with his family or social circle? I get that being in nature is soothing, but he nearly died. So there was likely something beyond just preference there.
There needs to be room in society for hermits and people like this. People would give money and supplies to a mysterious outsider who just doesn't fit in.
We had almost the same case here in Norway a few years ago. A man escaped from prison and for almost 40 years he lived in the mountains. He did approximately 800 cabin break-ins and was also able to live in a cabin over time. An unpleasant side of him was that he "Pooped" on the floor of some of the cabins he broke into. Sometimes the police managed to get hold of him, but as soon as he was released from prison he continued to escape to the mountains. He was called The Wanderer. In 2018, he was found dead outside a cabin he was presumably going to break into. He was 60 years old and was suspected of over 650 burglaries.
@@juliemanarin4127 That's really sad of you to say. You have no idea why someone becomes this way. They must have had some major mental trauma to make them walk off into a rugged environment. They were probably either mentally unwell or were neurodivergent in a time where there was no help; no proper diagnosis; no treatment options. Even today, with all that it's talked about and all the help you 'think' is available, mental illness is rarely treated adequately.
"Pooping" during break in's is a textbook case of an antisocial personality. My brother in law is an electrician. He has worked on newly constructed houses where a person illegally entered the house and "pooped". Nothing else bothered. Just "poop"on the floor
@Astraea7522 They empathized with them. That is all. Their reply was to someone who said it's good that he died, not to the fact that he was a criminal and should be punished. I have sympathy for a lot of criminals out there, but that doesn't mean that I don't think they should be punished. No, people having empathy does not cause civilizations to "decay" idk where the fuck you pulled that out from
As an introvert and college teacher, I often had that feeling at the end of the academic year of just walking out the door and continuing walking. I don't hate society. I have friends and relationships. I enjoy my work, etc. My students don't even guess that I'm an introvert. But it's exhausting being "out there" all the time and as soon as a class or semester is over, I just want total alone time for awhile to get back to my normal internal quiet. Eventually I did just walk out the door and start walking... I walked the Camino to Compostella starting in France. I had never hiked before or carried a backpack (the big one for hiking; i don't know if it has a special name) and I went alone. It's a marked trail and that's what I craved: just to walk and not have to think or be interrupted by people demanding my attention or draining my energy, as in daily life. It cured me of that desire... But I can fully understand how the need to retreat could become almost an addiction, because especially when I was in my 20s and 30s, I'd get so overwhelmed by "too much" of people's demands draining my "social batteries" that I had a strong desire to withdraw permanently. I can easily imagine walking into the woods like Knight did and just...keeping on walking. It's sort of hypnotic, and there are times when as an introvert you have to almost force yourself not to withdraw for too long or it can be hard to face "the world." I learned that when that feeling of "I just cannot face the intense drain on my energy that people are," I actually needed to do the opposite and make myself meet a trusted friend. I can look back and see that before I learned to manage my introversion and before I "trained" my friends to respect my boundaries and not expect extrovert-level involvement from me, I might have ended up self-isolating like Knight did. The longer you do it, the harder the wrench of returning to the noise and drain of "normal" society, especially in the US where extraversion is considered the ideal. Over half a lifetime ago I moved to a country where people are quite reserved and it has helped me enormously to keep a balance between being introverted and being social. Going back to the US makes me feel a bit like Knight must have felt when he was arrested. Americans just cannot seem to keep out of other people's space. It's almost painful to be forced to talk to or give your energy to some cheerful idiot who cannot take a hint and is determined to "bring you out of your shell" by yammering at you or forcing you to be involved in their activities (not taking "no" for an answer). It feels like assault, abuse, and I can't get out of the US fast enough on the rare occasions when I'm forced to go back there. I totally understand Knight just needing to get the hell out. I can also understand his efforts to avoid damaging houses he broke into: less likelihood he'd be pursued by law enforcement.
As a fellow introvert, I couldn't help but feel intense sympathy for him being wrenched from his life of quiet solitude in the woods and thrust into a jail where the lights are always on and there's a constant racket. It must've been Hell.
If you are an empath, you will be able to sense other people's inner emotions & all kinds of dark energies from others. The nearer the source is to you physically or by relation; the more intensely you'll feel all THEIR angst, anger, sorrow, loneliness, bitterness everything can come through. It took until I was over 57 yrs. old before I realized being empathic (to a degree; it varies for everyone who is empathic, how much they sense & from how many people) was why I'd have sudden, intense bursts of chaotic emotions all my life that I couldn't understand why they'd hit. I'd have to isolate from people & write since I was 10, they were just "too much" & it left me emotionally wiped out when they may not have done or said anything to cause me to feel that way, it was me taking on their feelings. Now I know that when I'm vibrating inside, I need to accept it & figure out who it's coming from because it's info that I need to know for some reason about someone close to me who needs some comfort, compassion, or just to be heard & to know that I care about them. Many times, it's 1 of my 4 adult kids who is VERY upset about something, states away, but I ask myself who is this coming from. I'll call them & they will be very torn up about something. All my life when these huge floods of emotions hit me, I just attributed it to something unhappy in my past...., job loss, husband cheating, someone died. It was only when my life was very stable & these intense emotions would come over me that I clearly KNEW that no, this was not coming from ME, but that I was in someone else's shoes in those moments & was given the info so I could help whoever was in that much pain. Life became so much more tolerable after that. I would figure it out, call them, comfort them & avoid so much time confused by the pain I'd be feeling with nothing going wrong in my life for me to feel like that. Now, I know to make sure that I'm not just picking up those energies from someone else's emotional chaos. So, anyone who has a hard time around others but doesn't really know why, should investigate this possibility.You may be meant to be compassion for someone.
Yes. I hang out with my family for pretty much 8 or 9 straight hours every two weeks, and almost every time I end up sleeping for the entire next day just to recharge. I just don't have that much of a social battery. Heck, I have very little energy at the best of times. I can't even fix any normal food atm because the sink is so full of dishes, and it's been that bad for most of a month now. I think something's medically wrong with me, but the doctor doesn't seem concerned.
Great video! I love that you covered Christopher Knight's story. I read the book a while back and found his caution fascinating. He was careful to never leave a trail to his camp by rock-hopping. There were residents that felt bad for him so they'd leave food out but he never ate it in fear of being poisoned. He buried the empty propane tanks instead of returning them. He managed to stay undetected for so long while living on someones private property. He's just such an interesting and controversial character. More stories like this one! And awesome b-roll. I've never seen the pictures that you used. 👍👍
Kyle , Nick from Canada here, you should do the story of the hermit of gully lake from Nova Scotia he did this but never stole anything lived and died in the woods, there is a documentary on RUclips and books about him his name was William Kitchener Macdonald
The question that I had was: 27 years and he was not missed by anyone 🤨.... that say more to why it happened. He clearly had issues but none that were obvious and dangerous while growing up, what did his family life look like... so many questions 🤔
I'm born and raised Maine, in Texas. We didn't lock doors, car's, trusted. Knew respect 😂. My first thought was yours. No mom and dad questions on not reporting him missing? He should tell..
@DeborahLong7777 Hunnee, cops just always ain't every answer to all questions; and cops do come completely equipped-&-fully furnished with serious problems of their own. Scores of citizens DID report to police. The man was a wanted felony fugitive, and STILL police couldn't find their fugitive/wanted man. You saw that huge, sprawling trash heap of a "camp".👀 Police claimed that they (and their dogs) could never see (nor smell) that unnatural abomination, 'til they were already stood inside it's perimeter; which was AFTER the fella took them to it!! Even then, at the end of it all, after hundreds of burglaries and ~30 years of failed searching(?), the man had to come in and catch himself. You wanna shame/blame/investigate his parents??
Your questions are covered in Michael Finkel's book. His family likely did miss him. His mother especially seems to have been a rather stoic, self-contained woman that had few if any social contacts outside of her family. His father died while Christopher was living in the woods. I don't know if his mother is still alive. After being released from jail Knight lived with his mother in the house where he was raised or with a brother who lived nearby that he worked for. If I recall correctly he cut & split firewood and salvaged scrap materials and parts from appliances and other machines. I followed the story closely at the time. The name Christopher Knight is still on my Google News watchlist. I don't romanticize his story, I just find it interesting. I think that his punishment was reasonable. A longer sentence would have only cost taxpayers more and served little constructive purpose beyond vengeance. I have not read about him being arrested for anything else since he got out of jail. Kyle did a pretty good job telling the story but he did take some "creative liberties" and I believe that he probably fabricated a few of the anecdotes. One interesting anecdotes that Kyle missed was that after writing the book Michael Finkel returned to the home Albion, Maine where Christopher lived to check on him. Knight would not speak to him and his brother told Finkel to leave. . . The End.
From the items stolen my immediate thought was someone supplying a life out on the woods. Doesnt need jewelry or a TV, but food, batteries and propane and clothes, yeah, that makes sense. I wonder peoole didn't figure this out and just leave stuff out for him. Food, old clothes, partial propane tanks, whatever someone living wild might need.
If you read the whole story about him--there were some South Park residents who did actually purchase extra stuff and left it out for him. They still wanted him to be caught though--because he was breaking in and scaring people.
I can see why you wouldn't want to encourage break-ins. You want people to respect personal boundaries and rights. In some communities, I have seen "Free Stores" with the motto "Take what you need, Give what you can".
I really like so much how you make a great effort to tell these stories from all sides. To let your viewers decide for themselves what they think. You show that every event has deeper issues at work. And even though you don’t know what they are, you give good possibilities of what might have been happening inside the peoples minds. Thank you for your insight and interesting videos.
Age of onset for many psychiatric disorders. In this case my family experienced a similar story. Back in the early 80's my older brother was discharged from the Army while stationed in Germany. It was a medical release due to increased strange behavior. When he returned home, he was able to go right back to his previous job. While his behavior was still strange, it was oddly transient; days of clarity followed by days of bizarre outburst. One day, according to his longtime friend and roommate, he went to take out the trash and never came back. We never saw him again for almost 2-years. This time the behavior was constant. I was working as a psych tech on a local hospital's locked psych unit at the time. It fell to me to inform my poor distressed parents that we did not have the skills to deal with it. Professional intervention was a must. He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and with the help of a medication schedule that took another 2-years to "dial in", he is now more stable and happier.
Fascinating tale. I'm surprised he never tried to live in some of these cabins during the winter. Maybe he did sit out a cold spell in some of them. Every generation has a certain number of hermits. I'm surprised he didn't get a little more resourceful with housing, like building a camouflaged dugout house. I mean he had 27 years to do it. Would have taken him a couple months and he could have been much warmer. Also he could have Wildcrafted a lot of his food and grown his own gsrdens, caught fish and game and salted and preserved them for winter. If it were me, I would have tried to be a lot more self-sufficient.
I had this cabin that I was temporarily living in. It felt weird, like someone else was also loving there, but in a different time. Things would move around, strange noises, glimpses of shadows moving. That sort of thing. Then, there were love letters in the mailbox… nope, wait, that was a movie I saw🤔
My most valuable takeaway from his story was after all those years in the woods and he’s biggest struggle was “FOOD” my second takeaway was, as time wore on he began craving comfort… I’m well fed and comfortable, anything beyond that is just the noise of modern life ❤
@@dorothylewis1207 Nah! I'd lose my mind if I came home and half or all my shoes, purses, clothes or what not were missing! I haven't watched yet, I'm not 5 minutes in, just checking the comments for anyone who might recognize the name Christopher Knight.
I am a hermit. No problem staying three to four days in my cozy house drinking Tim Hortons coffee, looking out my kitchen window to the mountains and woods.
@@lorirudel8689 isn't that the deal with ever job. Local people are deprioritized and treated like a piece of poop stuffed in a McDonald's hamburger bun lol.
@@lorirudel8689 Preference or do Americans not want to do that kind of work? Bc I know not many Americans are willing to work on a farm, especially if it's somebody else's. It's hard, dirty work that doesn't pay all that well. Most everybody, especially the young, want to be famous on RUclips, Instagram, TikTok or whatever. They dont wanna be working hard like that, if they don't have to.
As a fan from Maine, low key geeked out when I realized you were covering this case and that you spend time in Maine! I live like five minutes from where this happened and actually know the only person he saw in the woods the whole time he was out there! It’d be cool to cross paths! Take care man! 🌲🌲
Don't really understand how he managed to maintain the same campsite for so long without being discovered, especially once the pattern of his behavior came to light.
The game wardens who went to his camp said that you literally couldn't see it until you were basically already standing in it, so if you didn't know where to go you wouldn't find it. The guy was also apparently terrified of making a fire most of the time out of fear of drawing people to his site, so on cold winter nights he would pace his campsite all night to keep warm. I live in Canada and know Maine winters aren't much warmer so I've gotta say that the man is a different breed for staying out there almost 30 years, most people couldn't last a single winter let alone around 30 in a row.
@@douggiles7647 I don't know from his story his was just a super fat guy with a ton a stolen clothing stacked on top of each other basically hibernating.
The forests are VAST. It would take hundreds of people several months to even catch a sniff of this guy. I have heard accounts of people going missing and never being found. This is in spite of seasoned park rangers and law enforcement numbering in the hundreds looking for them.
Then you’ve never spent time in the woods. Especially thick woods. My friends family home was surrounded by woods and the family spent 35 years in the woods before they found this massive cave on their property. Once you saw it you could t believe no one ever caught it before. It’s easy to hide in the woods.
I'm young still but can't hike anymore because of physical ailments, but this channel makes me feel like I'm still amongst my friends listening to the stories
Yay! I'm in my 30s, hiked when I was a kid, never could get around to it as an adult. Tried to one day... Broke my ankle in a way that's amazingly similar to Kyle's girlfriend (just walking, essentially). Permanent damage, lead to several other issues and I can't really hike anymore.. it sucks, especially in the state I live in where pretty much the entire state is built for outdoor recreation. This channel gives me a lot of consolation as well ❤
For anyone who is enamored with what this guy did, you should check out Alone in the Wilderness, a film by/about Dick Proenneke. He did it the right way.
Thanks for the recommendation, I will check it out- I was reminded of that teen novel, ‘My Side of the Mountain’ about a 16 year old who ran away to the woods and he did steal a couple of poached deer, but also foraged and hunted and basically survived for a year on his own. It was completely fictional, but was a start for me in learning to identify different edible plants and strategies for shelter and food. One of my favorite books!
absolutely terrifying to imagine waking up to find items inside your home have been stolen while you were sleeping ... even more terrifying if there was no broken door or window to explain how the person got inside.. I'd never be able to sleep again
@henajtr6039 Exactly, I agree with you 100%. A stranger wandering in the home while you sleep is the most frightening thing. Sleeping is one of the most vulnerable parts of life. All that time he should have learned how to hunt-snares etc. It's B.S. He didn't want a fire to give him away. Excuses for his laziness. Letting other people do the work while he leeches off of the cabin community... I don't feel he had guilt for wiping out others food and essential supplies. If he did feel guilty he would've taken all the food,clothes and damnit and F"ing mattress....... . . . . . . .
rule of thumb: The better the lock, the more time it takes to breach it. Bad lock 10 seconds, good lock 10 minutes. A few seconds or minutes fiddling with a lock will result in questions and possibly the police in urban areas where you have people that could or do observe it, taking more time while picking is a risk. In the middle of nowhere, where one has all the time in the world to pick a lock, the lock will be picked without visible traces from outside the lock. Most locks are criminally easy to pick. If you want to really see how useless they are, for remote settings, then take a watch at the lockpicking lawyer's channel. I picked up a lockpick after watching his videos. The most common thing I found is that a simple rake attack will suffice for most kind of 'home locks'. A 'secure' house has bolts that lock into the wall and bullet proof windows, and locked in window frames. Anything under that is a gambling game of "will it take them long enough to decide this object is too much risk?"
First off, he was out there BY CHOICE, second, being homeless does NOT excuse committing crimes and terrifying people. I’m beyond sick of people like you defending criminals with excuse after excuse. Here’s a crazy idea, go back to work! He left work by choice! If someone can’t hack surviving in the outdoors then that’s their problem, not everyone else’s. Wanna know why he couldn’t hack living outdoors or in society when plenty of others managed to do either of those? Because he is lazy.
@@IrishColin Exactly. This guy had a decent job before he decided to go "live off the land" (i.e. live off people who actually worked and paid their taxes). He was clearly smart and healthy. No wife or kids to support. He had every advantage in life. Better off than many, many people who are more disadvantaged, but manage to get by LEGALLY with little to no help or sympathy from the world. He could have easily saved for a small cabin of his own, lived minimally and in seclusion. Grown his own vegetables. The amount of people in this comment section acting like this guy was a disabled Oliver Twist is almost hilarious... if it weren't so sickening. I mean, seriously, WTF???
He is immoral. A trespasser, a burglar and a thief. Strongly suspect he was also a drug addict. He could have lived in the woods and walked into town to work at a restaurant as a dishwasher or anywhere as a night janitor. Nobody bothers those workers. That would have kept him from preying upon others. A couple hundred bucks a week and he'd have enough to eat and clothe himself. Apparently, he considers himself above working for others. Just himself. You can see the hatred in his eyes at being held accountable for his actions. A very bad and immoral person. At least his journalist confidant made some money off him. Parasites both of em.
I’d rather someone steal from me ten times over than die out in the wilderness because they didn’t have food and warmth. Sorry. Especially if they’re only taking food and clothes and things used to obviously survive.
@Beespank I see that, but he could have stopped at any point in time and had shelter,as he eventually did. Noone forced him to need to survive in the woods. He forced others to lose items. I dont think anyone would turn down a man in distress in winter as example even if poor choices put them in that spot of needing help at that moment in time. That's a lot different then making that choice for 27 years and then it becomes few people would choose to help feed him. The time frame matters as its a contact choice to live off others verses a moment in time🤷♂️
@Astraea7522 Would you really? I'm playing devil's advocate here, but let's say you're a female, your single, your enjoying a hot cup of joe, standing in your PJs and robe on your deck, looking at the lake, and out of the woods walks a guy who looks dirty, bearded, kinda creepy walks out of the woods and says, 'Yeah, um...hello. I'm just your friendly neighbor, but I'm really running low on batteries, and I need a pair of men's hiking boots in size 9. I have a list of pantry items here, could you hook me up?' and your response would be 'Ok, sure, c'mon in!' Do you regularly pass homeless people and stop to see if they need help? Because I'm sorry, even if your hubby was there, you'd probably say, 'Uh, honey, can you come talk to this rando who just walked up. I think he lives about 500 yards away in a makeshift tent just out of sight in the woods, and he doesn't want to steal from us in the fall so I think we should take him to Wal-Mart and hook him up!' Otherwise, he might just break in after we've left so let's hook him up, eh? I'm sorry, but HELL NO! You'd be running inside, screaming, locking the doors, and praying that you had cell service!!
@Astraea7522 agree. I know he wanted isolation, but I can't fathom.why he dint apply fur state aid ir something. He could have had a trip a month into town and supplied himself, likely would have had more propane, not truy have had to worry so much about being spotted. His life of seclusion was ine thing,but a life lived in constant worry of being even seen is another level
More than a thousand bulglaries... he even kept track of them... that's one break and enter in less than every ten days... it doesn't sound like "desperation" to me, more like a "game".
I cleaned shelves at my father’s store after school. I was working one day (probably in 7th or 8th grade) I saw this kid I went to school with stealing. I told my mother. She put her finger to my mouth to silence me. Apparently the kid had been coming there for years grabbing tooth paste, and a few other essentials. I’m an adult now. I don’t agree with how my parents handled that. I believe they should have just made up a bag for him and handed it to him. But it was a valuable lesson to give to people in need.
If she had, he would have left the bag and never come in the store again. Another shopkeeper, if he lost your mother and tried to steal from a different store, would have had the kid arrested. For wanting to be clean. It becomes a matter of, do you want to "be right," or do you want to do right?
That was very kind. Came across a wild exorcism interview from a guy in Canada who's mom was severely mentally ill/deemed possessed. His upbringing from age 4 was super terrible. Had to fend for himself in every way, stole from gardens, kids lunches, etc. just to eat. Believe I caught it on Almost False.
I spent a couple of nights at Chimney Pond in February. It was 5 below and the day I left I woke up to it snowing sideways. It was a long 17+ mile hike out pulling a sled full of camping/climbing gear. I know firsthand how cold it gets sleeping outside in ME in the winter. It's one thing if you want to go off grid, but this guy was no different than a squatter. Living off the hard work of good people. I can't believe he only got 7 months. I see you are now over 500k subscribers. Congratulations and thanks for the videos.
This just proves how bad it is out there. Why are more worried about helping people in different countries when we need to focus on our own homeless issue. Not all homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics. We need to get together and even provide sandwiches daily and blankets and coats. I live in northern Canada and even we have homeless people and no one does nothing. My mom is dying of grade 4 glioblastoma (brain cancer) and I take care of her 24/7 or I would be out there helping. I have come across two different people almost frozen to the ground while people smokes and watched and did nothing. I stayed with the one lady till the ambulance came. Everyone was watching and not one person helped. This is so disgusting. Wouldn’t you want someone to help you? 😢
@KyleHatesHiking After capture, he was asked when he went into the woods to live like this. It was soon brought up by him that the event of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was the time in which he felt prompted to return to Maine aaand here we are. Dude genuinely was concerned about the state of the world. You're welcome :) ✌️
Ok Kyle here is my take… There is something undiagnosed driving this man’s behavior to behave the way he did. The stand out clues are, he had trouble making friends (that doesn’t mean he did not want them.) What was the result of that? He drove long distance to escape what was happening at his job or living situation. (We don’t know what but he was suffering from something) He passed his home town avoiding anyone he knew. (Why? There is and underlying reason driving that behavior). Most people that need change or help would no do that. He drove until he was out of gas and abandoned his car. Not making a stable life plan. Typically people do not do that. He STAYED in the woods 27 years! His actions (be it choices Vs default mode actions?) all lead him away from people. Yes the term Hermit fits. But there is something undiagnosed driving all that behavior. Whatever the diagnosis is, it’s something significant. So should he be judged as a typical person? I do not know, but for sure each person he committed a crime against is valid in deciding that for themself. If you knew what the diagnosis was and or trauma, would you consider dropping the charges? It is clear in your report Kyle that this is a story of survival for basic needs. You reported the man felt guilty and sorry and admitted his crimes. That doesn’t invalidate the crimes the residents of the area suffered. However it is worth something. This is a true thought provoking dilemma you have asked for us to comment on. That hopefully opens the eyes of humanity to everyone that some people truly suffer invisibly and in silence. If you have the gifts of intelligence to know suffering and hardship, insight to see it happening in others, some means to make a difference, then seek courage/help to do it! Let’s look out for each other.
Exactly. After so many years someone must have realized he was not dangerous and the community could have saved themselves lots if repair costs and terror had they just set up a cache of food and needed items.
@@julianathompson8623 Have some compassion for the victims. Mental problems don't excuse crimes. Not when you're fully aware of what you are doing and understand the difference between right and wrong. He was not psychotic or delusional. He deliberately made choice after choice to be a criminal for 27 years.
@@julianathompson8623 Stop deflecting. You know everything I said was correct. He was not psychotic. He himself admitted that he was "ashamed" for what he did. That means he knew right vs wrong. He was in full possession of his faculties to carry out one burglary after another. It's not defensible, so stop defending him. It shows disrespect for the victims.
I remember this story. I’m glad you touched on this one with great detail. My own experience with doing something myself like him. Though for me it only lasted 3 months. The facts are I broke from reality from stress and I felt like I was being called to leave the confines of society and live in pure nature because some way it seemed right. But around two months into it my senses came back to me. It really was like for two months I was a different man. Then my old self popped back in. That was a bizarre situation in my life that I could never ever explain what happened to me. I don’t have experiences with aliens or Bigfoot or see or have messages from god or anything of that nature. So my opinion is he just had a break in reality and didn’t know how to come back. Thank you for letting me share this. ❤
I like this change of pace, Kyle. But then I always like your content. You really are an extraordinary storyteller. And I must say you’re looking good-are you hitting the weights? Bulking for a winter hike?
Absolutely insane to see how many people in the comments think it's okay for a person to commit over 1 000 burglaries and stealin from thousands of hard working people for 27 years, making them live in fear and causing them tremendous stress, anxiety, loss of property and money. If this guy didn't want to have a regular job to support himself, then at least he could have bought some land in the woods and spent those 27 years learning how to live from the land and nature around him, so he could have been 100% self-sufficient in them woods, instead of stealing everything he needed. So how he choose to spend those 27 years in the woods are not impressive at all, it's a tragedy. The only thing he accomplished was to become a master thief, who spread terror around him, not physically but mentally. For all of this, he only got 7 months in jail. He has been glorified in media, books etc What a sad world we are living in.
Yep. There are some sketchy people in this comment section, for sure. Endlessly making excuses for this guy. Pretty disgusting. Maybe they are criminals, or secretly wish to become criminals. I'm disappointed. I thought Kyle had better quality viewers.
I had my house broken into, your safe place is gone and a camp/cabin would be the same thing as your home, you safe spot is gone. It is horrible not to have a place to lay your head where you feel safe.
The big question is: Why did he stop relocating when he arrived near North Pond. If he had just continued moving around, even between a few towns, he would have never been caught. It would have also saved a lot of the heartache for the victims because it wouldn't have continued, for years on end, happening to the same people.
Pam... you are awesome, caring! As for "JOHN"... You are a strong, compassionate person.....caring about how Pam would be at risk . Keep your head high, you have been shown you do matter.
Dude didn't leave society in the least. He lived among it and relied on it like a racoon that lives under your porch. The only thing dude gave up was paying for what he needed. He still lived off the economy, he just moved another step down the supply chain by taking from the consumer. Just a thief. Nothing glamorous or romantic about it. If any of us did this to our neighbors for 27 years there wouldn't be a lick of sympathy coming our way. Living in the woods right around people makes it sad, not romantic.
Absolutely agreed. He's just a criminal, stealing things that other people have to pay for with their hard earned money. They work their jobs in order to pay for the things he steals from them. Terorizing them by his regular burglaries. He's just a thief, nothing more, nothing less. Him being remorseful doesnt change a thing.
@@giovannih.6027 Is it really remorse when you keep doing it for 27 years and only stop because you were caught? lol. He wasn't remorseful. The judge was a fool to give him such a light sentence.
@@BatCaveOz He'd be much more fun than the criminal hermit, you can be sure. Also, that line doesn't land anymore. Who has dinner parties these days? Sounds like a pre-covid, pre-inflation type of activity.
I think the reason he cut away from society was to connect with inner peace. Most ppl can relate that a day or weekend in the woods or hiking clear ones mind and moment of happiness and calm feeds ur mind. No drama, no bills, no worries in those moments. But once he started to steal, the fear of guilt and being caught kept him hidden. Great story, btw! 👏
I grew up in Maine and miss it terribly. People do leave their cabins especially up north stocked just in case if hunters or hikers who may get lost or need shelter/food/etc. Or maybe an occasional hermit who has been wandering around in the woods for 27 years!
What you say is true, it IS romantic to live away from everything. However, there is no excuse for his unlawful break-ins, and while, yes, they were not violent, they struck fear in the residents none-the-less, and that's inexcusable. These are not victim-less crimes. Go ahead, anyone, live off the grid and enjoy nature, but don't steal from others to keep your lifestyle.
I read the book about this man, it is def a perplexing story. On the one hand, you feel sorry for him but on the other hand you feel sorry for the people he terrrorized. I say terrorized because I think most people would feel upset about their stuff missing but the terror of not knowing who is breaking into your cabin and where he might be with the question of "is he dangerous" would be unnerving. I'm glad the horrific saga has ended. I hope he can get the mental and emotional help he needs so he can find peace as he ages. PS: I"m a dreamer who always thought it'd be cool to live alone in the woods but of course I always end up waking up to the reality of how difficult it really would be. This story is similar in some ways to Chris McCandless who was written about in the book "Into the Wild" and who died of starvation in an abandoned bus in Denali National Park in Alaska because he ate the wrong plant. I can't remember if you've already covered this story or not but if you haven't, it'd be a great follow up story to this one.
I agree with all you've said about feeling sorry for him yet the town being terrorized. So in 27 years the town never decided to put food out somewhere or do anything else so they weren't terrorized? No he shouldn't have stolen, but it seems the residents did nothing to stop their terror. It wasn't their responsibility to feed him, but couldn't they have done SOMETHING in 27 years? I'm surprised he didn't spend the winter in a cabin.
I think There Is Nothing romantic About It. I mean you do you if you want to live like a Hermit in the woods then fine. I don't understand why you would want to but if you're happy so be it. But do not damage the livelihoods of other people. They to work and pay for everything that that guy stole. You can express guilt over that as much as you want it doesn't make the thousands of dollars in Damages go away. So People didn't have to replace Windows and Doors, big deal. But let's say for example you have supplies, as in food, for like $300 stocked up just for you to run out for a few hours come back and those $300 worth of food being stolen. The $300 that you work your butt off to collect. And that by some weirdo who just decided one day that he didn't want to live in society anymore. That doesn't make stealing okay. I don't think it is romantic, I think it is crazy.
Of course, people who can afford to have a weekend or summer cabin probably aren't going to starve if their fridge is raided. We're not talking about people working part-time with no benefits or savings, but fairly rich people who have two homes. Not excusing the Hermit: he stole. Period. But don't project your own economic conditions on the victims here.
@@FigaroHey sorry I'm not an American but in Germany if you own those houses you still have to work. Or at least you had to work to have the money to pay for those houses. Stealing is still stealing. Not to mention the psychological fear. People Still Earn Those houses with the money That they saved up.
@@FigaroHey You're the one projecting your economic conditions on the victims. You think if someone is better off than you economically, that they did not work or struggle to afford the second home and the items they bought for that home, and that stealing from them is no big deal. You are wrong. These people are following the law, working and paying taxes. This hobo was a selfish freeloader.
He surely doesn’t deserve the “romantic” aspect of the guy who leaves it all behind and goes on to “live in the woods”. He wasn’t living in the woods. He was just staying in the woods and needed all the conveniences of the modern world to make it….. so he stayed close enough to that world so he could prey upon it. All this dude was doing was avoiding his larger social anxiety issue and a lot of people lost a lot of property to him because of it. He ain’t a saint and he was DAMN lucky they put him in solitary. Justice would have been to put him with others. Make him feel like he needed to look over his shoulder for a few months is the least they could have done.
I was trying to get my feelings into words about this case without sounding too harsh but you’re correct, what he did doesn’t deserve a romantic interpretation
It is impossible for me to respect a thief, as well as someone who unsettles people with their actions. I still want to read the book, and will probably buy it when I finish this comment. lol I found this thieving hermit to be extremely clever in how he went about things, all ducks in a row before doing anything, and I can identify with that bit of OCDness. It can be helpful going through life, but it can also go too far. Anyway. thanks for an interesting tale, Kyle, well told, as always.
@@IrishColin I understand what you’re saying, I understand psychological trauma very well. I was writing and watching at the same time and was glad he hadn’t physically hurt anyone was what I was thinking at that time. The problem with ‘ psychological terror’ is that people can’t see what is going on inside a person and people are becoming crueler/violent to each other which ultimately leads to situations like this, people are getting nastier and just don’t care, where is the empathy, where is the compassion and love, gone. I don’t agree with the trauma he caused all those people so I am sorry I didn’t add that before, but if we don’t start becoming nicer to each other and instead be judgemental more than ever, of course we are just going to see more and more of this, it’s a cycle, this man has destroyed lives which will effect the victims which in turn will effort others. It’s a never ending cycle, when does it stop.
@@IrishColin He is a predator. That's why he setup his camp close-in to town, a few hundred feet from some houses. Lots of vagrants hate responsible people. They see them as their enemy for 'making them feel bad about themselves'. So they prey upon them to 'get back' at regular ppl for 'making them feel bad about themselves' and 'you think you're better than me' so I'll show you. Bums, druggies and psychopaths.
I knew who this story was about immediately, as a book-trading friend had sent me "The Stranger in the Woods". However, I watched the whole video because of your excellent story-telling skills, Kyle. I admire the way you present different sides with understanding. I read in the book that locals and visitors to the area were frightened, and honesty- p.o.'d. Knight was a most unusual person. He did not speak to another human being in his nearly 3 decades in self-imposed isolation in the woods, and had difficulty speaking at all when first brought out. Knight refused to let himself talk aloud to avoid being detected this entire time.
You say he "had winter survival skills to a science"... more like stealing skills to a science. May be he deemed it OK to steal from vacation cabins. He wanted to live away from the world but avail himself of what the world has to offer for free by stealing. Living in a semi wilderness cabin in the Interior of Alaska for over 4 decades, I never thought of stealing what I needed to survive. If I could not provide for myself, then may be, I could not afford the luxury of living 'free' and for free in the woods. Some of my friends have suffered from people like him stealing propane, tools, winter boots at the risk of seriously endangering their life in the Alaskan wilderness. It is wrong. It is understood you can enter a cabin, make a fire, eat some of the food if you are in dire straits but not live your woodsy life by proxy simply because you prefer not to be bothered with society. Being in dire straits is not a way of life! I tend to think something was wrong with him. I do not think much of him. He had no survival skills, just suffering skills.
Crazy story!! From the POV of residents it's very creepy and terrifying. But at the same time I find it intriguing, what was going through his mind all of this time? What about his family? Thanks for sharing, it was so interesting! ❤
I'm keeping the neighbor's quote as the moral compass of this tale. This man terrorized an entire community for nearly 30 years, and that can cause as much trauma as physical violence. If he felt so bad about ripping others of their rightfully owned property, he would've learned to hunt and live off the land. But it was easier to live at the expense of others by force. I don't believe in his guilt for a moment, cause he kept stealing until he was caught.
In old Russia it was considered a blessing to have a hermit living nearby. He would be left food, clothing, supplies as theor offerings to God through this Holy Man. There have ALWAYS been men and women who feel called away from society and into isolation. I'm not saying this man wasn't suffering from something ... but our society pretty much sucks for a certain type of person. He's not a normal criminal. But did cause the unrest and fear. Unfortunately the very thing he was trying to avoid himself... he was creating in this community.
If you have to ask why, then you've never felt the pull of the woods. He wasn't hurting anyone and in a different age, the folks out there would simply start placing offerings out instead of getting all previous about their stuff. But some people are very attached to their stuff.
I spend 12 months a year camping in the forest. Been doing it for years. If you don't mind being separated from people, which I don't, it is very enjoyable. But unlike this guy, I have a 4-wheel drive, and travel to different national forests across multiple states. I often hear things walking around my tent at nights: animals not people. I'm going to get a motion camera with night vision to see what they are. It will probably just frighten me.
Wow, interesting. I hear stories about scary things in the woods ( no human ) . My friends and I liked to go camping for 2 or 3 days 4 times in a year, I remember one time we heard that sounded like footsteps around the camp it was strange the next morning we check around and we didn't found nothing . Stay safe on your hiking trips 🙏
@@elizabeth415 Sometimes I hear animal sounds, and I don't know what the animal is. I've learned that animals are a lot smarter than people think, especially birds. When I hike, birds will sometimes follow me flying from tree to tree. Then when I get back, the bird will fly up to the tent and look inside. I can tell a lot of stories about animals doing intelligent things. Once, there was this cereal I bought that I didn't like, so I put it out for the birds. This one bird came and ate it. I then threw some more out for it. The next morning it came to the tent window were I threw out the food the day before, sitting at the window looking at me. I was lying in bed, and looked at it with a blank stare like I didn't know what it wanted to see what it would do. So it moved its beak up and down like it was eating to explain it to me. My mattress where my feet were was at that window with my head at the opposite side of the room sized tent where there was another window. So I laid my head back down to see what it would do, and it flew to the window where my head was to get my attention. I fed my buddy more cereal, but I just wanted to see what it would do first.
Around where I live (FL swamp) it's all kinds of critters at night. Armadillos, foxes, bobcat, possums, feral cats, raccoons, turtles, deer, etc. Get a dark IR so animals can't see it and WiFi so you can watch it when it alarms. Set up at least two covering each other to catch human intruders. Place them above 8' so they don't get stolen.
@@drewodessa2483 That sounds like excellent advice, and I will do exactly that Thank you. I have camped a lot in Florida as well, and in some swampy areas. But lately I have been in the rockies, and the southwest desert in the winter.
Hi Kyle! Greetings from Finland! As an owner of a cabin, I believe that somebody in that situation who does not use violence, and has some sort of respect for his victims, I would not be so upset. They are only material things, food, which can easily be replaced. Obviously theft is wrong, and the feeling of not knowing who or why, is quite unnerving! I somehow understand, but still know that it is wrong! Thank you so much for your stories, love listening to them, especially when i’m at my cabin!
Human mind is very complex. The life he chose to live in the woods is probably to get away from things and people that hurt him somehow. Stealing was just a means of survival. I don’t think he got any pleasure in doing it. I’m not saying here that it wasn’t wrong. But his story goes way beyond what we know and for that I feel for him.
And the people who could afford a wildness Cabin, pure for fun, didn't really loose much, only a sense of security for a small portion of a Yr. Not saying he was right---- But?
@dorothylewis1207 I’m really sick of people like you defending criminals with excuses. First off, many people in Maine have cabins, not just rich people. Also even if they were rich, that does not mean they aren’t entitled to the same laws and protections as everyone else. I’m poor, I grew up poor and remain so but at no point in my life have I ever EVER felt entitled to someone else’s belongings just because they were born healthy and could work harder for those things.
I'm feeling sorry for him and his troubling life. I also understand the victims I would have been afraid too. Bless him, and I hope he finds peace in the real world
When I was 16 I walked into the Welsh mountains and lived in a small cave for six months in Autumn and Winter, I didn't see or speak to anyone for the entire time I was there, lived wild but never even contemplated stealing anything from others, not that there was any buildings near me for 8 miles in any direction. Those six months were the most liberating months of my life so far and I'm now 61 years old. I understand the man on a level but the stealing wasn't needed, the forest has everything he needed for survival if only he'd learnt it.
Hmmh 🤔 at 16? What you ate for 6 months? Were you orphan, or how your folk just left a kid be alone in mountains? I guess Im not alone who would like to hear the story.
Well, Kyle, I enjoy your videos, and the beautiful trails and "back country" vistas you share. Thank you from the UK. Christopher Knight: I'm guessing that he was autistic, smart but challenged with people skills. Could be very lonely. Maybe, due to anxiety or biological reasons, he wet the bed until much more old than most boys (I'm not being unkind, it's something that happens is often not talked about) and therefore couldn't go camping. Maybe he tried to find happiness, in a dogmatic fashion, through education and career, but he still struggled with finding companionship, and felt that companionship was out of his reach and he then decided to go to nature, home, comforting, where people couldn't reject him or hurt him, and then maybe he found it easier than trying to fit in with regular society and he stayed. That's my guess. I do not dislike him, although I understand how vulnerable he must have made the Pond area community feel, and how they were impacted by him. He seems a sensitive person, and it is interesting how he wasn't officially reported missing. It is like he didn't want to be a "bother" to anyone ie he'd been made to feel like a burden before, maybe in his autistic childhood. Bless everyone involved.
It is said that it is better to be alone, than in the wrong company. I think people who are highly intelligent prefer the company of nature, over the company of humans, whom they simply cannot relate to.
The glasses that lasted that dude for so long. The company should make that guy the brand ambassador
😂
I thought the same thing!
@@KathleenMcCormickLCSWMPHme too ☺️
Stole those too.
@@JK-gm6kk no doubt replaced after incarceration
Imagine being that lonely and sad that you prefer to be alone for 27 years . Worse yet his family never in 27 years even thought to report him missing , that's just brutally sad
I wonder if they just weren't surprised that he would just disappear.
Introvert speaking. I doubt he was lonely. Maybe he sad. Maybe not. People that like to be alone don’t mind being alone. In fact they don’t want to be around you are me or anyone else. I personally think I am my own best company and stay busy learning everything I can. It just what I like to do.
What makes you think he was "Alone?" I'll tell you what I think. Your idea of alone is the absence of another human being. We're never alone. We don't all need another human being. Some of us despise human interaction...not because humans are all bad. But, because they're emotionally, and mentally draining. There are several words for this and many definitions to suit everyone's perceptions. When one calls us, "Sensitive?" It's such an understatement and incorrect. We're not sensitive in the way our liberal party. Completely the opposite. We're not affected by our feelings...we're affected by yours. The only time I know it's my feelings is when no living human is in my presence and I love that person. Imagine being in a crowd of sad, discouraged people and absorbing all of the negativity. It's total Hell.
Every man under 6' 2"
@@kristinessTXTHIS
I have lived in Maine my whole life. Everyone in this area knows the story. I was lucky enough to attend an event where the guest speaker was one of the game wardens who was there when they found the hermits camp. He told us how you couldn't see the camp until you were standing in it. It was that well camouflaged. This game warden must have talked for an hour straight. You could hear a pin drop in that room despite the fact it was packed full of people. We just couldn't get enough of the North Pond Hermit stories.
Mainers are pretty tough, but this guy made us all stop and gasp with wonder as to how he could have lasted that long.
Wow that's amazing. I wish I would have been there to hear that.
Wow that's amazing. I wish I would have been there to hear that.
I’m a Mainer also.. grew up in rockland, live in Waterville now
@@eller3452This is the best idea ever. Creative & compassionate solution to a man committing crimes of necessity. Adopt a hermit!!So perfect! But I would add he needs to give something back & the community could have figured something out he could live with to make amends. Would have been a win win! Really wish they would have done that! Great comment. You have a wonderful heart and soul!!👍💗
@@eller3452Forgive me if this is a duplicate reply. My first response to you disappeared. This is the best solution I have read. A creative compassionate response to a crime of survival necessity. Adopt a hermit! If only they would have done that. But I would add that the community also could come up with a way, acceptable to his personality, that he could give something back to the community, to make amends. It would assuage the people wronged by his stealing and help his own guilty conscience. What a perfect and humane response that would have been! You are a kind heart and wise soul!👍
When I realized he was just taking essential supplies, I'd have started setting aside a cache for him. Considering I'd have had enough money to have a winter home, I'd certainly have enough money to support a mysterious hermit. And I'd probably allow him to make use of my place while I was gone, after it was clear he was polite and harmless. Just leave a note on the fridge, assuming he'd eventually break in and see it. Hey, if you can't stop 'em, why fight 'em? Hopefully he would be content with my support, so he wouldn't feel the need to take advantage of the other residents.
💝🙏🏽💝
I really love your perspective. 💯
My questions are what amount of food and propane is required for one person to live in that manner and
how many places did he hit?
I had the same thought. He was just trying to survive.
No way rich people think that way. I also think people shouldn't be able to have more than one house
@@rebel1969X2Not all, but many of the most well off people, are also the cheapest, and stingiest people. Definitely not all though, I know there are ones who are very generous to charities and what not. I'm just going off what I have seen in both sales jobs, and some customer service jobs before that.
I remember a similar story way back from Northern Minnesota. Instead of dealing with the cost of repairs and replacements the people got together and strategically left supplies for the person regularly.
Great idea, no terror!
That is a great idea since in this situation, the thief needed the items more than the owners.
I remember that, too. Great example of Minnesota nice!
Good solution. Was thinking the same thing throughout the story.
Wild, I commented that before I read yours!!
I think the lack of response from his family when he went missing, speaks volumes.
If they knew him well perhaps they weren't surprised that he just disappeared one day and became a hermit.
Maybe.
Speaks volumes? How so ? ........ They don't know shit.
Maybe they knew more than they let on …
Maybe it speaks volumes about his family and nothing at all about him or vice versa who knows it’s impossible to.
I feel sorry for him being alone for 27 years. I feel bad for the people of that town, but I also think his life was very sad.
He Still Respected the People he Took From... Sounds like a Perfect Crime.. But he's Not an Ordinary Crook..
I wouldn't dare to live like that especially not in Maine; if you have ever read some of John Conolly's gothic semi-superstitious crime novels
I'm glad the focus forward was not retribution, but recovery. Recovery for everybody. Frankly, I'm proud of the community who didn't try to torch the guy. People of Maine are solid. Thank you, Kyle. Well done, this.
I’m happy to hear he valued propane and propane accessories
😂
That boy ain't right...
Thank you, Hank Hill.
LOL good one!
@@misterjaxon2559
I came into this thread to drop that comment 😂
I grew up in Rome, Maine in the 70s and 80s. He was camped less than a mile from my house and just a short distance (a few hundred yards) from my friend's house. I have been in that patch of woods. It is very thick in there, with lots of fir trees and glacial boulders. Im not surprised that no one found his camp.
I live in the town next to Rome. I hear a lot of criticism here about how Mainers handled this issue but lets be real here- half the people he was stealing from probably weren’t Mainers. Rich out of staters that had more than enough goddamn peanut butter. I almost wish it had been scary enough to get them to move tf out. Im sick of them
Kyle, because of the mobility disability I can no longer hike because I have to use a walker, or face plant! Lol. I just want to say you do a fantastic job, and the 63-year-old x hiker loves watching your channel because you tell the stories extremely well! 😊
Thanks so much for your kind words! Comments like this keep me going 🤘🤘
Same here..can't walk much at all
@@KyleHatesHikingsi. You are an excellent story teller.
True ! He does the walking and observations for us ! He’s taking us along 👍❤
Same here! 67 and riddled with issues. No more hiking for me. Recently found your channel and subscribed!
I'm an Asperger autistic and understand him perfectly. I regularly stay in one of my tents even in winter to keep my mind in balance - without stealing though.
I’m also autistic and had the same thoughts. I wouldn’t steal, but I can understand.
I'm too poor and disabled to do it whenever I want to, but I'm on the spectrum and I also like camping. There's something soothing about the sound of a gentle rain on the tent, and about sitting outside looking at the stars over the campfire smoke. I especially like reading during a rainy day. The light is gentle and the background sound of the rain is soothing. It's a good thing that Girl Scouts taught me how to make a water filter and how to cook over a fire.
Have you ever read Tom Brown's : Tom Brown Tracker, or Tom Brown Way of the Scout? You might like it ... and maybe some of his later books ... Real life guy trained for around 10 years by an Apache medicine man they called 'Grandfather' ... with parents permission ... and with the grandson of Grandfather ... beginning I think around age 7. The books are episode specific but appear somewhat sequential.
Ditto, Wanji. I'm an old man and didn't get it sorted out until I was in my sixties. I dumb-assed my way through most of my life. He clearly owes debts, but I hope he picks up a couple friends along the way. It can make all the difference moving forward. I know it did for me.
you may want a psychologist to examine you if you are opting to live in a tent in Maine?! That is extremely cold.
I've been broken into. It's frightening, especially as an older woman, to feel this sort of violation, to feel unsafe in your own home.
Although he wasn't violent, his victims would still suffer both financially and psychologically.
Yes. Happened to me to. While we were sleeping.. I haven't felt the same since. So scary.
Me too, while at work. It's the worst thing.
I'm more surprised that the community didn't formulate a plan to catch this person a whole lot quicker. That's honestly not the behavior of terrorized people. Why not lift fingerprints? You finally SAW a man in your refrigerator!! You didn't set a trap? Like drive away, come back thru the area on foot and wait for him to show up. Honestly, I'd say more shame to the community. Seems just plain ... I mean I don't Really want to say dumb, but......ah, that's a very long time to sit and act helpless.
Oh no I am so sorry tis happened to you. I also have been broken into but luckily we weren't home at that time. It is horrible to know that they have been in your home and its personal and like you said its psychosocially upsetting .
Its almost more terrifying that he was so meticulous and careful, because you dont know if he will be back or when or why. One destructive break in, while traumitic in its own way, pretty much would guarantee the offender wouldn't come back. This method would make me feel like i was never safe.
I bought the book and read the book. It is gripping, enthralling and suspenseful. I never felt animosity towards him as I read the book. I mostly felt sorry for him. He went to extreme lengths to not leave foot prints and not be detected. In reading the book, I got an over riding sense of a lonely man and desperation in the winter. I'm an introvert and understand how crowds and chatter can wear a person down. As I read the book, I really felt sorry for him. I passed no harsh judgement on his thefts. His thefts were small, minor, trivial compared to what I read about constantly in "civilized" society. Embezzlement, tax cheats, schemes, cons, extortion, political shenanigans, over pricing so a few can get rich, insurance companies denying claims, sky high rents, sheesh, I totally get why he left our "civilized" society. Our civilized society is full of thefts of a far more serious nature than these burglurized cabins.
He stole out of necessity, he stole goods he needed for survival...
He also respected the people enough to replace hinges if he took them out. Never broke anything or vandalized. I understand the invasion of privacy residents felt. But he was respectful of their homes at the same time.
He never stole from you, did he? If you're a woman whose property has been compromised, whether anything was stolen or not, your sense of safety and security is gone.
I know what u mean. I feel the same way
Shut up commie
A very sad story, he clearly ran away from the world, something many people do, but rarely to such great extremes and for so long. 27 winters in Maine is an extremely brutal experience, nothing romantic about that at all. There's no justification for stealing, but the judge made the right decision in prioritising treatment and help over punishment.
Would not have ended that way for everyone.
Treatment and help AND punishment. Let's do that. I wonder how many times you've been broken into.....
@@MBKindellHe did the punishment.
Does anyone know what happened to this man after his treatment and probation were finished ? Whatever the rights wrongs of his means of survival being forced back into "civilisation" must have been the toughest burden to cope with. I hope he found peace with the world and peace with himself in the end.
Yes, I also couldn't help but wonder just what he was running from. The rat race? How cruel people can be? Something specific with his family or social circle? I get that being in nature is soothing, but he nearly died. So there was likely something beyond just preference there.
There needs to be room in society for hermits and people like this. People would give money and supplies to a mysterious outsider who just doesn't fit in.
We had almost the same case here in Norway a few years ago. A man escaped from prison and for almost 40 years he lived in the mountains. He did approximately 800 cabin break-ins and was also able to live in a cabin over time. An unpleasant side of him was that he "Pooped" on the floor of some of the cabins he broke into. Sometimes the police managed to get hold of him, but as soon as he was released from prison he continued to escape to the mountains. He was called The Wanderer. In 2018, he was found dead outside a cabin he was presumably going to break into. He was 60 years old and was suspected of over 650 burglaries.
Good...he is gone then
@@juliemanarin4127 That's really sad of you to say. You have no idea why someone becomes this way. They must have had some major mental trauma to make them walk off into a rugged environment. They were probably either mentally unwell or were neurodivergent in a time where there was no help; no proper diagnosis; no treatment options. Even today, with all that it's talked about and all the help you 'think' is available, mental illness is rarely treated adequately.
@@juliemanarin4127
remember
karma is a bitch, lets hope it does not catch up to you in this way.
"Pooping" during break in's is a textbook case of an antisocial personality. My brother in law is an electrician. He has worked on newly constructed houses where a person illegally entered the house and "pooped". Nothing else bothered. Just "poop"on the floor
@Astraea7522 They empathized with them. That is all. Their reply was to someone who said it's good that he died, not to the fact that he was a criminal and should be punished. I have sympathy for a lot of criminals out there, but that doesn't mean that I don't think they should be punished. No, people having empathy does not cause civilizations to "decay" idk where the fuck you pulled that out from
the violation of being watched and robbed is the scariest thing… like the violation you feel is AWFUL
Yup. Our home was robbed when I was a kid. It left mark on all of us. The feeling of violation is so weird.
The commenters on here bleeding their hearts out for this guy have never had their homes burglarized.
@@chrissaunders8284 These were CABINS not homes. Holiday accommodation. This man was struggling to survive.
😂😂😂 @@MsStack42
@MsStack42 it was HIS choice to "struggle to survive" like that
I'm glad you hate hiking because I really like your content!
😄
Kyle hates working. Can't blame him. 😂 😁👍
@@colspiracy8326RUclips is a job 🤷🏼♀️
Sh.. sh.. sh......he really doesn't hate hiking! 😆
As an introvert and college teacher, I often had that feeling at the end of the academic year of just walking out the door and continuing walking. I don't hate society. I have friends and relationships. I enjoy my work, etc. My students don't even guess that I'm an introvert. But it's exhausting being "out there" all the time and as soon as a class or semester is over, I just want total alone time for awhile to get back to my normal internal quiet. Eventually I did just walk out the door and start walking... I walked the Camino to Compostella starting in France. I had never hiked before or carried a backpack (the big one for hiking; i don't know if it has a special name) and I went alone. It's a marked trail and that's what I craved: just to walk and not have to think or be interrupted by people demanding my attention or draining my energy, as in daily life. It cured me of that desire... But I can fully understand how the need to retreat could become almost an addiction, because especially when I was in my 20s and 30s, I'd get so overwhelmed by "too much" of people's demands draining my "social batteries" that I had a strong desire to withdraw permanently. I can easily imagine walking into the woods like Knight did and just...keeping on walking. It's sort of hypnotic, and there are times when as an introvert you have to almost force yourself not to withdraw for too long or it can be hard to face "the world." I learned that when that feeling of "I just cannot face the intense drain on my energy that people are," I actually needed to do the opposite and make myself meet a trusted friend. I can look back and see that before I learned to manage my introversion and before I "trained" my friends to respect my boundaries and not expect extrovert-level involvement from me, I might have ended up self-isolating like Knight did. The longer you do it, the harder the wrench of returning to the noise and drain of "normal" society, especially in the US where extraversion is considered the ideal. Over half a lifetime ago I moved to a country where people are quite reserved and it has helped me enormously to keep a balance between being introverted and being social. Going back to the US makes me feel a bit like Knight must have felt when he was arrested. Americans just cannot seem to keep out of other people's space. It's almost painful to be forced to talk to or give your energy to some cheerful idiot who cannot take a hint and is determined to "bring you out of your shell" by yammering at you or forcing you to be involved in their activities (not taking "no" for an answer). It feels like assault, abuse, and I can't get out of the US fast enough on the rare occasions when I'm forced to go back there. I totally understand Knight just needing to get the hell out. I can also understand his efforts to avoid damaging houses he broke into: less likelihood he'd be pursued by law enforcement.
I completely understand. Walking the Camino is a wonderful way to enjoy your solitude.
As a fellow introvert, I couldn't help but feel intense sympathy for him being wrenched from his life of quiet solitude in the woods and thrust into a jail where the lights are always on and there's a constant racket. It must've been Hell.
I hear you.
If you are an empath, you will be able to sense other people's inner emotions & all kinds of dark energies from others. The nearer the source is to you physically or by relation; the more intensely you'll feel all THEIR angst, anger, sorrow, loneliness, bitterness everything can come through.
It took until I was over 57 yrs. old before I realized being empathic (to a degree; it varies for everyone who is empathic, how much they sense & from how many people) was why I'd have sudden, intense bursts of chaotic emotions all my life that I couldn't understand why they'd hit. I'd have to isolate from people & write since I was 10, they were just "too much" & it left me emotionally wiped out when they may not have done or said anything to cause me to feel that way, it was me taking on their feelings.
Now I know that when I'm vibrating inside, I need to accept it & figure out who it's coming from because it's info that I need to know for some reason about someone close to me who needs some comfort, compassion, or just to be heard & to know that I care about them.
Many times, it's 1 of my 4 adult kids who is VERY upset about something, states away, but I ask myself who is this coming from. I'll call them & they will be very torn up about something.
All my life when these huge floods of emotions hit me, I just attributed it to something unhappy in my past...., job loss, husband cheating, someone died. It was only when my life was very stable & these intense emotions would come over me that I clearly KNEW that no, this was not coming from ME, but that I was in someone else's shoes in those moments & was given the info so I could help whoever was in that much pain.
Life became so much more tolerable after that. I would figure it out, call them, comfort them & avoid so much time confused by the pain I'd be feeling with nothing going wrong in my life for me to feel like that. Now, I know to make sure that I'm not just picking up those energies from someone else's emotional chaos. So, anyone who has a hard time around others but doesn't really know why, should investigate this possibility.You may be meant to be compassion for someone.
Yes. I hang out with my family for pretty much 8 or 9 straight hours every two weeks, and almost every time I end up sleeping for the entire next day just to recharge. I just don't have that much of a social battery. Heck, I have very little energy at the best of times. I can't even fix any normal food atm because the sink is so full of dishes, and it's been that bad for most of a month now. I think something's medically wrong with me, but the doctor doesn't seem concerned.
Great video! I love that you covered Christopher Knight's story. I read the book a while back and found his caution fascinating. He was careful to never leave a trail to his camp by rock-hopping. There were residents that felt bad for him so they'd leave food out but he never ate it in fear of being poisoned. He buried the empty propane tanks instead of returning them. He managed to stay undetected for so long while living on someones private property. He's just such an interesting and controversial character. More stories like this one! And awesome b-roll. I've never seen the pictures that you used. 👍👍
It would be a fascinating read.
Kyle , Nick from Canada here, you should do the story of the hermit of gully lake from Nova Scotia he did this but never stole anything lived and died in the woods, there is a documentary on RUclips and books about him his name was William Kitchener Macdonald
I live about an hour’s drive from Earltown and have been fascinated by this story for years.
Thank you. I’m going to look that up now. 🫶🏼👍🏽
Nick, Aliyah from Montreal here & this sounds so intriguing. Thank you for posting your comment so we'll have another interesting mystery to research.
It’s “Willard” btw, and thanks for the info, OP
The question that I had was: 27 years and he was not missed by anyone 🤨.... that say more to why it happened. He clearly had issues but none that were obvious and dangerous while growing up, what did his family life look like... so many questions 🤔
Very true
People noticed. His family noticed him missing. Paid investigators to find him.
I'm born and raised Maine, in Texas. We didn't lock doors, car's, trusted. Knew respect 😂. My first thought was yours. No mom and dad questions on not reporting him missing? He should tell..
@DeborahLong7777
Hunnee, cops just always ain't every answer to all questions; and cops do come completely equipped-&-fully furnished with serious problems of their own.
Scores of citizens DID report to police. The man was a wanted felony fugitive, and STILL police couldn't find their fugitive/wanted man.
You saw that huge, sprawling trash heap of a "camp".👀 Police claimed that they (and their dogs) could never see (nor smell) that unnatural abomination, 'til they were already stood inside it's perimeter; which was AFTER the fella took them to it!!
Even then, at the end of it all, after hundreds of burglaries and ~30 years of failed searching(?), the man had to come in and catch himself.
You wanna shame/blame/investigate his parents??
Your questions are covered in Michael Finkel's book. His family likely did miss him. His mother especially seems to have been a rather stoic, self-contained woman that had few if any social contacts outside of her family. His father died while Christopher was living in the woods. I don't know if his mother is still alive. After being released from jail Knight lived with his mother in the house where he was raised or with a brother who lived nearby that he worked for. If I recall correctly he cut & split firewood and salvaged scrap materials and parts from appliances and other machines.
I followed the story closely at the time. The name Christopher Knight is still on my Google News watchlist. I don't romanticize his story, I just find it interesting. I think that his punishment was reasonable. A longer sentence would have only cost taxpayers more and served little constructive purpose beyond vengeance. I have not read about him being arrested for anything else since he got out of jail.
Kyle did a pretty good job telling the story but he did take some "creative liberties" and I believe that he probably fabricated a few of the anecdotes.
One interesting anecdotes that Kyle missed was that after writing the book Michael Finkel returned to the home Albion, Maine where Christopher lived to check on him. Knight would not speak to him and his brother told Finkel to leave. . . The End.
From the items stolen my immediate thought was someone supplying a life out on the woods. Doesnt need jewelry or a TV, but food, batteries and propane and clothes, yeah, that makes sense. I wonder peoole didn't figure this out and just leave stuff out for him. Food, old clothes, partial propane tanks, whatever someone living wild might need.
If you read the whole story about him--there were some South Park residents who did actually purchase extra stuff and left it out for him. They still wanted him to be caught though--because he was breaking in and scaring people.
Yeah that was I was thinking too. Kinda like a community chest...like supplies covered a certain color tarp in a bin.
I can see why you wouldn't want to encourage break-ins. You want people to respect personal boundaries and rights. In some communities, I have seen "Free Stores" with the motto "Take what you need, Give what you can".
I really like so much how you make a great effort to tell these stories from all sides. To let your viewers decide for themselves what they think. You show that every event has deeper issues at work. And even though you don’t know what they are, you give good possibilities of what might have been happening inside the peoples minds. Thank you for your insight and interesting videos.
Age of onset for many psychiatric disorders. In this case my family experienced a similar story. Back in the early 80's my older brother was discharged from the Army while stationed in Germany. It was a medical release due to increased strange behavior. When he returned home, he was able to go right back to his previous job. While his behavior was still strange, it was oddly transient; days of clarity followed by days of bizarre outburst.
One day, according to his longtime friend and roommate, he went to take out the trash and never came back. We never saw him again for almost 2-years. This time the behavior was constant.
I was working as a psych tech on a local hospital's locked psych unit at the time. It fell to me to inform my poor distressed parents that we did not have the skills to deal with it. Professional intervention was a must.
He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and with the help of a medication schedule that took another 2-years to "dial in", he is now more stable and happier.
Fascinating tale. I'm surprised he never tried to live in some of these cabins during the winter. Maybe he did sit out a cold spell in some of them. Every generation has a certain number of hermits. I'm surprised he didn't get a little more resourceful with housing, like building a camouflaged dugout house. I mean he had 27 years to do it. Would have taken him a couple months and he could have been much warmer. Also he could have Wildcrafted a lot of his food and grown his own gsrdens, caught fish and game and salted and preserved them for winter. If it were me, I would have tried to be a lot more self-sufficient.
Way easier to take than to make. Regardless of his hermit ways he was a lazy hermit who stole from others.
Exactly, he did not try to support himself, just stole from others.
Probably was a thrill to steal. I mean he didn’t have much other entertainment.
Also make a fireplace out of rocks and eliminate the need for propane. Seems like a very lazy character who just chose the easy way, by stealing.
No stay in a Cabin because He was use to the cold didn't want to destroy his bodies climatetized Body.
I had this cabin that I was temporarily living in. It felt weird, like someone else was also loving there, but in a different time. Things would move around, strange noises, glimpses of shadows moving. That sort of thing. Then, there were love letters in the mailbox… nope, wait, that was a movie I saw🤔
😂😂😂
Pen pals?
@@alfredcerwensky7646 Nah, I was referring to the movie “The Lake House” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. It’s a pretty good movie.
@@TimRHillard I love that movie
@@kaylac_melton92 me too
My most valuable takeaway from his story was after all those years in the woods and he’s biggest struggle was “FOOD” my second takeaway was, as time wore on he began craving comfort… I’m well fed and comfortable, anything beyond that is just the noise of modern life ❤
I often think of just going off grid as well. I would not pick anywhere with a harsh winter though....
I'd be mad about my clothes being stolen, though. Don't touch my shittttttttt.
HaHa especially my Underwear, No, No Never! 😝
@@dorothylewis1207
Nah!
I'd lose my mind if I came home and half or all my shoes, purses, clothes or what not were missing!
I haven't watched yet, I'm not 5 minutes in, just checking the comments for anyone who might recognize the name Christopher Knight.
He has big balls. As an introvert and person in autism spectrum I feel him a lot. Detaching from people is probably my only real dream.
I’m autistic too and was wondering if he was on the spectrum.
HEY KYLE!!! Love all your videos, man!!!! You do great things. Keep it up!
Thank you so much! I have the best subscribers on RUclips
I am a hermit. No problem staying three to four days in my cozy house drinking Tim Hortons coffee, looking out my kitchen window to the mountains and woods.
They give preference to foreign workers. Thumbs down on their coffee.
@@lorirudel8689 isn't that the deal with ever job. Local people are deprioritized and treated like a piece of poop stuffed in a McDonald's hamburger bun lol.
you must be Canadian!!
@@lorirudel8689
Preference or do Americans not want to do that kind of work?
Bc I know not many Americans are willing to work on a farm, especially if it's somebody else's.
It's hard, dirty work that doesn't pay all that well.
Most everybody, especially the young, want to be famous on RUclips, Instagram, TikTok or whatever.
They dont wanna be working hard like that, if they don't have to.
@@lorirudel8689bro the CEO of Tim Horton’s is Brazilian and Canada needs immigrants, what’s the matter with hiring foreigners?
My mother is also from northern Maine, Penobscot County, a place named Stacyville. I owe my love of the woods and being outside to her.
North Woods Law for the Win!! Lol
As a fan from Maine, low key geeked out when I realized you were covering this case and that you spend time in Maine! I live like five minutes from where this happened and actually know the only person he saw in the woods the whole time he was out there! It’d be cool to cross paths! Take care man! 🌲🌲
Don't really understand how he managed to maintain the same campsite for so long without being discovered, especially once the pattern of his behavior came to light.
Until it became a true nuisance no one was going search the woods for him. I'm surprised more people didn't set up cameras.
The game wardens who went to his camp said that you literally couldn't see it until you were basically already standing in it, so if you didn't know where to go you wouldn't find it. The guy was also apparently terrified of making a fire most of the time out of fear of drawing people to his site, so on cold winter nights he would pace his campsite all night to keep warm. I live in Canada and know Maine winters aren't much warmer so I've gotta say that the man is a different breed for staying out there almost 30 years, most people couldn't last a single winter let alone around 30 in a row.
@@douggiles7647 I don't know from his story his was just a super fat guy with a ton a stolen clothing stacked on top of each other basically hibernating.
The forests are VAST. It would take hundreds of people several months to even catch a sniff of this guy. I have heard accounts of people going missing and never being found. This is in spite of seasoned park rangers and law enforcement numbering in the hundreds looking for them.
Then you’ve never spent time in the woods. Especially thick woods. My friends family home was surrounded by woods and the family spent 35 years in the woods before they found this massive cave on their property. Once you saw it you could t believe no one ever caught it before. It’s easy to hide in the woods.
I'm young still but can't hike anymore because of physical ailments, but this channel makes me feel like I'm still amongst my friends listening to the stories
Yay!
I'm in my 30s, hiked when I was a kid, never could get around to it as an adult. Tried to one day... Broke my ankle in a way that's amazingly similar to Kyle's girlfriend (just walking, essentially). Permanent damage, lead to several other issues and I can't really hike anymore.. it sucks, especially in the state I live in where pretty much the entire state is built for outdoor recreation.
This channel gives me a lot of consolation as well ❤
Followed this story closely when it came out as I live in Maine, very interesting story.
For anyone who is enamored with what this guy did, you should check out Alone in the Wilderness, a film by/about Dick Proenneke. He did it the right way.
That's right but it takes work to live wild!
@@AL6198yes, and Dick had an income. He sold his photos and films.
Thanks for the recommendation, I will check it out- I was reminded of that teen novel, ‘My Side of the Mountain’ about a 16 year old who ran away to the woods and he did steal a couple of poached deer, but also foraged and hunted and basically survived for a year on his own. It was completely fictional, but was a start for me in learning to identify different edible plants and strategies for shelter and food. One of my favorite books!
absolutely terrifying to imagine waking up to find items inside your home have been stolen while you were sleeping ... even more terrifying if there was no broken door or window to explain how the person got inside.. I'd never be able to sleep again
@henajtr6039
Exactly, I agree with you 100%.
A stranger wandering in the home while you sleep is the most frightening thing.
Sleeping is one of the most vulnerable parts of life.
All that time he should have learned how to hunt-snares etc.
It's B.S. He didn't want a fire to give him away.
Excuses for his laziness.
Letting other people do the work while he leeches off of the cabin community...
I don't feel he had guilt for
wiping out others food and essential supplies. If he did feel guilty he would've taken all the food,clothes and damnit and F"ing mattress....... . . . . . . .
rule of thumb: The better the lock, the more time it takes to breach it. Bad lock 10 seconds, good lock 10 minutes. A few seconds or minutes fiddling with a lock will result in questions and possibly the police in urban areas where you have people that could or do observe it, taking more time while picking is a risk. In the middle of nowhere, where one has all the time in the world to pick a lock, the lock will be picked without visible traces from outside the lock. Most locks are criminally easy to pick.
If you want to really see how useless they are, for remote settings, then take a watch at the lockpicking lawyer's channel. I picked up a lockpick after watching his videos. The most common thing I found is that a simple rake attack will suffice for most kind of 'home locks'.
A 'secure' house has bolts that lock into the wall and bullet proof windows, and locked in window frames. Anything under that is a gambling game of "will it take them long enough to decide this object is too much risk?"
@mmalandsbirdies4012 Yes. Thieving vagabond!
Agreed
Wait, didn't the video say he only went in when nobody was home because he watched and knew they were weekend or summer cabins?
For 27 years , he had many folks living scared , feeling violated , he is a criminal. He never felt guilty enough to stop doing it.
He was homeless, where would he go if he was to stop?
First off, he was out there BY CHOICE, second, being homeless does NOT excuse committing crimes and terrifying people. I’m beyond sick of people like you defending criminals with excuse after excuse. Here’s a crazy idea, go back to work! He left work by choice! If someone can’t hack surviving in the outdoors then that’s their problem, not everyone else’s. Wanna know why he couldn’t hack living outdoors or in society when plenty of others managed to do either of those? Because he is lazy.
@@Weirdstuff123456789 Homelessness is not a choice.
@@IrishColin Exactly. This guy had a decent job before he decided to go "live off the land" (i.e. live off people who actually worked and paid their taxes). He was clearly smart and healthy. No wife or kids to support. He had every advantage in life. Better off than many, many people who are more disadvantaged, but manage to get by LEGALLY with little to no help or sympathy from the world. He could have easily saved for a small cabin of his own, lived minimally and in seclusion. Grown his own vegetables. The amount of people in this comment section acting like this guy was a disabled Oliver Twist is almost hilarious... if it weren't so sickening. I mean, seriously, WTF???
He is immoral. A trespasser, a burglar and a thief. Strongly suspect he was also a drug addict. He could have lived in the woods and walked into town to work at a restaurant as a dishwasher or anywhere as a night janitor. Nobody bothers those workers. That would have kept him from preying upon others. A couple hundred bucks a week and he'd have enough to eat and clothe himself. Apparently, he considers himself above working for others. Just himself. You can see the hatred in his eyes at being held accountable for his actions. A very bad and immoral person. At least his journalist confidant made some money off him. Parasites both of em.
Seems he ran away from the world, but Stealing is NOT okay and putting ppl in constant FEAR is totally unacceptable.
Gmafkbrk. He didn't destroy anything.
I’d rather someone steal from me ten times over than die out in the wilderness because they didn’t have food and warmth. Sorry. Especially if they’re only taking food and clothes and things used to obviously survive.
@Beespank I see that, but he could have stopped at any point in time and had shelter,as he eventually did.
Noone forced him to need to survive in the woods.
He forced others to lose items.
I dont think anyone would turn down a man in distress in winter as example even if poor choices put them in that spot of needing help at that moment in time.
That's a lot different then making that choice for 27 years and then it becomes few people would choose to help feed him.
The time frame matters as its a contact choice to live off others verses a moment in time🤷♂️
@Astraea7522
Would you really? I'm playing devil's advocate here, but let's say you're a female, your single, your enjoying a hot cup of joe, standing in your PJs and robe on your deck, looking at the lake, and out of the woods walks a guy who looks dirty, bearded, kinda creepy walks out of the woods and says, 'Yeah, um...hello. I'm just your friendly neighbor, but I'm really running low on batteries, and I need a pair of men's hiking boots in size 9. I have a list of pantry items here, could you hook me up?' and your response would be 'Ok, sure, c'mon in!' Do you regularly pass homeless people and stop to see if they need help? Because I'm sorry, even if your hubby was there, you'd probably say, 'Uh, honey, can you come talk to this rando who just walked up. I think he lives about 500 yards away in a makeshift tent just out of sight in the woods, and he doesn't want to steal from us in the fall so I think we should take him to Wal-Mart and hook him up!' Otherwise, he might just break in after we've left so let's hook him up, eh? I'm sorry, but HELL NO! You'd be running inside, screaming, locking the doors, and praying that you had cell service!!
@Astraea7522 agree.
I know he wanted isolation, but I can't fathom.why he dint apply fur state aid ir something.
He could have had a trip a month into town and supplied himself, likely would have had more propane, not truy have had to worry so much about being spotted.
His life of seclusion was ine thing,but a life lived in constant worry of being even seen is another level
I feel compassion and empathy for ALL involved.. Light and Love everyone ❤😊
You going to seek out ppl in Maine who got robbed from and donate to them to cover their losses? Pay for counseling? Light and love you know....
More than a thousand bulglaries... he even kept track of them... that's one break and enter in less than every ten days... it doesn't sound like "desperation" to me, more like a "game".
I cleaned shelves at my father’s store after school.
I was working one day (probably in 7th or 8th grade)
I saw this kid I went to school with stealing. I told my mother. She put her finger to my mouth to silence me.
Apparently the kid had been coming there for years grabbing tooth paste, and a few other essentials.
I’m an adult now. I don’t agree with how my parents handled that. I believe they should have just made up a bag for him and handed it to him. But it was a valuable lesson to give to people in need.
If she had, he would have left the bag and never come in the store again. Another shopkeeper, if he lost your mother and tried to steal from a different store, would have had the kid arrested. For wanting to be clean.
It becomes a matter of, do you want to "be right," or do you want to do right?
That was very kind. Came across a wild exorcism interview from a guy in Canada who's mom was severely mentally ill/deemed possessed. His upbringing from age 4 was super terrible. Had to fend for himself in every way, stole from gardens, kids lunches, etc. just to eat. Believe I caught it on Almost False.
I spent a couple of nights at Chimney Pond in February. It was 5 below and the day I left I woke up to it snowing sideways. It was a long 17+ mile hike out pulling a sled full of camping/climbing gear. I know firsthand how cold it gets sleeping outside in ME in the winter.
It's one thing if you want to go off grid, but this guy was no different than a squatter. Living off the hard work of good people. I can't believe he only got 7 months.
I see you are now over 500k subscribers. Congratulations and thanks for the videos.
Clearly not from Maine though? Otherwise you'd get it.
This just proves how bad it is out there. Why are more worried about helping people in different countries when we need to focus on our own homeless issue. Not all homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics. We need to get together and even provide sandwiches daily and blankets and coats. I live in northern Canada and even we have homeless people and no one does nothing. My mom is dying of grade 4 glioblastoma (brain cancer) and I take care of her 24/7 or I would be out there helping. I have come across two different people almost frozen to the ground while people smokes and watched and did nothing. I stayed with the one lady till the ambulance came. Everyone was watching and not one person helped. This is so disgusting. Wouldn’t you want someone to help you? 😢
❤
@KyleHatesHiking After capture, he was asked when he went into the woods to live like this. It was soon brought up by him that the event of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was the time in which he felt prompted to return to Maine aaand here we are. Dude genuinely was concerned about the state of the world. You're welcome :) ✌️
Incredible story. My heart goes out to all involved. I lean towards supporting this man. Sorry for those who experienced loss. Great job of reporting!
Ok Kyle here is my take… There is something undiagnosed driving this man’s behavior to behave the way he did. The stand out clues are, he had trouble making friends (that doesn’t mean he did not want them.) What was the result of that? He drove long distance to escape what was happening at his job or living situation. (We don’t know what but he was suffering from something) He passed his home town avoiding anyone he knew. (Why? There is and underlying reason driving that behavior). Most people that need change or help would no do that. He drove until he was out of gas and abandoned his car. Not making a stable life plan. Typically people do not do that. He STAYED in the woods 27 years! His actions (be it choices Vs default mode actions?) all lead him away from people. Yes the term Hermit fits. But there is something undiagnosed driving all that behavior. Whatever the diagnosis is, it’s something significant. So should he be judged as a typical person? I do not know, but for sure each person he committed a crime against is valid in deciding that for themself. If you knew what the diagnosis was and or trauma, would you consider dropping the charges?
It is clear in your report Kyle that this is a story of survival for basic needs. You reported the man felt guilty and sorry and admitted his crimes. That doesn’t invalidate the crimes the residents of the area suffered. However it is worth something.
This is a true thought provoking dilemma you have asked for us to comment on. That hopefully opens the eyes of humanity to everyone that some people truly suffer invisibly and in silence. If you have the gifts of intelligence to know suffering and hardship, insight to see it happening in others, some means to make a difference, then seek courage/help to do it! Let’s look out for each other.
I think that many people would happily have left him food, fuel, etc, had they just known he was just trying to be left alone.
Exactly. After so many years someone must have realized he was not dangerous and the community could have saved themselves lots if repair costs and terror had they just set up a cache of food and needed items.
@Astraea7522 Yes he was stealing. But he was a man with a mental problem and wanted to survive. Have some compassion.
@@julianathompson8623 Have some compassion for the victims. Mental problems don't excuse crimes. Not when you're fully aware of what you are doing and understand the difference between right and wrong. He was not psychotic or delusional. He deliberately made choice after choice to be a criminal for 27 years.
@@automnejoy5308 Did you know him?
@@julianathompson8623 Stop deflecting. You know everything I said was correct. He was not psychotic. He himself admitted that he was "ashamed" for what he did. That means he knew right vs wrong. He was in full possession of his faculties to carry out one burglary after another. It's not defensible, so stop defending him. It shows disrespect for the victims.
The North Pond Hermit broke into peoples’ homes to steal LMNT electrolyte drink …
Ha ha he went there 7:05
Yup 👍
I remember this story. I’m glad you touched on this one with great detail. My own experience with doing something myself like him. Though for me it only lasted 3 months. The facts are I broke from reality from stress and I felt like I was being called to leave the confines of society and live in pure nature because some way it seemed right. But around two months into it my senses came back to me. It really was like for two months I was a different man. Then my old self popped back in. That was a bizarre situation in my life that I could never ever explain what happened to me. I don’t have experiences with aliens or Bigfoot or see or have messages from god or anything of that nature. So my opinion is he just had a break in reality and didn’t know how to come back. Thank you for letting me share this. ❤
I like this change of pace, Kyle. But then I always like your content. You really are an extraordinary storyteller.
And I must say you’re looking good-are you hitting the weights? Bulking for a winter hike?
Thank you for covering this story. 'The Stranger In The Woods' is one of my all time favourite books, which tells this story
Absolutely insane to see how many people in the comments think it's okay for a person to commit over 1 000 burglaries and stealin from thousands of hard working people for 27 years, making them live in fear and causing them tremendous stress, anxiety, loss of property and money.
If this guy didn't want to have a regular job to support himself, then at least he could have bought some land in the woods and spent those 27 years learning how to live from the land and nature around him, so he could have been 100% self-sufficient in them woods, instead of stealing everything he needed.
So how he choose to spend those 27 years in the woods are not impressive at all, it's a tragedy.
The only thing he accomplished was to become a master thief, who spread terror around him, not physically but mentally.
For all of this, he only got 7 months in jail.
He has been glorified in media, books etc
What a sad world we are living in.
Yep. There are some sketchy people in this comment section, for sure. Endlessly making excuses for this guy. Pretty disgusting. Maybe they are criminals, or secretly wish to become criminals. I'm disappointed. I thought Kyle had better quality viewers.
I had my house broken into, your safe place is gone and a camp/cabin would be the same thing as your home, you safe spot is gone. It is horrible not to have a place to lay your head where you feel safe.
Glad he wasn"t a killer. Hope he came around and lived a valuable life
The big question is: Why did he stop relocating when he arrived near North Pond. If he had just continued moving around, even between a few towns, he would have never been caught. It would have also saved a lot of the heartache for the victims because it wouldn't have continued, for years on end, happening to the same people.
Two words popped into my mind about the man in this story… felonious and quirky.
Pam... you are awesome, caring! As for "JOHN"... You are a strong, compassionate person.....caring about how Pam would be at risk . Keep your head high, you have been shown you do matter.
Dude didn't leave society in the least. He lived among it and relied on it like a racoon that lives under your porch. The only thing dude gave up was paying for what he needed. He still lived off the economy, he just moved another step down the supply chain by taking from the consumer. Just a thief. Nothing glamorous or romantic about it. If any of us did this to our neighbors for 27 years there wouldn't be a lick of sympathy coming our way. Living in the woods right around people makes it sad, not romantic.
Agree 💯%
Absolutely agreed. He's just a criminal, stealing things that other people have to pay for with their hard earned money. They work their jobs in order to pay for the things he steals from them. Terorizing them by his regular burglaries. He's just a thief, nothing more, nothing less. Him being remorseful doesnt change a thing.
@@giovannih.6027 Is it really remorse when you keep doing it for 27 years and only stop because you were caught? lol. He wasn't remorseful. The judge was a fool to give him such a light sentence.
I bet you are real fun at dinner parties.
@@BatCaveOz He'd be much more fun than the criminal hermit, you can be sure. Also, that line doesn't land anymore. Who has dinner parties these days? Sounds like a pre-covid, pre-inflation type of activity.
I think the reason he cut away from society was to connect with inner peace. Most ppl can relate that a day or weekend in the woods or hiking clear ones mind and moment of happiness and calm feeds ur mind. No drama, no bills, no worries in those moments. But once he started to steal, the fear of guilt and being caught kept him hidden. Great story, btw! 👏
I've seen this story before, years ago. I kind of feel sorry for him- for misfits in general.
2:54 ur welcome 🫶🫵
I grew up in Maine and miss it terribly. People do leave their cabins especially up north stocked just in case if hunters or hikers who may get lost or need shelter/food/etc.
Or maybe an occasional hermit who has been wandering around in the woods for 27 years!
What you say is true, it IS romantic to live away from everything. However, there is no excuse for his unlawful break-ins, and while, yes, they were not violent, they struck fear in the residents none-the-less, and that's inexcusable. These are not victim-less crimes. Go ahead, anyone, live off the grid and enjoy nature, but don't steal from others to keep your lifestyle.
That this went on for so long is the wildest part for me
I read the book about this man, it is def a perplexing story. On the one hand, you feel sorry for him but on the other hand you feel sorry for the people he terrrorized. I say terrorized because I think most people would feel upset about their stuff missing but the terror of not knowing who is breaking into your cabin and where he might be with the question of "is he dangerous" would be unnerving. I'm glad the horrific saga has ended. I hope he can get the mental and emotional help he needs so he can find peace as he ages. PS: I"m a dreamer who always thought it'd be cool to live alone in the woods but of course I always end up waking up to the reality of how difficult it really would be. This story is similar in some ways to Chris McCandless who was written about in the book "Into the Wild" and who died of starvation in an abandoned bus in Denali National Park in Alaska because he ate the wrong plant. I can't remember if you've already covered this story or not but if you haven't, it'd be a great follow up story to this one.
I agree with all you've said about feeling sorry for him yet the town being terrorized. So in 27 years the town never decided to put food out somewhere or do anything else so they weren't terrorized? No he shouldn't have stolen, but it seems the residents did nothing to stop their terror. It wasn't their responsibility to feed him, but couldn't they have done SOMETHING in 27 years? I'm surprised he didn't spend the winter in a cabin.
No, this isn't in any way close to the story of Chris McCandless.
McCandless died because he was, in no way, prepared to live off-grid... sadly.
The hydration drink mix called liquid i.v. is also another pack of flavored powder mix that is a game changing hydrating drink.
I think There Is Nothing romantic About It. I mean you do you if you want to live like a Hermit in the woods then fine. I don't understand why you would want to but if you're happy so be it. But do not damage the livelihoods of other people. They to work and pay for everything that that guy stole. You can express guilt over that as much as you want it doesn't make the thousands of dollars in Damages go away. So People didn't have to replace Windows and Doors, big deal. But let's say for example you have supplies, as in food, for like $300 stocked up just for you to run out for a few hours come back and those $300 worth of food being stolen. The $300 that you work your butt off to collect. And that by some weirdo who just decided one day that he didn't want to live in society anymore. That doesn't make stealing okay. I don't think it is romantic, I think it is crazy.
Of course, people who can afford to have a weekend or summer cabin probably aren't going to starve if their fridge is raided. We're not talking about people working part-time with no benefits or savings, but fairly rich people who have two homes. Not excusing the Hermit: he stole. Period. But don't project your own economic conditions on the victims here.
@@FigaroHey sorry I'm not an American but in Germany if you own those houses you still have to work. Or at least you had to work to have the money to pay for those houses. Stealing is still stealing. Not to mention the psychological fear. People Still Earn Those houses with the money That they saved up.
@@FigaroHey You're the one projecting your economic conditions on the victims. You think if someone is better off than you economically, that they did not work or struggle to afford the second home and the items they bought for that home, and that stealing from them is no big deal. You are wrong. These people are following the law, working and paying taxes. This hobo was a selfish freeloader.
@@automnejoy5308 well said.
He surely doesn’t deserve the “romantic” aspect of the guy who leaves it all behind and goes on to “live in the woods”. He wasn’t living in the woods. He was just staying in the woods and needed all the conveniences of the modern world to make it….. so he stayed close enough to that world so he could prey upon it. All this dude was doing was avoiding his larger social anxiety issue and a lot of people lost a lot of property to him because of it. He ain’t a saint and he was DAMN lucky they put him in solitary. Justice would have been to put him with others. Make him feel like he needed to look over his shoulder for a few months is the least they could have done.
I was trying to get my feelings into words about this case without sounding too harsh but you’re correct, what he did doesn’t deserve a romantic interpretation
It is impossible for me to respect a thief, as well as someone who unsettles people with their actions. I still want to read the book, and will probably buy it when I finish this comment. lol I found this thieving hermit to be extremely clever in how he went about things, all ducks in a row before doing anything, and I can identify with that bit of OCDness. It can be helpful going through life, but it can also go too far. Anyway. thanks for an interesting tale, Kyle, well told, as always.
D 13 Thieves
Great Video Kyle! I think he served his time for all those break-ins and I feel for all the cabin owners who are on edge all those years.
I think it's an endearing story...as long as you didn't have to live through it!
I’m glad he didn’t hurt anyone, I feel sad for him.
Just because he didn’t physically hurt anyone does not mean he didn’t hurt anyone. Causing psychological terror is most definitely hurting people.
@@IrishColin I understand what you’re saying, I understand psychological trauma very well. I was writing and watching at the same time and was glad he hadn’t physically hurt anyone was what I was thinking at that time. The problem with ‘ psychological terror’ is that people can’t see what is going on inside a person and people are becoming crueler/violent to each other which ultimately leads to situations like this, people are getting nastier and just don’t care, where is the empathy, where is the compassion and love, gone. I don’t agree with the trauma he caused all those people so I am sorry I didn’t add that before, but if we don’t start becoming nicer to each other and instead be judgemental more than ever, of course we are just going to see more and more of this, it’s a cycle, this man has destroyed lives which will effect the victims which in turn will effort others. It’s a never ending cycle, when does it stop.
@@IrishColin He is a predator. That's why he setup his camp close-in to town, a few hundred feet from some houses. Lots of vagrants hate responsible people. They see them as their enemy for 'making them feel bad about themselves'. So they prey upon them to 'get back' at regular ppl for 'making them feel bad about themselves' and 'you think you're better than me' so I'll show you. Bums, druggies and psychopaths.
Pass me another hunk of Kyle Hates Hiking
I knew who this story was about immediately, as a book-trading friend had sent me "The Stranger in the Woods".
However, I watched the whole video because of your excellent story-telling skills, Kyle. I admire the way you present different sides with understanding. I read in the book that locals and visitors to the area were frightened, and honesty- p.o.'d.
Knight was a most unusual person. He did not speak to another human being in his nearly 3 decades in self-imposed isolation in the woods, and had difficulty speaking at all when first brought out. Knight refused to let himself talk aloud to avoid being detected this entire time.
You say he "had winter survival skills to a science"... more like stealing skills to a science. May be he deemed it OK to steal from vacation cabins. He wanted to live away from the world but avail himself of what the world has to offer for free by stealing.
Living in a semi wilderness cabin in the Interior of Alaska for over 4 decades, I never thought of stealing what I needed to survive. If I could not provide for myself, then may be, I could not afford the luxury of living 'free' and for free in the woods.
Some of my friends have suffered from people like him stealing propane, tools, winter boots at the risk of seriously endangering their life in the Alaskan wilderness. It is wrong. It is understood you can enter a cabin, make a fire, eat some of the food if you are in dire straits but not live your woodsy life by proxy simply because you prefer not to be bothered with society. Being in dire straits is not a way of life!
I tend to think something was wrong with him. I do not think much of him. He had no survival skills, just suffering skills.
The best winter survival skill is to refrain from living in the woods in winter. Somehow 99.9% of the human population is in possession of this skill.
@@automnejoy5308those 99% are the very people he wanted to get away from.
Id probably leave supplies out for him
Me too🤗
Crazy story!! From the POV of residents it's very creepy and terrifying. But at the same time I find it intriguing, what was going through his mind all of this time? What about his family? Thanks for sharing, it was so interesting! ❤
I'm keeping the neighbor's quote as the moral compass of this tale. This man terrorized an entire community for nearly 30 years, and that can cause as much trauma as physical violence. If he felt so bad about ripping others of their rightfully owned property, he would've learned to hunt and live off the land. But it was easier to live at the expense of others by force. I don't believe in his guilt for a moment, cause he kept stealing until he was caught.
In old Russia it was considered a blessing to have a hermit living nearby.
He would be left food, clothing, supplies as theor offerings to God through this Holy Man.
There have ALWAYS been men and women who feel called away from society and into isolation.
I'm not saying this man wasn't suffering from something ... but our society pretty much sucks for a certain type of person.
He's not a normal criminal. But did cause the unrest and fear.
Unfortunately the very thing he was trying to avoid himself... he was creating in this community.
Like the Barefoot bandit. But this man wasn’t on the run. Had no bad intentions. Wild stuff.
If you have to ask why, then you've never felt the pull of the woods. He wasn't hurting anyone and in a different age, the folks out there would simply start placing offerings out instead of getting all previous about their stuff.
But some people are very attached to their stuff.
I spend 12 months a year camping in the forest. Been doing it for years. If you don't mind being separated from people, which I don't, it is very enjoyable. But unlike this guy, I have a 4-wheel drive, and travel to different national forests across multiple states. I often hear things walking around my tent at nights: animals not people. I'm going to get a motion camera with night vision to see what they are. It will probably just frighten me.
Wow, interesting. I hear stories about scary things in the woods ( no human ) .
My friends and I liked to go camping for 2 or 3 days 4 times in a year, I remember one time we heard that sounded like footsteps around the camp it was strange the next morning we check around and we didn't found nothing .
Stay safe on your hiking trips 🙏
@@elizabeth415 Sometimes I hear animal sounds, and I don't know what the animal is. I've learned that animals are a lot smarter than people think, especially birds. When I hike, birds will sometimes follow me flying from tree to tree. Then when I get back, the bird will fly up to the tent and look inside. I can tell a lot of stories about animals doing intelligent things.
Once, there was this cereal I bought that I didn't like, so I put it out for the birds. This one bird came and ate it. I then threw some more out for it. The next morning it came to the tent window were I threw out the food the day before, sitting at the window looking at me. I was lying in bed, and looked at it with a blank stare like I didn't know what it wanted to see what it would do. So it moved its beak up and down like it was eating to explain it to me. My mattress where my feet were was at that window with my head at the opposite side of the room sized tent where there was another window. So I laid my head back down to see what it would do, and it flew to the window where my head was to get my attention. I fed my buddy more cereal, but I just wanted to see what it would do first.
So you live in the woods. I wouldn't want to know what the noises are if I were you. You might end up back in a building!
Around where I live (FL swamp) it's all kinds of critters at night. Armadillos, foxes, bobcat, possums, feral cats, raccoons, turtles, deer, etc. Get a dark IR so animals can't see it and WiFi so you can watch it when it alarms. Set up at least two covering each other to catch human intruders. Place them above 8' so they don't get stolen.
@@drewodessa2483 That sounds like excellent advice, and I will do exactly that Thank you. I have camped a lot in Florida as well, and in some swampy areas. But lately I have been in the rockies, and the southwest desert in the winter.
What a good story, thanks for sharing!
Next: The North Pond Kermit 🐸
Hi Kyle! Greetings from Finland! As an owner of a cabin, I believe that somebody in that situation who does not use violence, and has some sort of respect for his victims, I would not be so upset. They are only material things, food, which can easily be replaced. Obviously theft is wrong, and the feeling of not knowing who or why, is quite unnerving! I somehow understand, but still know that it is wrong!
Thank you so much for your stories, love listening to them, especially when i’m at my cabin!
living a lifewth out taxes. or drama? who hasn't wanted to check out for a bit.
These aren't my style but I'm so happy for you Kyle! Keep killing it. We can nerd out about gear on trail tales!
Human mind is very complex. The life he chose to live in the woods is probably to get away from things and people that hurt him somehow. Stealing was just a means of survival. I don’t think he got any pleasure in doing it. I’m not saying here that it wasn’t wrong. But his story goes way beyond what we know and for that I feel for him.
Actually, very good point.
And the people who could afford a wildness Cabin, pure for fun, didn't really loose much, only a sense of security for a small portion of a Yr. Not saying he was right---- But?
@@dorothylewis1207definitely phycological effect on the cabin owners though.. Knowing that there's someone stealing and lurking in your woods
@dorothylewis1207 I’m really sick of people like you defending criminals with excuses. First off, many people in Maine have cabins, not just rich people. Also even if they were rich, that does not mean they aren’t entitled to the same laws and protections as everyone else. I’m poor, I grew up poor and remain so but at no point in my life have I ever EVER felt entitled to someone else’s belongings just because they were born healthy and could work harder for those things.
I'm feeling sorry for him and his troubling life. I also understand the victims I would have been afraid too. Bless him, and I hope he finds peace in the real world
Not sure how I feel but I do pray he is somewhere that makes him happy and that he is doing alright. 🇨🇦
When I was 16 I walked into the Welsh mountains and lived in a small cave for six months in Autumn and Winter, I didn't see or speak to anyone for the entire time I was there, lived wild but never even contemplated stealing anything from others, not that there was any buildings near me for 8 miles in any direction. Those six months were the most liberating months of my life so far and I'm now 61 years old. I understand the man on a level but the stealing wasn't needed, the forest has everything he needed for survival if only he'd learnt it.
Respect
Hmmh 🤔 at 16? What you ate for 6 months? Were you orphan, or how your folk just left a kid be alone in mountains? I guess Im not alone who would like to hear the story.
Ya I'd like to hear more of this too.
That would be such a good interview for Kyle, would you do it?
Edited for spelling errors!😅
@@drunaisis9797 same
What part of STOLEN doesn’t compute for some folks.
Creepy.
Well, Kyle, I enjoy your videos, and the beautiful trails and "back country" vistas you share. Thank you from the UK. Christopher Knight: I'm guessing that he was autistic, smart but challenged with people skills. Could be very lonely. Maybe, due to anxiety or biological reasons, he wet the bed until much more old than most boys (I'm not being unkind, it's something that happens is often not talked about) and therefore couldn't go camping. Maybe he tried to find happiness, in a dogmatic fashion, through education and career, but he still struggled with finding companionship, and felt that companionship was out of his reach and he then decided to go to nature, home, comforting, where people couldn't reject him or hurt him, and then maybe he found it easier than trying to fit in with regular society and he stayed. That's my guess. I do not dislike him, although I understand how vulnerable he must have made the Pond area community feel, and how they were impacted by him. He seems a sensitive person, and it is interesting how he wasn't officially reported missing. It is like he didn't want to be a "bother" to anyone ie he'd been made to feel like a burden before, maybe in his autistic childhood. Bless everyone involved.
Likely some sort of mental illness or autism drove him into the wild and then he didn't know how to come back. I hope he got help.
He created a life that justified kleptomania. In a forest and can't make a fire?
@@lbr88x30 kleptomania is in fact a mental illness lmao
I can’t blame the guy for what he did & 100% understand it. I couldn’t survive for sure but I understand it.
If you choose to live in the woods, then learn how to survive off the land and not stealing from others.
It is said that it is better to be alone, than in the wrong company. I think people who are highly intelligent prefer the company of nature, over the company of humans, whom they simply cannot relate to.