Dark History – Episode 185: "The Alaska Triangle: Disappearances, Dead Ends, and the Dark Truth Beneath It All"

Host: Bailey Sarian
Date: October 8, 2025
Podcast: Dark History (Audioboom Studios)

Episode Overview

Bailey Sarian takes listeners on an icy, mysterious journey into the heart of Alaska’s most chilling legend: The Alaska Triangle. Known for alarming numbers of unexplained disappearances, this massive and desolate patch of land has baffled families and authorities for decades. Is it deadly terrain, secret military operations, far-out energy vortexes—or something even darker? In her signature blend of dark humor and historical curiosity, Bailey unpacks case files, conspiracy theories, and indigenous lore to ask why the Alaska Triangle remains one of the world’s coldest unsolved mysteries.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Fat Bear Week, Bears & Alaskan Weirdness Leads to the Triangle

• [00:00] Bailey opens with humor about "Fat Bear Week," a National Park Service event where the public votes for the fattest bear in Katmai, Alaska. This playful intro segues into the show’s topic:
  • “Turns out there’s an area in Alaska that’s actually known for being inescapable... It’s called the Alaska Triangle. And since 1972, more than 20,000 people have gone missing in this area.” (Bailey, 01:58)
  • The episode contrasts the Alaska Triangle with the Bermuda Triangle—Alaska’s triangle sees exponentially more disappearances in a fraction of the time.

2. What and Where Is the Alaska Triangle?

• [02:50] The triangle stretches from Barrow (Utqiavik) to Juneau, covering a region nearly as large as Texas.
  • Landscape includes treacherous mountains, glaciers (cold “quicksand”), avalanches, swamps, bogs, and dangerous wildlife.
  • Disappearance rate is double the national average.

3. The Douglas Plane Mystery (1950)

• [07:51] Bailey recounts the disappearance of the C-54 “Douglas" military plane during the Cold War:
  • Key Details: 44 souls aboard vanished on a clear January day. Operation Mike, the massive search, finds “nothing. Just dead silence.”
  • “Their poor families were left with zero closure.” (Bailey, 12:36)
  • Decades later, relatives still fight for a new search; not a single scrap has ever surfaced.

4. The Bomber and the Lost Nuke (1950)

• [17:27] A Convair B36 bomber carrying a nuclear bomb crashes off the coast of British Columbia. Most crew survive, bomb never found, and four bodies are lost forever.
• Bailey notes Cold War intrigue: theories persist that both planes were espionage victims.

5. The 1972 Disappearance and the Birth of the "Alaska Triangle"

• [19:19] In 1972, a plane vanishes with high-profile passengers: Congressman Nick Begich, House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, and two others.
  • Triggers “the largest search and rescue operation in US history” (lasting 39 days, searching over 325,000 square miles).
  • “Nothing was found. Not even a bolt. Not even an airline peanut. Not even a shoe.” (Bailey, 21:18)
• Suspicions arise as Boggs had been calling out FBI corruption and asking for re-investigation into JFK’s assassination—a conspiracy theory simmers.

6. Mob Hitman Confession & FBI Cover-Up

• [24:12] In 1994, mob hitman Jerry Max Paisley claims he transported a bomb (hidden in a briefcase) to Anchorage, which ended up on Boggs’ doomed plane.
  • “Did they have like a cleanup crew on deck who went and like hurried and cleaned it all up and then, and then made it look like it just disappeared? I don’t know.” (Bailey, 29:27)
• Despite a promising tip, the FBI allegedly tells police to “stay out of it.” The confession fizzles, fueling the triangle’s mythos.

7. Beyond Conspiracy: Energy Vortexes & HAARP

• [32:27] Theories evolve from sabotage to the supernatural:
  • Reports of “magnetic weirdness”—compasses 30° off, “auditory hallucinations,” and “strange noises” in the wild.
  • HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) comes under scrutiny; many believe it’s more than atmospheric science:
    • “They say that they do these experiments to help scientists... But is HAARP really just like studying the atmosphere, or is there something, like, more going on there?” (Bailey, 34:49)
  • Popular conspiracy: weather control, mind manipulation, and government secrets.

8. The “Dark Pyramid” Allegation

• [42:10] Legends swirl around a rumored immense underground pyramid (“four times the size of Giza”) that’s supposedly been scrubbed from satellite images.
  • Rumor began after seismic readings detected an anomaly.
  • Anonymous military sources claim eerie electromagnetic interference stems from this “dark pyramid.”
  • In 2020, Nathan Campbell sought out the structure but vanished—his only trace: a journal entry, “I am leaving to get water.” (Bailey, 44:22)

9. Indigenous Legend: The Kushtaka Otterman

• [46:45] Bailey brings in centuries-old Tlingit and Tsimshean folklore:
  • The Kushtaka (“land otter man”) is a shapeshifting creature drawing travelers to their doom—part otter, part man, part nightmare.
  • “He looks like freakin’ a buff man with an otter head. It’s very confusing. Kinda hot. I don’t know.” (Bailey, 47:45)
  • Myth or warning: the Kushtaka preys psychologically, shape-shifting into loved ones or children to lure victims deeper into wilderness.

10. So What’s the Truth?

• Even the basic stories—without aliens, energy vortexes, or Dark Pyramids—involve government “hits,” massive cover-ups, and unsolved mysteries.
• “Honestly, it feels like every attempt to explain this place just kind of opens a dozen more doors, and each one is just like, more and insane than the last.” (Bailey, 49:53)
• Episode closes as a call for theories: is it “an ancient alien energy weapon,” “magnetic vortexes,” “government hit,” “just bad weather,” or “a big fat bear”?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the vanishings:

  "More than 20,000 people have gone missing in this area. Yeah, 20,000 people vanished. Poof. No trace. Planes, hikers, locals and tourists. Gone."
  (Bailey, 01:42)

• On scale compared to Bermuda Triangle:

  “About 900 people have gone missing in the Bermuda Triangle over like a 200 year period. ... In the Alaska Triangle, that many people go missing not every 200 years, but every two years. What?”
  (Bailey, 03:50)

• On the perils of Alaska:

  “It’s like one big obstacle course... glaciers can creep downhill under their own weight and pull rocks and like anything else into it. Like cold quicksand. It’s crazy.”
  (Bailey, 04:12)

• On the 1972 plane search:

  “It took a total of 3,600 hours of flight time. And some places even got double checked on foot. And it left everyone completely puzzled because nothing was found. Not even a bolt. Not even an airline peanut, not even a shoe, not even a toupee. Nothing. Nothing was found.”
  (Bailey, 21:18)

• On the HAARP conspiracy:

  “There are theories that HAARP is actually trying to weaponize the atmosphere. So they’re literally trying to figure out how to cause storms, steer hurricanes, and even trigger earthquakes.”
  (Bailey, 36:44)

• On Kushtaka, the Otterman:

  “According to native stories, the Kushtaka is a shape shifter who can take the form of a human, but usually looks like a harmless otter. Based on this image, it does not look like a harmless otter. It looks like freaking a buff man with an otter head. It’s very confusing. Yeah. You know on the covers of those romance novels... it’s kind of what the otter looks like, he’s all buff and manly looking.”
  (Bailey, 47:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00–02:50] — Fat Bear Week intro & transition to the Alaska Triangle
• [03:00–07:50] — Alaska Triangle’s geography & striking stats vs. Bermuda Triangle
• [07:51–15:30] — The 1950 Douglas plane disappearance
• [17:27–19:19] — The B36 nuclear bomber and lost bomb
• [19:19–24:12] — 1972: High-profile plane missing & birth of Alaska Triangle legend
• [24:12–30:22] — Confession by Jerry Max Paisley (mob hitman), FBI stonewalls tip
• [32:27–40:10] — Vortexes, compass weirdness, and HAARP conspiracy
• [42:10–46:45] — Dark Pyramid theory & the 2020 Nathan Campbell vanishing
• [46:45–49:53] — Indigenous Kushtaka/otterman legend
• [49:53–End] — Bailey’s reflections, calls for commentary, episode close

Bailey’s Signature Tone and Style

• Conversational, irreverent, full of asides ("Hale Boggs. It sounds like those really healthy ice creams that have, like, 10 calories in them.")
• Cultural asides and pop references ("It was a Disney Channel original movie"; "Do you know when I think about Witness Protection? I think of that Disney movie, Princess Protection Program.")
• Dark humor to cut the tension, even when discussing tragic disappearances.
• Empathy for families and victims, balanced by skepticism and curiosity for the wildest theories.

In Short

Bailey Sarian dives deep into Alaska’s most confounding mysteries, tracing a chilling thread through government secrets, legendary disappearances, questionable physics, and centuries-old folklore. Whether you think it’s magnetic vortexes, FBI hits, alien bases, or the world’s sneakiest otter, the Alaska Triangle remains a place where many enter, but few return—and where every answer spins out two more unanswered questions.

Next up: Special Halloween edition—“Tales from the Dark History Crypt.”
Listener call to action: Share your Alaska Triangle theories and wildest family histories in the comments!