REVISITED: The Lens Cap
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What is the unsolved 1981 Yosemite disappearance that drives this episode?
Hi everyone, it's Delia D'Ambra here, and I want to tell you about a podcast that's one of my personal favorites that I know you're going to love too. Dark Down East. Hosted by my friend and fellow investigative journalist Kylie Lowe, Dark Down East dives into New England's most haunting true crime cases. From unsolved mysteries to stories where justice has been served, Kylie brings her meticulous research and heartfelt storytelling to uncover the truth behind these cases. If you love the way I take you deep into the details of a case, then I know you'll appreciate Kylie's dedication to honoring the victims. And uncovering their stories. There are so many episodes of Dark Down East already waiting for you, and new episodes every Thursday.
Find Dark Down East now wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi park enthusiasts, I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra, and the case I'm going to tell you about today is one that's gone unsolved for more than four decades. It's the story of a teenage girl who did something every single person does while visiting a national park, took photos. But at some point, after just walking a short distance away from one of her parents to snap pictures, this young woman vanished, never to be seen again. The only clue left in her wake was the lens capped to her camera. Even forty two years later, the mystery of what really happened to Stacy Aris continues to haunt the history of Yosemite National Park. I've told you about other cases of missing people and murders in Yosemite before on this show, but there's just something about Stacy's case I can't let go of.
And I think it's because I'm partly just always overwhelmed and in awe of the vastness of Yosemite. The section of the park Stacy was in during the summer of nineteen eighty one is called Sunrise High Sierra Camp. According to Yosemite.com and Travel Yosemite, it's known as a place to catch amazing sunrises and provides exquisite views of distant mountain ranges. It's also designed for visitors. There are designated trails and nine cabins at the camp which allow hikers to leave their belongings behind while exploring the area. A lot of people venture into the high country of the park from this spot, either on foot or by mule. And that's exactly what Stacy and her father were doing one afternoon when she briefly slipped out of his sight and disappeared.
Rumors about what happened to her have ranged from accident to abduction to runaway, and getting to the truth has proven harder than anyone back in 1981 could have ever imagined. This is park predators.
Around three PM on Friday, july seventeenth, nineteen eighty one, George Harris and his fourteen year old daughter Stacy had just arrived at Sunrise High Sierra Camp in Yosemite National Park. They'd spent the last few hours horseback riding, and so far their journey had taken them roughly three miles, and they still had another mile and a half or so to go before they reached their destination, a place called Sunrise Lakes. The adjacent lakes were back in the direction of the trailhead George and Stacy had entered on, but were technically through a different part of the terrain. So to help break up the hike, Stacy and her dad had decided to stop for the day at the cabins at Sunrise High Sierra Camp to offload some of their gear and enjoy a well-deserved rest.
The plan was to stay the night in a cabin there and then start toward the lakes the next morning, Saturday, July eighteenth. Deciding to stop on Friday afternoon was good for the rest of the people they were with, too. You see, based on which source material you read, Stacy and her dad were part of a group of anywhere between six and twenty travelers who were on a week-long pack ride with horses or accompanied by mules. And I don't know about you, but I've been horseback riding in mountainous terrain like this before. And let me tell you, a break from being in a saddle on the back of the of a horse is life-giving, especially after you've gone for a few miles. So I completely get why the group wanted to take a pause and recharge.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the unsolved 1981 Yosemite disappearance that drives this episode?
0:00–5:56
2
How did Stacy’s family and the horseback‑riding trip set the scene for her vanishing?
5:56–14:19
3
What was Sunrise High Sierra Camp like and why is its terrain important?
14:19–24:59
4
How did Stacy’s short walk to the ridge turn into a mysterious disappearance?
24:59–29:24