September 3rd, 1911 – Church group goes missing near Portland Mine in Cripple Creek
On one foggy Sunday morning in 1911, service at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Cripple Creek was halted after hearing of a missing child reported near the Portland Mine. Alongside other townsfolk, the church group headed towards the Portland Mine looking for the lost child. After a brief discussion about search areas, half of the church group decided to venture throughout the mining facilities topside, while the rest of the group would search the hills under which the mine tunnels laid.
Little more than an hour later the child was found on the opposite side of town at the local doctor’s clinic. The child had fallen into a ditch near the mine spraining his ankle. A passerby picked him up and took him to the city physician on the other side of town. Word had spread of the missing child but had not ceased once the child was in physicians’ care. This lead to several groups searching for a child already found.
As the groups gathered, the group that wandered into the hills had not returned. Plans were made, and over 10 hours of searching rendered nothing more than the occasional article of clothing. To this day there has been nothing else found – no bodies, no remains, and no personal effects.
