 Maureen Kelly was just 19 years old when she went out with a group of friends to Canyon Creek Campground near Cougar, Washington in the summer of 2013. At around 5 p.m. that evening, she stripped off all of her clothing and told her friends that she was leaving to go on a quote, spiritual quest, claiming she'd be back by midnight. Maureen never returned. Her friends reported her missing the following morning, but investigators quickly realized that this case was far more bizarre than they could have ever anticipated. So what happened to Maureen? Was this a simple case of misadventures in the forest, self-harm, foul play, or yet another disturbing missing 411 disappearance? Being out in nature while camping or hiking can be a very rewarding and relaxing experience, though most of us know that it can also be very dangerous, since there are wild animals temperatures could suddenly drop very drastically or you could get lost, which obviously means that it's vital to be as prepared as you possibly can be. But not every excursion into the wild is planned ahead of time. It's good to be a little spontaneous, but even then you need to keep your wits about you to ensure that you can make your way out of the woods and return home safely. But sometimes even the most prepared people on the planet can still be bested by unforeseen circumstances, and Maureen Kelly is certainly no exception. In 2013, Maureen Kelly, known to her friends and family as Anu, was just 19 years old. She had been born and raised in Vancouver, Washington in September of 1993 and was raised alone by her mother. Most of Anu's early life is largely a mystery. Her family has been pretty tight-lipped about her upbringing, and all we know for certain is that Anu was of Pacific Islander descent. As Anu grew older, she eventually began attending Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington. This was a school steeped in history, having first opened its doors way back in the late 1800s. For Anu, it was a great place to be. She seemed to have made many friends here, and all things considered, it seemed like a great place to have grown up. Her hometown of Vancouver, on the other hand, couldn't have been more different. According to Neighborhood Scout and City Data, Vancouver is in the top 10% of the most unsafe areas in the entire country. So to say that Anu grew up surrounded by crime would be an incredible understatement. I'm sure this played a part in Anu's personality and lifestyle choices. Despite being surrounded by the worst of the worst, Anu was an incredibly spiritual person. She loved to stay in touch with nature and embraced the more natural aspects of humanity. Anu felt that the moment we're born were about as connected to the planet and mother nature as we'll ever be. And her eyes as we grow up, our connection with the world around us begins to fade as we become influenced by outside factors, many of which are less than ideal. When Anu wasn't out hiking or generally being the respectful, carefree person she was known for being, she could be found singing or playing the ukulele. She loved to post photos and videos of herself online and join music in the outdoors. She even had her own YouTube channel where she would post about her many interests predominantly her music. It was the 7th of June 2013 when Anu created a post on her Facebook account in which she asked whether any of her friends who had a vehicle were available to go camping on the upcoming weekend. See, Anu had made plans to take herself and a few of her friends on what she described as a spiritual quest. But unbeknownst to her loved ones, this quest would be Anu's last. Some sources state that Anu contacted her half sister, Cherry, to ask if she could borrow some of her camping gear. But it isn't known whether she ever collected any of that gear or if she had any of it with her while she was camping and getting ready for her spiritual journey. We don't know much about the specifics of Anu's spirituality or her spiritual quest, but it goes without saying that she wanted to do everything she could to stay in touch with Mother Nature and this journey was going to expedite that process. Cherry would later report that during the phone call with Anu, she seemed very excited about the prospect of going camping and that she just seemed like her normal self, happy-go-lucky and full of life. With a ride sorted out and a group of friends to accompany her, Anu set out to campsite number 3 at the Canyon Creek Campground which is situated in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, just two days later, on Sunday, the 9th of June. The site is known to be surrounded by dense foliage and tall trees and hence it's a tent-friendly only area. It's the perfect place for remote escape, far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, especially considering it's darn near impossible to even have an RV in this area or anything of the sort. Many people who have visited the campsite describe the surrounding areas as hard to traverse since there's a steep slope leading up to the campground into the dense national forest beyond, which encompasses an area of over 1.32 million acres. This forest is incredibly large. When the group arrived at the campsite, the weather was mild at a pleasant 70 degrees. There was no threat of rain and it all seemed very idyllic for an afternoon of camping. There's no indication whether the group of friends had anything to eat or drink while they were out there that afternoon, but one would assume that they made a fire at some point since it would begin to cool down soon. There's been a lot of speculation about whether the group took part in any alcohol or anything else while out in the woods. Many people claim that this may have been what led to the terrible series of events that's to follow, but the reality is that this information simply isn't available. No one from the group has spoken up about this, so I can't really say anything with certainty. Regardless of this, everything seemed to go exactly as planned that afternoon, until around 5 o'clock, when Anu suddenly announced to the group that it was time for her to set out on the spiritual quest that she had been planning for so long. As she proclaimed that the time had come, she caught everyone off guard when, without warning, she stripped off all of her clothes, including her shoes. She acted like this was no big deal, but her friends were all shocked to say the least. Immediately after doing so, she grabbed a fanny pack that contained a compass, a small knife, and a pack of matches. She then turned away and wandered off into the woods, telling her friends that she planned to be back by midnight. Many people have questioned why Anu's friends didn't stop her from going into the woods by herself, especially since she was incredibly underdressed and unprepared. But according to Sheriff David Cox, her friends felt that this was something that she needed to do, since she had been talking about it for a very long time. I wish we knew more about her mental state at this time, as this is a specifics of her spirituality, because it could help to shed a lot of light on this case, but unfortunately that information just isn't there. One thing is clear, though. For Anu, this trip wasn't something she had suddenly decided she wanted to do. In her mind, this was something she needed to do. As Anu stepped away from her group of friends, she showed them one final glimpse of her smile before walking off into the woods, never to be seen alive again. The term Missing 411 refers to individuals who have gone missing under bizarre circumstances inside of a national park. Unfortunately, Anu's case is the very definition of bizarre. Anu's friends waited patiently for her to return, as promised. But when temperatures started to drop into the 40s, accompanied by light rain, they became concerned, since she wasn't wearing any clothing and will be left at the mercy of the elements if she didn't make it back to the campsite soon. She did have matches with her, so she would have been able to start a fire, but if the rain got any worse, that fire would have been useless. When midnight came and there was no sign of Anu, her friends felt that something had to be done, and they contacted the Scamania County Sheriff's Office to report Anu as a missing person. A search party was quickly organized, and soon as it started, detectives felt that there was a good chance that she would be found, since they very quickly discovered bare footprints not far from the campsite that were estimated to be about the same size as Anu's feet. The footprints led them to Canyon Creek, which isn't too far from the campground, and it was determined that she had crossed the creek, seemingly without any problems. Most people have, though, expressed their astonishment at the fact that she made it this far, since the going from the campsite to the creek is very steep and it would not have been easy to traverse the terrain, especially while not wearing any shoes. Just as astounding was the fact that she seemingly climbed up the other side of the canyon, which was also very steep, and she seemed to have made it to Forest Road 54, but unfortunately this is where searchers were unable to find any more footprints, so they had no idea which direction Anu may have walked. It was as if she had approached the road, then vanished. There were no signs of a struggle, no clues or evidence, nothing. It was genuinely like she had just blipped out of existence. The decision was made to bring in search dogs from a non-profit company called Pacific Crest Search Dogs to aid in the search, but they were unable to pick up on Anu's scent past this road. At one point, searchers considered calling in helicopters to help the search from the air, but it was the following day at this point and a thick cloud cover had formed which made this mission impossible. Unwilling to give up, searchers continued scouring the area for the rest of the day, but were unable to find any trace of Anu, and they had no choice but to suspend the search when it started getting dark, as their efforts would have now put even more lives in danger. They resumed the search the following morning, but again, they were unable to find a single clue as to which direction Anu had traveled, and her family and friends started to fear the worst. She'd now been nude in the wilderness for multiple days. Temperatures had dropped multiple times. Rain and mud now covered the terrain, and the conditions were dire to put it mildly. But what's incredibly odd is that the search efforts were called off after just two days, which is a very short time in a missing person investigation. Oftentimes, rescue personnel will search for clues for weeks, even months, but in Anu's case, this simply didn't happen. It's unclear why this was done since the forest is massive and Anu could have walked in any direction that had not been searched yet. This decision admittedly seems incredibly irresponsible, but I feel like we have to assume that the sheriff's office likely had their reasons. Anu's family and friends then launched an urgent appeal in which they spoke to the media, begging for searchers to continue their efforts. This had the desired effect, and the search was indeed resumed that same week. But many people who followed the case still wonder why the decision was made to suspend the search in the first place, since no explanation was ever given. This wasted large amounts of crucial time. Considering Anu had no food, no water, no hope of shelter, it just boggles my mind how they could have tried to give up after less than 48 hours. One thing that's interesting about the search is that some of the searchers stated that the brush was so thick that they could probably walk right up to someone who was lying on the ground and never even notice them. They feared that the chances of finding Anu after she'd been out in the elements for nearly a week were now slim to none. This is a very, very old growth forest, so it makes sense that the undergrowth would be quite substantial. Anu and her friends waited day after day, hoping, praying, and begging that they would receive some sort of news. As fate would have it, they received news just six days later. But it wasn't the news that they had hoped for. At 6pm on the 15th of June, just six days after her disappearance, Anu's friends and family were informed that the search was officially called off. Not a single trace of her was found, and since the likelihood that she would have succumbed to hypothermia due to the low nighttime temperatures was very, very high, authorities stuck to their decision this time around. It was announced that Anu was presumed deceased, and that was that. Not one trace of Anu has ever been found, even all these years later. It's been almost 11 years since Anu ventured out into the wild on her own, and to this day, no one knows where she went, what happened to her, or if she was trying to make her way back to the campsite when she went missing. As with most unsolved missing person investigations, those that kept close tabs on the case have their own theories as to what happened to Anu, and some of them make a lot more sense than you would expect. This isn't one of those typical missing 411 cases where everyone suspects some kind of alien abduction. This case hits very close to home for a lot of people, and some of these theories may just be correct. The most common and most likely scenario is that Anu lost her way while in the forest, and having no clothing or other supplies like food to keep her warm, she had to bunker down for the night, planning to finish her journey in the morning. While this would have been a good idea under normal circumstances, Anu would have been far more affected by the low temperatures and soft rain that was falling, leading many people to believe that she succumbed to hypothermia in her sleep. The reason why she was never found? Well, it's entirely possible she was taken off by an animal, as disturbing as that may sound. One would think that if this were the case, Anu's remains would have eventually been found, in part or in whole. But since there are any number of wild animals in this area, it's also very likely that there simply wouldn't have been anything left for rescue workers to find, especially when taken into account the thick underbrush. The next much debated theory has to do with Forest Road 54. It's here that all traces of Anu stopped after her footprints led searchers here. And since it's a well-maintained asphalt road, it's led to some interesting speculation. Most people believe that Anu never crossed the road, since her footprints would have been found on the other side, which they weren't. Hence, it's been suggested that she either followed the road before heading on to a different part of the woods or she was picked up by someone when she reached that point. And this is the theory that I find most plausible as well. After all, we know the area Anu came from was incredibly crime-ridden and dangerous. Could you imagine what would happen if one of these criminals happened to be passing by and saw a nude 19-year-old by the side of the road? Another theory that's also been suggested is that she planned to be picked up ahead of time, unbeknownst to her friends and family. It's possible that the entire situation was planned and Anu simply left to start any life. Though admittedly, this theory is wildly unlikely as no one in her circle believes she had any reason to want to disappear, especially not in such an unorthodox way. The prevailing theory for most people is that Anu simply reached the road at just the wrong time, resulting in her being taken against her will. But this theory has drawn a lot of criticism, since it seems somewhat sensationalized in most media reports and since investigators have stated that they don't suspect any type of foul play in her disappearance. But the theory that she was picked up by someone may just hold some water, since search dogs were unable to find her scent again after they reached this part of the road. And since she was barefoot, one would imagine that her scent would still be present for some time if she left that area on foot. If she ever set foot on that road that day, I just feel certain that the dogs would have found something, anything. The fact that her scent stopped so suddenly right there well it just seems suspicious. But not everyone is convinced that Anu has lost her life. One of her friends, a woman named Yasmin, stated that there is always the possibility that she simply wandered into the forest with no intention of ever returning. She's been quoted by multiple sources as saying, quote, she may not want to be found. This theory may, in all actuality, be correct. One final idea is that given Anu's outlook on life and her spiritual nature, she may have taken illegal substances before she headed out on her quest. But Sheriff Cox stated in an interview that there was no indication that she had taken any such substance or any alcohol. And it's far more likely she was just eager to head out in a nature on her own than got lost or didn't make it to shelter in time. It's entirely possible that Anu is still alive somewhere. But given her loving character, it seems far more likely that if this were the case, she would have reached out to one of her loved ones at some point to reassure them that she's alright and that they no longer need to worry about her. Whatever the case may be, Anu's disappearance has never been solved. And at this point, it seems very unlikely that her friends and family will ever receive the answers they are so desperately searching for. If you have any leads on Anu's case, you're asked to get in contact with the Scamania County Sheriff's Office at 509-427-9490. Thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of True Crime Stories. If you enjoyed this video, check out this other interesting case I covered and don't forget to subscribe. It's totally free and keeps you up to date with all of my future videos. You can also click that join button below to help support the channel and see new videos long before everyone else does. But my name is Ty Nottz and I'll catch you guys in the next one.