"Neighbors heard screaming, but they didn't worry about it. Two days later workers heard tapping They didn't care either. " Pretty much sums up America today.
Not sure what that kid's neighbourhood was like, but in mine, kids play outside screaming bloody murder multiple times per week. I wouldn't notice if one of them was actually murdered
This case reminded me of the 2019 disappearance of a 14 year old boy in Port Clinton, OH. His body was found several months later in the chimney of an abandoned house. His name was Harley Dilly and and the case caused a lot of controversy in Port Clinton. There were some strange circumstances involving his parents, and he was reported to be slightly autistic. It would be a good case for you to look into Dr Grande, if you want to continue on the chimney theme. I am a retired detective and I greatly enjoy your analysis and perspective on these cases. You would have made a good cop!
@Beav my thoughts EXACTLY! He most definitely should have been a cop or one of those guys who works with the police but isn't a cop I cannot think of what the technical term is but they analyze the case and come up with a profile 🤔
He already did do it and he deduced that Kendrick decided to climb into the mat himself. He glosses over the two kids accused where one of the fbi investigators was their dad.
@Bubbles Bedlam Oh there were plenty of basis to accuse those YOUNG MEN OF HURTING HIM. That is why they reopened the case. Turn this around if two black kids were accused of killing a white kid you would not be so quick to say this.
Dr Grande, I think it would be so cool if you gave a few lessons on deductive reasoning and logic. Your grounded way of analyzing these stories is refreshing!!! We need more of you! It's crazy out here!
Not reported missing,for five days.How can that be?If my child went for a walk/hike,and wasn’t back,the same day,I’d be screaming for help,to find them. And to die,trapped,like that,is just heartbreaking.Poor lad.
There was a similar occasion in the UK. Where an office worker in an old building in the UK could hear very faint muffled shouting for a few days but shrugged it off... A few weeks later she noticed an awful smell and the builders were called to dismantle the fireplace only to find the body of a young burglar who fell down one night.... Just the worst death imaginable.
IMO, this is the most probable: either your most likely theory, or he met a friend at the cabin, which they had broken into before, and Josh went down the chimney on a dare. The breakfast bar was blocking the bottom of the chimney as a joke. When Josh became stuck, the "friend" fled. Yes, it's stupid. Everything about what could have happened here is stupid.
Yeh I agree- and he took most of his clothes off beforehand so as not to get them dirty. In fact, thinking about it now, the breakfast bar may have been the result of the 'friend' returning a month or so later- maybe to make sure there was no evidence of him being there- and putting it there to 'stop the smell getting out'.
I believe he had a rendezvous with the wrong person and they disposed of his remains in the chimney, in a panic. That is, if this is the one I'm thinking of. There are at least two* instances of young men being found in chimneys, maybe this is is a different one *correction: many
People in the late stages of hypothermia can behave in nonsensical ways because the brain is no longer functioning normally. It's quite common for people who have died of hypothermia to be found with some or all of their clothes removed, because they feel like they are too hot and don't understand what's really happening to them. There is also a behaviour called "hypothermic burrowing", where people will dig or wedge themselves into enclosed spaces before they die. Him being found in an enclosed space with most of his clothes removed could be consistent with hypothermia. Even if a rational person wouldn't try to climb up a chimney feet first, a hypothermic person might. To me, the clothes being neatly folded is the part that seems least consistent with hypothermia.
Yeah, but that happens when someone is trapped, like a walk in freezer. He wasn't trapped, his home was a mile away. You'd have to be freezing for HOURS, absolutely miserable, before you get to the point of paradoxical unclothing. He would have just returned home long before he suffered that level of hypothermia.
Wow, the “burrowing” explanation has convinced me of the hypothermia possibility. Wikipedia says it’s an automatic brain stem reaction. So even if he felt hot, he might still burrow. And it would explain why he entered the chimney so insanely. I could picture a delirious person seeing that chimney opening, shoving their feet in, and wriggling their way up.
@@matthewferguson8369 I thought that too, but if he had been hiking back from a long distance, he might have already been severely hypothermic when he came across shelter. Of course that begs the question of why an experienced hiker would go out unprepared for the conditions. But who knows.
@@matthewferguson8369 Yeah, the question of why he didn't go home when he began to feel cold is a weird one. I imagine he may have got lost while out walking, and came to the building on his way home. He might have chosen to stay there while he was somewhat rational, rather than continuing home. Obviously with hindsight we can say that was a bad decision, but I can imagine a person thinking it's safer to shelter there overnight rather than risking getting lost again in the dark. If he was already cold and tired, staying in a shelter that's dry and out of the wind might have been very appealing. I'm most familiar with hypothermia in the context of people getting lost in remote areas. People in the early stages of hypothermia are generally tired and grumpy and want to give up. They feel miserable, and complain in a way that's out of character, but they no longer want to persist in trying to get home. I'm not completely convinced it was hypothermia. It could have been murder and a weird way to hide a body. I don't think we'll ever know for sure.
There might have been foul play. It could just be that he ran away a lot so nobody reacted. But it just seems weird that modern times with cellphones you can track, they decided to give it a few days. The sister’s claim that she believed he would show back up with a wife and kids sounded bizarre too. It may have been a coping mechanism, but often times people involved in coverups say weird and specific things like that. Like, “your (dead) dog went off to live on a farm”.
There’s no valid reason to wait that long. The chances of solving a crime are cut in half after 48 hours. If the father had reported Joshua missing right away, he might’ve been found alive. They either contributed to his death directly or through negligence.
@@JordanBarronWolfe Omg, no. If it was common for Joshua to leave to take a walk and not return for several days, why would his family immediately jump to the worst conclusion possible and call the police the moment he doesn't return? Its crazy to me how many people hear tragic stories like this and think it's totally appropriate to hold as many people in the story responsible as possible, and not only that but to also punish them with as many criminal charges as possible. Nothing about the dad's actions point to negligence, but don't u think he probably has already done a pretty good job of blaming himself without your help? Yes the first 48 hours after someone goes missing are extremely important, but only if anyone is actually aware that they're missing. Obviously Joshua's family didn't have a reason to even suspect a problem for the first 4 days as Josh was 18 and had previously left home for longer periods of time without indicating where he was going. He was described as a free spirit, his parents let him come and go as he pleased, and he was also an adult... Also, not everyone has parents that need to know their location at all times and as someone who doesn't communicate with my family super often, I remember what it's like to be 18 living at home and be allowed to leave for a few days at a time without having to call and report my whereabouts every time, and on several occasions it would've probably taken my parents multiple days of me not returning home to realize something was wrong and call to report me missing. But I appreciated the freedom I had and it's what worked for us, and to this day we don't constantly check up on each other so if I ever went missing and it took my family awhile to report it, I hope to God there wouldn't be a bunch of self righteous comments online from people blaming my family for my disappearance and talking about how they deserve to be held criminally responsible for "negligence" or some other crap
Great Halloween Special! Mystery, gruesome death, and cabins. All Halloween tropes in one story. It was fascinating how the sister built this whole fantasy about Joshua’s disappearance and possible life arc and triumphant return as a musician and family man.
Casey Anthony said her daughter was with a pretend nanny. People involved in cover ups often make illogical and specific claims to pretend there was no crime. They also fail to report the victims as missing in a normal amount of time.
@@kingayy9267 seems they didn't pull on that thread very hard. It's odd that they didn't report him missing for almost a week. Made up an elaborate fiction about what happened to him. Didn't insist on having that whole abandoned structure searched , ever. It was nearby and where he walked frequently.
If there's a hole, cavern, space, chimney, or any type of opening, some person will come along, and try to enter it, without regard to the possible consequences.
Dr G really does some of the most detailed and in depth research on every case, adding to his psychological analysis and making one of the best channels on YT
I don't think this particular video was made in depth at all, since he left the most reasonable item - hypothermia, from his video. I was surprised he didn't mention this at all, since this has been mentioned in other videos about this case and it is a very reasonable explanation.
Him and a friend wanted into the cabin, Joshua takes off some of his layers to be able to slide down the chimney while his friend helps him down by his legs, Joshua slips and friend grabs his pant legs to stop him, Joshua slides right out of his pants deeper into the chimney and is now only in the shirt. His friend panics and breaks into the cabin the traditional way and finds his friend, he can't figure out how to get him out and it's getting cold, Joshua isn't able to free himself either. Friend brings in the clothes and doesn't know what to do, doesn't want to get in trouble so doesn't call the cops, abandons Joshua at some point. /EndTheory There was obviously more going on at home than mentioned if nobody cared enough about Josh to call the cops for almost a week.
But if the friend could just get into the cabin to begin with why did he let his friend go down the chimney? Also why didn't he call for help if he couldn't get his friend? Also I think if my friend was stuck in a chimney bringing clothes would be the last thing on my mind and for them to be folded too? Is just weird.
I’ll go with my theory that Josh was sexually abused and murdered because he was naked waist down. Many rapist organize their victims clothes after killing them. When Josh was found he wasn’t wearing a underwear, he was wearing only a thin shirt, why would anyone remove their underwear to get through a chimney? Why his “friend” didn’t called the emergency if it was an “accident” like you said?
Definitely my primary theory. My backup points to the family and the strange dynamics at play there. 1 dad, 2 boys (both died), 2 girls. Waited 5 days to call police (assuredly past the point of death by exposure), 1/2 mile away abandoned cabin not thoroughly searched, “oh well must have moved on with life.”
I agree with Dr Grande's first theory. If he was killed and the killer went to lengths to hide the body in a chimney, why would they then leave a pile of the victim's clothes in a neat pile next to where the body is hidden as evidence? Makes no sense that someone would do that.
I agree, dump the clothed body in the chimney. No reason tor emote the clothes. A previous comment said he may have removed the clothes to keep them from getting dirty, so it points to voluntary entry.
Thing with this case is *every* possible cause of death is very bizarre, yet one of them *must* be true. I agree that the first theory, accidental death is most likely, by a good margin. Reddit has a lot web sleuths who come up with interesting theories on cases, but in this case most of the alternative theories put forth amount to baseless conspiracy theories. All the evidence seems to point towards an (admittedly stupid) accidental death.
@@stevemorris270 if you’re in hiking clothes about to descend down a chimney, why on earth would you think it was better to get your body dirty, as well as squeeze down a rough surface (head first) with exposed skin? Grande said all he was wearing was a shirt. That means his genitals were exposed.
Just because it takes a lot of effort to jam a body down a chimney doesn’t mean it was a meticulously planned cover up. Someone could have done it in a state of panic. Adrenalin would actually help with getting the body in there. Plus, it seems even more implausible that he went in head first, than that someone failed to dispose of less conspicuous evidence.
If he was going to do it for the fun of it, he wouldn't have blocked the exit to the chimney. Blocking the exit of the chimney only makes sense if there was someone trying to kill him and they were blocking his only method of escape.
Thank you for the Holiday video. Although unclear if this is Halloween or Christmas themed. My claustrophobia, is making me twitch over this. Sound like an absolutely horrible way to go.
@Bubbles Bedlam Signs of dehydration include: - Headache, delirium, confusion. - Tiredness (fatigue). - Dizziness, weakness, light-headedness. - Dry mouth and/or a dry cough. - High heart rate but low blood pressure. - Loss of appetite but maybe craving sugar. - Flushed (red) skin. Swollen feet. Muscle cramps. - Heat intolerance, or chills. - Constipation. - Dark-Colored pee (urine). Your pee should be a pale clear color. Now, you've probably never been long-distance backpacking, especially with someone unprepared, but dehydration can very much cause severe confusion & delirium. Eventually, these symptoms will result in death if gone untreated. People have been known to strip themselves during bouts of dehydration & hypothermia, as well. I think people want this to be a case involving a singular boogie man, as to remove the nature of ambiguity one is left by cases like this. It's the same reason people want it to be spirits, aliens, ghosts, gods, or bigfoot: it's easier to wrap your head around a narrative created by you. "See, I'm safe. It was just one boogie man, and he lives somewhere else. I _____, and they didn't." Trust me, Occam's Razor cuts through most of our humanly assumptions.
One of his friends at the time admitted to have murdered someone later in life. Being its over 5 years later its hard to “find evidence of another person being there” because of the time. The breakfast bar moved to the front of the chimney is what really proves to me someone was there. Thats A LOT of evidence after almost a decade
Dr. Grande...Thank you again, for bringing to all of us, who tune in, the chance to share our comments & theories in such cases along with you. In the case of Josh, first off, at his age, more than likely, he wouldn't pay for a hotel room & him knowing, already, the availability of the cabin was there for him, he felt comfortable alone, so I do believe he put himself there, no one else did. Upon his arrival, he obviously knew right away, that heat was needed asap. Gathering wood & building a fire using the fireplace & chimney was an obvious need in the intent to stay warm. I feel before he started the fire, I believe he stood in thought for a few minutes about building a "safe fire" in the old chimney for his own safety & concern. I feel, he then felt the strong need to explore the safe or unsafe conditions in the chimney, as this was "not an option" in his mind. At that point, mentally he felt ready, but now physically he needed to prepare & be ready, by dragging the breakfast bar over, as to get a foot or two start up the chimney.I feel then he decided, that physically removing most of his clothes, he had a better chance of not getting stuck or caught up in the chimney. Why? Maybe for reasons of him hearing about something like this happening before, so he took it into heavy concideration & deemed it necessary, being alone & felt that this also was "not an option" to keep all his clothes on to go up in to inspect it and get out safely. I would say, by him leaving just his shirt on, was because after all it was only 20° out to get completely naked. I believe he folded his own clothes, as to not pile, place or have them touch much of the existing dust/ dirt in the cabin as he probably planned on putting them back on afterwards. So physically, he felt prepared, so he stepped onto the breakfast bar & began monkeying up the chimney, to the point of, using his feet against one side, back against the other side as to get higher up in the chimney to explore further for completion of inspection & he got a bit stuck and then beyond stuck, trying to get back down, by at this point in head first position and curled, not no avail, his movements got him jammed in place. So my theory & determination, for the cause of death would be, "accidental", given that fact he was alone and the factual parallels between his needs for the chimney & his intent for the chimney.
I would very much like to hear your thoughts on McKamey Manor, the "haunted house" in which people are actually tortured. What I can't grt out of my head is that the owner and staff have been torturing people for years. Why and how can human beings do this?
You sign a contract when you go into the house allowing them to torture you but not kill you. As far as I know, it's legal as long as you sign their agreement. If you last a certain number of hours, you get a big pile of money. But the torture is real and pretty intense, I understand.
@@lauriej.5706 Thanks for your response! One of the weird things about McKamey Manor is that no one has ever won the prize ($10,000 was the last I heard) and there's no charge to get in, although contestants are asked to donate a bag of dog food. This thing has been running for years, including a staff, props, and the property itself, but no one knows where the money to keep it in operation comes from. Contestants have an obvious financial motive, but why and how do the owner and staff do this?
@@mybusiness9705 Real physical torture is involved, and contestants have no say regarding what takes place. Some hwve required hospitalization afterward. There have been at least two cases of broken bones.
I love watching your "take", on the subjects you cover, THEN, I watch what the other channels offer. You are an amazingly balanced commentator. Thank you, as always, for these interesting, if terribly sad tales.
Fourth theory: What if Josh and another boy broke into the cabin (perhaps Andrew Neumann).... They were staying there for a day or so, and at some point they had a falling-out, and the other boy locked Josh out, without his clothes. Perhaps just as a cruel prank? Josh would've banged on the door for awhile, demanding that he let him inside, and complaining that it's cold outside. Maybe out of true maliciousness, or maybe just as a cruel prank, the other boy laughed and refused. Josh then tried to climb down the chimney, so the other boy shoved the stove over to block the fireplace so that he couldn't get in. I'm imagining the other boy laughing, but then at some point it turned to panic as he realizes Josh really is stuck. The other boy then fled, leaving him alone to die. This theory explains the clothes being inside. It explains the stove dragged over in front of the fireplace. And Josh would've been more emboldened to climb, half naked, down the chimney, because he knew he had a friend or accomplice inside. It also makes sense, given the cold weather outside.
The lack of pants in this concerns me more than anything. I could understand taking all of his clothes off, but this sounds like a sexual encounter gone wrong coupled with a desire to hide the body. But you make a good point about the previous cases similar to this. A fascinating case to ponder.
Dr Grande. I like how you looked through previous examples of people being found dead in chimneys. I think you should have done the same in your previous video about the lady being found dead - allegedly suicide- from hanging, with her feet and hands bound and also with a gag in. Surely this is a incredibly rare occurrence…
I've though about this case a few times since I first heard about it, so I really was interested in your perspective. Thanks for the commentary, it was very enjoyable.
So glad you covered this case! It's one of those unsolved mystery types that just pop into my mind from time to time. I hope he didn't suffer. And I'm very glad he was eventually located. Love all your videos Doc!💙🌞💙
Sometimes I like to think Dr Grande filmed all these videos months ago and is just posting them one by one while he sits on a beach somewhere, enjoying the sunshine. 🤞🌞🍹
It's sad to think he was probably stuck in that chimney praying for someone to come along and meanwhile his family didn't report him missing for a week.
He could of entered the cabin and gotten hypothermia over time. This can cause people to exhibit irrational behavior including "paradoxical undressing". These odd circumstances could be possibly explained by hypothermia.
This is another case that gets a lot of traction in the more conspiracy minded true crime community. It gets a little exhausting some times but it's to me it's far more likely that he went into the chimey on his own accord and got stuck.
Pretty sure his clothes weren’t neatly folded. They were basically in a heap at the bottom. Like he removed them in an attempt to free himself. He wasn’t upside down. He was in a fetal position legs pointed upward, head and shoulders upward. If you’re climbing down feet first using your feet, knees and back to brace yourself and either your knees or back slip, your butt will go down first, with the sliding action causing your legs and feet to become wedged close to your diaphragm. Could have been dehydration or hypothermia but it would make more sense for it to be positional asphyxiation. It could k*ll you in a matter of hours. I believe I read awhile back that an officer found his jacket hanging near the door. He may have used the breakfast bar to boost himself. Myths about unsolved cases can get crazy. He slipped. Accidental. Very sad.
"Liability induced recall," another witty Grandeism for my list. Why won't these people realize that Santa is the only who can maneuver through chimneys? 🙃 I think Joshua was exploring and got more than he could handle. Thanks, Dr. Grande. 👍
@@zigguratjones6458 sometimes folks use humor around deadly content. No need to be miffed, it's just a coping mechanism, for fuck sakes. Let people have their idiosyncrasies, there is such a thing as free speech.✌
All this Santa Claus humor feels really inappropriate In all, I find this video to be unsatisfactory. It provides little if any more insight than one might get from the news media coverage Perhaps there may be an update providing content that meets Dr. G’s usual standards.
You analysis is very much consistent with common sense!😉👌🏼 You mentioned some scary situations where people got stuck inside chimneys! I wonder if at some point you would be interested in covering the case where the physician got stuck inside the chimney of her boyfriend’s house. I am familiar with the case but would love to know your thoughts on it. Happy Halloween Dr Grande!🍂🎃🍂 I hope you have a restful Sunday.❤️
I researched that case as the physician won a "Darwin Award" for her efforts in 2010. I found it incredibly sad that such a talented and popular doctor was so hung up on her ex-boyfriend that she made such a foolish and ill fated decision that resulted in her death. The doctor, Jacqueline Kotarac, was called a "brilliant doctor" and "certified genius" with an IQ of 170. Yet she was so desperate to speak to her estranged boyfriend, she attempted to break in his home around 10pm at night. When that failed, she got a ladder, crawled out on his roof, removed the chimney cap, and lept into the chimney feet first, whereupon she became stuck and died of "suffocation." The ex-boyfriend claimed he "ran out the back door to avoid a confrontation and stayed the night elsewhere." When she didn't show up for work the next day, her assistant drove to the boyfriend's house, where they discovered her car still parked in the driveway with her belongings inside. They didn't find her, and following morning, the ex-boyfriend took off to Europe. A neighbor later admitted to the cops that they "smelled something," and someone down the street told authorities that they thought they "heard someone quietly yelling for help," but dismissed it as kids playing. A pet sitter who came over to feed the ex's fish "noticed a smell of decay coming from the fireplace" a few days later & called the police. Moral of the story: California neighbors not gonna call the cops when they "smell something" or "hear someone quietly yelling for help"; and no man is worth killing yourself over. Girl, there be tons more fishes out there. Get some therapy, and move on. ;-)
Yeah, I've just recently heard about that tragedy, when Mr Ballen told the physician's story about her fatal decision to climb through the chimney into her estranged bf's house in one of his videos; he did this with his very unique story telling skills. Highly recommend his channel btw, but just to be fair, I've to add a warning: His "Mr Ballen" channel is also highly addictive! Better only start watching him, when you've ~2 to 3 free days without any duties lined up ... imo, it's also great Halloween entertainment for everybody who doesn't know his channel yet; as well as a fantastic chance to "trauma-bond" with other horror fans like e.g. significant others, family members, soon-to-be-in-laws, etc...
Aw! Come on! True crime producers often have changing backdrops! Dr. Grande, as usual, does one better and changes his each video! One of the many perks!
I read an article about this the other day, then remembered when it was first reported years ago. It's very perplexing, but Humans can do strange things that don't make sense, especially if they have some kind of mental issues. I agree that it was oddly negligent for them not to search the Cabin when it was literally a few blocks down from His home. Maybe they wouldn't have thought to look in the Chimney, but not search it at all?
Always appreciate your well hypothesized insights as to people's behavior. It means a whole lot more to average viewer being able to understand others than you might think 👍
I think his cause of death was probably being upside down for a long time. Surefire way to die if you get stuck with your body upside down. As for the manner of death....? Good topic Dr. G 💜🌵
Bingo - sounds like you're familiar with the Nutty Putty cave death. An experienced cave explorer died in just 28 hours after being stuck upside down. I think few people realize humans can can from being upside down, let alone in a matter of about a single day. It puts an enormous amount of strain on the body, being so compressed.
It seems weird that a supposedly sober person would go into chimney upside down. Unless he was on a drug they didn’t test for. He may have already been dead before entering the chimney.
@@Catlady-mw4en Possibly. The house apparently has all sorts of things being stored there. I was thinking he might have ingested something he found that didn't agree with him - either drug or food product.
It's always consistent with common sense, Dr. Grande. Only thinking... Clothes in a cabin and his head first in a chimney. Head first isn't natural position of a body. He could have been fainted or dead. If he wanted to commit a suicide, why would he take of his clothes? It seems that someone attacked him, put him on a shoulder, then head goes first while putting him in the chimney. Father's and siblings's reaction is strange. He didn't do it earlier because sister spoke about his plans, children, work... Thank you, Dr. Grande.
This sounds to me like one of those cases where unless you were there as a witness all you can do is come up with multiple theories because it doesn't seem to make any sense at all.
The fact that he was only partially dressed make me think there were 2 crimes committed, **** and then murder, and his body stuffed up the chimney to hide it.
A John Wayne Gacy type thing? Did they verify the folded clothing was his? Clothing tatters and comes apart from weather, so a portion may has disintegrated in the chimney. What about shoes?
@@maureeningleston1501 hmm, he probably only remove his outer clothing and left his inner one as to not getting his skin rubbing against the chimney wall
I saw a tv programme about the dangers of the Victorian home which suggested that many householders did not want chimney sweeps to use the brooms, as they thought the boys did a better job. I think the brooms were fairly complicated modular things - not all chimneys were well designed and there could be plenty of obstacles to get around. Eventually enough chimney sweeps protested, and the laws were changed to prohibit the use of boys in this way. This case is tragic for that poor young man and his family. I wonder if he was trying to unblock it, or check if it was usable, and thought it would be somehow easier to enter from the top? Poor lad. It's so sad that his family were trying to convince themselves that there would be a storybook ending too.
This happened in my town. Someone found a man’s body behind a wall used to close up a chimney. Belonged to a man known to burgle homes. He’d been missing at least a year. 😐
Before this, I dreamt that I went through the windshield of a car in an accident as the passenger. What if a guilty person tried to hide the body in the chimney, not knowing Josh was still alive?
I would like to hear your analysis of a case where the bystander effect occurred. Heard of a case recently where a woman was raped in a train station while bystanders did absolutely nothing and would like to know the psychology behind this.
I hope that doctor's new book will fly through my chimney at Christmas. 🙂 💙 Let's see, if Santa Clause has an exact memory and remembers my wish. I have been nice the entire year. 😇 Thank you for your entertaining work, doctor.
Congratulations on such good behavior! You deserve a Christmas Grande novel! Imagine doing all the videos, the podcasts, and writing books! He has been very good too!
I think we're fundamentally misunderstanding the scene and the way he was posed in the chimney. He wasn't upside down. He was in a 'U' shape pose. His head was upright, arms to chest (like the fetal pose), but his legs stretched upwards and feet above his head. His position could be explained by him struggling and twisting inside the chimney, having gone up it headfirst, but then realising he could not get back down that way. The top of the chimney got notably narrower as you go higher. He maybe tries to backtrack, to sit, and turn his torso, but he got hopelessly stuck. It's not clear to what extent the chimney was blocked from inside. Possibly just partly obstructed, not blocked. It seems most likely he was inside the house, removed his clothes and planned to explore the chimney but became stuck. He didn't intend to die, removing and folding his clothes to keep them clean for afterwards. Why is anyone's guess. But as an Urbexer, I have prevented others attempting the stupidest feats just for the "fun of it." DrG highlights how alluring chimneys seem to be, particularly for males.
Maybe if his body decomposed, then the bones slipped into the U shape. Nevertheless good theory. He could have gone into the chimney if a damper was closed and he wanted to burn wood for heat.
K I like the theory but it doesn't make sense. The bottom of the fireplace was blocked off..how could he have blocked it and then climbed up the chimney lol
I've always thought he was trying to clear the chimney of a posible blockage to start a fire. I think he tried to start a fire in the hearth but the smoke wouldn't vent and he assumed it was blocked. So, he attempted to clear it by climbing up and got stuck just as discribed. Once he was stuck he died of hypothermia.
Another theory is that he could have claustrophilia. A condition where the person gets some kind of arousal in tight spaces, hence the reason why he was naked from the waist down. He probably wanted to be as confined as possible but ended up getting stuck. I know people want desperately to believe that this was a murder case but hey, like they say….. truth is stranger than fiction.
I wonder if there was an animal or something in the chimney and he was trying to fish it out? Maybe he was inside and trying to light the fireplace and thought something was inside. It makes me so sad that he got stuck in there and lost his life. I can’t imagine how much he suffered in there.
I think so too. He wanted to make a fire in the fireplace due to the cold, but the smoke wouldn't vent correctly. He assured it was blocked. Undressed as not to get his clothes filthy. He got twisted around, perhaps trying to decend, and got stuck in an awkward position which made it impossible to free himself.
Ppl hear screams and completely ignore them. This never fails to amaze. If you get into trouble, you might as well keep your mouth shut for the good it does to yell.
Always happens. People will shrug it off and think it's somebody else's responsibility or that it can't be "that bad". Anything they got to tell themselves to not do anything.
Sad he was just a kid. This is one scenario where common sense may not be available to a child. It is also one example where it would have been nice if Murphy’s law did not apply. It sounds like a terrible accident.🤔❤🇺🇸
I know this case and its always disturbed me. A very bad way to go, I feel so sorry for him. And they really should have checked that cabin right away.
Anyone consider that another person was with him on roof when he got stuck. Tried pulling him out by his pants. Pants came off and he slid further down into chimney and dies. Second person freaks out and breaks into house and folds clothes on table
Dr Grande is so right when he says there's not enough common sense to go round. A major cause of this problem is that I'm hogging waaay more than my fair share.
When I first heard about the case I had theorized, someone had taken him for sexual assault. That's why his pants were off. Perhaps they use the fireplace to imprison him, by sliding the cabinet in front blocking him in. And then he tried to escape by the chimney.... But I have no idea how heavy the cabinet is, so it would have to be heavy enough that Josh wouldn't be able to push it out from the inside, or perhaps it was anchored somehow from the outside of the fireplace.
Here's how it most likely happened. Josh tried to climb the chimney "for fun". While climbing, he either started to fall, and he fell into a position where he couldn't get his legs under himself to climb back down or up, hence him being in a fetal position. As far as the kitchen bar that was in front of the chimney, we don't have enough info about its size or exact placement, and that's assuming someone else didn't move it in any way after Josh's death, obviously not knowing a person was in there, or smelling a foul odor and then blocking it better not knowing what the smell was, other than knowing it was coming from the chimney. So I believe Josh moved the kitchen bar just enough to get into the chimney area. He started climbing and lost his footing, and slid down into a position to where he couldn't get his feet under himself, and possibly even made his position worse trying to maneuver himself. Someone else reblocked the chimney with the kitchen bar due to either the bad odor (assuming it was probably a dead animal which happens) or due to cold air, or both. Case solved. It really isn't complicated... just incredibly tragic.
I can’t think of too many worse ways to die than to be hopelessly stuck in an enclosed space. Upside-down in a chimney? Terrifying.
It's terrifying, but I must add, that upside-down would be a lot faster way to go than the regular way.
Unit 731?
@@RealmCenter40 That too 😞
If a person is dumb enough to want to enter into a chimney, then this is what can happen. Death by chimney.
Seriously
"Neighbors heard screaming, but they didn't worry about it. Two days later workers heard tapping They didn't care either. " Pretty much sums up America today.
So sad 😞
I sometimes scream at home when I am angry. I am very loud, but the neighbours have never intervened.
@@trendkiller6611 I feel ya 😆
Not sure what that kid's neighbourhood was like, but in mine, kids play outside screaming bloody murder multiple times per week. I wouldn't notice if one of them was actually murdered
:(
This case reminded me of the 2019 disappearance of a 14 year old boy in Port Clinton, OH. His body was found several months later in the chimney of an abandoned house. His name was Harley Dilly and and the case caused a lot of controversy in Port Clinton. There were some strange circumstances involving his parents, and he was reported to be slightly autistic. It would be a good case for you to look into Dr Grande, if you want to continue on the chimney theme. I am a retired detective and I greatly enjoy your analysis and perspective on these cases. You would have made a good cop!
This is what I thought this video was going to be about
That’s exactly what I was thinking about when I clicked on this video. I had forgotten his name and thought it was going to be about him
I'm in Columbus - I remember that!
@Beav my thoughts EXACTLY! He most definitely should have been a cop or one of those guys who works with the police but isn't a cop I cannot think of what the technical term is but they analyze the case and come up with a profile 🤔
Profilers? Lol
I always find it suspicious when people don't report someone missing right away.
This made me think of the Kendrick Johnson case where he was found in rolled up gym mats. Would love to hear your analysis on that case. Thanks!
I’d love the Good Doctor to talk on that too
I remember that story!
He already did do it and he deduced that Kendrick decided to climb into the mat himself. He glosses over the two kids accused where one of the fbi investigators was their dad.
@Bubbles Bedlam sure
@Bubbles Bedlam Oh there were plenty of basis to accuse those YOUNG MEN OF HURTING HIM. That is why they reopened the case. Turn this around if two black kids were accused of killing a white kid you would not be so quick to say this.
Dr Grande, I think it would be so cool if you gave a few lessons on deductive reasoning and logic. Your grounded way of analyzing these stories is refreshing!!!
We need more of you!
It's crazy out here!
Whoever’s in the Dr. Grande costume, very convincing!
Has the voice down just right!
🤣🙃🤣
HA!
Wait...I thought that was really him! 😉
😁
Not reported missing,for five days.How can that be?If my child went for a walk/hike,and wasn’t back,the same day,I’d be screaming for help,to find them.
And to die,trapped,like that,is just heartbreaking.Poor lad.
There was a similar occasion in the UK. Where an office worker in an old building in the UK could hear very faint muffled shouting for a few days but shrugged it off... A few weeks later she noticed an awful smell and the builders were called to dismantle the fireplace only to find the body of a young burglar who fell down one night.... Just the worst death imaginable.
IMO, this is the most probable: either your most likely theory, or he met a friend at the cabin, which they had broken into before, and Josh went down the chimney on a dare. The breakfast bar was blocking the bottom of the chimney as a joke. When Josh became stuck, the "friend" fled.
Yes, it's stupid. Everything about what could have happened here is stupid.
Yeh I agree- and he took most of his clothes off beforehand so as not to get them dirty. In fact, thinking about it now, the breakfast bar may have been the result of the 'friend' returning a month or so later- maybe to make sure there was no evidence of him being there- and putting it there to 'stop the smell getting out'.
I doubt the breakfast bar was placed there as a “joke”. But it certainly may have been put there in order to conceal the body.
I believe he had a rendezvous with the wrong person and they disposed of his remains in the chimney, in a panic. That is, if this is the one I'm thinking of. There are at least two* instances of young men being found in chimneys, maybe this is is a different one
*correction: many
@Bubbles Bedlam They would have been considered burglars. There absolutely would have been a reason to not go for help.
But why would he have gone in upside down ?
People in the late stages of hypothermia can behave in nonsensical ways because the brain is no longer functioning normally. It's quite common for people who have died of hypothermia to be found with some or all of their clothes removed, because they feel like they are too hot and don't understand what's really happening to them. There is also a behaviour called "hypothermic burrowing", where people will dig or wedge themselves into enclosed spaces before they die. Him being found in an enclosed space with most of his clothes removed could be consistent with hypothermia. Even if a rational person wouldn't try to climb up a chimney feet first, a hypothermic person might. To me, the clothes being neatly folded is the part that seems least consistent with hypothermia.
Very interesting! Thank you.
Yeah, but that happens when someone is trapped, like a walk in freezer. He wasn't trapped, his home was a mile away. You'd have to be freezing for HOURS, absolutely miserable, before you get to the point of paradoxical unclothing. He would have just returned home long before he suffered that level of hypothermia.
Wow, the “burrowing” explanation has convinced me of the hypothermia possibility. Wikipedia says it’s an automatic brain stem reaction. So even if he felt hot, he might still burrow. And it would explain why he entered the chimney so insanely. I could picture a delirious person seeing that chimney opening, shoving their feet in, and wriggling their way up.
@@matthewferguson8369 I thought that too, but if he had been hiking back from a long distance, he might have already been severely hypothermic when he came across shelter. Of course that begs the question of why an experienced hiker would go out unprepared for the conditions. But who knows.
@@matthewferguson8369 Yeah, the question of why he didn't go home when he began to feel cold is a weird one. I imagine he may have got lost while out walking, and came to the building on his way home. He might have chosen to stay there while he was somewhat rational, rather than continuing home. Obviously with hindsight we can say that was a bad decision, but I can imagine a person thinking it's safer to shelter there overnight rather than risking getting lost again in the dark. If he was already cold and tired, staying in a shelter that's dry and out of the wind might have been very appealing.
I'm most familiar with hypothermia in the context of people getting lost in remote areas. People in the early stages of hypothermia are generally tired and grumpy and want to give up. They feel miserable, and complain in a way that's out of character, but they no longer want to persist in trying to get home.
I'm not completely convinced it was hypothermia. It could have been murder and a weird way to hide a body. I don't think we'll ever know for sure.
Disturbing that the parents waited 5 days to report him missing? He was probably already dead by that time.
5 days!!! That is mind boggling….that is extremely disturbing 😳
There might have been foul play. It could just be that he ran away a lot so nobody reacted. But it just seems weird that modern times with cellphones you can track, they decided to give it a few days. The sister’s claim that she believed he would show back up with a wife and kids sounded bizarre too. It may have been a coping mechanism, but often times people involved in coverups say weird and specific things like that. Like, “your (dead) dog went off to live on a farm”.
@Catlady1986
Are you implying his family had something to do with it?
There’s no valid reason to wait that long. The chances of solving a crime are cut in half after 48 hours. If the father had reported Joshua missing right away, he might’ve been found alive. They either contributed to his death directly or through negligence.
@@JordanBarronWolfe Omg, no. If it was common for Joshua to leave to take a walk and not return for several days, why would his family immediately jump to the worst conclusion possible and call the police the moment he doesn't return? Its crazy to me how many people hear tragic stories like this and think it's totally appropriate to hold as many people in the story responsible as possible, and not only that but to also punish them with as many criminal charges as possible. Nothing about the dad's actions point to negligence, but don't u think he probably has already done a pretty good job of blaming himself without your help? Yes the first 48 hours after someone goes missing are extremely important, but only if anyone is actually aware that they're missing. Obviously Joshua's family didn't have a reason to even suspect a problem for the first 4 days as Josh was 18 and had previously left home for longer periods of time without indicating where he was going. He was described as a free spirit, his parents let him come and go as he pleased, and he was also an adult... Also, not everyone has parents that need to know their location at all times and as someone who doesn't communicate with my family super often, I remember what it's like to be 18 living at home and be allowed to leave for a few days at a time without having to call and report my whereabouts every time, and on several occasions it would've probably taken my parents multiple days of me not returning home to realize something was wrong and call to report me missing. But I appreciated the freedom I had and it's what worked for us, and to this day we don't constantly check up on each other so if I ever went missing and it took my family awhile to report it, I hope to God there wouldn't be a bunch of self righteous comments online from people blaming my family for my disappearance and talking about how they deserve to be held criminally responsible for "negligence" or some other crap
How sad for the parents to lose 2 children
Every caring parent's nightmare!
I can't imagine....:(
@@glennjones6574 ikr, feelings between horrified and interested
Great Halloween Special! Mystery, gruesome death, and cabins. All Halloween tropes in one story. It was fascinating how the sister built this whole fantasy about Joshua’s disappearance and possible life arc and triumphant return as a musician and family man.
Suspicious, you mean.
Casey Anthony said her daughter was with a pretend nanny. People involved in cover ups often make illogical and specific claims to pretend there was no crime. They also fail to report the victims as missing in a normal amount of time.
@Lili
Are you implying that the sister had something to do with it?
@@kingayy9267 I don’t think so. Interesting family dynamic though with the brother’s suicide and the sister’s seeming magical thinking.
@@kingayy9267 seems they didn't pull on that thread very hard. It's odd that they didn't report him missing for almost a week. Made up an elaborate fiction about what happened to him. Didn't insist on having that whole abandoned structure searched , ever. It was nearby and where he walked frequently.
If there's a hole, cavern, space, chimney, or any type of opening, some person will come along, and try to enter it, without regard to the possible consequences.
i have heard of this case before, but Dr Grande always provides a fresh, thorough insight. thanks as always :)
Dr G really does some of the most detailed and in depth research on every case, adding to his psychological analysis and making one of the best channels on YT
Murdered by someone who dropped him in but didn't know the passage was blocked
I know right!
I don't think this particular video was made in depth at all, since he left the most reasonable item - hypothermia, from his video. I was surprised he didn't mention this at all, since this has been mentioned in other videos about this case and it is a very reasonable explanation.
@@pawntorn he did say the cause of death was determined to be dehyration or hypothermia with the latter being the most likely due to the temperature.
Him and a friend wanted into the cabin, Joshua takes off some of his layers to be able to slide down the chimney while his friend helps him down by his legs, Joshua slips and friend grabs his pant legs to stop him, Joshua slides right out of his pants deeper into the chimney and is now only in the shirt. His friend panics and breaks into the cabin the traditional way and finds his friend, he can't figure out how to get him out and it's getting cold, Joshua isn't able to free himself either. Friend brings in the clothes and doesn't know what to do, doesn't want to get in trouble so doesn't call the cops, abandons Joshua at some point. /EndTheory
There was obviously more going on at home than mentioned if nobody cared enough about Josh to call the cops for almost a week.
I think you got it
But if the friend could just get into the cabin to begin with why did he let his friend go down the chimney? Also why didn't he call for help if he couldn't get his friend? Also I think if my friend was stuck in a chimney bringing clothes would be the last thing on my mind and for them to be folded too? Is just weird.
I’ll go with my theory that Josh was sexually abused and murdered because he was naked waist down. Many rapist organize their victims clothes after killing them.
When Josh was found he wasn’t wearing a underwear, he was wearing only a thin shirt, why would anyone remove their underwear to get through a chimney? Why his “friend” didn’t called the emergency if it was an “accident” like you said?
Definitely my primary theory. My backup points to the family and the strange dynamics at play there. 1 dad, 2 boys (both died), 2 girls. Waited 5 days to call police (assuredly past the point of death by exposure), 1/2 mile away abandoned cabin not thoroughly searched, “oh well must have moved on with life.”
Interesting theory. My question is about the breakfast nook pushed up against the fireplace as if to block his escape.
I agree with Dr Grande's first theory. If he was killed and the killer went to lengths to hide the body in a chimney, why would they then leave a pile of the victim's clothes in a neat pile next to where the body is hidden as evidence? Makes no sense that someone would do that.
I agree, dump the clothed body in the chimney. No reason tor emote the clothes. A previous comment said he may have removed the clothes to keep them from getting dirty, so it points to voluntary entry.
Thing with this case is *every* possible cause of death is very bizarre, yet one of them *must* be true. I agree that the first theory, accidental death is most likely, by a good margin. Reddit has a lot web sleuths who come up with interesting theories on cases, but in this case most of the alternative theories put forth amount to baseless conspiracy theories. All the evidence seems to point towards an (admittedly stupid) accidental death.
@@stevemorris270 if you’re in hiking clothes about to descend down a chimney, why on earth would you think it was better to get your body dirty, as well as squeeze down a rough surface (head first) with exposed skin? Grande said all he was wearing was a shirt. That means his genitals were exposed.
Just because it takes a lot of effort to jam a body down a chimney doesn’t mean it was a meticulously planned cover up. Someone could have done it in a state of panic. Adrenalin would actually help with getting the body in there. Plus, it seems even more implausible that he went in head first, than that someone failed to dispose of less conspicuous evidence.
If he was going to do it for the fun of it, he wouldn't have blocked the exit to the chimney. Blocking the exit of the chimney only makes sense if there was someone trying to kill him and they were blocking his only method of escape.
Your close Dr G!!! Almost a million subs!!! I've been here since you had your computer as the background... Good job!!
Thank you for the Holiday video. Although unclear if this is Halloween or Christmas themed. My claustrophobia, is making me twitch over this. Sound like an absolutely horrible way to go.
Claustrophobia YES!
He must have been terrified. Agree, awful way to go.
Very sad. Poor young man.
Thank you for this video Dr. Grande!
I am going to order your book...
I looked up the title and found it!
I'm amazed how many people would think going down the chimney for whatever reason would be a good idea 😞
@Jan Basterfield Well…. Maybe because most people on earth today have very low IQs.
Santa Claus
Why hasn't anyone brought up the fact that dehydration & hypothermia cause delirium?
@Bubbles Bedlam I'm afraid he's quite right.
@Bubbles Bedlam
Signs of dehydration include:
- Headache, delirium, confusion.
- Tiredness (fatigue).
- Dizziness, weakness, light-headedness.
- Dry mouth and/or a dry cough.
- High heart rate but low blood pressure.
- Loss of appetite but maybe craving sugar.
- Flushed (red) skin. Swollen feet. Muscle cramps.
- Heat intolerance, or chills.
- Constipation.
- Dark-Colored pee (urine). Your pee should be a pale clear color.
Now, you've probably never been long-distance backpacking, especially with someone unprepared, but dehydration can very much cause severe confusion & delirium. Eventually, these symptoms will result in death if gone untreated. People have been known to strip themselves during bouts of dehydration & hypothermia, as well. I think people want this to be a case involving a singular boogie man, as to remove the nature of ambiguity one is left by cases like this. It's the same reason people want it to be spirits, aliens, ghosts, gods, or bigfoot: it's easier to wrap your head around a narrative created by you. "See, I'm safe. It was just one boogie man, and he lives somewhere else. I _____, and they didn't."
Trust me, Occam's Razor cuts through most of our humanly assumptions.
Many people have already mentioned that here.
One of his friends at the time admitted to have murdered someone later in life. Being its over 5 years later its hard to “find evidence of another person being there” because of the time. The breakfast bar moved to the front of the chimney is what really proves to me someone was there. Thats A LOT of evidence after almost a decade
Dr. Grande...Thank you again, for bringing to all of us, who tune in, the chance to share our comments & theories in such cases along with you. In the case of Josh, first off, at his age, more than likely, he wouldn't pay for a hotel room & him knowing, already, the availability of the cabin was there for him, he felt comfortable alone, so I do believe he put himself there, no one else did. Upon his arrival, he obviously knew right away, that heat was needed asap. Gathering wood & building a fire using the fireplace & chimney
was an obvious need in the intent to stay warm. I feel before he started the fire, I believe he stood in thought for a few minutes about building a "safe fire" in the old chimney for his own safety & concern. I feel, he then felt the strong need to explore the safe or unsafe conditions in the chimney, as this was "not an option" in his mind. At that point, mentally he felt ready, but now physically he needed to prepare & be ready, by dragging the breakfast bar over, as to get a foot or two start up the chimney.I feel then he decided, that physically removing most of his clothes, he had a better chance of not getting stuck or caught up in the chimney. Why? Maybe for reasons of him hearing about something like this happening before, so he took it into heavy concideration & deemed it necessary, being alone & felt that this also was "not an option" to keep all his clothes on to go up in to inspect it and get out safely. I would say, by him leaving just his shirt on, was because after all it was only 20° out to get completely naked. I believe he folded his own clothes, as to not pile, place or have them touch much of the existing dust/ dirt in the cabin as he probably planned on putting them back on afterwards. So physically, he felt prepared, so he stepped onto the breakfast bar & began monkeying up the chimney, to the point of, using his feet against one side, back against the other side as to get higher up in the chimney to explore further for completion of inspection & he got a bit stuck and then beyond stuck, trying to get back down, by at this point in head first position and curled, not no avail, his movements got him jammed in place. So my theory & determination, for the cause of death would be, "accidental", given that fact he was alone and the factual parallels between his needs for the chimney & his intent for the chimney.
I would very much like to hear your thoughts on McKamey Manor, the "haunted house" in which people are actually tortured. What I can't grt out of my head is that the owner and staff have been torturing people for years. Why and how can human beings do this?
You sign a contract when you go into the house allowing them to torture you but not kill you. As far as I know, it's legal as long as you sign their agreement. If you last a certain number of hours, you get a big pile of money. But the torture is real and pretty intense, I understand.
@@lauriej.5706 Thanks for your response! One of the weird things about McKamey Manor is that no one has ever won the prize ($10,000 was the last I heard) and there's no charge to get in, although contestants are asked to donate a bag of dog food. This thing has been running for years, including a staff, props, and the property itself, but no one knows where the money to keep it in operation comes from. Contestants have an obvious financial motive, but why and how do the owner and staff do this?
@@creepyoldlady1268 ppl that go there want to test their own limits. The ‘torture’ is always based on their personal worse fears
@@mybusiness9705 Real physical torture is involved, and contestants have no say regarding what takes place. Some hwve required hospitalization afterward. There have been at least two cases of broken bones.
Interesting.. wow
I love watching your "take", on the subjects you cover, THEN, I watch what the other channels offer. You are an amazingly balanced commentator. Thank you, as always, for these interesting, if terribly sad tales.
Fourth theory:
What if Josh and another boy broke into the cabin (perhaps Andrew Neumann).... They were staying there for a day or so, and at some point they had a falling-out, and the other boy locked Josh out, without his clothes. Perhaps just as a cruel prank? Josh would've banged on the door for awhile, demanding that he let him inside, and complaining that it's cold outside. Maybe out of true maliciousness, or maybe just as a cruel prank, the other boy laughed and refused. Josh then tried to climb down the chimney, so the other boy shoved the stove over to block the fireplace so that he couldn't get in.
I'm imagining the other boy laughing, but then at some point it turned to panic as he realizes Josh really is stuck. The other boy then fled, leaving him alone to die.
This theory explains the clothes being inside. It explains the stove dragged over in front of the fireplace. And Josh would've been more emboldened to climb, half naked, down the chimney, because he knew he had a friend or accomplice inside. It also makes sense, given the cold weather outside.
The lack of pants in this concerns me more than anything. I could understand taking all of his clothes off, but this sounds like a sexual encounter gone wrong coupled with a desire to hide the body. But you make a good point about the previous cases similar to this. A fascinating case to ponder.
your tender bits scraping the inside of a brick chimney sounds….less than awesome
And yet, in some dark and creepy corner of the internet, there likely lurks enjoyment of this very thing.
@@Catherinzsl and challenges ☺️
Only 5K to another impressive milestone! You definitely deserve it, so well done Dr. Grande.
Dr Grande. I like how you looked through previous examples of people being found dead in chimneys. I think you should have done the same in your previous video about the lady being found dead - allegedly suicide- from hanging, with her feet and hands bound and also with a gag in. Surely this is a incredibly rare occurrence…
I think that was a revenge killing by her boyfriend's family.
Hmm more common than you think. There are records of people dying by tying themselves up, one guy even zipped himself into a bag - then suffocating
I’d think maybe if her feet weren’t bound
I've though about this case a few times since I first heard about it, so I really was interested in your perspective. Thanks for the commentary, it was very enjoyable.
So glad you covered this case! It's one of those unsolved mystery types that just pop into my mind from time to time. I hope he didn't suffer. And I'm very glad he was eventually located. Love all your videos Doc!💙🌞💙
Sometimes I like to think Dr Grande filmed all these videos months ago and is just posting them one by one while he sits on a beach somewhere, enjoying the sunshine. 🤞🌞🍹
He certainly deserves a vacation!
Dr. Grande is probably out of town a lot based on most of his plants being cacti. We're on to him.
I have wondered that too. I hope it is true because he posts everyday and everyone needs a some down time.
batch filming
It's sad to think he was probably stuck in that chimney praying for someone to come along and meanwhile his family didn't report him missing for a week.
He could of entered the cabin and gotten hypothermia over time. This can cause people to exhibit irrational behavior including "paradoxical undressing". These odd circumstances could be possibly explained by hypothermia.
That's what I was thinking too, terminal burrowing in a chimney.
This is another case that gets a lot of traction in the more conspiracy minded true crime community. It gets a little exhausting some times but it's to me it's far more likely that he went into the chimey on his own accord and got stuck.
But who would go head first?
Naked? 20°?
It strains all incredulity
@@Thundersnowy What is a less incredulous explanation?
Why would he chose to remove his clothes?
@@deemareedubois3137 hypothermia
I'm impressed with the future the sister had laid out for him. Married, writing a novel and having kids all while living alone in the woods.
Pretty sure his clothes weren’t neatly folded. They were basically in a heap at the bottom. Like he removed them in an attempt to free himself. He wasn’t upside down. He was in a fetal position legs pointed upward, head and shoulders upward. If you’re climbing down feet first using your feet, knees and back to brace yourself and either your knees or back slip, your butt will go down first, with the sliding action causing your legs and feet to become wedged close to your diaphragm. Could have been dehydration or hypothermia but it would make more sense for it to be positional asphyxiation. It could k*ll you in a matter of hours. I believe I read awhile back that an officer found his jacket hanging near the door. He may have used the breakfast bar to boost himself.
Myths about unsolved cases can get crazy. He slipped. Accidental. Very sad.
"Liability induced recall," another witty Grandeism for my list. Why won't these people realize that Santa is the only who can maneuver through chimneys? 🙃 I think Joshua was exploring and got more than he could handle. Thanks, Dr. Grande. 👍
With his pants off, though? 🤔
This story made me think of Santa Claus going down chimneys, too!
Jesus, have some respect for the dead. They didn't die so you could feel superior in a darwinistic and snarky manner.
@@zigguratjones6458 sometimes folks use humor around deadly content. No need to be miffed, it's just a coping mechanism, for fuck sakes. Let people have their idiosyncrasies, there is such a thing as free speech.✌
All this Santa Claus humor feels really inappropriate In all, I find this video to be unsatisfactory. It provides little if any more insight than one might get from the news media coverage Perhaps there may be an update providing content that meets Dr. G’s usual standards.
Grande on almost every case: *Common sense seems to not be present in this case*
@@Warriorcock6969 Miss me with that.
Dr. Grande, your analysis is ALWAYS consistent with common sense. My son has frequently said, "If it's common, why is it so rare?"
I feel bad for the parents. They lost 2 children. I can't imagine 😩😭
At great risk giving the empathy award😎🏆
Good evening Dr. Todd. I enjoyed the video.
Happy Halloween everyone!
You analysis is very much consistent with common sense!😉👌🏼
You mentioned some scary situations where people got stuck inside chimneys! I wonder if at some point you would be interested in covering the case where the physician got stuck inside the chimney of her boyfriend’s house. I am familiar with the case but would love to know your thoughts on it.
Happy Halloween Dr Grande!🍂🎃🍂
I hope you have a restful Sunday.❤️
I researched that case as the physician won a "Darwin Award" for her efforts in 2010. I found it incredibly sad that such a talented and popular doctor was so hung up on her ex-boyfriend that she made such a foolish and ill fated decision that resulted in her death.
The doctor, Jacqueline Kotarac, was called a "brilliant doctor" and "certified genius" with an IQ of 170. Yet she was so desperate to speak to her estranged boyfriend, she attempted to break in his home around 10pm at night. When that failed, she got a ladder, crawled out on his roof, removed the chimney cap, and lept into the chimney feet first, whereupon she became stuck and died of "suffocation."
The ex-boyfriend claimed he "ran out the back door to avoid a confrontation and stayed the night elsewhere." When she didn't show up for work the next day, her assistant drove to the boyfriend's house, where they discovered her car still parked in the driveway with her belongings inside. They didn't find her, and following morning, the ex-boyfriend took off to Europe.
A neighbor later admitted to the cops that they "smelled something," and someone down the street told authorities that they thought they "heard someone quietly yelling for help," but dismissed it as kids playing.
A pet sitter who came over to feed the ex's fish "noticed a smell of decay coming from the fireplace" a few days later & called the police.
Moral of the story: California neighbors not gonna call the cops when they "smell something" or "hear someone quietly yelling for help"; and no man is worth killing yourself over. Girl, there be tons more fishes out there. Get some therapy, and move on. ;-)
@@Dagian_Jade Thanks for the summary! Yes, I remember that she had a genius IQ, an extremely intelligent person.
Yeah, I've just recently heard about that tragedy, when Mr Ballen told the physician's story about her fatal decision to climb through the chimney into her estranged bf's house in one of his videos; he did this with his very unique story telling skills.
Highly recommend his channel btw, but just to be fair, I've to add a warning:
His "Mr Ballen" channel is also highly addictive!
Better only start watching him, when you've ~2 to 3 free days without any duties lined up ... imo, it's also great Halloween entertainment for everybody who doesn't know his channel yet; as well as a fantastic chance to "trauma-bond" with other horror fans like e.g. significant others, family members, soon-to-be-in-laws, etc...
@@Anita-k Lol 😂.
Yes, I watched Mr. Ballen’s episode on this case.👍🏼
@@Dagian_Jade IQ of 170. Proof that a genius level IQ offers no protection against stupidity.
Makes me wonder about him doing a hypothermia thing, taking clothes off and acting bizarrely. Maybe he broke in to get warm or safe, then went nutty.
Happy Halloween, all! Please have a safe night.🖤🎃
Dr. Grande- have you ever looked into The Lililid Case? This happened in Tennessee.. horrifying..
I like how the objects in the background are moved around a bit each video.
I've noticed that. Wonder why he does that?
Aw! Come on! True crime producers often have changing backdrops! Dr. Grande, as usual, does one better and changes his each video! One of the many perks!
I was hoping you would cover this case! It's haunted me ever since I first learned of it.
I really like your method of going over these cases, your very logical and I think you have a great future , keep doing this!!!
I read an article about this the other day, then remembered when it was first reported years ago. It's very perplexing, but Humans can do strange things that don't make sense, especially if they have some kind of mental issues. I agree that it was oddly negligent for them not to search the Cabin when it was literally a few blocks down from His home. Maybe they wouldn't have thought to look in the Chimney, but not search it at all?
I've heard this one so many times, but love your narrations. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🙏🙏💚
Always appreciate your well hypothesized insights as to people's behavior. It means a whole lot more to average viewer being able to understand others than you might think 👍
Just a reminder I'm not diagnosing anybody in this video; only speculating what could be happening in a chimney like this.
I’m a new fan. I love your soothing voice.
I think his cause of death was probably being upside down for a long time. Surefire way to die if you get stuck with your body upside down. As for the manner of death....?
Good topic Dr. G 💜🌵
Bingo - sounds like you're familiar with the Nutty Putty cave death. An experienced cave explorer died in just 28 hours after being stuck upside down. I think few people realize humans can can from being upside down, let alone in a matter of about a single day. It puts an enormous amount of strain on the body, being so compressed.
It seems weird that a supposedly sober person would go into chimney upside down. Unless he was on a drug they didn’t test for. He may have already been dead before entering the chimney.
@@Catlady-mw4en Possibly. The house apparently has all sorts of things being stored there. I was thinking he might have ingested something he found that didn't agree with him - either drug or food product.
He wasn't upside down. DrG misunderstood the explanation. The victim was in a U pose, head upright, arms to chest, feet stretched up above his head.
@@TheDramacist oh my how awful
I enjoyed this very much.
It's always consistent with common sense, Dr. Grande.
Only thinking...
Clothes in a cabin and his head first in a chimney.
Head first isn't natural position of a body. He could have been fainted or dead. If he wanted to commit a suicide, why would he take of his clothes?
It seems that someone attacked him, put him on a shoulder, then head goes first while putting him in the chimney.
Father's and siblings's reaction is strange. He didn't do it earlier because sister spoke about his plans, children, work...
Thank you, Dr. Grande.
Happy Halloween, Dr. Grande! 🎃🦇🦴🪦💀🕷️🕸️⚰️👻
Interesting content as always, dr Grande. Can you pls analyze the case of Lindani Myeni?
Never knew there were so many chim-chimmeny deaths. 💀
This sounds to me like one of those cases where unless you were there as a witness all you can do is come up with multiple theories because it doesn't seem to make any sense at all.
Dr Grande, please do an analysis on the Cindy James case! This is one of the most fascinating cases I’ve ever heard!
How many times will you post this before you give up?
Thanks for this interesting vid Dr Grande! Will you do analysis of the Johnny Gosch case?!
The fact that he was only partially dressed make me think there were 2 crimes committed, **** and then murder, and his body stuffed up the chimney to hide it.
or he didn't want his cloth to get dirty while chimney spelunking
Wouldn't he have removed all of them in that case?@@somebodyoncetoldme6557
A John Wayne Gacy type thing? Did they verify the folded clothing was his? Clothing tatters and comes apart from weather, so a portion may has disintegrated in the chimney. What about shoes?
@@maureeningleston1501 hmm, he probably only remove his outer clothing and left his inner one as to not getting his skin rubbing against the chimney wall
@@somebodyoncetoldme6557 Wasn't he naked from the waist down?....that would leave the most delicate parts unprotected!!
I saw a tv programme about the dangers of the Victorian home which suggested that many householders did not want chimney sweeps to use the brooms, as they thought the boys did a better job. I think the brooms were fairly complicated modular things - not all chimneys were well designed and there could be plenty of obstacles to get around. Eventually enough chimney sweeps protested, and the laws were changed to prohibit the use of boys in this way. This case is tragic for that poor young man and his family. I wonder if he was trying to unblock it, or check if it was usable, and thought it would be somehow easier to enter from the top? Poor lad. It's so sad that his family were trying to convince themselves that there would be a storybook ending too.
Dr. Grande. I see you boy!!! Can you cover the case of Gary Plauche? The guy who killed his sons molester/kidnapper at the airport??? Please???
Great analysis Dr. Grande!Thank You
This happened in my town. Someone found a man’s body behind a wall used to close up a chimney. Belonged to a man known to burgle homes. He’d been missing at least a year. 😐
Well, who cares how he died. Glad he's gone, to be honest ...
Wonderful chimney joke about "prior to" the technology of putting an abrasive material attached to the end of a stick!
Before I knew this story, I had a lucid dream that I was stuck in a chimney head first and couldn’t wake up for like 20 minutes.
Before this, I dreamt that I went through the windshield of a car in an accident as the passenger. What if a guilty person tried to hide the body in the chimney, not knowing Josh was still alive?
Thank you for this video Dr. Grande. Would you analyze the case of Zarah Baker? Thanks
I would like to hear your analysis of a case where the bystander effect occurred. Heard of a case recently where a woman was raped in a train station while bystanders did absolutely nothing and would like to know the psychology behind this.
What a scary way to die
Great video Dr Grande. Hope you are having a great day with your family!!
How have you not analyzed Tony soprano??? You’d think that’d be a gold mine for you!
Can you do the Stanford Prison experiment next?
I hope that doctor's new book will fly through my chimney at Christmas. 🙂 💙 Let's see, if Santa Clause has an exact memory and remembers my wish. I have been nice the entire year. 😇 Thank you for your entertaining work, doctor.
Congratulations on such good behavior! You deserve a Christmas Grande novel! Imagine doing all the videos, the podcasts, and writing books! He has been very good too!
@@bthomson Oh, absolutely! And thank you! Have you been nice, too? 🤔 I think so🙂!
This case haunts me. Glad you covered it 👍
I think we're fundamentally misunderstanding the scene and the way he was posed in the chimney. He wasn't upside down. He was in a 'U' shape pose. His head was upright, arms to chest (like the fetal pose), but his legs stretched upwards and feet above his head.
His position could be explained by him struggling and twisting inside the chimney, having gone up it headfirst, but then realising he could not get back down that way. The top of the chimney got notably narrower as you go higher.
He maybe tries to backtrack, to sit, and turn his torso, but he got hopelessly stuck. It's not clear to what extent the chimney was blocked from inside. Possibly just partly obstructed, not blocked. It seems most likely he was inside the house, removed his clothes and planned to explore the chimney but became stuck.
He didn't intend to die, removing and folding his clothes to keep them clean for afterwards.
Why is anyone's guess. But as an Urbexer, I have prevented others attempting the stupidest feats just for the "fun of it." DrG highlights how alluring chimneys seem to be, particularly for males.
Maybe if his body decomposed, then the bones slipped into the U shape. Nevertheless good theory. He could have gone into the chimney if a damper was closed and he wanted to burn wood for heat.
Thank you for explaining the position of his body. I think your theory is a very probable one
K I like the theory but it doesn't make sense. The bottom of the fireplace was blocked off..how could he have blocked it and then climbed up the chimney lol
I've always thought he was trying to clear the chimney of a posible blockage to start a fire. I think he tried to start a fire in the hearth but the smoke wouldn't vent and he assumed it was blocked. So, he attempted to clear it by climbing up and got stuck just as discribed. Once he was stuck he died of hypothermia.
Giving Dr Grande's sense of humour I'm surprised he didn't post this on Christmas Eve.
I would LOVE it if Dr. Grande would do a video where he records himself watching a horror movie like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre!!!
You would!
"I'm not diagnosing anyone in this movie, but it takes a certain person to wears someone else's face." - Probably Dr. Grande.
Sensation seeking and common sense never mix. Nice show!
Another theory is that he could have claustrophilia. A condition where the person gets some kind of arousal in tight spaces, hence the reason why he was naked from the waist down. He probably wanted to be as confined as possible but ended up getting stuck.
I know people want desperately to believe that this was a murder case but hey, like they say….. truth is stranger than fiction.
Yes! Happy Halloween Dr. G. Heading out later to trick or treat 🎃
I wonder if there was an animal or something in the chimney and he was trying to fish it out? Maybe he was inside and trying to light the fireplace and thought something was inside. It makes me so sad that he got stuck in there and lost his life. I can’t imagine how much he suffered in there.
I think so too. He wanted to make a fire in the fireplace due to the cold, but the smoke wouldn't vent correctly. He assured it was blocked. Undressed as not to get his clothes filthy. He got twisted around, perhaps trying to decend, and got stuck in an awkward position which made it impossible to free himself.
Ppl hear screams and completely ignore them. This never fails to amaze. If you get into trouble, you might as well keep your mouth shut for the good it does to yell.
Always happens. People will shrug it off and think it's somebody else's responsibility or that it can't be "that bad". Anything they got to tell themselves to not do anything.
Sad he was just a kid. This is one scenario where common sense may not be available to a child. It is also one example where it would have been nice if Murphy’s law did not apply. It sounds like a terrible accident.🤔❤🇺🇸
He was not a child. He was 18 years old.
I know this case and its always disturbed me. A very bad way to go, I feel so sorry for him. And they really should have checked that cabin right away.
Anyone consider that another person was with him on roof when he got stuck. Tried pulling him out by his pants. Pants came off and he slid further down into chimney and dies. Second person freaks out and breaks into house and folds clothes on table
But if you're freaked out and your friend is stuck you're first instinct is not to go tidy up someone's clothes.
Dr Grande is so right when he says there's not enough common sense to go round. A major cause of this problem is that I'm hogging waaay more than my fair share.
When I first heard about the case I had theorized, someone had taken him for sexual assault. That's why his pants were off. Perhaps they use the fireplace to imprison him, by sliding the cabinet in front blocking him in. And then he tried to escape by the chimney....
But I have no idea how heavy the cabinet is, so it would have to be heavy enough that Josh wouldn't be able to push it out from the inside, or perhaps it was anchored somehow from the outside of the fireplace.
"Grandeisms," I love that!!!
I'm thinking hypothermia psychosis. He took his clothes off because he felt warm and then went up chimney because he wasn't thinking rationally!
Here's how it most likely happened.
Josh tried to climb the chimney "for fun". While climbing, he either started to fall, and he fell into a position where he couldn't get his legs under himself to climb back down or up, hence him being in a fetal position. As far as the kitchen bar that was in front of the chimney, we don't have enough info about its size or exact placement, and that's assuming someone else didn't move it in any way after Josh's death, obviously not knowing a person was in there, or smelling a foul odor and then blocking it better not knowing what the smell was, other than knowing it was coming from the chimney.
So I believe Josh moved the kitchen bar just enough to get into the chimney area. He started climbing and lost his footing, and slid down into a position to where he couldn't get his feet under himself, and possibly even made his position worse trying to maneuver himself. Someone else reblocked the chimney with the kitchen bar due to either the bad odor (assuming it was probably a dead animal which happens) or due to cold air, or both.
Case solved. It really isn't complicated... just incredibly tragic.
Happy Halloween, Dr. Grande. And thank you for the upload 🎃 💜