Kenny Lee Veach, disappeared November 10, 2014, Sheep Mountains, near Las Vegas, Nevada. Body never located.

Revised December 2023

On November 10, 2014, Kenny Lee Veach set out to re-discover a strange cave called the “M Cave”, as it was in the shape of an M, that he had found on a desert hike a few months before. The cave was in the Sheep Mountains, 40 miles north of Las Vegas and south of the infamous Area 51 military base.

Despite warnings from a poster on an online forum not to return to locate the cave, he headed out on his third trip to try and find the mysterious place. On his first encounter with the cave, he reported on online forums using the tag “Snakebitmgee” that his body had experienced weird sensations, “The closer I got to the cave entrance, the worse the vibrating became. Suddenly, I became very scared and high-tailed it out of there. That was one of the strangest things that ever happened to me.”

On that final trip to the Sheep Mountains In November 2014 to search for the M Cave he vanished. Despite many searches by the authorities and amateur explorers, only his cell phone was ever located near a mine entrance that was not in the shape of an M.

Some conspiracy theorists believe that the M-cave was a secret entrance to the top-secret military base, Area 51, and he was killed or imprisoned to prevent him from revealing any secrets. However, for balance, the base is at least 20 miles away from the spots Kenny showcased in his various videos searching for the cave. It would seem unlikely that the M-cave would be connected to the Groom Lake site, but all options are covered in this article.

What happened to Kenny? Did he fall into a mineshaft? Did the military take him because he found something that he shouldn’t have? Did he commit suicide, as his ex-girlfriend suggests? What did he experience at the M-cave - infrasound, secret military technology, or was he making it all up?

What is and where is Area 51?

Area 51 is the name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. The installation has been the focus of numerous conspiracies involving extraterrestrial life, though its only confirmed use is as a flight testing facility.

It is located within the Nevada Test and Training Range, near Groom Lake, in Southern Nevada, in the southern portion of Nevada, 83 miles (134 km) north-northwest of Las Vegas. The surrounding area is a popular tourist destination, including the small town of Rachel on the "Extraterrestrial Highway".

It was built in 1955 and initially served as a Lockheed U-2 Spy Plane test facility. Over the years, other well-known aircraft have been tested here, including the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. The CIA publicly acknowledged the base's existence in June 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2005.

The CIA reports the correct names for Area 51 are Groom Lake and Homey Airport (KXTA). Groom Lake is a salt flat used for runways for the Nellis Bombing Range Test Site.

While the origin of the name is unclear, it is believed that Area 51 was part of an Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) numbering grid. However, Area 51 does not belong to this system. It has also been suggested that the number 51 was used because the AEC would not need it for the grid system.

Controversially, many UFO hunters also believe that Area 51’s underground facilities store alien artefacts, UFOs and even dead aliens. Over the years, other theories include Area 51 being used for weather manipulation, developing energy weapons and advanced propulsion systems, and storing and reverse engineering alien spacecraft. The U.S. military vehemently denies these controversial claims.

Area 51 Camo dudes

Anyone trying to enter the area illegally will be rapidly ejected or arrested. The perimeter is patrolled by the notorious so-called “camo dudes” to discourage entry by unauthorised persons. A video posted on YouTube in 2016 by MacADVentures claimed to be the only video with footage of the camo dudes holding civilians at gunpoint!

Who was Kenny Lee Veach?

Kenny Veach, aged 47, was an experienced solo hiker and spent much of his free time exploring the Mojave and Great Basin deserts in Nevada and California. He went alone on most of these trips, camping out for several days, with minimum supplies and without GPS, compass or even maps. On some occasions, he was accompanied by his girlfriend. Many fellow hikers in the U.S. deserts would call his trips reckless without the necessary preparation and equipment.

Kenny was not unfamiliar with desert hiking and claimed to have hiked extensively in the Mojave area.

Although Kenny was not a big uploader to YouTube, he often posted comments on forums using the tag Snakebitmgee. He called himself this as he had a dangerous habit of picking up snakes and he once was bitten by a Rattlesnake.

For example, he once posted, “I solo hike across mountain tops that most people wouldn’t dare go. I have been in more caves than I can count. I play with rattlesnakes for fun. But this one particular cave was beyond anything I had ever encountered.”

In another comment, he added, “I have been doing this sort of thing for over 20 years. I go where no one goes, and I never take anyone with me. I find skulls of all shapes and sizes, and occasionally I find really old animal traps. I hike over mountain top after mountain top and sleep on peaks under the stars. Sometimes I have to scale giant cliffs to get myself out of a jam, but I always make it back. I’m beat up and tired, and my pack is almost always heavier than when I left. I had to be rescued only one time by a helicopter. I had blown out my left leg at the top of the mountain, and I only had a cup of water left to get me 20 miles back to my truck. It was also over 100 degrees out. So I have a very good safety record.”

The discovery of the M Cave in the Southern Mojave Desert

In June 2014, Kenny messaged on a video called "Son of an Area 51 technician", stating, “That ain’t nothing. I am a long distance hiker. One time during one of my hikes out by Nellis Air Force Base, I found a hidden cave. The entrance to the cave was shaped like a perfect capital M. I always enter every cave I find, but as I began to enter this particular cave, my whole body began to vibrate. The closer I got to the cave entrance, the worse the vibrating became. Suddenly I became very scared and high-tailed it out of there. That was one of the strangest things that ever happened to me.”

The M-shaped cave Kenny referred to in the YouTube comment was in the Sheep Range, north of Las Vegas.

The Range is located north of Las Vegas, Nevada, in both Clark and Lincoln Counties in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The mountains peak at Hayford Peak, 9,912 feet (3,021 m) above sea level between the Las Vegas Range to the east and the Desert Range to the west.

The desert wilderness that Kenny was hiking around was full of old mine shafts that the military had used to dispose of chemicals and was a very isolated and demanding trip to get there. It took him around 10 hours of hiking to reach the area of the M cave and return to his car. It was a place well known for having drug addicts and dealers who had taken up residence in the area and even as being a dumping ground for murder victims’ bodies.

Many fellow YouTube posters were skeptical and some commented that he was “bullshitting” about the experience and M-Cave discovery. Others dared him to go back and get more footage, and he responded with a follow-up hike to the same area in the Sheep Mountains. One poster warned Kenny not to return and that "you won't get out".

The second and third hikes to try to find the M Cave

Kenny Veach Snakebitmgee and dont go back post

Despite the warning, he returned to the desert, but this time with his Rutger 9mm gun, he posted a YouTube video of his hike trying to find the M Cave on October 18, 2014, called ”M Cave Hike”.

He parked his vehicle in the Joe May Canyon and probably headed to areas like Corkscrew Canyon and the valley around Gass Peak.

However, this time, he was unsuccessful in locating it. This resulted in even more negative comments on YouTube that he was a liar and that the cave never existed in the first place.

Then Kenny told the YouTubers he was going on a third trip to the area to find the mythical M-Cave and invited others to join him, but no one offered to accompany him. On November 10, 2014, Kenny told his girlfriend, Sheryon Pilgrim, that he was leaving to find the cave on a solo hike. Kenny was never seen again.

The search for Kenny

A substantial search was launched after Kenny's girlfriend, Sheryon, reported him missing. Red Rock Search & Rescue Commander Dave Cummings told News 3 in Las Vegas. “We found his cell phone close to a vertical old mine shaft, and we can’t find another trail. It doesn’t mean he’s down the mine shaft, but we have tracked him as far as we can. We are having our other crews come in from the search areas.” The cell phone was located on November 22, 2014.

What happened to Kenny Veach?

It was strange that Kenny decided to do another day hike without overnight camping equipment as he said his previous trips had been long 10-hour hikes over difficult ground. But Kenny had been known to be reckless in the desert before. It would have left him little time to search the M Cave had he found it again. He also left his video camera behind, which he used for his previous M Cave YouTube video, but did take his camera.

The Message from Kenny’s girlfriend Sheryon Pilgrim

Someone claiming to be Kenny’s girlfriend posted the following comment on his “M Cave Hike” video:

“I am the girlfriend that Kenny spoke of in the video. There are so many posts. I had no idea until a friend let me know. So many people are wondering what happened and guessing different things. You are heart felt about the sadness around what has happened with Kenny. He has not been found and I feel that he probably will not be found for many, many months, if ever. I want to share what I know and feel about what happened, so that you might bring some closure and understanding in your own lives. Kenny absolutely loved hiking in the desert. It was his very, very favorite thing to do. We hiked and camped together all over the Nevada desert…sometimes 9 hours in a day. We found many abandoned mining towns, usually referred to as “ghost towns” by Nevada hikers. We explored many caves and mine shafts. We were always careful how we explored them, but Kenny was a bit more daring than I was. We wore snake guards, sun protected clothing, used walking sticks, brought enough water and food for the hiking hours and had extra water/food in the car…I want you to know that I do not think Kenny had an accident. I believe he committed suicide. He battled depression for many years and would not take medication or see a doctor. He quit his job a little more than a year before he disappeared…The search for him was started within a couple days of my call. Over 30 search and rescue team members searched three different times on foot. One helicopter fly over was done and there was no trace of Kenny or any of his camping things. They found his car in the area I told them it would be. They did find his cell phone by the mine shaft in the video. The mine shaft was only about a 4-hour hike from his car. It is my feeling he left it behind so that he could not be tracked from the GPS in it. He also did not take his video camera with him on this solo hike. It was left in his home. So, he had no intention of filming anything.”

“I share this with you for two reasons. First, so that you have more of an understanding who Kenny was and to bring some peace or understanding to the situation. Secondly, if any of you do decide to go out into our desert to look for him or the M Cave, be careful and bring enough water and food. Walking sticks are a good idea and not doing a solo hike. Bring a GPS and make sure that you have let family or friends know that you are heading out for the hike and where and when you will be returning. A search really can’t be on a one day hike. You would be repeating much of the same hike….just getting up the mountain and then be left with not many hours in the day to do the search. You would need 2 or 3 days at a time and in the summer, or even late spring, this can not be done because of the heat of our desert. You would not be able to carry enough water. So, please, please be careful. I had many wonderful experience with Kenny and will always remember them and have a place of love in my heart for him and the wonderful things we did together. I am healing from my loss and look forward to new experiences with desert hiking, camping and taking beautiful pictures of our desert. Enjoy your adventures of life and thank you for the kind loving comments sent my way.”

Theories on Kenny’s disappearance

Suicide - Kenny’s apparent negative state of mind may have given him the thought to end his life, and the M-cave story was a perfect excuse. But if this was his intent, where are Kenny’s remains? Nothing has ever been found despite all the official and voluntary searches. Perhaps he jumped into one of the many mineshafts in the Sheep Mountains and will never be found?
Intentional disappearance - Did Kenny intentionally disappear to start a new life and escape troubles at home? He appeared to have some financial issues.
Misadventure - Did he fall in a mineshaft? Did Kenny succumb to heat and die from hyperthermia or dehydration? Did a snake bite him? Only his phone was found. There was no sign of a body despite an extensive search in the area. Was Kenny’s girlfriend, Sheryon Pilgrim, somehow involved? - it seems unlikely.
Military action - Had Kenny discovered a hidden secret entrance to Area 51 with strange effects on his body caused by classified military tech? Some theorize that covert black ops in the military took Kenny out as he had discovered something he shouldn’t have.

StrangeOutdoors Exclusive Members Only Area

$15.99

One time

Exclusive articles for members of StrangeOutdoors that are not available elsewhere on the site.

✓ 64 articles as of December 2024

✓ One time fee

✓ Exclusive members-only multi-blog articles

See the latest Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com

Read other strange stories from Nevada

The disturbing disappearance and death of the German Tourists in Death Valley

The strange disappearance of rock hunter Trevor Bazil

Sources