The strange disappearance of the hunter Emerson “Red” Carbaugh on Broad Top Mountain

Forest DisappearancesHunting disappearancesEmerson Red CarbaughPennsylvania

Mar 1

Emerson Edward "Red" Carbaugh disappeared November 11, 1985, Robertsdale, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

Revised May 2024

64-year-old Emerson Edward "Red" Carbaugh of St Thomas, Pennsylvania, and his brother-in-law, Ralph Issett of Saxton, went turkey hunting in the mountains of Robertsdale, Pennsylvania. They headed to a field off an old logging road on Broad Top Mountain on the afternoon of November 11, 1985. That was the last time Red was seen alive.

Red Carbaugh’s story is not unusual, as several hunters have mysteriously vanished in the American wilderness.

The Carbaugh and Issett hunting trip to Broad Top Mountain

The two hunters, Carbaugh and Issett, split up at around 2 pm, each taking a different path through the woods on an afternoon with light rain, and planned to meet back at Carbaugh’s truck at a specified time.

Red was wearing a camouflage coat with a green back, brown duck hunting pants, a gray wool sweater, black rubber boots, and a blue baseball cap. He was carrying a Remington 870 pump-action shotgun.

Broad Top is a plateau located in south-central Pennsylvania. It extends into Huntingdon County to the north, Fulton County to the southeast, and Bedford County to the southwest. It is bounded to the west by Saxton Mountain and Terrace Mountain and to the east by Sideling Hill. In Bedford County, Harbor Mountain forms the southern boundary. Trough Creek Valley lies between the mountains.

In the late afternoon, Ralph came out from the woods alone. He waited for a while, but with darkness coming and thinking that perhaps Red had lost his way, Ralph fired 1/2 dozen rounds from his gun into the air, hoping Red would hear the gunfire and follow it. Still nothing. He then walked to get help. Ralph Issett's hunting partner had vanished.

The search for Red Carbaugh

It was too dark already to search that evening, but a search party was formed the next day at a nearby volunteer fire company. For almost two weeks, more than 1,800 people would search 12 square miles of woods for Carbaugh. Volunteers walked arm and arm through the rugged, isolated terrain. Two different types of search dogs were brought in as well as scuba divers and a helicopter with heat-sensing FLIR technology. Despite this large search no evidence of his whereabouts was ever found - no hat, no gun, no signs of a body. The search was officially called off.

Potential leads on Red Carbaugh’s death

In 2004, Red's wife, Ida Carbaugh-Stevens, was contacted by someone claiming to have information about his fate. According to this source, Red had been killed and buried on a farm in the Robertsdale area. The person also claimed to have dug up a bone on the farm, which was turned over to the State Police at Huntingdon, along with the information the person possessed. The State Police turned the bone over to the Pennsylvania DNA lab in Greensburg, but because the bone was only a small fragment and degraded, it was impossible to extract any DNA from it.

Ida said other hunters were in the area that afternoon and that her husband had seen five men loading turkeys into the back of a truck near where the two men were planning to hunt. However, no one could prove that there was a connection or that the men had been identified. She also said the events of that day ended her brother-in-law’s days as a sportsman.

The aftermath of the disappearance

Red Carbaugh was declared legally dead in 1992. His case remains unsolved, and another case of a missing hunter mysteriously vanished in the wilderness, leaving no trace of a gun or clothing. If he was murdered, why?

Other Strange Hunting Stories

The Very Strange disappearance of Tom Messick whilst hunting near Brant Lake

The weird disappearance of hunter Alvie Webb

Jerry Lee McKoen - Strange hunting disappearances from U.S. wilderness

Aaron Hedges - Strange disappearances from US Mountains

Eric Smith - Strange disappearances from U.S. wilderness

The strange disappearance of the hunter Barry Zeldin

Bart Schleyer - Strange and unexplained disappearances from the Canadian Wilderness

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