Almost 100 Years Later, 'The Galapagos Affair' Remains One Of The Greatest Mysteries
Everyone fantasized about escaping to a tropical island, where the warm breeze can soothe all the problems of modern life. But you might find that living off the grid has a way of warping your mind that isn't always for the better. The inhabitants of the tropical island Floreana thought they were escaping to an ocean-view paradise. But somewhere along the way, members of the group stopped playing nice. What they found was less of a paradise and more of a nightmare...
Surviving the Galapagos
Off the shore of Ecuador sits a stunning archipelago of islands — the Galapagos. These days, it's a hub for tourists looking to explore coral reefs and take pictures of giant tortoises. However, surviving in the Galapagos used to be a much more daunting challenge.
A Famous Namesake
The Galapagos were made famous by Charles Darwin, who used it as a research study to base his theory of evolution. Darwin achieved household name status, receiving an island named in his honor. Still, he only spent 5 weeks on the islands, not enough time for the remoteness to change his personality.
100 Years Later...
Nearly 100 years later, though, German doctor Friedrich Ritter chose to abandon everything about his normal life. including his practice, his wife, and all access to modern conveniences. He relocated to the Galapagos Island of Floreana with his patient-turned-lover, Dore Strauch.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Island living didn't involve sipping from coconuts and bronzing in the sun. They put in the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to cultivate the wild landscape. Still, Dore later claimed the worst part was living under the domineering Dr. Ritter.
A Couple of Oddballs
The eccentric doctor had a reputation as an oddball. He was a devout follower of the philosopher Nietzsche, which meant he and Dore were strict nudists, vegetarians, and practicers of mastication (chewing food for extended periods of time).
Meet The Neighbors
In 1931, Dr. Ritter and Dore's isolation was interrupted by the arrival of the Wittmers. Heinz and Margret Wittmer opted for the reclusiveness of island life, choosing to raise their teenage son and future baby in one of the remotest environments imaginable.
No Love Lost
Both families occupying the island weren’t friendly. The groups kept to themselves, and only crossed paths occasionally. There was no such thing as neighborly love among the two groups. For both families, proximity didn't translate to unity.
The Arrival of the Baroness
The arrival of the third party rounded out the island's inhabitants. Eloise von Wagner Bosquet wore the self-appointed title of Baroness as proudly as she paraded her hired companions, Robert Philippson and Rudolf Lorenz. She presented them as the architect and engineer of the hotel she planned to build.
A Grand First Impression
From the start, the Baroness made a grand impression. Her beaus, assisted by a hired laborer named Manuel Valdivieso, built their home, which she christened Hacienda Paradise. Her lofty ambitions and apparent claim of land in Floreana soured her neighbors' opinions of her.
The Self-Appointed Queen
Calling herself the Queen of Floreana, the Baroness squashed all attempts by her neighbors to check her behavior by seducing the only person they could possibly turn to for help — the Governor of Galapagos.
Gaining Notoriety
Yachts frequented the island, carrying eager fans of the Baroness. This bothered the other Floreana residents, who suspected her of stealing mail and feeding lies to the island visitors because falsehoods and jabs at their character were cropping up in international newspapers.
All Dried Up
A prolonged period of drought made matters worse. Dore and Dr. Ritter started to turn on each other. She had enough of his domineering rules, including his unusual dental standards. Prior to their move, he removed all his teeth, hoping to harden his gums.
Rotting Away
Eventually, Dore’s teeth rotted, in part due to her excessive chewing. “No problem,” thought Dr. Ritter, who yanked them all out with garden tools. After that, they shared a pair of steel dentures to continue their strict chewing habits.
Rising Tensions
Tensions kept rising between the island residents. Ritter was not a fan of their self-appointed monarch. He was furious over the Baroness' influence over the media and control of the Governor. His vocal criticisms of the Baroness weren’t forgotten, which put him in the hot seat later on.
Everyone's Breaking Point
The Baroness and Robert turned against Rudolf Lorenz. Enduring physical abuse and torment, he sought the company of the Wittmers. His absence didn't bode well with the Baroness. She demanded he return home with her. Things only got worse from there.
The Donkey Disaster
In a calculated move, Robert stole the Wittmer’s donkey. Most likely he was acting on the Baroness' orders to incite chaos between the others. Robert released the donkey into Dr. Ritter’s garden, who then shot the animal, mistaking it for a feral beast.
Grave News
All the backstabbing came to a screeching halt when grave news arrived: the Baroness and Robert Phillipson vanished on March 27, 1934. As Margret Wittmer told it, that morning, Robert and the Baroness showed up at their doorstep announcing their planned departure to Tahiti.
An Attempt at Peace
Margret explained that the couple's plan was to join some friends on a yacht, setting sail for a new island. In a final olive branch, the Baroness hoped the Wittmer’s would help themselves to her remaining belongings, as she wasn't sure if they’d return.
Margret's Shaky Story
From the start, Margret’s story was packed with holes. No witnesses ever saw a yacht arrive to fetch Robert and the Baroness. Plus, it was totally out of character for her to abandon her many precious belongings — she simply wasn't the peacemaking type.
Pointing Fingers
Dore was convinced the Baroness would only part with her most valued possession, a beloved copy of the book The Picture of Dorian Gray, out of fear of death. This convinced Dr. Ritter and Dore that the missing persons were actually murdered, pointing fingers at the other island residents.
Suspicious Clues
If they were killed, a mostly uninhabited island would be the ideal setting for a cover up. Dore was sure that the Wittmers assisted their pal Rudolf in offing the Baroness and Robert. It helped that Rudolf was covered in acacia wood, which burns hot enough to destroy bone fragments.
Planning to Escape
Rudolf attracted more suspicion by arranging to escape to Santa Cruz Island with the help of a hired Norwegian fisherman named Nuggerud. From there, they’d journey on to San Cristobal Island, where Rudolf hoped to catch a ferry to his final destination, Guayaquil.
They Never Got There
Fate intervened. Rudolf and the fisherman never arrived in Guayaquil. They were spotted in Santa Cruz, though their vessel never reached its destination. Instead, their mummified remains were discovered on the banks of Marchena Island, about 109 miles away from their intended endpoint.
Sudden Death
In the midst of these subsequent controversies, Dr. Ritter suddenly died. The circumstance of his final moments were just as fishy as the rest of it all, which cast suspicions on the once-so-loyal-patient Dore.
It Didn't Add Up
Ritter was a vegetarian, albeit a loose one. Still, his death as a result of eating contaminated chicken raised red flags. At that point they were veterans of island living, so Dr. Ritter would have known better than to eat the chicken.
Accident or Murder?
The line Dore fed to people was that Dr. Ritter became ill after eating poorly preserved chicken, which she also ate. That convinced almost no one, and it was widely believed she poisoned him after years of tension and abuse.
Cursed for Life
In fact, Margret Wittmer fueled the murder rumors, claiming she witnessed Dr. Ritter in his final hours. Even on the verge of collapse, Ritter shouted that Dore was responsible for his condition, saying: "I curse you with my dying breath."
Totally Shameless
The Baroness and Robert had vanished, Rudolf met his end on that random island, and Dr. Ritter died before the holidays, just a few months after Rudolf's death. One thing was clear: the residents of Floreana had resorted to brutality and shameless violence under the guise of self-preservation.
They Stuck To Their Story...
Life ticked on without any answers. The last remaining residents, the Wittmers, flourished on Floreana, becoming hoteliers. To this day, the couple's descendants operate the business they started. Margret stuck to her version of events until her death at age 96.
Dore Left the Islands
Finally freed from Dr. Ritter, Dore Strauch moved back to Germany. She penned a memoir about the lives and goings-on of the characters who lived in their own little section of the Galapagos, remaining firm in her certainty that Rudolf murdered the Baroness and Robert.
The Human Psyche
The mystery commonly referred to as The Galapagos Affair, which inspired a documentary of the same name, shed light on what living nearly off the grid does to the human psyche. But sometimes, you can lose your grip on reality simply by walking too far off the trail in your own country...
Devil's Den
In northwestern Arkansas, there's a beautiful nature preserve surrounding the largest sandstone crevice in the United States. It has an ominous name, however: Devil's Den State Park. It lived up to that moniker in 1946.
Missing Child
The Van Alst family decided to take a camping trip in the park. Unfortunately, eight-year-old Katherine wandered away from their tent; a search began, but no sign of the child turned up.
A Week Of Searching
By the sixth day of looking, morale was low. Nearly a week in the wilderness is an eternity for a young girl, after all. But then the search party made a shocking discovery in a cave.
Stunning Discovery
It was Katherine, alive and seemingly unharmed! She calmly walked out of the cave as if nothing had happened. Everyone was stunned; how had this girl survived?
No Memory
Well, if the rescuers hoped that Katherine would fill in the gaps of her story, they were sorely disappointed. All the young girl offered when they found her was the statement: "Here I am." When park rangers pressed her for further details, she claimed she couldn't remember what happened, and that's just the beginning of the world's strangest National Park mysteries.
Green Mountain Forest
Another unusual incident involved the case of college student Paula Welden. It was back in the 1940s when Paula told her roommate that she was going for a hike. The last anyone knew, she grabbed a ride to Green Mountain Forest and set off on the Long Trail.
Vanished
Hours later, Welden still hadn't returned. Witnesses confirmed that she had made it to the trail and started her hike, but she was never seen again. By every measure, she had seemingly vanished from the Earth. No amount of searching provided any answers, adding Paula to the tragic list of people to disappear in National Parks, but for some, clues were left behind.
Grand Canyon
That was the case for Glen and Bessie Hyde, who took their honeymoon trip to the Grand Canyon in November 1928. Rather than hike the epic trails, they opted to boat down the scenic Colorado River. However, something strange must have happened after they left the couple left the dock.
Boat Found Unharmed
It seemed the couple never reached their destination. There was no sign of Glen or Bessie anywhere — that is, until months later when their boat was discovered along the riverbanks. At a glance, the boat looked fine. It was upright, in good condition, and still full of supplies. So, where were the newlyweds?
Potential Theories
To this day, no one is quite sure what happened to Glen and Bessie. However, there's a popular theory speculating that one vacationer murdered the other before fleeing to start a new life under their identities. But not all the National Park mysteries are so grim.
Umatilla National Forest
Take the case of the Parkins family, who experienced an event that challenges all sense of logic. It happened in the vistas of Oregon’s Umatilla National Forest, a notoriously steep terrain. The Parkins family wanted to take in the view, so they visited the area with their two-year-old in tow.
Toddler Wandered Off
Unfortunately, little Keith vanished from the family's side shortly after they arrived. While he was found less than a day later, there was something unsettling about where he ended up.
12 Miles Away
The boy was found 12 miles away on the other side of multiple mountains. How could a two-year-old walk that far in less than 24 hours? Rescue teams never managed to find that out, and they're still searching for answers.
The Great Smoky Mountains
Though, curiosities take a backseat to other more pressing mysteries, like that of Dennis Martin. While on a camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Dennis split from his siblings to play a prank on their parents. Dennis, however, never held up his side of the bargain.
Unusual Tip
The family couldn't find him and called search and rescue, but even their skilled trackers couldn't locate Dennis. They did receive one strange tip, however, but it was so bizarre that no one investigated it.
Bear Man
Someone claimed they spotted a large, hairy “bear-man” with something slung over his shoulder. That something could have potentially been a young boy. On second thought, maybe it's best not to investigate that theory.
Los Padres National Forest
Shortly after, California firefighter Mike Herdman decided to head into Los Padres National Forest with his dog. The pair, however, quickly went missing. What could have happened to the athletic hiker and his pet?
Dog Discovery
After six days of searching, the duo was found. The dog had survived but, Mike, unfortunately was dead. The rescue team concluded that he had accidentally fallen, but that didn't explain one strange detail they noticed.
Missing Shoes
Mike wasn't wearing any shoes. What could have inspired a lost hiker to remove his shoes on such rocky, uneven terrain? Even the search and rescue team couldn't be sure.
Yosemite National Park
Befuddlement among rescuers continued when, in 1957, a two-year-old went missing in Yosemite National Park. His parents immediately called for help and, before long, a rescue team was using bloodhounds to scour the park.
3,000 Feet Up
Eventually, the dogs caught the boy's scent and found him. He was missing his pants and sitting nearly 3,000 feet higher up a rock face from where he was last seen. How did he get up there? No one knows for sure, just like the mystery of the crone statue tucked away in the Catskills.
No comments: